- 2 days ago
It's a MYSTERY- Was it a change in coaching, getting rid of 'Driveline', or player departures? WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE WAS the biggest reason? Team chemistry has no doubt improved. Vibes>> analytics?
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00:00I got a text during the break from somebody who says,
00:03because we were talking about what's different
00:04and why suddenly the 13-game win streak,
00:08and somebody said it's on the text machine, it's everything.
00:13It's making the change when it came to Alex Cora and his crew.
00:17It's getting rid of the driveline, the over-reliance on driveline,
00:23if indeed they did that.
00:24And it's Marcelo and Roman perhaps being away.
00:29It's all of those things.
00:31So I don't know.
00:33You had times here in the past when you ended up winning a World Series
00:39where you had guys who were free and easy and were a bunch of idiots.
00:43And so maybe it is oftentimes more about the vibe than you think it is.
00:49It's also a self-fulfilling prophecy that once you win,
00:54winning begets winning, losing begets losing.
00:56You go in one direction, and so everybody's a little more relaxed.
00:59There isn't quite the angst and stress, and especially in baseball
01:04where it's inescapable.
01:06It's every day for five months that you're playing,
01:09and if you're losing and you keep losing, it compounds on top of it
01:12and it just becomes miserable.
01:13One thing I'll give Chad Tracy is he has been relatively steady.
01:17Even after losses, he was optimistic saying, you know, we played well,
01:21and I ripped him to shreds.
01:22Like, what are you talking about?
01:23I remember the first time we had him on, you know, week or week and a half
01:28after he got the job, and he was honest and transparent,
01:32and, you know, I think he's done a great job of leading that group of guys.
01:38He really has.
01:39But I'm not worried about the chemistry being impacted.
01:44Well, that's what I was going to say.
01:45Are you worried about whoever you bring in screwing with the chemistry
01:48on the baseball team?
01:49Not really.
01:50I mean, it is one of the great qualities that Theo Epstein possessed, Greg,
01:54which was that you make deals, and you know the guys that you afford to lose
01:58versus ones you can't.
02:00And the Nomar deal was as much a chemistry move
02:04as it was a move for the on-field product.
02:08So I think in hindsight was the Devers deal, right?
02:12Of course, you were not a better baseball team in terms of talent,
02:15but you played better after it.
02:17And that's something Breslow actually said when they made the Devers trade.
02:20So I do think if you want to go over, like, the top reasons why they are
02:26where they are and not where they were, getting those guys out of here
02:29clearly helped clear the air, whether it was Marcelo Meyer's fault
02:33or Roman Anthony's fault or Brian Baio's fault who may be back.
02:37There was this sort of pressure point or there was something going on
02:43where they get out of there.
02:45They're no longer, you know, moping around or bitching about the front office
02:49or whatever else.
02:50Well, you feel like also Trevor's story not being around has been a difference
02:56maker also.
02:57Oh, yeah.
02:57I mean, if you have people that are – you worked around people when you arrived
03:01that were always talking about the old days and, like, why are you changing?
03:04Well, it's like, well, you're here because you need to make changes.
03:07Like, things weren't working.
03:08Let's make changes.
03:09And Chad Tracy is in.
03:11He wasn't loyal to Trevor's story.
03:13He wasn't against him.
03:14But there were the guys that were most mad about the Cora firing in hindsight
03:19were probably part of the problem.
03:21And you have Chad Tracy in here.
03:23They do need a bat.
03:25They do need a starting pitcher.
03:26I don't think it will jeopardize the quality of the locker room
03:29of the clubhouse.
03:31But I am concerned about, you know, whether or not you're going to get these
03:34guys back up here and how that would impact the sort of – the vibe that's
03:38been going on.
03:39Because Wilson Gutierrez is clearly the leader of the team, a guy that has
03:44really taken – you know, I just – Boston loves guys like that, guys that wear
03:48the emotions on the sleeve, guys threatening people with fights on social media,
03:52just the crazy guy that we all want to – that's endeared himself to the region.
