- 3 days ago
Red Sox President and CEO Sam Kennedy joins LIVE! The Greg Hill Show!
Kennedy talks "unacceptable" last 2 months, Anthony injury clarification, Crochet update, Breslow's job security and more!
Kennedy talks "unacceptable" last 2 months, Anthony injury clarification, Crochet update, Breslow's job security and more!
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00:00is the president of the Boston Red Sox, Sam Kennedy, who joins us this morning. Hey, Sam.
00:06Hey, Greg. Good morning.
00:08Good morning to you. Lately, I feel like when you're on, we seem to have injury issues to
00:14clear up doctor to doctor. So could you kind of let us know what's going on with the Garrett
00:22crochet confusion this morning?
00:25Yeah, look, I think it's important here at the outset, Greg, just to acknowledge before
00:31we get into all that, just how embarrassing and unacceptable, maddening, frustrating, whatever
00:39words you want to use the past two and a half months have been. There's no way to sugarcoat
00:46it. It's been awful, especially when you consider the stated goal of building upon what happened
00:56last season. So I just, you know, before getting involved in terms of the day to day of the
01:03club, taking a step back, zooming out, it's been incredibly frustrating. And I just want
01:09to acknowledge that right at the outset and it's on all of us. We have to get better. And
01:16I just wanted to say that in terms of Sam, let me just follow up. Then I'm imagining, I'm
01:23guessing that John Henry is pissed.
01:26Of course. I mean, we all are everybody, John Henry, Tom Werner, myself, Craig Breslow, the
01:34whole group. It's, um, it's, it's, it's been maddening and, and, um, you know, just day in and
01:42day out. We're look, we're all, we're all frustrated. Our fans have, uh, have got to be
01:49livid. Um, it's, we're just not where we expected to be. We have to own that. We're not pretending
01:55otherwise. Um, we, we all watch the same games. Uh, we're at every game. We watch every pitch of
02:02every game on the road. We've seen the same inconsistencies. We've, we've seen, um, lack
02:09of performance. Um, and that's, uh, that's on us. And we just, uh, we gotta, we gotta grind
02:15through it. We have to, we have to get better. Um, but yeah, we're, we're, we're all incredibly
02:21upset and frustrated with where we are.
02:24So when it comes to the injury information and that there at times appear to be contradictions,
02:30whether it's Chad Tracy saying this, uh, you and I going back and forth on Roman Anthony,
02:37what, what is the, why is the messaging mixed at times with the organization?
02:42Well, it's, uh, listen, I need to own up to my mistake. I mean, I was unequivocal in my
02:48response to you regarding, uh, Roman and his situation. Um, I, apparently I missed that day
02:55at Harvard medical school. You know, I shouldn't, I shouldn't be sitting here talking about a sprain,
03:00you know, sprain is a tear. Um, and you know, I, I was reading off of a report that, um,
03:08identified the sprain. And anyway, listen, Roman is doing everything he can to get back and get
03:14better, putting timetables on baseball injuries really, really hard. That's why we try not to do
03:20it. And then when we don't do that, it, it sounds evasive and like we're dodging it. So I, um,
03:27you
03:27know, I, I, I apologize for my mistake there. I've, I've communicated with Roman about that. It's,
03:33that's all good. And what's important is he's doing the work to getting back. And in terms of Garrett,
03:38uh, unfortunately he's, you know, he's dealing, uh, with, uh, a lot, uh, issue again, I'll, I'll stop
03:45there. Uh, if anything, I learned can learn from my mistakes in terms of putting timetables or
03:51getting into details. That's not my role. Um, and I'm, so I'm not going to do it, but I know
03:55it's,
03:56um, it's killing him and killing Roman to not be out there, but hopefully they'll, they'll,
04:02they'll be able to get back out there soon enough and help us get this thing back on track.
04:07Go ahead. No, I was going to say, Sam, part of your role is being able to evaluate whether your
04:11organization is moving in the right direction, especially when it's, uh, you moving in the right
04:18direction with Craig Breslow and how he wants to build a team. Do you, do you feel like he's doing
04:27that or is there something that you'd like to see him do differently? Look, I fully understand and
04:35appreciate questions regarding Craig Breslow and his job security and, and, and all that. Um,
04:41you know, but the issue of a change there, just to be clear, it's, it's not even on the table.
04:48Um,
04:48Craig and he, he, he is working as hard as anybody, uh, in terms of getting things back on track.
04:55But
04:55again, words are hollow right now. And, um, as bleak as things appear, I think it'd be, um, ridiculous to
05:02say anything other than we're all feeling it. And, um, you know, we're working to get us back on that
05:08trajectory that we really thought we were on, um, coming into the end of last year and getting to
05:16the post season and then having a stated goal of, of taking that next step in October. Um, that was
05:23the goal. And, and here we are, uh, it's just, it's, I don't know, 66 games in, um, we've played
05:3140% of the
05:32season and, you know, we're 12 games under 500 and last in the AL East. Uh, that's, that's pretty
05:39much all we need to know. It's just, just not, not acceptable. Sam, you've said, and, uh, Tim
05:44Healy reported that Breslow's job is safe. And I take you at your word. Is your job safe?
