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Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy joins Rich & Ken with Ted Johnson to discuss his interim status, who creates lineups, and last night's scuffle.
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00:00It is 93.7 WEEI, Rich Schurdenlieb, Ken Laird, three-time Super Bowl champion, Ted Johnson, and this is great.
00:09It's our first time talking to the interim manager of the Boston Red Sox, Chad Tracy.
00:14Hey, Chad, thanks for coming on with us.
00:16Thanks for having me, guys.
00:18Chad, we haven't talked to you. Obviously, this is our first time doing it since you have been the interim
00:22manager.
00:22How were you informed that you were going to be the new guy in charge for the Boston Red Sox?
00:30Oh, that was a whirlwind of a day, obviously.
00:34I was managing the game in Worcester. I think we were in the bottom of the fourth inning. I was
00:38in the dugout.
00:39And just it's easy for our people, our farm directors, a lot of communication that occurs during a game if
00:45players are needed.
00:46And there was a phone call that came, and I was told I need to step inside and call Brez,
00:51which I did.
00:52And that's where I found out the news. So, you know, crazy, crazy day.
00:56Did you have any inkling that this was going to happen?
00:59Not at all, no.
01:02You know, I think it's well-documented in what I've said so far about, you know, the relationship I had
01:09with some of the people that were here that went through that.
01:12But, no, there was no knowledge whatsoever and sat there for quite a few moments in shock trying to gather
01:18myself not only about what they had told me but what had happened to them.
01:21So, no, no idea.
01:23I mean, it's obviously a strange situation.
01:25And I don't know, how was your relationship with Alex Cora?
01:28Has he contacted you after all this?
01:31Alex and I are great.
01:32I've known him for a really long time.
01:34You know, he obviously played for my father years ago.
01:37So, yes, we've talked a number of times.
01:40Obviously, like, the details of those I'll keep to he and I, but we have talked a handful of times.
01:46Now, has there been any discussion, Chad, about your potentially or the potential removal of the interim from your manager
01:55title by anybody in the front office?
01:57We haven't talked about that yet.
01:59I mean, the main focus when I came here was to, you know, everybody's been incredible about just getting me
02:04settled.
02:05And it wasn't just me.
02:06There was a lot of staff shifts and new people that came in, getting everybody settled.
02:11And our primary focus being on our players, getting them settled with the changes, and then just stabilizing things and
02:18getting it moving in the right direction.
02:19That's where our focus is right now.
02:20And if and when the time comes for that, you know, it'll present itself.
02:25But we have not gotten any conversations about that at this point.
02:28You know, Chad, there was a good article.
02:29I think it was Sean McAdam who wrote it.
02:31And he was talking about how he believed that the interim title should be taken away.
02:37And not as this was going to be anything permanent, but at least for the time being or for the
02:41rest of the year, because he believed, and I don't mean to paraphrase incorrectly, but that he believes that it
02:46would make your job, the stress would be off your back a little bit.
02:50Because you could basically continue to plan for a little bit of a longer term instead of knowing that at
02:56any moment you could be back with the Wu Sox.
02:58Do you believe that to be the case?
03:01Would it make your job easier if they did remove that title?
03:05I think this will sound like a cliche answer, but, like, I have not thought about it.
03:12I know what the task is that was asked of me.
03:16And for me, it is 150% about our players and just doing what I was asked to do and
03:22come in here.
03:22And I know these players.
03:23I've had most of them have come through Worcester.
03:27So my focus is on that and helping the Red Sox get on track.
03:30It really is.
03:31That's all I've concentrate on.
03:33A lot of the things happening right now for me are, you know, I look, I'm one that tends to
03:38count my blessings,
03:39and there's been a lot of cool things that have happened to me in the last couple weeks to get
03:43this opportunity.
03:44So I have not put any thought into where, you know, what's next or we need to talk about this
03:49or that.
03:50Those times will come, and right now we have a job to do and a focus on our players.
03:55Chad, you mentioned your father.
03:57He had an unbelievable start when he took over the Rockies.
04:00Reflecting back, you know, is there anything that he, any advice that he's given you that has particularly hit home
04:05here
04:05as you've taken over the Red Sox here some years later?
04:09Yeah, a lot of advice.
04:10I mean, it's obviously, you guys know what he did in his career.
04:14So, like, to not, I mean, that's an incredible resource for me, stepping into this chair.
04:17So for me, and I've talked with him a lot, and he's my main resource and just leaned on him.
04:22Well, I mean, I've leaned on him the whole way through my career, through the minors, doing everything, you know,
04:27it's a climb, the climb to here.
