Tucker Chooses Dodgers Over Mets While Bichette Picks Mets Over Phillies

 

In the space of 24 hours, two free agents picked their destinations.

Outfielder Kyle Tucker, who spent 2025 with the Chicago Cubs after seven seasons with the Houston Astros, has agreed to a four-year, $240 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tucker can opt out of the deal after the 2027 and 2028 seasons. But when you're now the highest paid player in the game by average annual value, why would you? Meanwhile infielder Bo Bichette, who had spent his entire 7-year MLB career with the Toronto Blue Jays, has chosen to play for the New York Mets for $126 million over the next three seasons. 

Tucker, who turns 29 tomorrow, chose the Dodgers over the Mets who had offered him a four-year deal worth $220 million. Without missing a beat, the Mets turned their sights and landed the 27-year-old Bichette who had been offered $200 million over seven seasons from their NL East rival Philadelphia Phillies. Although the Phillies were offering more money over a longer period of time, Bichette opted for a salary of a higher average annual value and another opportunity to hit the free agent market at 30.

Both Tucker and Bichette are very good players but I'm not sure either warranted their contracts. While Tucker has been named to four consecutive NL All-Star Teams, he did significant time in both 2024 and 2025 due to a shin fracture and a calf injury, respectively. Bichette also had injury issues in both 2024 and 2025 with a calf issue of his own as well as a sprained knee. Complicating matters for Bichette is that he is expected to play third base for the Mets, a position he has never played.

Yes, the Dodgers have won back-to-back World Series, so Tucker isn't necessarily a centerpiece of the team but when you're getting more money than Shohei Ohtani then you're bound to be subject to scrutiny. Yet Bichette is under every bit as much pressure as he heads to a Mets organization which had a major collapse last season and a huge overhaul. New York is not an easy place to learn a new position.

Well, both players will be handsomely compensated for their travails. As they say, nice work if you can get it.

Trump Gets His Nobel Peace Prize & Soon He Will Want Another

 

When Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was bestowed with the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, President Trump claimed that Machado said he actually deserved it instead.

Well, today Trump got his wish. 

Machado gave him her Nobel Peace Prize.

And what did she get in return?

Absolutely nothing.

I'm sure Machado thought that by giving him the Nobel, he would earn his support to be Venezuela's next leader.

But she's a day late and many dollars short. Trump is firmly behind Delcy Rodriguez as the Latin American nation's new President. That she was Nicolas Maduro's second-in-command for seven years and every bit a part of his regime made no difference in Trump's mind. As far as Trump is concerned, Machado doesn't have the "respect" to run Venezuela. And now she doesn't even have her Nobel Prize. Nor does she have her dignity.

Meanwhile, the Nobel Prize itself has lost its meaning. As I argued when Trump was clamoring for the prize after the Nobel Committee selected Machado, "The prize would probably sit along with the golf trophies for tournaments he won on golf courses that he owns."

Worst of all, it won't be enough. Trump will demand another Nobel. Given that Machado is not actually allowed to give away her prize, Trump will want the Nobel committee to give him a prize in his own right irrespective if he deserves it or not. Perhaps he will want the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Art of The Deal. If Trump's base wasn't so anti-vax, he would demand the Nobel Prize for Medicine for fast track the COVID vaccines. In which case, another Nobel Peace Prize will do. 

Donald Trump wants to be the one to say he is the first person in the world to earn Nobel Peace Prizes.

Red Sox Add Ranger Suárez to Rotation

The starting rotation of the 2026 Boston Red Sox improved with the signing of free agent pitcher Ranger Suárez.

The 30-year-old Venezuelan born southpaw signed with the Bosox for $130 million over five seasons.

Suárez had spent his entire professional baseball career in the Philadelphia Phillies organization signing with the club in 2012 when he was 16. He made his big-league debut in 2018 but didn't emerge as a significant presence until 2021. Suárez was part of the NL pennant winning team in 2022 earning a win in Game 3 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.

For three of the past four seasons, Suárez has won in double digits with back-to-back 12-win campaigns in 2024 and 2025. Suárez would earn a spot on the 2024 NL All-Star Team. In 187 appearances over 8 seasons (119 starts), Suárez has gone 53-37 with a 3.38 ERA with 705 strikeouts over 762 innings pitched against only 240 walks.

