00:00And so we have Double A Durbin making errors and not getting hits.
00:04And I hope people are paying attention.
00:06He is 0 for 12.
00:08I'm not exaggerating.
00:09He does not have a hit yet.
00:10He's not the only one, Fitzy.
00:12The lineup has not been great.
00:14Other than Abreu, who has taken the momentum of the WBC and run with it,
00:19Roman Anthony has had some ups and downs, including his issues with the ABS.
00:23And we'll get to that a little bit later because we do need to dive into that.
00:28And then you mentioned Suarez, bad spring.
00:31And we've seen sort of both sides of the spring training pitching coin, right?
00:36We saw Crochet, who took a bad spring and came out and did exactly what he's supposed to do
00:40and get the win on opening day.
00:42And then we saw Connelly Early do what he was supposed to do and take a good spring
00:46and carry it into yesterday.
00:48He was fine yesterday.
00:49If everybody did their job as well as Connelly Early yesterday, you win that ballgame.
00:53Oh, you know who didn't do their job?
00:55The same guy that I harped on last year who was always terrible when he didn't come in.
00:59And I think Dan Ball probably has somewhere in the back of his brilliant sports mind stats
01:03or at least emotions that will back me up on this.
01:05Nobody last year came in with a clean frame and pitch better,
01:09yet nobody came in with a dirty frame and pitch worse than Greg Weissert.
01:13You never, ever bring him in with dirty bases.
01:16And after Connelly Early pitched so damn well in his 2026 debut,
01:20in comes the hero of Team Italia who struck out Aaron Judge in the WBC,
01:25Greg Weissert, to serve up a nice pasta with a right big old meatball down the middle.
01:31Yeah, unfortunately, I believe Weissert is Italian for letting inherited runners score.
01:35So that's, we kind of got to the bottom of that one this weekend.
01:38I love the 978.
01:40I was waiting for this.
01:41I knew it would come.
01:42It's been three effing baseball games.
01:44You guys have no clue.
01:46Yeah, I do have a clue.
01:47I'm watching.
01:47I'm seeing some, because we also had a texter that said the word heart is predictable.
01:52This was predictable, the way they're playing baseball.
01:55And I don't know what you can pick and choose that, too.
01:58Like, some things have been good.
01:59We all predicted, I think, Abreu to win MVP of this team.
02:03So far, we look like we know what the hell we are talking about.
02:06And we also have some questions about the closer, Suarez.
02:10So we're going to live on the ebbs and flows of the first week plus of the season.
02:14But Fitzy, speaking of playing radio, as I did earlier, that got everybody all fired up about Tatum and Brown.
02:213-2 loss, 6-5 loss, 3-0 win, which was really 1-0 until you were very fortunate to
02:28tack on a couple insurance runs.
02:31So basically, they're like one play away from being 3-0 or two plays away and like one play away
02:38from being 0-3.
02:39And I guess this is probably the life we're going to have to get used to.
02:43Like, this is the baseball team we signed up for, I think, for this year.
02:46Close games, questionable hitting, lean on your pitching, hope you can occasionally get a timely hit, something they did not
02:53get.
02:54Oh, what did they leave? 30 guys on base this weekend?
02:5630 guys on base.
02:57Yeah, you can blame whoever you want.
03:00Weisert, ABS, Durbin, you know, any, Cora's management, whatever.
03:06You can't leave 30 guys on base in a series against a team that has also offensively challenged themselves
03:14and anticipate that you're going to get more than two, let alone probably the one win you kind of deserved.
03:20Yes, Dambo?
03:21I just wanted to throw in, compared to last year when the Red Sox started 6-17 in one-run
03:26games,
03:27this is predictable when you compare that stat to last year so far.
03:30So let's go with, though, the team, the way they're built.
03:34So that's the team, one-run games.
03:36We're going to be in a lot of one-run games.
03:37So we're going to be pitching and defense, and I feel like what goes with that is base running.
03:42So we're already critical of some of the defense that we've seen.
03:46I watched an inning yesterday where I saw Jaron Duran on first base.
03:52Then Jaron Duran was like, hey, I'm going to look down for, oh, boy, that guy's got the ball.
03:57I'm out.
03:57That was awful.
03:59Inexcusable.
