- 8 minutes ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Alex, how we doing?
00:02Doing good, doing good. How are you guys doing?
00:04We're good. It's good to have baseball season back,
00:08especially for those of us that do a daily talk radio show in the city of Boston.
00:14Unfortunately, probably haven't gotten off to the start you've wanted here at 1-3,
00:18and I wanted to sort of start there with your newcomers that have struggled a little bit,
00:22both pitchers and batters, guys you brought in in the offseason,
00:26have been a little disappointing through the first four games.
00:29Is that normal? Do you see guys try to do too much when they're in a new city?
00:33What are your thoughts on the newcomers' struggles?
00:37It's four games, so it's just part of the season.
00:41I think when you struggle, it's a 20-game sample size, 25-game sample size,
00:47but you can go 0 for 12 during the season.
00:50You can give up four runs and four innings during the season.
00:53That's going to happen.
00:54I think it just gets magnified because it's the opening week,
01:00and the numbers are kind of like if you're 5 for 10, you're hitting 500.
01:05If you're 0 for 12, you're hitting 0, right?
01:08So I think it's part of 162.
01:12It just happens that they haven't produced in the first four games of the season.
01:16Alex, since we haven't had a chance to talk to you in a little while,
01:18I just wanted to get your feelings on the WBC
01:22and if you thought it had any effect on Major League Baseball overall
01:26in a positive or negative capacity
01:28and how it may have affected your team heading into such a big year.
01:34No, I mean, I think for the sport, it was amazing.
01:38We are in a great place right now as a sport.
01:40I mean, you can see, you know, the balance in the league
01:44and the young talent, right?
01:46You know, this weekend, you know, a lot of young kids coming here
01:51and making a statement, right?
01:53Producing right away in four games, five games of the season
01:56and signing extensions and getting their contracts and all that stuff.
02:00So I think the sport is in a great place.
02:03You know, the World Series was amazing last year all the way to Game 7,
02:07and then the WBC, I mean, the way it ended, just perfect, right?
02:14And two great teams and just going at it, and you could feel it, right?
02:19The electricity and people were watching.
02:22So from that end, you know, hopefully we can continue that momentum
02:26going into this season and let's see what the future holds.
02:30But just very excited about the tournament.
02:33For our guys, you know, they did an amazing job.
02:37They got their at-bats in high leverage situations, most of them, right?
02:44You know, Wilson was with Venezuela, Wilger with Venezuela,
02:48Suarez pitched two games with them, Wedlock, Weiser, Anthony, Durant.
02:55They all played well.
02:55So that was good.
02:57You know, they got their at-bats facing quality pitching,
02:59and, you know, I think it was a great experience for all of them.
03:02Alex, bringing it back just to your team here, just the outings from Sonny Gray
03:07and Ranger Suarez, two big acquisitions in the offseason.
03:10They're older guys.
03:11They've been around for a while.
03:12Do you have any worries or concerns?
03:15You said it was early in the season, so just their outings weren't probably their best
03:18or what you were looking for.
03:19Just any concerns with those two guys?
03:22No, no, no, no.
03:23My concern is for them to go 30 starts, you know, and then at the end of the season,
03:27we'll know if they had a good season or a bad season.
03:30But they're going to have good starts.
03:31They're going to have okay starts, and they're going to struggle, right?
03:34And in the first one for them, too, they struggle.
03:37They struggle with command.
03:38You know, Suarez yesterday cut her to Alvarez, and he demolished that ball, right?
03:44He made some pitches in the heart of the plate.
03:46He made 0-2 to Paredes, got a base hit in the first inning, the cutter in a 2-1
03:51count
03:52right down the middle, home run.
03:54So, you know, there's a guy that, you know, he's tough.
03:57You know, he moves everywhere.
03:58He needs to pitch to the edges of his own, and yesterday he pitched to the heart of the plate.
04:03And then Sonny, we didn't make two plays behind him, one by Trevor and one by himself, right?
04:10The run down at third base, those are two runs.
04:13And besides that, I thought he finished strong.
04:16He's outing, and he'll be ready for San Diego on Friday.
04:19Red Sox manager Alex Cora here with us on WEI Afternoons.
04:22Alex, you had a comment the other day about juggling the five-man rotation in the outfield
04:27in DH, and it kind of caught my attention.
04:30We know you dealt with a lot of lineups last year.
04:32You had to move things around quite a bit.
04:34Did you, was your expectation that there would be less of that this year?
04:40No, I think going into the offseason, we knew that this was going to be the situation.
04:45And, you know, going into the season, this is where we're at.
04:48And it felt really good using Yoshida yesterday with two men on and the game on the line.
04:54So I think it's a luxury that we have.
04:56We just have to make sure the communication is on point with the guys.
04:59Today, you know, Masa is DH-ing.
05:02Jaron is not starting.