03:55I think Abreu getting hot is going to be unbelievable.
03:58I mean, he's had, what, four home runs over the weekend?
04:00Yes, he did.
04:01I mean, I can't believe it.
04:05I can't believe it.
04:06They're going to make a trade.
04:07They have to improve the team.
04:08Nobody would accept otherwise.
04:09I don't think Breslow would even dare to not make a move to improve the team.
04:13And I'm not worried about how that will impact what they've created so far.
04:18But Breslow has saved his job.
04:21Unbelievable.
04:22A month ago, everybody wanted him out of here.
04:24I actually felt bad for him when you did the running joke.
04:27I was like, oh, my God, are we piling on?
04:30Yes.
04:31I mean, he really –
04:32Not only have they gone for a run, you really reversed jinxed them.
04:36Maybe it was.
04:37Maybe it was.
04:38I feel like I'm more likely to go on a run than this team is.
04:42Oh, jeez.
04:44I was wrong about that.
04:46Not only a run, it's a historic run.
04:5113th straight.
04:52It might be the longest streak in team history.
04:55If you can somehow win these two, tonight and tomorrow night, then you tie the best win streak ever by
05:05this baseball team.
05:06Correct.
05:07The last time it happened was 1946.
05:10Unbelievable.
05:12We had just finished World War II, and they won 15 straight.
05:16You could do that again here.
05:17Wait, so that would be – carry the two.
05:19That would be 80 years?
05:20Yeah, exactly.
05:25Craig mocks the president of the baseball team.
05:27He's more likely to go on a run, and then they proceed to go –
05:30And then they proceed to go on a historical run.
05:32Unbelievable.
05:33Unbelievable.
05:34I mean, I've been wrong about a lot of things, but I was wrong on this team.
05:38I mean, Craig, I did not dispute it.
05:39I thought you were spot on.
05:41I thought it was a great line.
05:42And you actually may be – you, Adam, getting to the World Series, you actually may turn out to be
05:46right when it comes to that.
05:47Can we just delete the last three months of radio and go right back to that?
05:49Never wrong, only early, Curtis.
05:51Oh, my God.
05:53Unbelievable.
05:53You can't say it enough.
05:55It is shocking.
05:56Is there anything that you guys can think of that would be similar to this turnaround?
06:00Nothing.
06:00Nothing off the top of my head.
06:02Well, I mean, let's give some credit to Mike Rabel and the Patriots, who really won three games and then
06:08got themselves to a Super Bowl.
06:10But, I mean, in season.
06:11Next season.
06:12In season.
06:12You're saying in season.
06:13Like, the same team, by and large, with very similar people around.
06:18And this wasn't like you fired Cora, and then you won 13 straight.
06:21No.
06:22It was like a while back when Alex Smith was still the quarterback of the Chiefs.
06:27They started a season, like, 1-5, and then won, like, 11 straight to get to the playoffs.
06:31Like, it's something like that.
06:32But even still, I think this is even better than that.
06:34Yeah.
06:35I mean, it's unprecedented.
06:37Literally unprecedented.
06:38I thought for sure I was going to jinx it going to that game Friday night.
06:40I did not.
06:41Me too.
06:41Even I can't jinx them by being there.
06:44Unbelievable.
06:46It really is.
06:47There's no other way to put it.
06:48It's shocking.
06:50It's unbelievable.
06:51This is Alex from Dover, New Hampshire.
06:54What's up, Alex?
06:55Yes.
06:56Hi, guys.
06:56Great show.
06:57I really, really love it.
06:58Keeps my day going.
06:59I've been calling for two or three years about Cora, the absolute worst game manager I ever
07:04saw in 65 years of following the Red Sox.
07:07No plan for anything.
07:08No plan for extra innings.
07:10This season was a pitch challenging.
07:12Absolutely no plan for pitch challenging.
07:15Standing in the dugout.
07:16No hit and runs.
07:17No hitting behind runners.
