It’s been nearly a decade since New York radios blared the animated and bellowing sound of Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, but the long-time sports talk host didn’t hesitate to offer his two cents on Major League Baseball’s latest headline involving the Red Sox, Yankees, an Apple Watch, and sign-stealing.
On his MLB Network program “High Heat,” Russo chastised Boston for their “indefensible” acts of cheating against the Yankees and other teams, stating that he’s all in favor of gamesmanship, but not via the use of technology and electronics that violate baseball’s rules.
“What the Red Sox did was completely out of line,” Russo yelled on Tuesday. “They are so wrong on this, it’s mind-boggling. You don’t have guys, who are ball boys sitting there in dugouts, give signs with an Apple Watch to the baseball players to relay.
“You know what, if you’re a competitive athlete, I get the idea that you’re trying to win. But you don’t try to win this way. That’s bogus. Trying to steal a sign through electronics with some guy in the dugout? That’s garbage.”
Although the Red Sox admitted to using the Apple Watch in a previous series against the Yankees, New York Times’ reporter Michael S. Schmidt mentioned on WFAN radio Wednesday that Boston’s tactics could date back as far as July, which means other teams may have been taken advantage of as well. The Red Sox didn’t hesitate to plead guilty on the matter, but the organization has denied accusations that upper management knew of the actions occuring in the dugout and on the field.
“There’s not many examples of players looking at watches! And the Red Sox response –‘Well, the Yankees do the same thing with YES’ — is a disgrace,” Russo hollered. “If the Red Sox use their freaking noodle, they would know that the Yankees don’t even own YES! Goldman Sachs owns YES — not the Yankees!
“If anybody thinks that nobody in the Red Sox hierarchy knew this was going on, you’re nuts. They all knew. This smells at the top.”
While Russo’s stance isn’t distinct by any means, he believes MLB should hand down a harsh punishment on the Red Sox, even though Boston is expected to receive a proverbial slap on the wrist. According to Russo, Red Sox general manager Dave Dombrowski deserves some sort of suspension, while manager John Farrell and the club deserve fines. Although first round draft picks aren’t valued in baseball like they are in other sports, Russo wants Boston stripped of their 2018 first-round pick, too.
Russo’s entire rant on “High Heat” can be accessed here and in the media player above.
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