- 6 weeks ago
WEEI baseball insider Rob Bradford joined the show to discuss Rafael Devers return to Fenway Park, Roman Anthony’s rehab and return, and whether the team is soft.
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00:00That right there was the voice of Wilson Contreras from our Jimmy Fun Telethon.
00:05Apparently us informing him that Roman Anthony was coming back.
00:08I would, you know, I guess I keep saying I would like to hear Ace of Spades behind everything that's
00:13done in this world.
00:14But I actually would like to hear it in back of the Wilson Contreras answer right there.
00:21I didn't know that.
00:22That was very interesting.
00:23By the way, we have Rob Bradford with us, of course, from WEI.com.
00:27And baseball isn't boring.
00:28I just want to get your take on that right there because I don't mean to be too sports talky,
00:35but I read into a lot of what he said and how he answered that question.
00:39Yeah, I mean, I think it's Wilson Contreras is very no-nonsense, and he's like,
00:43okay, you want to come up?
00:45You want to help us?
00:45Let's go because you're a good player.
00:47You were the lead off hitter on opening day.
00:49But if you're not here, you're not here.
00:51I don't think – I honestly don't think that it's like, hey, we don't want the guy.
00:57He understands how important where Roman Anthony can be.
01:01He understands that.
01:02But he also understands, as he said, it's rubber meets the road time.
01:06It is – if you're going to come up, we're not going to slow play this.
01:10Either you're ready to go or you're not.
01:12That's kind of like the take I had.
01:13That's why I wanted to do the lemmy in the back of it because I'm like, okay, here we go.
01:18Let's go.
01:19Whatever, 30-something games left?
01:21Like, let's go.
01:22Now, Brad, the text line – oh, there we go.
01:24There we go.
01:25Maybe they need to play this for the actual team because we get some people –
01:29and I know the text line doesn't represent everybody or even most people,
01:32but we get a lot of this is the softest Red Sox team I've seen in some time, dot, dot,
01:37dot.
01:37Maybe it's just one guy.
01:38I don't know.
01:38Do you – I know you're connected to people.
01:41To you at the 413.
01:42Do you sense that feedback that there's something – because a lot of this rabbit ears,
01:46there's a lot of stadium issues, barking at fans.
01:48Do they have a reputation as being soft, and is any of that related to the manager?
01:53No, I honestly – listen, I mean, this team can be criticized for a lot of things
01:57going back to April, but that I wouldn't put on the radar.
02:02And the first thing that jumps to mind is – and I understand why they're saying it
02:06because they're focusing on Roman Anthony, that situation.
02:09They're focusing on Trevor Story.
02:10He's been out forever.
02:12Jaron Duran.
02:13Jaron Duran.
02:14Jaron Duran, like soft and –
02:16Jaron Duran, like just barking at fans.
02:17Jaron Duran, like not being able to take any kind of razzing.
02:20I also – I can't get the image of Caleb Durbin's finger going east and west.
02:25Don't bring it up to Cam Neely.
02:27Really?
02:28Cam Neely mocked that.
02:29Oh, really?
02:30On the GM panel.
02:31You have to understand the context.
02:33So they were talking about like – he was talking about how these are great guys,
02:36guys you can believe in.
02:37And Craig Breslow at the GM panel said, you know, even like Durbin with the problem with
02:42his pinky and he kept playing and right next to him, Cam just pulls a B with his butt
02:46and goes, huh?
02:48Because, I mean, he's obviously a guy that's played through and seen his guys play through
02:53a hell of a lot worse.
02:54And it was just – it was a funny thing.
02:56But you're right.
02:56I mean, listen, that sucks.
02:57The pinky was pointing in the wrong direction.
03:00It's no joke.
03:01But, Brad, I get where you're going with that.
03:03You're basically saying, look, there's a lot of examples that shows this is a gritty,
03:07tough team.
03:07Yeah, I – again, I think that there's some – there's a lot of things that we pick
03:12this team apart for, whether it's in the front offices or on the field.
03:15But that wouldn't be one of them off of what I've seen so far this year.
03:19I would agree.