Suárez is one of three off-season additions to the Red Sox starting rotation along with Sonny Gray from the St. Louis Cardinals and Johan Oviedo from the Pittsburgh Pirates. They join AL Cy Young runner up Garrett Crochet and homegrown talent Brayan Bello to make a formidable starting five. Should any of them, however, falter or get hurt then the likes of Kutter Crawford, Connelly Early, Payton Tolle, Kyle Harrison (acquired in the Rafael Devers deal) and ex-Angels castoff Patrick Sandoval will get an opportunity to claim a spot. 

While the Red Sox might not have re-signed Alex Bregman, they have added to their pitching and got some pop in Wilson Contreras. 

As for Suárez, if he can pitch in Philly then he can surely pitch in Boston.

Does the DOJ Plan to Charge Renee Good's Widow for Being Disrespectful?

Yesterday, six federal prosecutors in Minnesota resigned amid efforts by the DOJ to investigate Becca Good, the widow of Renee Good who was executed by ICE agent Jonathan Ross in broad daylight last week.

As for Jonathan Ross and his actions, the DOJ has no interest there declining even to launch a civil rights probe into the shooting.

Given the determination with which the feds are pursuing Becca Good, one can only wonder what charges they intend to bring against a grieving widow.

Will they charge her for being disrespectful?

On Sunday, President Trump justified the killing of Good by stating, “At a very minimum, that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement.”

As always Trump is lying through his teeth. You might recall that nary an hour after her murder, Trump proclaimed that Good "violently, willfully and viciously ran over the ICE officer" who was "recovering in hospital." On the contrary, her murderer came out unscathed. 

As for Good, she was being Minnesota Nice. As I wrote last week:

If anything, Good was cordial and polite making a point of telling Ross, "I'm not mad at you." Her demeanor is not that of someone about to engage in an act of domestic terrorism. Ross and his other ICE colleagues, however, were quite angry and saw fit to escalate the situation.

But in Trump's eyes and those of his quislings, being insufficiently respectful to ICE is grounds for instantaneous execution.

With this in mind, one must wonder what Trump's DOJ have in mind for Becca Good who, if you watch the footage, was far more vocal in her "disrespect" of ICE than her now deceased wife. 

Becca Good did not have kind words for ICE in the moments before one of their goons killed her wife. She certainly has no reason to have kind words for ICE now.

So, what crime did Becca Good commit?

I'm sure Trump's DOJ will make something up. Just about the only thing they are good at is creating stories. That and making a living hell of the lives of people with whom they see as enemies.

Can Arenado Ascend in Arizona?

 

The St. Louis Cardinals have traded third baseman Nolan Arenado to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league pitcher Jack Martinez.

The Redbirds have been trying to move Arenado for some time now and nearly dealt him to the Houston Astros following the 2024 season. However, Arenado vetoed the deal.

But now the Cardinals in a sell mode having sent both Sonny Gray and Wilson Contreras to the Boston Red Sox. While the Red Sox could use a third baseman, Arenado is probably better off in lower-key place like Phoenix than here in Boston.

Arenado, who turns 35 in April, began his career with the Colorado Rockies where he spent his first 8 MLB seasons. Prior to the 2021 season, the Rockies sent Arenado to the Cardinals for four players including starting pitcher Austin Gomber who didn't exactly set the world afire before being released last August.

While it was a lot to ask Arenado to replicate his offensive numbers in St. Louis which he had at Coors Field, as recently as 2022, he finished third in NL MVP balloting. That same year, Arenado won his 10th consecutive Gold Glove at third base.

Unfortunately, both Arenado's offense and defense have declined over the past several seasons. In 2025, Arenado hit a career low .237 with 12 HR and 52 RBI. A shoulder strain caused him to miss all of August and half of September.

This might be a classic case of Arenado simply needing a change of scenery to enjoy a rebound season. That doesn't necessarily mean hitting 40 HR or earning another Gold Glove. If Arenado hit .280 with 25 HR and 75 RBI, I think the D'Backs would be more than happy with that output. 

Arenado is under contract through 2027, and the Cardinals are footing the bill for most of his salary. In the grand scheme of things, this is a fairly low risk acquisition for Arizona. If nothing else, the D'Backs have acquired the services of a future Hall of Famer.

Robert Redford's Dignified Masculinity Came Naturally

Last month, I watched 10 Robert Redford movies over a six-day period at the Brattle Theatre.

Among those 10 films was The Natural.

This evening, I saw it yet again on the big screen this time at the Kendall Square Cinema.