04:29But even now, leaning on him and, but his biggest advice always has always been, you know,
04:35developing relationships with your players and being as open and honest with them as possible.
04:39And that's where you get respect from your group.
04:43So I'll continue to lean on him for as long as I am blessed with the opportunity to do this,
04:49which hopefully is a long time, but as long as I have him there, I'll always lean on him.
04:54Your dad managed Adrian Beltre.
04:56Did he ever talk to you about how weird it was that he hated when people touched his head?
05:01No.
05:02I don't recall.
05:03I mean, I was old enough in the time he was doing that in L.A., managing in L.A.
05:07Yeah.
05:09I was old, like, very old enough to have remembered.
05:11I don't know if that became more of a thing later on in his career, but I don't recall that
05:17when he was in L.A.
05:19I mean, my dad was also at, my dad was at the helm of the Dodgers when Adrian Beltre was
05:23a rookie
05:24when he first arrived on the scene.
05:26So that may have been something developed later once he, you know, started to build his Hall of Fame resume.
05:30Oh, the videos, I remember when he was here, like, David Ortiz used to totally F with him.
05:36He would go behind him, and when he wasn't doing anything, he'd just tap him on the back of the
05:39head.
05:39And I'm talking, he would have a fit.
05:42Like, he would truly freak out when someone would do that.
05:47I remember in Texas, his time that he went through and spent with the Texas Rangers,
05:51I remember that being a thing with Elvis Andrews, always best with him.
05:55I remember, I definitely remember that.
05:57I just don't remember him doing it as far back as, you know, shoot.
06:01He probably made his debut around 2001 or something.
06:04That was around that time that my dad was there.
06:07But I don't remember him doing it then.
06:08But he's a rookie player at that point.
06:10He probably was like, anybody can slap me on the head when they want,
06:12but I should get a little bit more established.
06:15Well, what's it like, Chad, to take over a clubhouse in midstream like this
06:19with all these unique players?
06:20Has anybody, like, stepped up to fill the leadership void,
06:23or are you able to do that right away, or do you have to kind of let it grow?
06:26Well, we have, you know, you guys, behind the scenes when you're in here,
06:30you know, there's perceptions of, you know, you don't have that.
06:33But, like, we do.
06:34Like, Trevor Story's a leader.
06:36Wilson Contreras is a leader.
06:37Garrett Crochet is a leader.
06:38Like, there's plenty of them.
06:39Chappie, like, there's plenty.
06:42From my perspective, there was a bit of ease to it in the sense that,
06:46like what I told you earlier, I think there's 16 or something players
06:52or maybe more, including rehabs, that have played for me in Worcester.
06:55So, my familiarity with the group was pretty high.
06:59And even the veterans, some of the veterans that I haven't had,
07:02I, you know, spent a lot, you know, most of the camp with them
07:03or multiple spring trainings with them.
07:07So, coming in here and talking to the players and addressing the players
07:11was honestly, like, pretty low on the list as far as, like, you know,
07:15things I had to worry about because I've developed a pretty good rapport
07:18with a lot of them over the years.
07:20So, that was just kind of reacclimating with them,
07:22and that happened pretty quickly.
07:23Hey, Chad, you've inherited a pretty versatile roster, you know,
07:27guys that can do a lot of different things.
07:30And so, you have a – your lineup's going to change all the time.
07:33And I'm just curious if you have autonomy over those lineups
07:37or is the lineups that are put out there more of a collaborative effort?
07:42No, I have autonomy over those, you know,
07:45but to say I have autonomy over those and say that's not a collaborative effort.
07:49And when you're sitting in the manager's chair, like,
07:50I sit here at the end of the game and I talk to Jose Flores and we go through
07:54and talk through it.
07:56I talk with Andrew Bailey about who's available on the mound tomorrow
07:58out of the bullpen and we go through it.
08:01You know, Brez is in here, like, we all talk.
08:03Like, if you're not – if you just sit in the chair and just make every single
08:06decision on your own, you're not using the really smart,
08:08intelligent people around you, that's not the best way to go about it.
08:12But the final pen to paper on what we're going to do is my call.
08:17And not one time has – Brez walked in here and said,
08:21you're going to do this.
08:22If that's a perception, that's completely false.
08:24But we do have a lot more information available to us on making those
08:29than obviously people in the public have.
08:31So we're making the best and most educated decisions we can.
08:34And also keeping front of mind, you know,
08:37there are 13 position players on this team and there isn't a whole lot of
08:42successful teams out there that play nine of them and don't play the other
08:45four.
