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00:00Things are flowing for the Red Sox right now. How are we feeling?
00:02Feeling good, feeling good. Playing good baseball.
00:07We've been talking about pitching the whole time.
00:10When you see what Gio has done over the last five, Bayo, same deal.
00:17Walker had a good one in Washington, and obviously Crochet has been amazing.
00:21I always said if we pitch, we're going to have a shot, and we've been doing that for a while.
00:25We were joking earlier that at times this season, your job has seemed hard.
00:30When a starting pitcher is getting pulled in the first inning, or you're losing one-run games, making mistakes.
00:36Lineup changes.
00:37Lineup changes. Lately, well, there's still lineup changes, but lately it's like...
00:40There's lineup changes.
00:42But when your starting pitcher goes six innings, and you're averaging like eight and a half, nine runs a game,
00:46your job tends to settle in a little bit, huh?
00:49Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a lot easier.
00:51And at the end of the day, that's what you want.
00:53I joke around with them before the game, just keep me out of the game.
00:57I don't want to make any decisions.
00:59Just pitch, play good defense, hit, let's get that seven-run lead,
01:04and then we can smile in the dugout and think about tomorrow.
01:07But it hasn't been that way the whole season.
01:10Alex, I brought up the lineup changes because you have 74 lineup changes in 93 games.
01:14So I don't know if that's typical or if that's normal, but it just seemed like a lot.
01:18So that's why I brought that.
01:19But let's talk about Brian Baio.
01:23Clearly, the kid's kind of locked in right now.
01:26You know, six quality starts in the last two games, incredible, a complete game.
01:32What have you seen from him that is impressing you right now about that kid?
01:36Command. Command has been on point the last five.
01:39That's something that we didn't have early in the season.
01:42That was the reason he wasn't being efficient.
01:45You know, he was going five innings with 100 pitches, four and two-thirds, 100 pitches.
01:50He will get ahead and not put guys away, and that's been different the last two.
01:56The one in Cincinnati when he came in, against Cincinnati when he came in in the fourth,
02:01you know, after the suspended game and took us to the eighth.
02:04And then yesterday, I think the first 14 pitches of the game were strikes, you know, quality strikes.
02:10And the sinker was good.
02:11The changeup was better.
02:13The cutter has, you know, become a weapon for him.
02:17And he's a strong individual.
02:19He is, you know.
02:19He works hard in between starts to try to go as deep as possible.
02:24And yesterday, he had a lot in the tank late in the game.
02:27Alex, we all knew that Roman Anthony was a big boy, but his evolution into a bad man at the plate has been almost, I think,
02:35even quicker than a lot of us believe.
02:37Did you ever see him – are you amazed watching him put it all together this quickly?
02:42And how has his recent success at the plate helped the lineup?
02:45No, obviously getting hits helps, but I think the process and the quality of the at-bat has been there since day one.
02:53The kid, he controls the strikes on.
02:55He hits the ball hard.
02:56He doesn't deviate from his plan.
02:58And kind of like Merrill last year in San Diego, right?
03:02Like, he – you know, they took him to overseas in the opening series.
03:07I think it was Japan.
03:08And they didn't expect him to be part of the roster.
03:11And all of a sudden, he became a force for them.
03:13This kid is becoming a force for us.
03:15And, you know, I was kind of like stupid of pinch hitting against – pinch hitting him in his first big league start.
03:22We're not doing that anymore.
03:24Now he's hitting second.
03:25He's hitting third.
03:26He's playing good defense in right field.
03:29Tonight he's going to play left field.
03:31And, you know, we're going to keep challenging him.
03:34You know, he's a big part of what we're trying to accomplish now and in the future.
03:38And we're very happy with the progress.
03:39Red Sox manager Alex Cora here with us in WEI Afternoons.
03:42You reference Roman playing left field.
03:45And you know how things grow in Boston.
03:48As soon as video of him taking balls off the wall hits social media, it's like, oh, what about Jaron Duran?
03:53Are they trading Jaron Duran?
03:54Jaron Duran's been moved around the lineup.
03:56What is Jaron Duran's role with this team right now?
03:58He's an everyday player that we're going to ask him to play in different positions.