You might ask why I would go pay money to see a 40 plus year old movie on the big screen for the second time in 25 days.

Naturally, a great deal of it has to do with Robert Redford himself. His passing has had a deep and profound effect on me. Part of it has to do with the fact that he died on my birthday. 

Yet there is something else at work here. It was what he represented. From where I sit, Robert Redford represented a dignified masculinity seldom seen in our current times. That dignified masculinity showed itself in his onscreen roles and his work behind the camera and behind the scenes with the Sundance Film Festival and his efforts towards conservation. Redford didn't have to say much, but he meant what he said and backed it up.

In his portrayal of Roy Hobbs, Redford quietly seeks redemption by resuming a baseball career which was shattered before it began by an ill-fated gunshot wound 16 years earlier. While his version of Hobbs wants to seek the glory denied to him in his youth, he prefers to speak with his bat. In the course of this redemption, Hobbs is subject to temptation. While he does have a taste, he does not eat the apple.

Admittedly, the film adaptation of Bernard Malamud's novel is itself idealized. In the book, Hobbs, in the words of Rich Cohen's retrospective review in the Jewish Review of Books, "Roy Hobbs is less Robert Redford than James Gandolfini." Simply put, Hobbs succumbs to temptation and loses everything in the end. Whereas in the movie, Hobbs hits a walk off HR making all the stadium lights spontaneously explode in triumph accompanied by Randy Newman's stirring score.

While most of us will never hit a walk off HR, Redford's rendition of Roy Hobbs is something to which one can aspire. Say and do things for the right reasons, treat others well but don't suffer fools who seek to harm you. Yet this lack of sufferance need not be accompanied by anger and a loss of self-control.

There is a critical mass of men in this country who derive pleasure in the suffering of others. Some of these men start podcasts and glorify Hitler. Some of these men end up joining ICE where they get to use their authority to sow fear and intimidation through physical violence. As we saw last week in Minneapolis, that violence includes committing murder and calling the victim a "fucking bitch."

Yet it should be said that dignified masculinity occasionally shines through. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell demonstrated it when he released a videotaped statement confirming he was under DoJ investigation and that the investigation had nothing to do with any wrongful conduct but rather was simply about ending the independence of the Federal Reserve. Most importantly, Powell made his statement in a firm, plainspoken manner without a hint of anger. Through this dignified display of masculinity, Powell earned the support of several Republican Senators and his Federal Reserve predecessors. President Trump might get his way, but Powell will go out the door with his head held up high. I'm sure Powell's performance would have won rave reviews from Redford himself if he was still here to see it.

Like most people and most men, I sometimes fall short in how I comport myself. But I make a diligent effort to present the best version of Aaron Goldstein to the world each and every day. Although I cannot be anyone other than myself, I can seek guidance and inspiration from others. 

Where it concerns other men, I am hard pressed to think of a better role model to pattern myself after than Robert Redford. For him, his dignified masculinity came naturally. After considerable diligence hard and work, perhaps one day this kind of dignified masculinity will come naturally to me as well.

Thoughts on the Arson Attack at the Only Synagogue in Jackson, Mississippi

When I learned of the arson which took place at Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson, Mississippi over the weekend I figured the suspect would either be a neo-Nazi white supremacist or pro-Hamas. 

It is worth remembering the residence of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was targeted during Passover by a pro-Hamas agitator. But given that this incident was nearer to Philadelphia, Mississippi than Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I figured it would more likely be the former.

Well, a 19-year-old "man" named Stephen Spencer Pittman confessed to setting the synagogue ablaze because of its "Jewish ties" and described Beth Israel Congregation as "the synagogue of Satan". The term has been uttered by the likes of Nick Fuentes, Candace Owens, former UFC fighter Bryce Mitchell and Stew Peters. There's a very good chance Pittman heard one the phrase from one and possibly more of these individuals and decided to put his hate into action.

The only silver lining in this incident is that no one member of the congregation was injured or killed. Then again, the same was true when Beth Israel Congregation was bombed by Ku Klux Klan members because of their support for civil rights nearly 60 years ago. The oldest hatred never dies.

What concerns me is that Pittman is not being charged with any kind of hate crime nor is the FBI planning to discuss the matter any further. Trump's FBI isn't interested in prosecuting hate crimes much less acknowledging them nor do they want to alienate the Tucker Carlson wing of the Republican Party. They are not serious about combatting anti-Semitism of the right-wing variety.