05:50Um, that obviously is a question for, for others. Um, so, you know, listen, I, I've been
05:58here a long time and, um, I love this organization and, and my job is to, um, set the overall
06:07course
06:07for the franchise. Um, I'm the CEO and president and, uh, work for ownership. I'm a partner in
06:15Senway Sports Group. Um, I work day to day with John and Tom and Mike and all of our partners
06:21with Theo Epstein, who's a partner. All of us are feeling this. Um, so I don't, I don't
06:27think about my job security each and every day. I think about what we need to do to get
06:31better. Um, cause it falls on all of us. Nobody, nobody is, uh, free and clear of blame.
06:38And, and we've, again, having been here 25 years, we've had some incredible high highs
06:45and some very low lows, but I, I don't remember a period really feeling it, you know, as viscerally
06:51as, as we feel it right now. It's, it's been, it's been awful.
06:55Craig Breslow seems like a great guy works hard. As you said, how can the franchise still
07:01have faith in him when he is the guy who put this roster together?
07:06Well, look, baseball is, um, it's a, it's a very, very, very, um, uh, difficult thing
07:14to predict and to, um, to, to watch unfold sort of in the moment. It's only appreciated
07:22over a longer period of time. But if you just, if you zoom out, you take a step back. We,
07:26we brought Bres in three years ago, well known to the organization as a player. Um, and we brought
07:33him in to lead this baseball operation, uh, to do a lot of difficult things, primarily,
07:39uh, to, to rework our pitching infrastructure. And I've been an area of weakness, um, which
07:45had some great success there. We got back to the playoffs and with the moves that we made
07:50in the off season, whether it was, you know, bringing in Sonny or Ranger Suarez or Wilson
07:55Contreras, again, we, we really felt that, that we were going to take that, that next
08:02step this, this coming year. And, and obviously that's looking, um, like a huge mountain to
08:08climb, but we can, we can shut down and we can put our heads in the sand or we can
08:12own
08:12it and acknowledge it and just grind through it. And that's what, uh, that's what we're
08:16choosing to do.
08:17Sam, when we spoke to you right before Memorial day, I believe you said something along the
08:22lines of being aggressive in looking to adding a bat, um, or at least adding at this looming
08:30trade deadline has the perspective of what the organization plans to do. They're changed
08:37over the last couple of weeks since we've talked to you and how much is that in flux right now?
08:43Yeah, it's a great question. Um, with the passage of time, yeah, you, you, you, you have
08:49to sort of take an honest assessment and look and see sort of where you are at the current
08:55moment. There are a lot of discussions going on, uh, in terms of improvement and how we get
09:01this thing back on track, uh, looking at every single area of the roster and player personnel
09:06and, and Fred and his, his team are doing that. But look, let's be honest, unless things
09:11change dramatically, um, you know, we may have to pivot here from what our initial planning
09:17was. It just, it wouldn't be responsible to do otherwise, but we've, uh, you know, we're
09:22here in mid June. We need to see what happens over the next couple of weeks and then we'll,
09:27we'll reassess.
09:28Was the Buster only report this week on the radio station accurate that, uh, an owner was
09:34calling around, uh, working on a, on a right-handed bat? And if so, who was that?
09:40Well, Buster, um, I've known Buster for 30 years, but that probably, I'm guessing, I don't
09:47know, uh, that probably grew out of the fact that, uh, that myself and John and Tom were
09:54at Major League Baseball meetings with 29 other owners for three straight days last week.
09:59Um, and there were lots of conversations about ways that our various clubs could improve, um,
10:06some commiserating and conversations about needs. Um, but no one's trying to play general
10:12manager, uh, on TV here. I mean, sometimes those conversations at our level, at the ownership
10:17level, um, can be passed along to baseball, our baseball ops department, um, and lead to
10:24a transaction. So yeah, there's, uh, there's discussions going on, uh, with other clubs,
10:30with other owners, uh, about, you know, needs that we'd have. You, you haven't seen a lot
10:34of, uh, transactions removed. They are hard to pull off this time of year, just given where
10:39everybody is. Um, but I assume that's where, uh, those reports came from and we're, we've,
10:46we've got, um, uh, constant communication with Craig in terms of keeping them updated if
10:51there's anything that's actionable or needs to be followed up on. So I assume that's what
10:56that was. Have you personally contacted Dustin Perdoia about having a role in the organization?
11:02I have over the years. Um, I would, we would love to have PD a part of the organization.
11:09Unfortunately, the answer I get is, uh, is a consistent no. He's very, very happy coaching
11:15his kids. And I do think there will be a day we can get him out of Arizona and get
11:20him back,
11:21uh, into a front office or back into uniform or, or dugout. I mean, he, he is, uh, he's
11:27whatever he wants to do in this game, he'll, he'll do and pursue it with the approach that
11:32we all know and love, but he, uh, for the time being, uh, unfortunately does not have interest.
