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Tag: position

Red Sox’s Rafael Devers refuses to let Alex Bregman take third base position

Boston Red Sox star Rafael Devers appears to have an issue with his new teammate, Alex Bregman, or rather the position he plays.

Bregman has always played third base primarily for the Houston Astros, and when he signed with the Red Sox last week, it was expected by many that would remain the case.

In turn, Devers, the Red Sox’s man in the hot corner, would move to either full-time designated hitter or to first base.

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Alex Bregman #2 of the Houston Astros waves to fans prior to playing the Detroit Tigers in Game One of the Wild Card Series at Minute Maid Park on October 01, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

During an interview in Fort Myers at the team’s spring training facility, Devers made it clear that third base is still where he wants to be.

“Third base is my position. That’s what I’ve played,” Devers said through an interpreter. “I don’t know what their plans are. I know we had a conversation. I made it clear what my desires were, and yeah, whatever happens from here, I don’t know.”

Then, when asked if he would move to designated hitter, Devers responded, “I gave them the answer that I just gave, no.”

So, the Red Sox immediately face drama at spring training with their incumbent All-Star and their new stellar acquisition.

IN MASSIVE SHORT-TERM COMMITMENT TO ALEX BREGMAN, RED SOX SHOW THEY’RE SERIOUS AGAIN

Devers added that the conversation he is talking about took place Friday with Red Sox manager Alex Cora and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, who was instrumental in getting the Bregman deal done.

Bregman signed a three-year deal worth $120 million with opt outs after each season.

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers celebrates in the dugout with teammates after scoring on his two-run home in the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

“He has a lot of pride,” Cora said of Devers, per NESN. “We know that. He feels like he’s the third baseman. He’s going to work out as the third baseman. And we’re going to make decisions accordingly. Here, it’s not about Bregman or Devers or Cora. It’s for the Boston Red Sox. Whatever decision we make is going to be for the benefit of the team.”

While Devers has played third base exclusively in his career, Bregman has spent time at shortstop (107 games) and two games at second base. However, when you break down their defensive metrics at the hot corner, Bregman takes the cake.

Just last year alone, Bregman posted six defensive runs saved with a defensive WAR of 8.1, per Fangraphs. Devers, who dealt with shoulder problems during the season, had -9 defensive runs saved and a -2.6 defensive WAR.

Bregman might be one of the big pick-ups this offseason for a new-look Red Sox team, but Devers is still the face of the franchise, having signed a 10-year, $313.5 million extension before the start of the 2024 campaign.

“It was definitely discussed when I signed that I [would] play the position for a long time,” Devers added. “I don’t know what caused the change, but I know I work really hard on defense.”

Devers says the Bregman deal “definitely surprised” him, especially considering both Cora and Breslow said this past offseason that he was their third baseman of the future.

But it’s very clear Devers won’t be giving up his position, even if Cora and Breslow ask him to do so for Bregman.

Boston Red Sox’s Rafael Devers runs the bases after hitting a two-run home in the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, July 14, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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“It’s my decision,’’ Devers said. “My position is third base. Whatever it is they want to do is what they want to do. But my position is third base.”

Where the Red Sox go from here will be interesting to watch. Bregman could move to shortstop, but Trevor Story is currently slated to start Opening Day there. Both Bregman and Story have second base experience, and that position isn’t etched in stone.

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Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

February 17, 2025
Emmitt Smith rips teams for not using running backs enough, creating narratives against position

NFL teams might learn a thing or two from Emmitt Smith.

No one in NFL history has run for more yards than Smith, who gained 18,355 yards during his 15-year career, mostly with the Dallas Cowboys.

Smith also holds the NFL record for most rushing attempts, touchdowns and overall touches. When the NFL was a true ground-and-pound league, Smith dominated everyone in his path.

But football has changed a lot since he retired 20 years ago, and even Smith knows teams are making quarterbacks the stars of the league.

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Dallas Cowboys running back Emmitt Smith (22) makes his way through San Francisco 49ers defensive back Merton Hanks (36) and linebacker Bill Romanowski (53) for a 4-yard gain in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 38-21 NFC championship win Jan. 23, 1994, in Irving, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)

Because of that, and perhaps some analytics, the running back position was underused in recent years. Running backs had trouble getting big contracts as general managers prioritized other positions.

However, after significant turnover in the offseason, teams may now get the hint. And they’ll have somebody like Saquon Barkley to look at. The Eagles running back is one win away from a Lombardi Trophy after a 2,000-yard regular season after the Giants decided not to re-sign him to a long-term deal.

“There’s been a commitment to the running game from those guys. Prior to that, they were still doing quality work, but the emphasis from the league was all about the quarterback play and how they want the quarterback to be the face of the league,” Smith said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.