03:19And, you know, and I'm not going to go – like, Eric O'Shea, it's not like he isn't
03:23tough.
03:24He has a bad shoulder.
03:25Like, this is – this is how it is.
03:27It's not like these guys, Justin Slayton and Whitlock, are sitting out because
03:31they're soft.
03:32No, they have bad arms.
03:33So, it's just different in baseball.
03:35I don't begrudge Cam Neely for saying that because it's two different sports.
03:39And I will say this, Caleb Durbin was the guy who said, dude, it's a pinky.
03:43Like, I don't – it's a pinky.
03:45And I will say this, there's a lot of baseball players who would say, oh, man, I can't swing
03:51because of the pinky because that's how important it is.
03:53J.D. Drew.
03:54Yeah.
03:55Whoa.
03:55Whoa.
03:56Whoa.
03:56Whoa.
03:58Didn't J.D. Drew get injured in a fishing hole or something like that?
04:01Like a swimming hole?
04:02I think so.
04:02A fish.
04:03A fish in hole.
04:04I don't know what's weird that southern phrase it was.
04:07It's like a brown hole mud hole.
04:08That was the first time I ever learned about hyperbaric chambers.
04:12That J.D. Drew had bought himself a hyperbaric chamber.
04:15Yeah.
04:15Oh, really?
04:16Didn't take.
04:16Slept the night overnight?
04:17Didn't take.
04:18That guy was the king of like, oh, my back right before the start of the game, right?
04:23Kind of thing?
04:24Yeah.
04:24Well, yeah.
04:24In Japan, it was.
04:25Yeah.
04:26But I like J.D.
04:27But it's funny because that team that he was on was a great example of what we're talking
04:33about.
04:33Where across the board, you had Mike Lowell and Ortiz and Manny and Papelbon and all these
04:40guys back in.
04:41And then you had J.D.
04:42And yeah, some guys maybe rolled their eyes over that, but they also understood how important
04:47J.D. Drew was to that team, you know, obviously hitting the Grand Slam against Cleveland and
04:53everything else.
04:53So, I mean, that's how baseball clubhouses are.
04:56They aren't all going to be the same and they aren't all going to be like, you know,
04:59hey, Caleb Durbin with a dislocated pinky.
05:03I got to ask you, Brad Foe, what are your thoughts on what Trevor Story had to say earlier
05:09this coming back?
05:10Yeah.
05:11I think he wants to come back.
05:13Yeah, you think?
05:14Yeah.
05:15But I do think this is that they should have they should learn their lesson.
05:19They brought Adley Rushman back too quick.
05:21I don't think there's any question about that.
05:23And it's all right to slow play this with Trevor Story.
05:27It's fine.
05:28I don't care if he wants to come back.
05:30You need the best version of Trevor Story.
05:33And if you do get the best version of Trevor Story, that's a pretty impactful guy.
05:37Yeah.
05:38And I love what Chad Tracy said when we asked him about that.
05:40And he said, Mona's going to play.
05:42Yeah, you should.
05:43So they're going to find a way for Monasterio to stay in there.
05:46But as far as like the, like I'm trying to think of like which player do you think is
05:52going to have the most success once they return?
05:54I thought it was Roman Anthony because I believe this whole experience, you know, may have,
05:59I don't want to say humbled him, but it definitely probably put things in perspective for him
06:03because it's just human nature.
06:05If you're someone as young as him and you've made all of this money and you've essentially
06:09been crowned the face of the franchise, it has to be humbling to be away from all of that
06:15and see the team without you go from nothing to something like amazing, that run they ran
06:21on.
06:22And then when you come back, you kind of walk a little different, don't you?
06:26In other words, like I got to earn it with these guys.
06:29They've been through hell together and I got to make sure that my head's in the right place
06:32once I return.
06:33Yeah.
06:34I think that, I think they're both, honestly, my opinion, I think they're both going to be
06:38impactful.
06:39I do buy the Trevor story was really impacted by the sports hernia thing the first couple
06:44of months of the year.
06:45And remember the heater he went on for three months last year, he can still be a good player
06:49and Roman Anthony.
