00:00Sam Kennedy, good morning.
00:04Sam, don't listen. Do not listen to these people.
00:06Sam, good morning.
00:09Wow. It's a tough town.
00:11I was going to say, I wish I was there with you guys in person.
00:14You get to go to the Cape over the holiday weekend.
00:18I'm working all weekend at Fenway, but I understand.
00:22There's frustration in the nation, understandably so.
00:26I walked in and they booed me, Sam.
00:27So don't worry about it.
00:33Unfortunately, booing is something we get accustomed to
00:37when we're not performing to expectations.
00:40So I get it, and we move forward.
00:44That's all we can do.
00:45Yeah. Well, I mean, listen, we played some stuff from Theo earlier,
00:51and when it comes to performing to expectations,
00:54Theo talked a lot about pitching, talked a lot about defense,
00:58and talked about how difficult it is to put those two things together.
01:02So from your perspective, you must be happy with that part of this team
01:06at this point in the season.
01:08Yeah. I mean, listen, Theo, I know he hasn't done a ton of media,
01:14and as someone who does a lot of media, I can understand why, right?
01:21Oh, man.
01:21So I spent the last couple days with him, actually, in New York.
01:26We had some stuff going on in the city,
01:29and he's been a great, great advisor to us and very helpful.
01:35I think his comments were spot on.
01:37I mean, the pitching and defense has been outstanding,
01:40and the offense has been woeful, and we have to improve.
01:45It's hard to do in season, but we have to.
01:48We have to be better on the offensive side of the ball.
01:51We've got to score more runs.
01:53We're starting to see some improvement, which is great,
01:55but that assessment is spot on.
01:59So is it your intention, Craig's intention,
02:04and are you on the lookout for a deal that would add a bat to the offense?
02:10Yeah, there's been conversations going on earlier than ever before on that front.
02:16It's obviously hard.
02:17The American League is so bunched up.
02:20There's some National League teams that are, I'd say,
02:23more engaged in conversations than typical at this time of the year.
02:29But, yeah, if the question is,
02:31are Craig and his team in baseball operations trying to improve the team right now,
02:37the answer is yes.
02:39Will we be able to get a deal done or match up on something?
02:43I have no idea is the truth.
02:45But there's conversations.
02:46There's urgency, and that's something that's important.
02:50And hopefully something that could be done, you know, earlier rather than later.
02:56But, you know, there's two ways to improve,
02:58with the existing group and then new faces.
03:01So we're going to try on both of those.
03:06All right.
03:07Sam, they're cheering for you.
03:09Well, actually, it was a boat horn, but they're also cheering for you, Sam, on that.
03:15There's probably something else going on there that they're cheering for.
03:18It's a fairy.
03:19I get it.
03:20I get it.
03:21I wanted to ask you about – you brought up the media being tough and fans sometimes.
03:27And I wanted to ask you about from an injury perspective,
03:30when it comes to sharing that with the media so that a player like, you know,
03:36Roman Anthony, so that we're not sitting here going, hey,
03:39what's the deal with Roman Anthony?
03:42Why don't we understand what the injury is?
03:45Are you guys – first of all, I had heard that it was a partially torn ligament in the ring
03:52finger.
03:53Maybe you can confirm that.
03:56Or if not, why is that something that you guys don't necessarily share so the player is not sitting out
04:02there being questioned about why he's not playing?
04:05Sure.
04:06Sure.
04:06Well, let me share.
04:09I'm sorry.
04:10You said you had heard what?
04:11Partially torn ligament ring finger.
04:15Oh, okay.
04:15Well, I could tell you that from what we know from our medical staff, that is not the case.
04:23He's got a sprain.
04:25So maybe you – you know, Dr. Hill and Dr. Kennedy here can discuss medical diagnosis together.
04:31Was I right on the finger?
04:35Yes, yes.
04:36From what I understand, he's got a sprain in the ligament at the base of the ring finger.
04:46There's no evidence of a tear.
04:48The imaging is negative.
04:51There's been a second opinion to confirm that.
04:54But hand injuries are really tough for baseball players.
04:58That's why we don't like to put a timetable on it because these things are really, really difficult in terms
05:05of projecting how long something will take.
05:08So Roman, as I can tell you, he wants to get out there as fast as humanly possible, but he
05:14wants to do it in a way, and we want him to do it in a way where he's not
05:18going to have a reoccurrence of the injury.
05:21So that's what we know.
05:23He's battling through it, and I know he wants to get out there as fast as humanly possible.
05:28Sam, ESPN's Buster Only posted on social media a couple days ago something you were just talking about, which is
05:35the difficulty in adding offense midseason, and particularly somebody who's going to be a power bat in your lineup.
05:44So how aggressively do you guys look at it from your perspective of your roster or prospects?
05:50And I know you said you're engaging in these conversations earlier than ever, but when you look at the landscape
05:57of the American League, how aggressive do you feel at this point that you need to be in really bringing
06:02that bat in?
06:04Well, I mean, I think it's just been obvious to everybody the area of deficiency of the 2026 Red Sox.
06:13I mean, here we sit nearly 50 games into the season.
06:17The good news is we've got a long way to go, 113 or 114 games, something like that.
06:23But there's plenty of time, but we haven't been getting on base.
06:28We haven't been hitting the ball out of the ballpark.
06:30We haven't been scoring a lot of runs.
06:32Now, that's something that is not a good recipe.
06:36But the flip side of it is if you have the type of pitching and defense that we have, we're
06:42really showing the ability to be competitive if we can start hitting.
