- 4 hours ago
16 games in, and what's working? Who/What is to blame for 6-10? Is it fair to begin to put some blame on manager Alex Cora? Greg: "I think you have to ask the question."
What could the Red Sox do to fix the lineup?
What could the Red Sox do to fix the lineup?
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00:00And when is it?
00:01I know it's early.
00:03When is it fair to be concerned, Curtis?
00:07Meggo.
00:08Today.
00:09Today.
00:09Okay.
00:10I mean, how could you watch Crochet last night and not feel terrified?
00:16See, I give him another start.
00:19So Sunday.
00:20Sunday.
00:21Sunday, if he has another bad outing or just like.
00:25He's not going to pitch Sunday.
00:27You don't think so?
00:28I don't.
00:29Oh, so if he doesn't pitch Sunday, then obviously there'd be.
00:32Then that concern will go through the roof.
00:35But Sunday, if he goes out there and he has another like shaky outing, then I'll be like,
00:41uh-oh, your ace doesn't seem like he might still be your ace, but he's not going to be
00:48the guy that we saw last year.
00:49And then that would have some concern because that was the one thing that I was banking on
00:55when he would be dominant again.
00:56But if he goes out there and he's lights out, I'm like, all right.
01:01Like every other pitcher, he had a bad outing.
01:04I mean, you go back to what we were told heading into the season were going to be the strong
01:11points
01:12and perhaps a different approach to winning baseball games.
01:17And that was that this team was going to improve their pitching and this team was going to improve their
01:25defense.
01:27And have you seen either?
01:30No.
01:30Or has the result been worse?
01:32It's been worse.
01:33It's been worse.
01:34Because at least last year, Crochet threw whatever was his first, you know, four or five starts.
01:40He was like nails.
01:42He was money.
01:43But I guess to Curtis's point then, when should we know?
01:46Today's Tuesday.
01:47We would know by what?
01:48Thursday or anything else by Sunday?
01:50Yeah.
01:51Thursday's an off day.
01:52So they're traveling back from Minnesota tomorrow.
01:55Maybe final Thursday, Friday morning.
01:57All right.
01:58I mean, obviously, I have no idea.
02:00I'm not basing it on reporting.
02:01I'm just, when you're down that velocity, and it is glaring, 214 innings last year, 218 innings in his entire
02:11career that preceded last season, four seasons.
02:14And he has a great start because he's got the whole offseason to rest.
02:17He didn't pitch to the World Baseball Classic, which I'm sure he thought was beneficial.
02:21And then he pitches last night and he acts like he doesn't know what his velocity was.
02:26Like, if you're Cary Crochet, I guarantee you, you know your velocity is down a mile or two per hour.
02:33Guys, like, we saw some of these issues in spring training.
02:39I brought it up and everybody said, no, no, no, no.
02:41Spring training is about pitchers working stuff out.
02:43Don't worry about it.
02:45Opening day, he doesn't look totally like himself.
02:48Everybody says, no, no, no.
02:49Don't worry about it.
02:49Like, it's just that he has a bad day.
02:52And last night was something different.
02:54Last night was something really different.
02:56That was a total collapse.
02:58And it's almost like if he's not injured, then what is going on with this team?
03:04Because he looked like he was on the verge of, like, taking his cleats off and laying down in a
03:09little ball on the mound.
03:11Like, it was so, it was that bad.
03:13It was the worst outing of his entire career.
03:16Mego, when you say what's going on with this team, you mean, like, there's a general, like, there's a malaise
03:22or there's a black cloud that is hanging over everything and everyone, like.
03:30You got Roman Anthony, who suddenly can't throw.
03:34You got this last night.
03:36You got.
03:37Alex Cora is not doing, and maybe it's not his fault because it's roster or whatever, but not doing him
03:42any favors either.
03:43Like, don't you, as a young baseball player, should he not be playing, you know, every game, like, every opportunity
03:52that there is to, and I, you have an overabundance of clearly an overabundance of outfielders.
03:58And you got to, you got to figure out the Yoshida thing, and, but it's not doing Roman Anthony any
04:05favors.
04:06Does Cora have a thing with the young players?
04:08Because he gave that whatever behind the scenes quote to Ken Rosenthal, who then went and talked about it, and
04:17Cora didn't like that, about them getting the extensions early.
04:20I mean, maybe he was pretty negative about Marcelo Meyer for most of spring training.
04:25Exactly.
04:25Well, you heard, you heard him, well, you didn't hear him, but in his quote, when we kind of, some
04:31of the things that he talked about was how they have to come up, you know, kind of the, the.
04:37They come up quick.
04:38They don't get the at-bats.
04:39They don't go back down to AAA.
04:41And then like it used to be, you know, they used to have to go through the grind and get
04:44this 1,500 minimum at-bats and put in all the work.
04:48He seems like he's one of those guys, like where you have to prove as a young guy, you have
04:54to earn your stripes.
04:56He doesn't like maybe, and this is me just kind of just taking what he said, but he feels like
05:02the young guys nowadays don't have to prove themselves as much, and he might not be a fan of that.