11:37And that was recently that you contacted him.
11:41Um, not recent. I haven't had a recent discussion with him, but over the last several years, I've
11:45I've been in touch with, I'm in touch with, with Dustin a lot.
11:49Sam, I understand. And you understand better than anybody, how difficult this game is and
11:54winning at a high level and staying there in a sport with the parody of major league baseball
11:58is hard. I guess just as a lifelong fan of the team going back a couple of weeks, why
12:04the organization doesn't attempt to get in front and support its players fighting injuries
12:10as opposed to minimize it. And I, I, I'm not saying that what you got was wrong or that
12:16you were intending to do that as a rule. It appears that there is a massive chasm between
12:21the players, whether it be crochet and Roman Anthony in the front office, when those are
12:26the guys I thought you were trying to build this organization around.
12:30Yeah. Well, nothing's changed there. We are clearly building this organization around
12:35guys like Roman Anthony and Garrett crochet. Um, I think a massive chasm would be a
12:41mischaracterization. I think, um, you know, perhaps not, not nailing exactly the nature of
12:47the injury or communicating it effectively publicly that, that falls, that definitely falls on us,
12:53but without intention or there, there's just no upside to try and, you know, mislead or
12:59misstate something. Um, if, if we have, we, we have to do a better job of that. But as I
13:04said,
13:04I, you know, baseball injuries typically, um, are incredibly hard. I, just in my experience,
13:11very hard to predict timelines. Um, and so, uh, again, I know those guys are working hard to,
13:18to get back and I don't think there's, um, uh, you know, a feeling with the players that there was
13:25any intention to do anything other than try to relay, uh, information in a transparent way. And,
13:31uh, that's, we, we need to do a better job with that, uh, across the organization.
13:36But when, but when Roman Anthony grabs Rob Bradford and they talk about the injury and he goes out of
13:41his way to correct what the organization had said publicly, that feels dysfunctional.
13:48Well, yeah, I mean, he, he needed to correct, I think what I said, which was, I referred to it
13:54as
13:54a sprain. Um, and, and it was actually, it was a sprain. That was true. Um, but it also,
14:00uh, that, that is also a, a tear. And, and again, with the degree, the level, um, you know,
14:08I just shouldn't be wading into that. That's on me a hundred percent. Uh, Alex Spear of the globe,
14:14who's obviously been around and reported on the team for a long time, had some pretty scathing
14:19comments from rival evaluators in an article today calling the offense quote punchless and, um,
14:27triple a players, utility infielders. How do you feel when you hear, I guess, without these
14:34being named rival evaluators describing the Red Sox that way right now?
14:40Well, I mean, it's, it's been, um, it's been accurate that we've been punchless and we haven't
14:47performed up to expectations. So, um, yeah, it's frustrating and maddening and it, it, it pisses
14:54you off. But, um, at the same time, uh, you know, 27 and 39 with 12 games under 500, um,
15:02we're in last place in the American league. So it is what it is.
15:06Is this from your perspective, your, your worst season, uh, when, when it comes to being involved
15:12with the ball club?
15:14Well, I took over in 2015 as president and CEO, um, from, from Larry Lucchino. So in terms
15:22of being in this, uh, ultimate position of leadership, uh, for sure, the start has been
15:29the most maddening, the most frustrating, um, that I can remember. 2000, end of, end of 11
15:36into 12, um, was pretty tough. I was chief operating officer at that time and working very closely
15:41with Larry Lucchino and Ben Sherrington. That was a, that was a tough period. Um, but yeah,
15:47this is, you know, there's definitely a recency bias, but yeah, this is, this is about as bad
15:52as it gets. And it's, um, it's been, it's been brutal, but look, we can, again, we can
15:58sulk and, you know, just give up or, you know, grind through it, which is exactly what we're
16:03going to do. We're going to try and find ways to improve and hope that things start to
16:09get better through change or additions or subtractions. We have to do everything we
16:14possibly can and, and keep going. But again, like I said, if things don't change, you know,
16:20dramatically here, uh, over the next couple of weeks, we're going to have to, we're going
16:23to have to pivot from our initial planning and the initial expectations. I mean, you just
16:28have to be honest about what what's going on here. Sam quickly, you were with the owners
16:31for three days in New York, away from your team, more baseball oriented question. Is there
16:36any chance Major League Baseball comes back after the season without a salary cap?
16:42I am, uh, not going to wade into Major League Baseball labor issues, Chris. I'm not trying
16:48to be, um, evasive or, or dodge it. It's just, um, I'm focused on the Red Sox and everything
16:56that's going on here. And MLB is well served by Commissioner Manfred and the leadership there.
17:02So I'll leave those questions for them for, for now. Sam, appreciate you taking the time doctor
17:07to doctor. I appreciate you taking the time and appreciate, uh, your, your honesty with us this
17:14morning. So thank you very much. And we will talk to you again soon. Thanks guys. Appreciate it.
17:19All right. That is Sam Kennedy and we will get to more on that in two minutes.
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