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DAN SHAUGHNESSY

The Schilling factor could not have helped the cause in Pawtucket

The days are numbered for McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, R.I., as the home of the Red Sox’ Triple A affiliate. Joe Giblin for The Boston Globe

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Picked-up pieces while strolling the beach wearing long sleeves and SPF 101 sunscreen . . .

■  It’s impossible to prove, but I will go to the grave convinced that Curt Schilling’s final gift to New England baseball was his role in driving the Pawtucket Red Sox out of Rhode Island and into the bosom of Worcester. Schill’s $75 million handout from Rhode Island for his 38 Studios venture (it went belly-up two years later) created debt, triggered lawsuits, and poisoned Rhode Island officials against any taxpayer assistance when the PawSox came calling.

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Ken Block, a taxpayer watchdog and former Rhode Island gubernatorial candidate, told Providence’s NBC 10 News, “You get burned once, OK, but you get burned a second time, it’s on you . . . The really awful part of 38 Studios — we’ve had three governors, we’ve had two speakers, we’ve had two Senate presidents, none of whom have done anything to bring closure to 38 Studios. It’s no wonder that taxpayers feel burned by it and they just have no appetite to go down this road again.’’

Nice legacy. The Bloody Sock, and soon the sounds of silence at McCoy Stadium. A half-century of Rhode Island hardball history down the tubes.

■  It’s great that Chris Sale loves his team and his teammates, but can we all pump the brakes on these Red Sox until they actually win a playoff series for the first time in five years?

Sale on Saturday said, “I’m on the best team that ever walked the planet.’’

Swell. Here are some teams that have won a playoff series since the last time the “best team ever” beat anybody in October: Royals, Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles, Indians, Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Cardinals.

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■  David Price was in a frisky mood after stuffing the Rays Saturday night,. When Price was asked about the “pressure” of picking up the slack for Sale, he said, “I’m making, what, $32 million? I’ve got enough pressure on me.’’ Price also said he was pleased “to be able to get back to being the pitcher that Boston signed,’’ adding, “It’s about time.’’ Amen to that.

■  Dave Dombrowski gets high marks for picking up Nathan Eovaldi, Steve Pearce, and Ian Kinsler. All three should help in the playoffs. The Kinsler acquisition is going to go down as sheer genius before this season is over.

■  In a town that can be tough on underachievers, has any player ever received more local love than Jackie Bradley Jr.? Bradley is closer to being Paul Blair than Reggie Smith or Fred Lynn, but his highlight reel of catches makes him a Fenway favorite.

■  QUIZ: Name the four lefthanded pitchers who appeared in at least 1,000 major league games (hint: three at one time pitched for the Mets). Answer below.

■  Headline in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on the day after the NBA schedule was released: “Lonzo Ball and Lakers at the Q on Nov. 21.’’ Haha. The sub-headline read, “Former Cav James also expected to play.’’

■  What Could Possibly Go Wrong Dept.: Folks at Bud Light are promising Browns fans free beer when (and if) the Browns win their first regular-season game since Dec. 24, 2016. The plan is to have padlocked Victory Fridges — stocked with Bud Lights — stationed inside the Browns stadium and at Cleveland-area bars. When the Browns finally win, the smart-technology fridges will automatically unlock. “We’re finalizing details,’’ a Browns senior manager told USA Today.

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■  Jack Morris, who pitched his entire career in the American League, is the first Hall of Fame hurler who never faced a regular-season lineup in which a pitcher batted.

■  Bay area fans had a great time when Barry Bonds’s No. 25 was retired at AT&T Park Aug. 11. Willie Mays delivered a powerful speech and there were videoboard messages from the likes of Eric Gagne, Steph Curry, and Tom Brady. Brady, who attended the same high school as Bonds, was heartily booed.

Willie Mays (left) turned out with other Giants greats for Barry Bonds Day. At rear are also Will Clark and Kirk Rueter. Seated are Willie McCovey and Juan Marichal.JOHN G MABANGLO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

■  Speaking of Patriot hate, the College of the Holy Cross will award an honorary degree to alumnus Theodore “Ted” Wells during a campus celebration of the 50th anniversary of the school’s Black Student Union on Nov. 9. Wells was co-founder and former president of the BSU at HC, where he matriculated with former Miami Dolphin Eddie Jenkins and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Theodore’s senior thesis at HC has come to be known as “The Wells Report.’’

■  Ever seen the movie “Gimme Shelter,” which chronicles the Rolling Stones’ disastrous free concert at Altamont Raceway in 1969? Concert-goer Meredith Hunter was killed during the show by Hells Angels who had been hired as security. Proving yet again that everything and everyone has a connection to the Red Sox, we learn on Page 157 of Joel Selvin’s “Altamont” that Hunter’s high school truant officer was none other than Elijah “Pumpsie” Green — the first black player in the history of the Boston Red Sox.

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■  Look up QAnon if you want to know where Schill’s head is at these days. According to the Washington Post, Schilling and Roseanne Barr are “among QAnon’s promoters.”

■  The late great Aretha Franklin sang the national anthem before the Lions’ annual Thanksgiving game in 2016.

■ A generation of young people who never heard of Phil Esposito, Bobby Hull, or Stan Mikita came to know Mikita’s name in 1992 with the premiere of “Wayne’s World.’’ In the film, characters played by Mike Myers and Dana Carvey hang out at an Aurora, Ill., diner named “Stan Mikita’s Donuts.’’ Hockey Hall of Famer Mikita died Aug. 7.

■  The Celtics Cow — the life-size bovine replica that was part of Boston’s Cow Parade in 2006 (adorned in a Celtic uniform signed by members of the 2006 Green Team) — has found a new home at 106 Union Wharf, in the lobby of Regan Communications. The Cow was previously housed at the Celtics’ corporate offices and later at the New England Sports Museum.

■  Notre Dame football’s Subway Alumni are alive and well. ND plays Syracuse Nov. 17 at Yankee Stadium, and the Irish will wear Yankees-inspired uniforms featuring pinstripe helmet decals, plus pinstripes across uniform sleeves, pants, gloves, and shoes.

■  After the Mets lost to the Nationals, 25-4, at the end of July, the New York Daily News was inspired to find the most lopsided losses for every New York franchise. You’ll be happy to learn that the Jets’ worst loss was a 56-3 shellacking at the hands of Steve Grogan and the Patriots in 1979. That also happened to be the day that late great Globe columnist Will McDonough decked Patriots defensive back Raymond Clayborn in the locker room.

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■ I have read “Belichick — The Making of the Greatest Football Coach of All Time” by Ian O’Connor, and it is spectacular. It comes out Sept. 25, but you can pre-order on Amazon.

■ QUIZ ANSWER: Dan Plesac, Jesse Orosco, Mike Stanton, John Franco.


Dan Shaughnessy can be reached at dshaughnessy@globe.com