06:51Yeah, I agree with you, Rich.
06:52And let's not forget that Roman Anthony was, was not available for the playoffs last year.
06:59He wasn't available starting on what is now known as baseball's and boring night, September
07:042nd of last year.
07:06Also Gordo's wedding anniversary the year before, which I was fascinated Gordo, of course,
07:12to play Tessie, he's such a huge fan.
07:14He had his wedding on September 2nd, two years ago.
07:17And then on his wedding anniversary, Roman Anthony has the oblique injury.
07:21I said, how did you ever celebrate that night?
07:24Did that impact your anniversary at all?
07:27But, uh, that's how, wow.
07:29I don't want to get too deep into that.
07:31I've got deep.
07:31Yeah.
07:32Anyway.
07:32So I do think that Roman Anthony not going through that last year, he understands like, okay,
07:38here we go.
07:39This is my chance to change the narrative.
07:41And he started doing that with that home run the other night.
07:43I love it.
07:44And man, they could really use him now.
07:45They could really, really use him now.
07:48And I, and I, like, I mean, you could hear it.
07:49It could share his voice.
07:50Hey man, get here, be ready to go because you're important to this team.
07:56Opening day, rich, rich opening day.
07:58Who were the top two hitters in the lineup?
08:00Roman Anthony and Trevor story.
08:02There's a reason that was the case because this is how it was drawn up.
08:05So yeah.
08:06Yeah.
08:06Now real quick before you go, Rob, you like science.
08:09I got the numbers.
08:09I do like science.
08:10Okay.
08:10Red Sox, 92% chance to make the playoffs.
08:1335 games left.
08:14If they go 18 and 17, they'll win 86.
08:17Should you be worried about any of the teams, Minnesota, Texas, Toronto, Cleveland, all five
08:22and a half ish back, they would have to go 24 and 10 to catch you.
08:26If you just win 86 games, are any of those teams capable of running that off?
08:31First of all, I, it's all right.
08:33If they catch you because I is better than playing the Yankees at Yankees.
08:37Oh yeah.
08:38Well, that's true.
08:38You're going to play well with the, with the white socks or, or the AL West winners.
08:42Correct.
08:43Um, but I, I don't think they're going to get caught.
08:45I think their pitching is just good enough.
08:47Uh, they, and they're hitting is going to get better with these guys coming back, but it
08:51was the home field thing.
08:53And people forget, or they shouldn't forget three games, three games we saw last year
08:58at Yankee stadium.
08:59That's how this works.
09:00You get home field, you get the whole home field for the wild card.
09:04And if you could ever get that at Fenway park, the way that this crowd has been here, it it's
09:10been such a huge advantage for them this year.
09:13And I don't always say that every year here, but I think this year they've enacted their
09:17will a little bit more.
09:18And if they could ever get that, I think that would be huge, right?
09:21You know, cause you want your own fans booing you, not other fans.
09:25Yeah.
09:25Hey, listen, whatever.
09:26Toughen them up.
09:27Throw the cougar in the car.
09:28Whatever.
09:29Yeah.
09:30All right.
09:30Well, Rob Bradford, great stuff.
09:32Well, when is baseball isn't boring night?
09:34What's the name on that?
09:34September 2nd.
09:35Glad you asked.
09:36Gordo's wedding anniversary.
09:38Yeah.
09:38There we go.
09:38September 2nd.
09:39Baseball isn't boring night.
09:40With some guy named Joe.
09:42Yeah.
09:43CEO Joe.
09:43CEO Joe.
09:44CEO Joe.
09:45That will be there indeed.
09:46I still have, I think I might still have a Joe Philly, a Joe Kelly fight club shirt.
09:50Well, well, it's good news for reprinting them.
09:53Yeah.
09:53With the fine folks at Sully's we're reprinting them just for that night.
09:56So it's going to be a good time, but I appreciate you guys.
09:59And, and it's going to be a great crowd, a great game tonight.
10:02Devers, by the way, talking at four o'clock in the dugout.
10:04Oh, nice.
10:05I'll let you know what he says.