08:45Like, you have to find the ways to maximize your roster.
08:49That's just part of – that's part of 162-game season.
08:52All right, we're talking to interim Sox manager Chad Tracy.
08:55All right, let's get to last night.
08:58Valdez, was that intentional, the ball they threw at Trevor Story?
09:02I said last night when they asked me on the postgame, I said, yes, it was.
09:06It was fairly obvious to me.
09:09If you were here in person and saw it, it looked pretty indisputable that that
09:13was intentional.
09:14Yeah, yeah.
09:15Valdez is denying that.
09:17But when you see – I mean, your team – I've got to be honest.
09:20When you watch a team, it looks like they were all fired up.
09:23They kind of rallied around them.
09:24Is that – I know it sounds bad, but can a moment like that actually energize
09:28your team and unite them at a time where they really need it?
09:32Well, I think it's – you know, you prefer something like that,
09:35first and foremost, personally, you prefer that something like that doesn't
09:38happen, you know, just because you don't want to see one of your players
09:42get hurt, you know.
09:43Like if Trevor Story got hurt right there, that would have been upsetting.
09:47But in the second half of it, like to see Wilson and the rest of the group
09:51immediately out there right behind Trevor without hesitating, those are
09:56certainly moments where it becomes very clear to the group and to Trevor
10:00and everybody else like, you know, this is a family in here and we got each
10:03other's back.
10:04And they didn't like that very much.
10:05So – and they shouldn't.
10:07So they responded accordingly.
10:08I'm liking Contreras more and more as the days go on.
10:11He's got a little bit of an attitude, doesn't he?
10:14He's a great dude.
10:15Great dude.
10:16Good leader.
10:17High energy.
10:18Plays the game the right way.
10:19Has been around for a long time.
10:21Pays attention.
10:22Helps our young guys.
10:23If you guys really pay attention to him on the infield, he's constantly watching
10:26where everybody's positioned, he'll whistle reminders, like, hey, watch the
10:30bunt.
10:30He's just very in tune to what's going on.
10:32So no beef between him and Marcelo?
10:35Not even close.
10:37Not even close, no.
10:38Was that a case of people twisting words or what happened there?
10:43Because that was a –
10:43I think it was probably more of a case of one person asking one question at
10:47one locker and then another asking a different question at a different locker
10:50and then taking those two things and putting them together and acting like one
10:54was in response to the other.
10:56There was not one ounce of beef between those two guys.
11:00They're in a really good spot.
11:02And despite there not being a beef, it's a reality of a locker room nowadays
11:06where you get, like, two different factions of people, like the youth
11:08and you get, you know, the veterans, and sometimes they don't see eye to eye
11:12on a lot of different things.
11:13How is it as a manager to be able to kind of speak the language of both of them
11:17and make them all agree that they're just – they all have the same goal?
11:21Well, yeah.
11:22Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, I'll speak on our team, like in my time here,
11:26which has been all coming up on just only a week and a half,
11:28but we have an incredibly awesome group in here, including the veteran players
11:35that have been around a while, Sonny Gray, Chappie, guys like that,
11:40that are unselfish and willing to do whatever.
11:43Like, you guys have seen Chappie pitch in the eighth inning before.
11:45Like, if that's, you know, a dangerous – like, they're just egoless, really,
11:50really good people.
11:52So as far as dealing with, you know, people saying, oh, you're going to have to deal
11:56with this or that, no, I've dealt with nothing.
11:58These guys have welcomed me with open arms and been incredible.
12:01And then you couple that and pair that with a whole plethora, I guess you could say,
12:06of young players that I've managed for extended periods of time in the minor leagues.
12:10And I've gotten to know them, you know, really intimately over the time I had them.
12:15This has been – it's a really fun group to be a part of.
12:19Chad, how does it work with the new hitting coaches?
12:21Because, you know, it's unusual.
12:22You have three of them midstream here.
12:24Does anything change with the philosophy?
12:26How does that work?
12:28No, I don't think – I mean, yeah, there's different conversations we're having.
12:31I wouldn't say a bunch of stuff changes.
12:33The early part of that, as you guys can imagine, if you're a hitting coach
12:37and you're coming in to work with a group of hitters that doesn't know you that well,
12:41step one is you've got to get to know them.
12:43The coaches have to be delicate as far as, like, I need to get to know the player,
12:46what he likes, what he doesn't like, what makes him tick, all those things.
12:50You can't just come in and say, we're going to do this, this, and this.
12:53The player will look at you and say, you haven't spent time around me.
12:56So they've been great about that.