04:02And we're going to hit him in different spots in the lineup.
04:04We'll do the same thing with Willie.
04:06Do the same thing with Sedan.
04:08Most likely Roman will play every day.
04:10You know, obviously he'll need days off.
04:13And we'll ask the same thing to Yoshida, for Yoshida.
04:16Like, tonight, we're going to give Sedan the day off.
04:19You know, we're going to play four against Tampa.
04:22And it was a long weekend in Washington in the first two years.
04:25So give him a blow today.
04:28JD's going to play center.
04:29Willie's going to play right.
04:30Rome is going to play first.
04:32Ham is going to play second.
04:34Marcelo third.
04:35Trevor at short.
04:36And Narvaez is going to be behind the plate.
04:38So we'll keep moving, guys.
04:40And I think that's the – it's not a problem, to be honest with you.
04:44It's actually a luxury.
04:45At one point, one of the lefties is not going to start against a right-handed starter,
04:50which is tough to, you know, ride that lineup without those guys.
04:55But at the same time, we're going to have weapons off the bench, you know,
04:59late in the games.
05:00We bring ref – let's say there's a situation, there's a lefty on the mound.
05:05We send ref up there to pinch hit for somebody.
05:07They bring the righty.
05:08And we got Willie or Jaron or Maza to pinch hit in that spot.
05:12So, well, now we've got to start managing now.
05:16You're talking luxuries.
05:17I mean, Romy Gonzalez, who – I mean, I bludgeoned you to death with first-base questions
05:21earlier in the year.
05:22And that was kind of the guy that you had tagged for that position.
05:26But he clearly plays a lot of different positions.
05:28But he's crushing the ball.
05:29I mean, he's got a .338, you know, average right now.
05:34Just talk about Romy Gonzalez and how he's been for you this year.
05:37Yeah, it's a good player.
05:39We got lucky there.
05:41The White Sox put him on waivers before the 24th season.
05:46He had a big shoulder surgery.
05:50We claim him.
05:51And, you know, since day one here, he's impressed us with the work ethic,
05:56the baseball IQ, and the physicality.
05:59You know, this is a strong kid.
06:01He's getting better, you know.
06:03And I think Ref has done an amazing job with him, kind of like taking him under his wing
06:07and kind of like talking to him about attacking lefties and the role and all that stuff.
06:12And he's been great.
06:14Today he's playing against the righty.
06:15He's playing first base, you know, to stay away from Toro for tonight,
06:20just to give him a blow to.
06:21But he's a guy that he can play the outfield.
06:23He can play second.
06:24He can play first.
06:25He hits lefties and righties.
06:27He's a good base runner.
06:28I mean, we're very, very happy that he's with us.
06:31Mikey Lowe in the house right here.
06:33By the way, Mike Lowe over there.
06:34Oh, it is.
06:34Hey, Mike Lowe.
06:36Hey, you're looking good, Mike Lowe.
06:38Mike Lowe.
06:392007 World Series MVP Mike Lowe, I believe it says.
06:42Yeah, I'm sorry.
06:43Yeah, yeah.
06:43Put some respect on that man.
06:45Throwing out the first pitch today, Puerto Rican Heritage Night.
06:47Oh, very cool.
06:48Throwing out the first pitch.
06:49Represent.
06:49That's brilliant.
06:50Very good.
06:50Alex, just a question about, obviously, your number one starter and all-star,
06:54one of three on the team, Garrett Crochet.
06:57Still got wins in the last couple of starts, but, you know, going five innings, giving up
07:01more hits than strikeouts.
07:03Just curious if you had ever possibly given any thought to maybe, depending on how the
07:07series against the Rockies goes and how things start out against Tampa, maybe giving him a
07:11little break heading into the All-Star game as opposed to starting him against the Rays.
07:15No, no.
07:16He's going to start against the Rays.
07:18He will.
07:19But he will start Saturday instead of Friday.
07:21We're going to give him an extra day.
07:23Then I think the All-Star game, we're not sure if he's going to participate because he's
07:29pitching on Saturday.
07:31And the plan is for him to pitch the last game against the Cubs.
07:34So this is something we thought about it.