05:04But I think on a daily basis, especially when Zidane is playing center
05:09and Wilger is playing right, one of the other lefties is going to be on the bench,
05:13and we're going to take that situation to our advantage.
05:17All right, I'll keep this next question real simple for you, Alex.
05:21ABS, love it or leave it?
05:25Keep going, man.
05:26I think it's been good for the game.
05:30Just have to be very, very smart how we use it.
05:34And I think the last two or three games we've been too aggressive,
05:37and you saw what happened in the game in Cincinnati, right?
05:42We were aggressive early on.
05:44We didn't have the challenges.
05:46And I don't want to say it cussed us the game, but, you know,
05:50there was a pitch to Trevor.
05:51I think it was a 3-2 count right around the fifth inning,
05:54if not mistaken, with two on.
05:56It was clearly a ball, but we didn't have a challenge.
05:58So, you know, it cussed us.
06:00So I think the umpires, it's a tough job.
06:04It's the toughest job probably in the world, you know,
06:07calling balls or strikes, you know.
06:09I think pitching right now is at its best.
06:12Guys throw 94, 95, you know, cutter, sinker, the ball is moving,
06:16and they do a pretty good job.
06:18But I think it's benefiting the game.
06:21A lot of hype, a lot of expectations for your leadoff hitter
06:24and what people think is a potential superstar down the road is Roman Anthony.
06:28What have you seen from him?
06:30Have you seen his play so far just four games in?
06:36Like I said, I've had the other two guys, you know,
06:39just four games into the season.
06:41And we just have to be patient.
06:42It's a new group.
06:43There's a lot of young guys.
06:45You know, Caleb is a young kid with less than one year in the big leagues.
06:50We got Roman.
06:51We got Marcelo.
06:52We got Rafa, who's still young.
06:53Will you?
06:54So, you know, we just have to be patient, keep helping them grow in this environment,
06:59and all of them are going to be okay.
07:01What are your thoughts on the power from your baseball team?
07:03It was a big talking point this offseason.
07:05Had to go get Pete Alonzo, and then Zips or whatever the system is,
07:09says you're not going to have a 20 home run hitter.
07:11How important is it that you guys hit home runs,
07:14and how confident are you that you will find those home runs?
07:17I'm very confident.
07:19You know, I made my pledge for the Jimmy Fund, right?
07:21As soon as we hit 20, I'm going to donate X amount of money to them, you know?
07:26And I think Willier is proving people that, you know,
07:29the evolution of the hitter, right, that they go from hitting doubles
07:33to hitting home runs because they learn their swing.
07:35They look for certain pitches in certain areas, and they put good swings on it.
07:39Same thing with Roman.
07:40I think Jaren is going to hit home runs.
07:42Wilson will do the same thing.
07:44So home runs are part of the game,
07:45but there's other ways to score runs, too.
07:48And, you know, running the base as well,
07:50putting them in play with main and scoring position.
07:52We had a game on Saturday, you know, two innings in extra innings, right?
07:56Man at second, no outs, and within score.
07:58We struck out, you know, the first hit of the 10th inning, struck out.
08:02The first hit in the 11th inning, struck out, and it cussed us.
08:05So, yeah, homers are awesome.
08:07You know, I wish we can run that play, you know,
08:10the three-run homer play all the time, you know, and that would be great.
08:14But at the same time, you know, we have to put the ball in play with men in third,
08:18move guys over, and if we do that, we're going to be okay, too.
08:21Alex, I'd like to just start, as they say, a Connelly early appreciation post.
08:26I thought the kid was dynamite.
08:28I really thought he was dynamite at the end of last season
08:31and really pitched well even in the postseason loss.
08:34Schlittler just happened to be a little bit better that night.
08:36But impressive in the spring, makes the squad out of the blue.
08:39Is he potentially here to stay, and how impressed have you been with him thus far?
08:44I just like the work ethic and the poise on the mound besides the stuff, right?
08:49We know the stuff, you know, good fastball, good secondary pitches.
08:53But just watching him in that last game in New York last year, you know,
08:58they scored four, and it was a misplay in the outfield, a few 39 singles,
09:03and that was it, right?
09:04But he never lost his cool, you know, like he knows what he wanted to do.
09:08And, you know, in spring training, we challenged him, you know.
09:13It was a competition, and he won it.
09:15He did an amazing job not only performing in between the lines,
09:19but kind of like getting better, which is the most important thing,
09:22because you can go to spring training and dominate, but as you guys know,
09:27you're not facing the best of the best all the time, right?
09:30I think he went to Tampa and faced New York, and they were only missing Judge at that time,
09:35but it was a good lineup.
09:37But, you know, most of the time you're facing three or four big leaguers,
09:41established ones, and then a bunch of kids who are, you know,
09:44trying to make a team or they're in AAA.
09:46And with him, it was a combination of both.