04:00And there was a hit right after.
04:01I think Contreras got a hit right after.
04:03They ended up with two guys on base.
04:05Duran would have scored.
04:07Like, they're making mistakes.
04:09Like, it's not just, you know, early in the year you can't hit.
04:12Okay, that happens, right?
04:13You know, it takes a while to catch up, who's ahead of who, blah, blah, blah.
04:17But a team that's supposed to be built around pitching, defense, and base running has had.
04:24All three things where you have to be tuned in and have a high baseball IQ, yes.
04:28Right.
04:29Are they living up to that?
04:31Because the no timely hitting, I feel like we kind of have to accept.
04:35I feel like we were kind of accepting of that heading into the season.
04:38Like, there's going to be some games where this team struggles to score runs, right?
04:41They're not going to be an offensive powerhouse.
04:43They're not going to mash the ball, hit it out of the ballpark.
04:46We're probably going to get frustrated at times.
04:48But we're already frustrated with the bullpen.
04:51We're frustrated with the third baseman.
04:52We're frustrated with base running.
04:54Like, I don't know.
04:56I didn't necessarily have those circled as early season frustrations right out the gates.
05:00Yeah, but did we also, I mean, did we think that they were going to go to Cincinnati
05:03and leave with seven home runs and a couple of double-digit victories?
05:07No, but a couple more hits would have been nice.
05:09And I could have also not used.
05:11So they went to extra innings, and they did show some fight, come back.
05:14Actually, I shouldn't say show fight.
05:15That's just Abreu.
05:16Abreu has been fighting to do his job all weekend.
05:19He's the only power hitter on the team.
05:20He's the guy that's actually going to live up to that possible 30-plus home run potential.
05:24Williard Abreu has been, again, but he was their hottest hitter to start last season as well.
05:28And they did strike out 15 times when Williard Abreu got to extra innings.
05:3215 times.
05:33And I know there was a little extra baseball, but that's still a large number to strike out.
05:38A lot of punch out of.
05:4015 times.
05:42And I feel like they can't do that.
05:44I don't, like, if you struggle to have timely hitting, put the ball in play.
05:48This is a long way of saying, I don't know if it's predictable, but they've already been frustrating.
05:52Through three games, they've been frustrating as we've started to get a feel for who this team is in the
05:57regular season.
05:58So what, I mean, and it's also predictable to take out our frustrations collectively on a guy like Durbin,
06:04who we had our questions about in the first place, who goes 0 for 12 and looks at a wee
06:09spot overmatched.
06:10What's the one thing you're most surprised?
06:12Oh, you said wee.
06:13That was a little shot at his height, wasn't it?
06:15Oh, he's a wee overmatched up there.
06:17Oh, why did it have to be a little shot?
06:18A little shot.
06:18I see what you did there.
06:20I see you're like, you're no better than Jones and Keefe taking pot shots at him.
06:24But what was the thing you left most frustrated by, most surprised by?
06:28I mean, we knew they were going to be a little offensively challenged.
06:30We talked Friday about their win in game one, Thursday, that it was the blueprint, the formula, the recipe.
06:37Good pitching, decent defense, strong bullpen, and a couple of timely hits.
06:41Yeah, well, when one of those pieces of the machinery goes haywire on you, you're cooked.
06:47But I think for me, honestly, the biggest singular play frustration were the two.
06:51The Duran getting picked off, I believe it was a right-handed pitcher, too, which I don't love.
06:56For a guy who I'm counting on to have a big year, be a spark plug for the offense, an
07:00offense that doesn't have a lot of spark.
07:02You can't be, you know, putting out sparks by getting – and they did have it.
07:06Contreras walked, and then there was a base hit.
07:08Abreu would have driven him in.
07:09Like, you gave up a run.
07:12And then the other one that I don't know why this stuck in my craw, and I don't know if
07:16it's fair or not.
07:17Trevor Story had one of the worst throwing errors I've ever seen.
07:20Sort of a routine ground ball that kind of ate him up.
07:23He caught it weird.
07:24And then he just threw, and it was, like, five feet short.
07:29It was just like, yeah, I really thought that was going to go further when it left my hand.
07:34And I think some of it for me was in juxtaposition to De La Cruz, who throws absolute darts to
07:41first base.