12:59Mainly taking the information we have and simplifying as much as possible.
13:04From my perspective, like, hitting a baseball is very, very hard.
13:08And hitting a baseball, if you've got seven, eight,
13:11nine different things you're worried about, it's even harder.
13:13So how do we take the information we have and simplify it into a very concise plan?
13:18And I know just recently there's been conversations around, like, you know,
13:22hey, it's Major League Baseball, they throw hard, let's not be late to the fastball.
13:26If you start from there, that's a good base.
13:28So those are just some small things we've started to talk about here in the last handful of days.
13:34And let's build from there, but keeping it as simple as we can.
13:37How scary was it seeing Roman Anthony hurt his hand the other day?
13:41Yeah, I mean, it's Roman, right?
13:43Like, we love Roman.
13:45He's a great player.
13:46Anytime you see any one of your really good players, or any player for that matter,
13:51kind of wince on the field and you're wondering what's going on, it's scary.
13:54And you immediately start thinking about, like, what's going on here?
13:59How bad is this going to be?
14:00How long can we be without him?
14:01Those thoughts go through your head.
14:03And I obviously have a great relationship with Roman, so I felt for him.
14:06So, yeah, it was a little bit of a scary moment,
14:10especially once we decided he's going to have to come out of the game,
14:12and we had to make a change.
14:14All right, Chad.
14:16There's just – I don't know if you know the answer to this,
14:18but it's kind of confusing to me.
14:20When everything happened with you being made the interim manager
14:23and obviously Alex Cora moving on,
14:25there was an announcement that Jason Veritek was going to be part of the organization,
14:28and now all of a sudden it sure doesn't seem like he's part of the organization.
14:31Do you know what happened there?
14:34I don't.
14:35I don't, and I'm not dodging that in any way.
14:37I was not a part of – here, a part of what went on as far as why or any
14:44of that,
14:44so I can't.
14:45I can't comment on it, other than to tell you I've also talked to Tech,
14:48who I've become close with over my years here.
14:52So the relationships with those people are still strong.
14:56But I don't – I didn't – and, you know, I know Tech's, you know, such a classy person.
15:01Like, we're not – we have not in conversations got into a lot of the details of what, why, how,
15:06you know, none of that.
15:07And that's – obviously I was very shielded from that because I was sitting in the dugout in Worcester
15:11when all that occurred, so I did not get – I got into details on that.
15:15Well, Chad, good luck.
15:17I know that this has got to be a kind of a cool thing.
15:20I mean, this is something you didn't expect at the beginning of the season,
15:23and now, you know, you're sitting here managing the Boston Red Sox.
15:27You're at Fenway Park.
15:28I mean, that part of it, has that hit you yet that, you know,
15:31I'm actually doing this right now and who knows how long it's going to be,
15:34but right now you are the manager of this team?
15:37Yeah, it took a few days, you know, like, until I finally settled,
15:41and then you kind of realize the magnitude of it.
15:46But it's not lost on me.
15:48You guys, I don't know if you know my whole history.
15:49I've spent – including my playing career, I've spent 22 years in the minor leagues
15:53between playing and coaching the different roles I've filled.
15:58So this was my first call after 22 years of grinding it out down there.
16:03So after a few days, you kind of sat there and think about that,
16:06and, yeah, the moment hits you pretty hard that, you know,
16:09everything you've worked for in the least expected moment came true.
16:13So I've definitely taken the time since then to kind of revel in it,
16:17but quickly snap yourself out of it and realize, like, it's not about you.
16:21It's about our guys and our players and getting the team on track
16:23and staying focused on that.
16:25Well, I like the fact that the team's showing a little bit of attitude
16:27over the last couple of games.
16:29This has been –
16:29Yeah, it shows you care.
16:30Yep.
16:31It shows you're invested.
16:31Yeah, I do – it does feel a little bit different,
16:35and I do like what we're seeing, and obviously I'm rooting for the Red Sox,
16:38not just because I'm a fan of the team, but because when they do well,
16:41the station does well.
16:43Right.
16:45Selfishly, I've got two different reasons.
16:48They're fighting.
16:49You're dead on.
16:50I'm proud of them.
16:51Like, they're fighting right now and definitely showing signs of life.
16:53So we just got to try to keep moving in the right direction.
16:55There's a long way to go, but they are fighting.
16:58They're a good group.
16:59That's awesome, Chad.
17:00All right, Chad, thanks for coming on with us.
17:01We really appreciate it, and we'll talk to you again soon.
17:04Sounds great.
17:05Thanks for having me, guys.
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