Van Pelt leads the charge; Grousbeck the new ownership king; Brutal injury issues for Sox

There are LOTS of important people that spend their days at Gillette. There’s the owner. There’s the De-Facto GM. There’s the brand new shiny Head Coach. But, there’s one other person who, to us, could be the most important man in this moment: Alex Van Pelt. 

Van Pelt certainly has had and will continue to have a large voice in the room as the Patriots decide what to do in this year’s draft. Eliot Wolf should and, very likely will, lean on Van Pelt’s knowledge of the position to guide the team’s board. Van Pelt will understand what makes each guy tick or if the guy even ticks in the first place. AVP will scrutinize each prospect’s ability to run the offense that he envisions each of them running. The Patriots' new Offensive Coordinator has also been around alphas and he’ll know one when he sees and/or talks to one.

And, if the Patriots draft a quarterback at #3, the future of this organization will not only rest on the selection, but the man who will strive to nurture that pick towards greatness. Yes, the Patriots have T.C. McCartney and Ben McAdoo in the house, but don’t get it twisted: Van Pelt would hold the most responsibility for making sure the QB is a success.

Van Pelt will be there to keep an eye on mechanics. He’ll be responsible for making sure the scheme accentuates the signal caller’s strengths, while hiding his weaknesses. AVP will have the duty of protecting the offensive line from itself if there are problems up front. He’ll have to make a gourmet meal at WR out of, currently, a room full of twos, threes, and fours. 

If Van Pelt is a failure, the offense will fail. If the offense fails, the young QB fails. Didn’t we all just witness this with the last guy?

Yes, other things also need to work for the Patriots to eventually return to contender status. But, none more important than repairing an offense that has been shattered to pieces over the last couple of years and giving all of us tangible reasons for excitement over the future at the most critical position in the sport. 

Hopefully, for all of us, Van Pelt is up to the challenge. 

The King of Kings

Over the last few years, the concern from New England fans has grown over once popular owners and their resistance to remain at or near the top of the spending mountain in their respective leagues. 

Since the departure of Tom Brady, the spending habits of Robert Kraft have been under a much larger microscope. While this space believes the owner deserves the benefit of the doubt with Bill Belichick leaving the organization after almost 25 years, we also understand the frustrations.

Meanwhile, John Henry has been justifiably raked over the coals the last few years, after the Red Sox went from regularly being spenders to pinching pennies. Look back at the World Series-winning teams and you’ll see one common denominator: A payroll that exemplified a top-10 market and a top-notch passionate fan base filling the house every night. 

Well, no longer. Sox fans have been waiting for a spending spree since Mookie Betts was sent packing in a trade that nobody will ever forget. That was more than four years ago. Tick tock, John.

So, it’s with that backdrop, that there’s a new king in town: Celtics Lead Owner and Governor Wyc Grousbeck. Ya know, once upon a time some C’s fans felt that Grousbeck was cheap. They’d tell you he was unwilling to spend. Now, after Jrue Holiday was the latest to sign a huge money deal earlier this week, it’s clear that if that ever was the case, it no longer is.

Even though Grousbeck doesn’t own TD Garden, that hasn’t stopped him from backing up the Brinks truck over the last several years. Whether it was Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum’s extension or Jaylen Brown’s record-breaking deal last offseason, the man in charge has been there to sign the check. 

But, to just give credit to Grousbeck for spending money would be falling short. One of Grousbeck’s first massive changes to the franchise was hiring Danny Ainge in 2003. He was then willing to sign off on the massive trades for Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. He took the PR risk by allowing the trade of IT for the return of the mercurial Kyrie Irving. 

And, even though Brad Stevens and Ainge had spoken about the possibility of Stevens one day running personnel, it was Grousbeck who suggested to Stevens that he should throw his name into the President Of Basketball Operations hat, when Ainge decided it was time to move on. Almost three years later that suggestion looks like a monumental stroke of genius. 

If anyone wants to be known as the best sports owner in this town, they’ll have to take it from Grousbeck, because right now he’s by far and away on top. 

MASH Unit

This space didn’t have much confidence that the Sox would be in the playoff discussion as the baseball season wore on. The official prediction was 77 wins. But, as we wrote a couple of weeks ago, we were still rooting for this ballclub to win despite all the doubts.

That’s why this writer can’t help but feel bad for what this week has brought to the clubhouse. First, it was Trevor Story once again suffering a significant injury that will cost him the rest of the season. Imagine being Story, just coming off of spring training full of hope, to be injured a week into the season. See ya next year, Trevor. What an awful grind, mentally and physically.

If that wasn’t bad enough, we then found out that Nick Pivetta was headed to the IL with a right elbow flexor strain. There’s at least some hope that Pivetta won’t miss much time. Keep those fingers crossed, because the current health status of pitching across the league hasn’t been good. 

But, wait, there’s more: Romy Gonzalez, who was supposed to help replace Story’s presence, is dealing with a wrist injury two days after his call-up. Oh, and Rafael Devers is dealing with a shoulder problem that might lead to his own IL stint according to Alex Cora. 

Yikes.