05:08But where was this last year then?
05:10Christian Campbell was on the roster, was in the opening weekend games and found his way off the roster.
05:15Maybe he feels like, because they got back to the playoffs, he has a bigger voice now.
05:19You know, he had been struggling for a bit, but either way, if, if Crochet is not himself, we all
05:23agree it's over, right?
05:24Yeah, it's going to be very difficult to come back from him not being himself.
05:28And the thing I would ask, like, with Roman Anthony, if he does, like, maybe it's in his head, he's
05:33got the yips a little bit, then just why not DH him every day?
05:36And I just want to correct myself.
05:38I wasn't opening day with Crochet's issue.
05:40It was the second outing that he had.
05:42The second outing.
05:43That would be my thing.
05:44God, get your facts right.
05:45Sorry, guys.
05:47Don't worry about it.
05:47We all make mistakes.
05:49If you feel...
05:50Because DHing him does nothing when it comes to getting him out there and helping him get over the yips.
05:56But if you feel like the most important thing for him is really...
06:00He's the number one prospect in Major League Baseball.
06:02He's going to be...
06:03You're going to switch him up and he's going to be a DH.
06:06I mean, he's going to have to play in the field.
06:08Like, what are we doing?
06:11Yeah, but why play him in the field if he's a liability?
06:14Okay.
06:15Right?
06:15If you know, like, all right...
06:17Is that just the season that, you know, next year he gets to give it a go again?
06:21I mean, in left...
06:22No, but if he's a liability and Duran's a better...
06:25Let's say Duran's a better fielder and, you know, they feel more confident in Duran as a fielder,
06:30then you DH him.
06:31He still gets his play to parents.
06:32He still gets his at-bats, Roman Anthony.
06:35And, you know, you throw him out there, you know, every now and then, but you have him
06:39as your everyday DH.
06:40413 texter says it's the Roman Anthony bobblehead jinx on the bobblehead wall behind me.
06:47Should I remove that?
06:49No.
06:49I mean, you do look like your high school you is about to eat him.
06:55So what do you think it is?
06:57What do I think what is?
06:58The Roman Anthony situation that he has the...
07:04He's struggling in the outfield.
07:05What do you think it is?
07:06There's too much pressure on him?
07:07I think there was pressure on him, but I think the way you solve that is by showing the guy
07:11confidence and playing him.
07:12Like, that's the way you solve it.
07:14Even if that's at the detriment of the team?
07:19I mean, yeah.
07:21I mean, yeah.
07:22Like, I don't understand what, when you have a guy who is your franchise and you have been
07:31telling everybody that, then you play him and you help him get through whatever he's
07:35going through.
07:36Like, I don't...
07:37It's a similar thing that we talked about, different sport, obviously, but Tatum had the
07:41phobia of MSG because of what happened there.
07:44We had a conversation, do you want him to go now or should you not rush it?
07:47And we all discussed the importance that Missoula felt in getting him back on that floor
07:51before the actual playoff games start.
07:53With Roman Anthony, it's, okay, you could take him out of left field and DH him, but
07:58in the back of his mind, he's thinking about when his next game will be out there and if
08:01he can do it.
08:02Yeah.
08:02Do you make it too big of a thing then for him?
08:05If he's DHing, then it's like, oh, well, when I get back out there, what is it going
08:09to be like for me if I make one mistake?
08:11And if you're Alex Corey, you can't say everybody's making a big deal out of something that you yourself
08:15have reacted to in that way.
08:17See, I would say, like, just if he's not there yet...
08:20Well, Wiggy, you keep saying that.
08:22So DH him till when?
08:25And till you have the confidence in him that he's getting better.
08:28Where do you get the...
08:29Where does he get the confidence and where do you have the confidence in him if you're
08:33not playing him in the outfield?
08:35Like, I don't understand, like, what changes?
08:38So how come...
08:40And this is...
08:41And I know people are going to go, well, because he's a better player.
08:45Every year, Devers was getting better at third base.
08:49You had no problem moving him as soon as he became a detriment, in your opinion, to a
08:56field.
08:57Well, yes, you got a clear upgrade in Alex Bregman.
09:01I don't know that you can necessarily say that Jaron Duran is a clear upgrade.
09:07One guy can throw the home plate, the other one can't.
09:09That was twice.
09:10Two bad throws.
09:11No, I think he had about...
09:12I think there was, what, three or four?
09:14There were three.
09:15With Roman?
09:16Yeah, with Roman.
09:16He had three misthrows.
09:17Yeah.
09:18And the one that he had the misthrow, which I think affected the game...
09:22It was when he bounced it, like, our first pitches.
09:25The other one...
09:26The other one was a throw to home, and, you know, it was...
09:31That was in the Reds game, right?
09:32Yes.
09:33It's like it has a problem, like it's a haunted house.
09:37Like, there's something around every corner.
09:39Even over the weekend, I was reading, I think it was Tim Healy in The Globe, who wrote about
09:43how Wilson Contreras gave this big speech on Saturday.