07:37We mapped it out.
07:38You know, obviously, the last few have been a grind for him, and this is the first full
07:44season as a starter for him.
07:45Last year, that wasn't a full season for him.
07:48So we have to take care of him.
07:50The schedule will help us, too, because then we get an off day after the Philly series.
07:57So he'll start against the Dodgers on Saturday, if I'm not mistaken.
08:01So we'll take advantage of the All-Star break and also the schedule to give him a breather.
08:05You touch on some things that make your job easier or luxuries.
08:08You're starting to put a handful of guys in the bullpen that can reach triple digits.
08:12Obviously, Chapman, the All-Star, but Hicks now arrives.
08:15He can hit there.
08:16One, does that make your job easier?
08:18Just feels like some teams, I remember the Rays 10 years ago, felt like every guy they
08:22brought out of the pen threw 100.
08:23And is there a shift in philosophy there organizationally to put a premium on velocity in the bullpen?
08:31We've been talking about velocity in the organization for a while here, the last two years.
08:35And that's something that late in games, you don't want the opposition to put the ball
08:39in play.
08:40That's the reality of it.
08:41And if they put it in play, you want it to be weak contact.
08:45And when you're throwing hard like Chappie, Alcala, Jordan, you know, that's what's going
08:50to happen.
08:51And, you know, we feel very comfortable with the group that we have.
08:55There's a few guys in the minor leagues that are throwing hard and getting people out that
08:58I truly believe that if something happens, they're going to be here and help us out.
09:03You saw it with Fitz as a starter.
09:05Yep.
09:05You've seen it with Dobbins as a starter.
09:07So velocity is king in this game.
09:09You throw hard.
09:10You've got a pretty good chance to get people out.
09:12And we're trying to accomplish that.
09:13I'm glad you said that.
09:14This is a little bit of a self-serving question.
09:16We went through the juice ball era.
09:18Is there any chance we're in the juice radar gun era?
09:20Because it felt like for 100 years, like five.
09:22It felt like everybody has 100.
09:24We had a conversation.
09:25Me and Ramon, our bench coach, we were sitting there the other day.
09:28It's like, you know, we play from 98 to 2011.
09:33And we were going through pitchers.
09:35And, like, how many guys threw 100?
09:38You know, Billy Wagner, he threw 100 to the bullpen.
09:41Randy Johnson wasn't consistent at 100.
09:44It felt like he was throwing 100.
09:47Billy Koch.
09:48Yeah, Billy Koch.
09:50You know, the closers.
09:51Handful.
09:51But now it's like the 13th guy in the bullpen is throwing 100, you know?
09:56So, I don't know.
09:57It's just.
09:58So, you're with me.
09:58The guns are.
10:00I don't want to say that.
10:01I don't want to say that.
10:02But, I don't know.
10:04There's something.
10:04Something stinks.
10:05Yes.
10:05And the way they.
10:07I mean, what impresses me, too, is, like, the hitters.
10:10Like, 100 for them is, like, 93 for us.
10:13Right.
10:13Like, oh, okay.
10:15Oh, he's throwing 100 with cut and ride.
10:17Like, what?
10:18He's throwing 100.
10:19I just.
10:20You know, Alex.
10:20Different era.
10:20You agreeing with him.
10:21It just gets.
10:22We'll never hear the end of it.
10:23When I'm right, I'm right.
10:24I got to ask you, you know, a couple days ago, you talked about maybe just the difference,
10:30you know, in the approach to hitting or more specifically, just not striking out as much.
10:35And, you know, you kind of use maybe.
10:37The lineup's different, clearly, now that Rafi's not in the lineup.
10:40But it also sounds like you've taken a different approach and more individualized kind of teachings
10:45before the games.
10:46What do you credit for maybe the change in hitting style, philosophy?
10:52No, I think personnel is different.
10:55That's the reality of it.
10:56The other thing, on the flight from Anaheim to Boston, we had a lot of time to think about
11:03how are we going to fix this mess, you know, offensively.
11:06And we went through a stretch there that it was really good pitching.
11:09You know, Seattle, they have a great staff.
11:12Same friend, same thing.
