Carroll’s Column: “Juan Soto Watch”

All eyes will continue to be on Juan Soto until the former LatinoMVP signs his free agency deal - Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports

NEW YORK, NY — “Juan Soto Watch” has officially been thrown in full-gear this month with the superstar’s free agency sweepstakes more than likely bound to come to an ultimate end before the New Year. 

The Major League Baseball winter meetings will take place in Dallas, Texas starting next Monday, December 9th. The top storyline, obviously, will be the future of 26-year-old outfielder Juan Soto, who had his typical stellar year playing for the Yankees last season.     

Soto is represented by agent-to-the-stars Scott Boras. You can be sure he will enjoy holding court for the media in between negotiations with team owners at the Anatole Hilton, the site of the winter meetings,      

My suggestion is to tune out the noise on sports talk radio, local sports TV shows such as SNY’s “Baseball Night in New York” and “Sportsnite,” and the obligatory swirling rumors on social media. Even the best baseball reporters can get played. Last year, one of the best in the business, Jon Heyman, infamously reported the San Francisco Giants were about to sign Aaron Judge. As we all know, the Yankees captain decided to remain in the Bronx.      

If I had to venture a guess, and I have zero “insider knowledge,” the Yankees would appear to be the landing spot for Soto and Boras. While they may not have Mets owner Steve Cohen’s resources, the Steinbrenner family will not need a Go Fund Me page to land Soto. The team went to the World Series in 2024. Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have a very symbiotic relationship.      

What about the Mets then? Yes, Soto could opt to cross the RFK Bridge to come to Citi Field. Scott Boras, knowing Steve Cohen is an avid art collector, has called his client the Picasso of this year’s free agent class as a way of appealing to him. There have been unsubstantiated reports that Cohen told Boras he would pay $50 million more than the best offer from any other team owner.      

The $50 million over best offer story sounds apocryphal. Steve Cohen may be wealthy, but he does not want to get played. Cohen was at an indoor golf event in New York City last week, and of course, was asked about Soto. “We’ll see,” was his response.     

Cohen may have been showing a poker face, or he may not be as obsessed with Soto as Mets fans would like to believe. There is also the question of whether Cohen wants to go to war with Hal Steinbrenner. Cohen faced significant opposition from many team MLB owners who feared he would raise their payrolls exponentially because of his resources, Hal Steinbrenner went to bat (full pun intended) for Steve Cohen and helped him win that vote. It would be hard to blame Cohen if he does not want to appear ungrateful to Steinbrenner by poaching Juan Soto. The fact they share a city means they may need to have each other’s backs with state and city officials sometime in the future.     

No matter which team wins the Soto lottery, it is pitching which wins games. Both of our local teams currently have deficiencies in that area.

Remembering and Paying Tribute to Lou Carnesecca

It is a shame legendary St. John’s University men’s basketball head coach Lou Carnesecca died just short of his 100th birthday. Our paths crossed a few times, but I did not know him very well. I always admired the fact he was always willing to talk to anyone who approached him. He was a true man of the people. 

Surprisingly, few of the stories written about him after his passing, discussed how he was the head coach of the New York Nets of the American Basketball Association in the early 1970s. His willingness to coach the ABA team, which was playing at the Island Garden in West Hempstead gave the new fledgling hoops league much needed credibility. 

End of an Era for ESPN’s “Around the Horn”

It will be the end of an era this summer, as ESPN’s 5PM show, “Around the Horn,” will be signing off after twenty years. The show, which is hosted by amiable Fordham alum Tony Reali, pits four sportswriters from various parts of the country, bloviate on the sports topics du jour. Reali determines the winner by doling out points to those whose opinions lineup with his, or who say something clever. “Around the Horn” raised the profile of many sports columnists around the country such as Woody Paige, Tim Cowlishaw, Bill Plaschke, and New York’s own Frank Isola.      

Georgia defeats Georgia Tech in 8OT Classic

As expected, the University of Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the annual Black Friday night football game for Peach State superiority. What was not expected was that the game would be the longest game in college football history, as the Bulldogs needed eight overtime periods to subdue the Yellow Jackets, 44-42.      

The game was televised on ABC. That meant the 11 PM newscasts in the Eastern Time Zone ABC owned and affiliated stations did not begin until after midnight. It is safe to say those news teams will not be fondly recalling this epic game.      

Thanksgiving Football

The Thanksgiving Day Cowboys-Giants game was not awful, but it was not as close as the 27-20 score, in favor of Dallas, would indicate. Cowboys QB Cooper Rush and his Giants counterpart, Drew Lock, both displayed why they are understudies in the NFL. This was the fifteenth Giants loss to the Cowboys in their last sixteen meetings. 

The most memorable game of the day, however, was that between the Bears-Lions. In the first half, the Lions, to the surprise of very few, built a 16-0 lead. It should have been even larger had the Lions not fumbled the ball as they were driving for a touchdown just before the end of the first half.    

The Bears made a nice comeback in the second half, and appeared to be on their way to tying the game up as the fourth quarter was winding down. Bears QB Caleb Williams failed to get his team back to the line of scrimmage with 32 seconds left in the game, and neither he, nor Bears head coach Matt Eberflus, called a timeout. The clock went down to zero, and the Lions prevailed, 23-20. The Bears fired Eberflus the next day. The lesson is if you are going to commit football malpractice, don’t do it during a nationally televised game.      

Cinco De-Five-Oh on WFAN

Shaun Morash, who is part of WFAN’s “Evan & Tiki” afternoon drivetime show, has a daily 5 PM bit, where he creates a daily top five list on both sports and non-sports subjects.

In that spirit, here is my top five list of holiday recordings. 5) “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” by the Pretenders 4) “Blue Christmas” by Elvis Presley 3) “Please Come Home for Christmas” by the Eagles 2) “Christmas (Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love 1) “This Christmas” by Donny Hathaway. Honorable mentions to Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass for “My Favorite Things” which kicked off their 1968 holiday album; the Whirling Dervishes’ “Mr. Grinch,”; and Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song.”

No CBS broadcast for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Although it was a perennial ratings also-ran to NBC’s “Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade,” CBS had been broadcasting Thanksgiving Day parades for over seventy years.

In a surprisingly underreported story, CBS opted to not cover any of the nation’s parades this past Thursday. No official explanation was given.

“The Agency” available on Paramount Plus

Richard Gere has long been one of America’s best-known movie stars. He is making his television debut in Showtime’s CIA espionage series, “The Agency.” Gere has more of a supporting role, as the two leads are Michael Fassbender and Jeffrey Wright. “The Agency” can also be streamed on Paramount Plus’ premium service.

You can read more of Lloyd Carroll’s columns posted weekly on The Queens Chronicle.