09:49He did an amazing job throwing the ball, getting zeros,
09:52inducing guys to weak contact and swing and miss, and just improving, you know.
09:57And that's the reason he's here, and I expect him to go out there every five days,
10:01you know, and he knows it.
10:03We trust him, and it should be a good season for him.
10:07Alex, you got the second game of the Astros tonight,
10:10Brian Baio taking on Hunter Brown.
10:13Brian got off to a hard start last year
10:15and then kind of wore down at the end of last season.
10:17What are your expectations for Brian Baio this year?
10:20Yeah, I mean, something happened when he went to WBC, to be honest with you,
10:26as far as, like, you know, the poise, the way he acts, you know,
10:31is very professional.
10:32It's not like he wasn't, you know what I'm saying?
10:34But he mentioned conversations with Sandy Alcantara during the tournament,
10:39and it really kind of, like, resonated on him, you know,
10:43like staying locked in and taking one pitch at a time.
10:46As you guys know, you know, he can be emotional.
10:51And his last, well, the one with the Dominican, he pitched five innings.
10:57He was really good.
10:57And then he pitched two for us in Fort Myers, and he was amazing.
11:01So there's a tough lineup, you know, having Altuve,
11:04the way he's swinging it, and having Alvarez back.
11:07I mean, he's one of the best hitters in the big leagues.
11:10It makes it that tough.
11:12But I think he's ready for the challenge.
11:14And, you know, if he keeps throwing the ball the way he did in Fort Myers,
11:18I think, you know, he can get off to a great start,
11:20and he can sustain, you know, his outings throughout the year.
11:25Alex, for those of us that are not around your baseball team on a daily basis,
11:28especially in spring training, what's your relationship with Marcelo Meyer like?
11:32Some of us saw that comment in the spring where you were like,
11:35he's got to earn what he gets, nothing's going to be given,
11:37and it kind of piqued our curiosity.
11:39So how did that play out, and what's your relationship like?
11:43No, he did a good job.
11:44And, you know, last year, something that really caught my eye, you know,
11:49he had surgery, and he pushed everybody, the medical staff
11:53and the training staff, to try to make it to the playoffs.
11:57And he was on the verge of starting to swing the bat,
12:00which is outstanding for a young kid, right?
12:03Most of these guys, when they have surgery, he's over, right?
12:07The season is over.
12:08Let's get ready for next year.
12:09And he was the opposed.
12:11And then during the offseason, physically, you don't see it
12:15because he's such a tall kid playing the middle infield, right?
12:18And he looks kind of like skinny and not strong,
12:21but it's the other way around.
12:22You know, he gained some weight and did everything possible to make the team,
12:27and he did a good job for us.
12:28He's a sound player, good baseball IQ, good base runner.
12:41And, you know, I'm very excited about this season for him.
12:45You know, we stay in constant communication.
12:47You know, I used to play short.
12:49They moved me to second, so I know what he's going through right now
12:52as far as, like, angles and decision-making.
12:54And, you know, I'm very, very happy that he made the team.
12:58And, you know, most of the time he's going to hit seventh against righties.
13:01And I expect him to have a good one this year.
13:06Alex, last one for me.
13:07The departure of Alex Bregman to the Chicago Cubs
13:10obviously left a number of different voids
13:12from the veteran third baseman to his bat in the lineup
13:17to a lot of the unquantifiables that he brought to the dugout,
13:20the clubhouse, and beyond.
13:21And I was just curious how you sort of imagined
13:25you would replace those elements,
13:27like the conversations he would have with the kids
13:30and buying suits and just bringing that sort of aura
13:34and presence to the club.
13:35Is this something that will just have to work itself out
13:38organically over the season?
13:40A hundred percent.
13:41A hundred percent.
13:42One thing for sure, I'm not buying suits.
13:43You know, I'm getting married in November,
13:45so I cannot be spending too much money.
13:49All right.
13:49All right, Alex.
13:50Alex, we'll get you out on that.
13:52Any news we need to know for tonight?
13:54I know you mentioned the lineup earlier.
13:55Any news nuggets from the lineup?
13:57Anybody moving up, down, anything like that?
13:59No.
14:00Connor is behind the plate.
14:02We got a day again tomorrow,
14:03so I'm going to keep Narvaez with Crochet.
14:06Then in the outfield, we got Roman, Rafaela,
14:10Wilger in the infield, Contreras,
14:14Marcelo, Trevor, and Monasterio is playing third base.
14:17I'm going to give the kid, you know,
14:19a chance to kind of like we said, you know,
14:21he came in early, did some work, Durbin.
14:23He'll be ready to start tomorrow.
14:25All right, Alex.
14:26I appreciate you joining us today,
14:27and we're looking forward to these conversations
14:30each and every week.
14:31Good luck tonight.
14:32See you guys next week.
Comments