11:14In Anaheim, we ran into Kikushi and Anderson.
11:16They've done an amazing job.
11:18And then Barrios here.
11:20But the one-on-one meetings, just first things first, makes the player accountable.
11:26Because when you walked into the stadium, to Fenway, you've got to have an idea who's going
11:32to pitch and the stuff that he has.
11:35In a group environment, I can sit in the back and they're talking about, I don't know, Bassett.
11:43Yeah, Bassett.
11:44Cutter, sinker, breaking ball, change up.
11:48Jaren, what do you got?
11:49Well, I'm going to look for him here.
11:51And I'm going to try to shoot him to left center.
11:54I'm going to try to lay off the breaking ball.
11:56And, you know, that's going to be my approach today.
11:59And then they go, hey, Alex, what do you got?
12:01Oh, I'm right there with Jaren, you know?
12:03So you can get away with murder, right?
12:05Like, if you didn't study in a group environment, it's easy to play the part, right?
12:11And now, when you get to Fenway, you better have an idea what that guy is doing.
12:16And then the coaching staff will walk you through it, you know?
12:20They're going to attack you this way because you're not hitting this pitch right now.
12:23You've been late on this pitch or you've been out in front of breaking balls.
12:26So I expect this type of attack against you.
12:29So let's work from 4 o'clock till 6 on that approach.
12:34And then we execute in the game.
12:36And so far, so good.
12:38Alex, any update on Tanner Houck, Dobbins?
12:41He's pitching right now in AAA.
12:43Actually, he was into the fourth inning.
12:45It was fourth scoreless innings.
12:47It looked like he was throwing the ball well.
12:50Great.
12:50And if any of those guys might join the rotation or make it a crowded bullpen anytime soon?
12:56Not yet.
12:58I think, you know, bouncing back has been a challenge for him after rehab outings.
13:04So hopefully, after this one, we'll know tomorrow or the next day how he feels.
13:10Hopefully, he feels good.
13:11And as you know, he's very important for us.
13:13And we need him healthy.
13:16You know, with Dobbins, we'll see what we do.
13:17There's a good chance he'll be with us over the weekend and make a start.
13:22And the other one, who else?
13:25Alex.
13:25Yeah, Alex.
13:26Fragman.
13:26Sooner rather than later?
13:28Very sooner rather than later.
13:29Yeah.
13:30Very as in this week?
13:31There's a good chance.
13:32There's a really good chance.
13:33Yeah.
13:33Okay.
13:34And before we let you go, I don't want to ask you to look ahead.
13:36But we won't talk to you next week.
13:38You referenced All-Star break coming.
13:40What does the All-Star break look like for the manager?
13:43Yeah.
13:43So long story short, during the holidays, we were at the house.
13:51We had a party.
13:51And my best friends and their wives, they were talking.
13:55Boom, boom, boom.
13:56We're watching a Cold Plate concert.
13:59I'll see you there.
14:02Me too.
14:02And they're like, oh, whatever.
14:04That'll be great to go.
14:05And I'm like, let me take a look.
14:07And I'm like, oh, shoot.
14:08They're going to be at Gillette over the All-Star break.
14:12So the night continued.
14:16And I'm making sure all my friends are here for the week.
14:21So we got a big, I mean, actually, they start getting here Friday.
14:24They're leaving Thursday.
14:25So we're going to a concert on Wednesday.
14:28So it should be fun.
14:28Nice.
14:29It should be fun.
14:29It'll be great.
14:30Yeah, right?
14:31It'll be there.
14:31It's going to be a long week for us.
14:34You know, I mean, sometimes I regret those parties back home because we make decisions
14:39not feeling great.
14:40Let's put it that way.
14:41You a big sing-along guy, Alex?
14:43Yeah.
14:43Say what?
14:44Are you a big sing-along guy?
14:45Do you go to the concert and sing along with everyone?
14:47No, no, no.
14:49I'm more of a YouTube videos and then pull out the mics at the house and everybody joins
14:57me.
14:58That's how we do it.
14:59Nice.
15:00All right, Alex, good luck tonight and then in the Rays series.
15:03Hopefully we keep the momentum going into the All-Star break.
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