He specifically cited Barkley, Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs, all of whom switched teams in the offseason.

“Quarterback play has been mediocre at best in some of these organizations, but yet they still want to talk about the devaluing of the running back position,” Smith said. “I would call it the underutilization of the running back versus devaluing that position. And that’s on the offensive coordinators and the league pushing this narrative that the running back position is not valuable enough.”

What’s not mediocre are the snacks Smith will be indulging during the Super Bowl. He was in New Orleans as part of Pepsi Co’s and Frito-Lay’s “Chips and Sips” campaign.

“Every time you have an event like the Super Bowl, you gotta have your favorite chips with your favorite soda. Everyone has a chance to celebrate something and enjoy themselves with some great quality snacks for the big game,” Smith said, adding he “like[s] a little ranch.”

Former NFL player Emmitt Smith attends a game between the Augustana Vikings and the Duke Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium Nov. 4, 2016, in Durham, N.C. (Lance King/Getty Images)

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Smith also seemed to call out the hypocrisy of coaches who wind up relying on the running game when the quarterback play isn’t up to par.

“Here’s how I look at it. Teams talk about the undervalued running back, but yet when teams cannot throw the football, or the No. 1 quarterback goes down, they don’t throw the ball the same way when Cooper Rush is in the game,” Smith said.

“They lower his attempts, and guess what they do? They lean on Rico Dowdle and the running back corps of the Dallas Cowboys. … If you can run the ball without Dak in the game the way the Cowboys did the last four, five games and be effective that way, surely you can do it that way with Dak Prescott and be a better football team than what they are right now.

“Think about Bijan [Robinson] down in Atlanta. He’s the best thing they have. And Michael Penix became a better quarterback all because he had a solid running back behind him. … But people don’t want to talk about that no more. They want to talk about what Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes are doing.”

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This season, five running backs ran for at least 1,400 yards, the most since 2012. In 2023, there was only one. Christian McCaffrey led the league last year with 1,459 rushing yards, while Barkley and Henry (1,921) destroyed that number this season.

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February 8, 2025
Trump’s cuts to foreign aid could benefit US position in Iran negotiations

President Donald Trump’s decision to cut foreign aid funding could strengthen the president’s bargaining position as he looks to contain Iran.

“I look at the USAID cutoff and the praise that the Iranians have given as part of President Trump’s negotiating skills,” EJ Kimball, director of Policy & Strategic Operations at the U.S. Israel Education Association, told Fox News Digital.

The comments come after Trump’s controversial decision to halt funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and send most of the employees of USAID packing, part of the administration’s plan to weed out what it considers wasteful government spending.

Despite the controversy, the decision has received praise from the Iranian regime, who have traditionally viewed U.S. aid to Iran as a threat to the country’s government.

IRAN’S WEAKENED POSITION COULD LEAD IT TO PURSUE NUCLEAR WEAPON, BIDEN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WARNS

Iran’s Supreme ruler Ali Khamenei, left, and President Donald Trump. (AP)

According to a report from The Associated Press on Wednesday, Trump’s move has been “lauded” in Iranian state media, who view the cuts to foreign aid as a blow to pro-democracy activists Iran believes have benefited from U.S. foreign aid.

The favorable perception of Trump’s move by Iran comes at a critical time, with Trump recently renewing the U.S.’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran and reaffirming the U.S. position that Iran can never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons.

While Trump has used harsh rhetoric on Iran in recent days, including a vow to “obliterate” the country if it successfully carries out an alleged plot to assassinate him, the president has also urged the regime to begin negotiating for a “nuclear peace agreement” with the United States.

“I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon. Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to blow Iran into smithereens ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED,” Trump wrote in a post on social media Wednesday.

President Donald Trump arrives at an election night watch party at the Palm Beach Convention Center on Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Evan Vucci/AP)

TRUMP’S LATEST HIRES AND FIRES RANKLE IRAN HAWKS AS NEW PRESIDENT SUGGESTS NUCLEAR DEAL

Kimball believes Trump can use the cuts to foreign aid as a bargaining chip in those potential negotiations, noting the president could change his mind and resume the funding if the Iranians fail to reach an acceptable deal.

“I would say that he’s teasing the Iranians at the moment, knowing that really at any moment’s notice, he could immediately turn back on the spigot of funding to the opposition groups if he doesn’t feel like they’re acquiescing to his demands or negotiation,” Kimball said.

“It seems to me that he’s got a carrot-and-stick approach with the Iranian regime, and pausing funding for regime critics, teasing a deal, but also threatening sanctions, and talking to Israel about a military strike and how Iran will not get nuclear weapons is part of his master negotiating skills to keep his opponents off balance,” Kimball added.