07:42Yeah.
07:42And I can deal with us talking about Trevor Story not reaching first base in September because he's old and
07:48he's worn down and he's played 152.
07:50You're not supposed to short hop a ball throw from third in March.
07:53Day three.
07:54No, no.
07:55Yeah, day three of the season.
07:57And that, for some reason, I just feel like those little things, because none of the big things have been
08:03an issue yet.
08:04Like, Chapman hasn't imploded.
08:06That's not an issue.
08:07Like, even Whitlock.
08:08I know you have an issue with Weissert, and he has an issue with himself, and that really made that
08:14game go sideways yesterday to Suarez with the three-run knock.
08:18But, you know, there's little nagging things so far.
08:22And I think, for me, the biggest frustration is just I do think they could be 3-0.
08:26And if they were 3-0, we would be, you know, probably over our skis.
08:31We'd be talking about vibes and how many humps at second base and are they going to hump in the
08:35World Series.
08:36And we'd be doing all these various things, and instead we've got a one-and-two baseball team looking to
08:43get back to 500 before we have to ask the tough questions of the manager tomorrow.
08:46Hey, are we also – so we paid our respects to a really good start, good first start from Connelly
08:52early.
08:53Fired up for this guy.
08:54He's a real pitcher.
08:56Should he have gone back out there?
08:5888 pitches?
09:00Especially in line with your Weissert thing?
09:03My Weissert thing?
09:04We all have to wear that.
09:06We all have to own that as long as he's on this team.
09:08Sorry.
09:09He's not – he is about as far from – what's the reverse of my guy?
09:13Not my guy.
09:15Okay.
09:15He's a not my guy.
09:16It's catchy.
09:17Wow.
09:17Nailed it.
09:19Wow.
09:20No, I just – we've talked –
09:22That'll be trending momentarily.
09:23No, no, no.
09:24Should – 88 pitches is a lot for a first inning of the season.
09:26Whoa, whoa.
09:27Sorry to interrupt.
09:28A no-bro.
09:28Did you say that on air?
09:30Yes.
09:30No, I didn't.
09:31A no-bro.
09:32Yeah, a no-bro.
09:32No-bro.
09:33He's right at the top of the no-bros.
09:35No-bro list for Fitzy.
09:37Okay, so Greg Weissert is no-bro numero uno.
09:40A hundred percent.
09:41Sorry.
09:42Probably a lovely man.
09:43No, thanks.
09:45No, you don't put an early out beyond that.
09:47You just don't bring in the – you don't bring in Dr. Dirty for him.
09:49You don't.
09:50Don't bring in Weissert.
09:51That's the worst spot for him to come in and do what he does.
09:54Yeah, I would not have brought early back out.
09:56To me, early in the season – no pun intended – 88 pitches, a young pitcher.
10:02I didn't even know this.
10:03Did you guys read how impressive it is that he's the youngest pitcher
10:10or first pitcher since Jeff Sellers in 1988 for the Red Sox
10:14to start one of the first three games of the season at his age?
10:17Like, this is, you know, 50 years or 40 years of young guy on the mound,
10:23first series, and he pitched really well.
10:25You know what we should do?
10:26Let him go home feeling really good about himself,
10:29looking forward to the next start, right?
10:31Like, don't allow something to happen to, what, squeeze a few more pitches out of him?
10:36I don't like it.
10:36Wait, I don't understand this line of thinking here.
10:40We're blaming what Weissert did on early in this particular instance?
10:43No, no, no.
10:44I'm not blaming early at all.
10:45I'm blaming the manager for putting early back out there.
10:47He put a guy on base and then struck a guy out.
10:50What's the harm?
10:51Because it ends with him giving up a run and they lose and feeling bad,
10:55and it plays into Fitzy's idea of that clean inning, right?
10:59A clean as opposed to giving Weissert his own inning.
11:03I see what you're saying.
11:04I see what you're saying, Andy.
11:05But at the same time, you're supposed to have guys that can come in with RISP and TCOB,
11:11and Greg Weissert is not the guy to bring in to do it.
11:13I'm surprised.
11:14How do we know this?
11:16How do we have gut feelings about this?
11:18And yet Alex continues to trot him out.
11:20Yes, I will ask him about that tomorrow.
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