06:46So that is definitely the focus for the group right now, and that's what we're working on, as I said,
06:52internally.
06:53But having those external conversations with a sense of urgency is important.
06:59So we'll see where those conversations lead, and we're focused on it.
07:05Sam, I did a lead yesterday where your team against the best teams in Major Leagues baseball, teams that are
07:11five, six games above 500.
07:13There are eight games where you lost by one run, or you've only scored less than two runs.
07:20When you look at this team, do you believe, does ownership believe, that this team, if they do add a
07:27bat, can contend for a World Series?
07:32We definitely believe this is a team that can contend for a World Series.
07:37Those were the expectations coming into the season.
07:40And one of the reasons why it's been so frustrating and so maddening is that we got off to a
07:47horrible start.
07:49And it was just really, really maddening and frustrating, but we do still have those expectations.
07:55But, again, talk means nothing.
07:58It's the middle of May.
07:59We're getting into late May, I guess, here with the holiday.
08:02We've got to start playing better.
08:04Sam, you were in New York, and I believe part of the reason you were there was for a Lifetime
08:09Achievement Award given to John Henry at a sports business journal, I think was the event.
08:15And he said, according to quotes that were released, that he thought when the Red Sox won a World Series
08:21that he would never have to buy a drink again in Boston.
08:24And he said, well, that isn't the case.
08:25I guess my question is, do you think the fan base's criticism of the ownership group is unfair?
08:33No.
08:33And, Chris, let me actually encourage all your listeners to listen to the speech that John Henry delivered the other
08:44night in New York.
08:45It can be found out there online.
08:48It was a joke.
08:50It was a funny joke.
08:51It got a great reaction.
08:54John was leaning into the fact that he understands the expectations and why our fans are so passionate, because this
09:04is the Boston Red Sox.
09:05We live for this.
09:07And so the criticism is fair, more than fair.
09:11We have had, yes, we've had lots of criticism, but I don't think any franchise over the last 25 years
09:18has had better fan support or more passion or more interest.
09:24Our fan base lifts us up.
09:26They support us at every turn.
09:29Yeah, they criticize us when we're not performing well and we deserve it.
09:33So I don't think it's unfair.
09:35It comes with the territory.
09:37We love it.
09:38Believe me, we've all worked in other markets.
09:42This is where you want to be if you're in baseball.
09:44So I don't believe the criticism is unfair.
09:47I think John and his family and Tom and his family and I know myself, like, we get it.
09:55We need to be playing baseball in October consistently.
09:59That's the expectation.
10:00That's what our fans deserve.
10:01So criticism, and we care deeply about that.
10:06And when we don't get there, we get criticism.
10:08And like I said, it goes with the territory.
10:11Very important one here.
10:12Where is the organization officially on tarps off at Fenway Park?
10:22We've seen lots of different displays from our fans over the years.
10:28The rule is this.
10:30We just have to make sure that fans are not harming the enjoyment for other fans.
10:36So as long as people are behaving respectfully, we're good.
10:41So as long as Greg keeps his shirt on, we're okay.
10:44Exactly.
10:46Exactly.
10:47Sam, don't get dragged into that by Curtis.
10:49I think that's got to be a Major League Baseball league-wide ban, right, for Greg?
10:54A thousand percent.
10:56What if it's tarps off but a paper bag on the head?
11:00Oh, jeez.
11:02Oh.
11:02Oh.
11:05We understand people have a right to express their frustration and disappointment.
11:10There's one way we can address that, right?
11:13Yes.
11:13Winning games.
11:14No, listen.
11:15I honestly, Theo got me excited because the pitching, you guys deserve credit on where the pitching is
11:22and where the defense is.
11:23And it sounds to me like you guys earlier were booing him.
11:27Sam Kennedy is telling you World Series is the goal.
11:30And they're going to go out.
11:32And they're going to add a bat.
11:34Are you excited about that?
11:35Yes.
11:36Sam?
11:36There you go.
11:37Sam, they're excited about that.
11:39This is why Greg and WEI get us in trouble, right?
11:43You've just now stated something that we are going to try and do.
11:48We are having conversations.
11:49I understand.
11:49No, I got it.
11:50Let's have them boo us again.
11:52Let's have them boo us because we want to be honest with our fans.
11:55We don't know where those conversations are going to go, but we are engaged in those conversations.
12:01Sam, on those conversations, we have them all the time.
12:03And I am, you know, I know you're not going to talk about specific players, but what if
12:08there are people that are playing much better than they have been?
12:13Is there, I guess I'll ask it this way.
12:15Are there players on the major league roster that are untouchable?
12:17Or given where you guys are, is it something that you have theorized that you would trade
12:21active guys on the big league club for other players before the deadline?
12:26I'd say the focus is to try and add and bring in and to preserve guys who are on the
12:33roster.
12:34But you can't ever, I don't want to lie to you and say that we wouldn't consider everything
12:40and anything.
12:41You always have to.
12:42You have to listen.
12:44It's a hard part of the game.
12:46But the goal is to try and get to that postseason and be playing baseball in October.
12:52And we have to consider anything and everything that we think would allow us to do that.
12:57So you have to be engaged on all conversations.
13:01Sam, we appreciate it.
13:03Good luck this weekend.
13:05And, you know, back-to-back sweeps would be nice.
13:07And we appreciate you taking the time this morning.
13:10So thank you, Sam Kennedy.
13:12Good to be with you guys.
13:14Enjoy the cake.
13:15Thanks.
13:15All right.
13:15There you go.
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