A big banner depicting Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is placed next to a ballistic missile in Baharestan Square in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 26, 2024. (Photo by Hossein Beris / Middle East Images / Middle East Images via AFP)

In the end, Kimball believes Trump’s ultimate goal is to cut a deal that would eliminate Iran’s nuclear program without putting U.S. service members in harm’s way in another overseas conflict.

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“It’s been very clear he does not want to send U.S. troops to war, but he’s also not going to be soft about it and allow the taking of a bad deal to avoid war,” Kimball said. “The end goal for President Trump is a deal that removes the threat that Iran poses to the United States, to Israel, to the region, and really to the entire world, not just in their nuclear program, but in their ballistic missile development and delivery systems to ensure that Iran can be great again.”

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 8, 2025
Trump begins second term in stronger position than the first: poll

President Donald Trump is kicking off his second tour of duty in the White House in a stronger polling position than during the start of his first administration eight years ago, a new national poll indicates.

Forty-six percent of voters say they approve of the job the Republican president is doing so far, with 43% disapproving, according to a Quinnipiac University survey released on Wednesday.

The poll was conducted Jan. 23-27, during Trump’s first week back in the White House following his Jan. 20th inauguration.

The president’s approval rating is an improvement from Quinnipiac polling in late January 2017 – as Trump began his first term in office – when he stood at 36% approval and 44% disapproval.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING SHOWS

President Donald Trump pauses while speaking before signing the Laken Riley Act in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The survey indicates a predictable huge partisan divide over the GOP president.

“Republicans 86-4 percent approve of the job Trump is doing, while Democrats 86-8 percent disapprove,” the poll’s release highlights. “Among independents, 41 percent approve, while 46 percent disapprove and 13 percent did not offer an opinion.”

While Trump’s first approval rating for his second term is a major improvement from his first term, his rating is below the standing of his predecessor, former President Biden, in the first Quinnipiac poll from his single term in office.

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Biden stood at 49%-36% approval at the start of February 2021.

His approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. But Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, in the wake of his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan, and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

Then-President Joe Biden speaks about his administration accomplishments, on Dec. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Biden’s approval ratings stayed underwater throughout the rest of his presidency.

Trump has kept up a frenetic pace during his first week and a half in office, with an avalanche of executive orders and actions. His moves not only fulfilled some of his major campaign trail promises, but also allowed the returning president to flex his executive muscles, quickly put his stamp on the federal government, and also settle some longstanding grievances.

“In our first week in office, we set records, taking over 350 executive actions,” Trump touted on Wednesday. “That’s not been done before, and it has reportedly been the single most effective opening week of any presidency in history.”

TRUMP MOVING AT ‘WARP SPEED’ DURING HIS FIRST DAYS BACK IN OFFICE

According to the new poll, six in ten approve of Trump’s order sending U.S. troops to the southern border to enhance security.

“The huge deployment of boots on the ground is not to a dicey, far away war theater, but to the American border. And a majority of voters are just fine with that,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.

The poll indicates 44% support deporting all undocumented immigrants, while 39% back deporting only those convicted of violent crimes.

President Donald Trump reviews the troops during his Inauguration ceremony in Emancipation Hall of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Greg Nash/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the survey, 57% disapprove of Trump’s pardoning or commuting the sentences of more than 1,500 people convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters aiming to upend congressional certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Meanwhile, by a two-to-one margin, those questioned gave a thumbs down to Biden’s issuing of preemptive pardons – in his final hours in office – for five members of his family who haven’t been charged with any crimes. Voters were divided on Biden’s preemptive pardons for politicians and government officials who Trump had targeted for retaliation.

The poll also indicates that 53% disapprove of Elon Musk – the world’s richest person – enjoying a prominent role in the new Trump administration, with 39% approving.

Elon Musk is welcomed to the stage by then-President-elect Donald Trump at a rally in the nation’s capital on the eve of Trump’s second inauguration, on Jan. 19, 2025 in Washington D.C. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Democrats lost control of the White House and the Senate majority and failed to win back control of the House in November’s elections. And the new poll spells more trouble for them.

Only 31% of respondents had a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, with 57% seeing the party in an unfavorable light.

“This is the highest percentage of voters having an unfavorable opinion of the Democratic Party since the Quinnipiac University Poll began asking this question,” the survey’s release noted.

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Meanwhile, the 43% of those questioned had a favorable view of the GOP, with 45% holding an unfavorable opinion, which was the highest favorable opinion for the Republican Party ever in Quinnipiac polling.

Quinnipiac questioned 1019 self-identified registered voters nationwide. The survey’s overall sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

January 29, 2025