09:47We referenced it, I think, yesterday, about how the team needs to be more energetic.
09:51Like, they're just sitting there like a bunch of bumps on a log, looking at each other.
09:55And when he talked to Alex Cora about it, Alex Cora was like, yeah, a lot of times the
10:00team's energy comes from hitting.
10:02And when you've got hot bats, the energy builds off of that.
10:06And sometimes you just have to manufacture it.
10:07It's tough.
10:08And it's like, okay, so if the team is built on pitching and defense, you're not going
10:12to have any energy all year long?
10:14That's what you're telling us?
10:15And, like, whose fault is that then, Alex?
10:17Well, and that's what I would say.
10:19How much of the blame do you put on Alex Cora?
10:21It just feels like it's everybody pointing blame in every other direction.
10:25And we're 16 games in.
10:28And what can you point to that's actually working?
10:31Besides maybe Wilson Contreras.
10:33If the hitting's an issue, you drop down Trevor Story to the five spot.
10:37Seems like he's hitting better from that spot.
10:39Durbin, you got him at the second spot, like, who's not hitting well.
10:43So don't you, Contreras is hitting better.
10:45Maybe you move him up to this two spot.
10:48Maybe you move, if you don't want to have lefty-lefty at one and two, I would have said
10:52Abreu, but you don't want, maybe you don't want to go Duran or Anthony at the lead off
10:57here and go lefty-lefty.
10:59So is that, isn't that on core?
11:01So I would ask how much of the issues that we're seeing with this team, whether it's clubhouse
11:07related and energy, falls on the manager versus the players?
11:12I think you have to ask the question.
11:14I think a lot of it does at this point.
11:16I, I, but I think he's working with a business.
11:20He wanted to make sure that he told you he is working under a new business model when it
11:25comes to what the roster is.
11:26All right.
11:27And so as Meggo said earlier, that hissy fit that he threw yesterday is all about the fact
11:35that Alex Bregman is not here.
11:37All right.
11:37I'll give him that.
11:38But if Bregman's here, your team's still still.
11:39Yes, no, Curtis, I see you exasperated over there.
11:42No, I was agreeing with what you just said.
11:44Okay.
11:44Yeah.
11:45No, I couldn't tell.
11:45I have a great poker face.
11:47Yeah.
11:47Well, I would say if Bregman's still here, you're not, we're not doing the Lady Gaga
11:50region.
11:51Your team is still struggling because of your pitching.
11:53So what is Bregman going to do for you?
11:55And it's not like Bregman's tearing the cover off in Chicago.
11:58No.
11:58If he's here, your team's.
11:59I hate that argument also.
12:01So like Alex Bregman is a valuable for not only what he does on and off the field, what
12:08he does with his bat and was a valued part of the organization here and he is missed.
12:17So from a leadership perspective.
12:19But if I'm, if I'm Sean Henry and I'm watching down to my $7 million a year manager, I'm saying
12:25freaking deal with that on your own time, bud.
12:28Like, why are you giving excuses when you won't accept them from your players?
12:33Like, I know he misses Bregman.
12:35We all agree.
12:36He's not wrong.
12:38But this team is better than six and 10.
12:40Do we all agree with that?
12:42Yes.
12:42Yes.
12:43So then maybe buy a mirror, Alex.
12:46And if you wanted.
12:46Great job by my guy, Breslow.
12:48And if you wanted Bregman and you had that good of a relationship with him, why didn't
12:52Cora say, hey, listen, man, I know they won't get you to no trade clause, but don't worry
12:56about it.
12:56You'll be fine.
12:57You'll be here.
12:58You'll be here.
12:59Don't worry.
12:59You're getting your money.
13:00What kind of dealing is that?
13:02But that's what you do.
13:03He wasn't allowed to talk to him.
13:05Didn't he tell us he wasn't allowed to talk to him?
13:07That's Cap.
13:07No.
13:08You'll be here.
13:09And don't worry.
13:10I'm not going nowhere.
13:10Bores, wasn't it Scott Bores told him you can't, Alex Bregman, you can't talk to Alex
13:15Cora?
13:15Yeah, I don't buy that.
13:16Hey, don't worry.
13:17You're going to be here.
13:18Don't worry about the trade clause.
13:19I like that this is like Don Mafioso.
13:22Yeah, don't worry about it.
13:23Alex Cora.
13:24Like, don't.
13:25You're a made man.
13:26Don't worry.
13:27Yeah, talk him into just taking the money and saying, all right, they're not going to
13:30give you the trade clause.
13:31But isn't his agent still, Cora's agent still Scott Bores?
13:35I think so.
13:36So, like, I feel like they have the, they would talk because he's his agent.
13:42Yeah.
13:43Like, why wouldn't they allow, I don't know.
13:45They talk.
13:46Curtis, you know, we're all like conspiracy people or we're always like, do you really
13:52believe that Bregman and Cora didn't talk?
13:54Not for a second.
13:55Yeah.
13:56Yeah.
13:56All right, well.
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