07:18No bunting.
07:19Just a total disaster.
07:21And no discipline whatsoever.
07:23In terms of Breslow, he has been absolutely.
07:26Lights out.
07:27Three big moves.
07:28Getting rid of Cora, Bregman, and Devers.
07:30Anyone question those moves?
07:32How about picking up Wilson Contreras?
07:34How about that at third base?
07:37Yeah.
07:37How about Suarez?
07:38How about Sonny Gray?
07:39Will someone please get off his back?
07:42For goodness sake, he's been the best general manager in baseball for the last year and a
07:46half.
07:47You think that's funny?
07:49Tell me one move that was a bad move.
07:52Good morning.
07:52I tell him to be afraid of you.
07:53One move.
07:55One move.
07:56Give me one move.
07:57Yeah.
07:58I mean, can you give him a move that Breslow made that was a bad move?
08:01I mean, I would say that the return on Devers was not great.
08:06And then what they dealt, they made the trade for.
08:08But he got rid of the salary.
08:10Yeah.
08:10And to be fair, that's exactly what you had said all along that the ownership wanted,
08:13right?
08:13Was to deal the salary.
08:14So in their eyes, it was a good deal.
08:16Who's the guy they traded that has been lights out in AAA?
08:19Harrison or Tibbs?
08:20Oh, Tibbs is the one that's hitting in AAA.
08:22And then Harrison's the pitcher, I think, for the Brewers or whatever.
08:25Those would be two trades, I would say.
08:28I mean, a complete turnaround for the guy.
08:32An in-game manager.
08:33Cora was.
08:34For your guy.
08:35I know.
08:36If they get to the playoffs, I might have to just come in wearing those baseball pants for
08:39a week.
08:40They might have to get the full uniform if they make it to the playoffs.
08:42Tarps off.
08:43Oh, I'd be happy to for him.
08:46Yeah.
08:46I mean, the other thing is, like, Cora was the manager of the team that had the most wins
08:50in the history of the Red Sox.
08:51I think he was a pretty good in-game manager.
08:53Like, I love these old guys that talk about in-game managing.
08:56Well, I don't know how much of the stuff that he was talking about was Cora or was the
09:03analytic driveline stuff.
09:04Like, the fact that they are now able to bunt the baseball, like, which the analytics
09:09guy is still here, though.
09:11There are analytics people there.
09:13But the main guy, Kyle Boddy, is gone.
09:18And the.
09:18But before all this win streak, though, we said Breslow was the guy who was the analytics
09:24guy.
09:24Is it possible that, you know, light dons on Marblehead and Breslow was like, all right,
09:30we got to stop relying completely entirely on analytics.
09:34And if somebody wants to bunt the ball on the road, we're going to let them bunt the
09:40ball because they were they played baseball their entire life.
09:42And they're going to make that decision based on their life experience.
09:46Yeah.
09:46Or maybe or maybe it was the manager who didn't want to bunt the ball.
09:49And it wasn't the analytics guy who didn't want to know Cora played the game using that
09:55type of like he was a guy that was his also an analytics guy.
09:59But like, I mean, when it comes to I just I just ask the question just because, I mean,
10:05Breslow's the one still here and they've completely changed.
10:08Right.
10:08He changed because his job was on the line.
10:10He was going to lose his job if they didn't turn this around.
10:13So desperate measures come in when you feel like you're in a desperate situation.
10:17But they haven't even done anything desperate.
10:19Like it's.
10:19Well, they fired the manager, the head guy from drivelines left driveline left.
10:23They sent Roman Anthony and Marcello Meyer to Fort Myers.
10:26They've incorporated players, they've allowed their players to bring in their own people
10:29around them.
10:30I feel like they've loosened some of that stuff.
10:33You got guys like Anthony Siegler up here who I think are just great attitude guys and
10:39great spark plugs guys.
10:41John and Linda are meeting you on the tarmac.
10:43It's a big moment, according to Lou Marloni.
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