President and CEO of Red Sox, Sam Kennedy, joins the show!

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President and CEO of Red Sox, Sam Kennedy, joins the show! Kennedy talks trade deadline, Alex Cora, recent Celtics ownership news and more!

Transcript

00:00and it is the guy who runs the whole operation over there Sam Kennedy on the

00:05phone right now hey Sam good morning good morning Greg how are you I'm great

00:10how are you we're doing well thanks excited to hear you say on Nesson last

00:16night that the ownership group has the resources when it comes to being buyers

00:24as you start to think about that deadline coming up in a couple weeks

00:28what are the the main contributing factors when it comes to that decision

00:33from your perspective well look it's a it's it's mid-july the team has been

00:41playing incredibly well as you see there's been improvement throughout the

00:45course of the year we were sort of middling around 500 for a while but we

00:50had a great June and and off to a strong July so we'll see what happens here over

00:56the next couple weeks with this with the trade deadline market but really

01:01exciting we you know you wake up today we're six seven games back in the

01:05division and there's a lot of belief in that clubhouse so we just got a we got

01:09to keep winning series got a big one tonight and we got the Royals coming in

01:13Dodgers Rockies Yankees before we get to that deadline so hopefully we can keep

01:19keep attacking here and make it kind of an easy decision but we'll see what

01:24happens it's but it's been really enjoyable to watch and and really

01:29accredits our baseball operation they've done a great job reading into Alex Cora

01:33which is what we we do it seems like he has been sort of alluding to the fact

01:40that he would like this team to be buyers are you getting you said last

01:43night that he and Craig Breslow are on the same page and vibe is vibe is

01:48exciting are you getting that same feeling from Alex Cora yeah you know I

01:53think Alex said it really well yesterday as he typically does you're

02:00never going to hear a manager or coaching staff or players talk about

02:05trading players away or selling at the deadline there's a there's a very

02:11distinct belief in these guys that are in these positions that we can do

02:16something special and you know look just to provide some context Alex Brez and

02:23I go way back we've been you know on or off we've been together since 2007 if

02:29you think about it so there's great underlying relationship there's been a

02:33lot of open and honest and candid conversations those two jobs are very

02:38very different obviously my role is very different Alex and the staff have to get

02:44these guys up every single day for the grind of 162 and that's exactly what

02:50they've done Brez came in to run the whole operation he's got a he's got to

02:55do what's right for the organization in the short term and the long term and

03:00it's incredibly difficult so they both recognize they've got different different

03:06roles Brez is the final decision maker on all baseball operations matters

03:12we've been very clear about that internally externally and it's really

03:17been rewarding to see the two of them working so well together I think we've

03:21got an elite operation and hopefully we can keep it going going back as far as

03:26you do with Alex Cora can you imagine him managing in a different uniform no

03:32Alex is he's he's just done an outstanding job this year and in other

03:37years and really really rewarding just to see how what a good spot he's in as

03:44he keeps talking about personally and professionally and it's been such an

03:48important part of this organization so hopefully we'll keep things keep things

03:54going here Sam you bring it up and you're right they had a great June a

03:57great start to July but you look at the last two seasons and they were in

04:01similar positions at this point in the season both year both years and it felt

04:05like after the trade deadline when there wasn't a lot of additions that they kind

04:11of fell off we've talked about it on this show and I just want to know your

04:14thoughts that is there a worry that if you don't add at the trade deadline that

04:18you could have that fall off again this season yeah we Courtney we worry about

04:24everything over here I worry everything and I think Brez has been incredibly

04:33clear about his desire for what how he sees his baseball operation how he sees

04:40this roster how he sees the short term how he sees the long term and he has

04:46been clear that he and his team will kind of pick a lane and be bold and be

04:52aggressive and that's really that's really been been great and helpful and

04:58clarifying so you know you but you also I you never want to make any sort of

05:04public promises or bold declarative statements around specifics because but

05:12what I've seen in my time in baseball going back to the early 1990s is the

05:17trade deadline is a is a wacky sort of crazy time with a lot of frenetic

05:22activity and the market is now just starting to develop you're dealing with

05:2729 other very sophisticated very competitive front offices and you just

05:32don't know how you're going to match up on potential deals to either you know

05:38add or to move a guy out it you just don't know where it's going to go so

05:43it's kind of foolish to predict or comment on what's going to happen that

05:48said behind the scenes that the collaboration the candor the daily

05:55communication with Brez and Alex and frankly the whole front office and

06:00coaching staff has been great and that's that started from the day Craig

06:05Breslow arrived and and it's been it's been rewarding to see so I know it's a

06:09non-answer in terms of the trade deadline but the truth is you don't know

06:13how it's going to play out until you get into that market and conversations

06:17really start to heat up which they have not yet but you think that players do

06:22give up if they don't get what they've been asking for after a trade deadline

06:26no I don't think so I think these guys are so competitive and they're wired one

06:33way and you know you you want to see that competitive fire and and that pride

06:39that they take and look you're seeing the result of a lot of hard work of a

06:45baseball operation this year and you know you look at the all-star

06:49selections and Jaron and Tanner and Rafi these are the best players in the game

06:55who are who are young who are athletic who are hungry they're fearless too and

07:01you saw what happened at Yankee Stadium this is a this is an exciting young

07:06group that is going to be together for a long long time and that's a good thing

07:10for Red Sox fans and and we're really excited about about the present and

07:14we're excited about the future how much of the credit for that do you give to

07:17to Alex Cora because Wiggy says the manager is not that important in major

07:22league baseball I give credit to really to everybody involved I mean it's um you

07:31know the players obviously it deserve a ton of the credit Alex deserves a ton of

07:37the credit Craig Breslow deserves a ton of the credit so many of the changes and

07:42and the results that you're seeing are a direct result of some new approaches and

07:49and style and and infrastructure work that he's done the approach the game

07:55planning so it's been it's been a real team effort and so you've got to credit

08:00everybody in baseball operations they've really done a great job and but again we

08:04got we have a lot of work to do it's it's mid-july we're not you know

08:10celebrating where we are in the standings by any stretch it's just it's

08:14been great to see the competitive nature of this team and a lot of hard work by a

08:19lot of people starting to show some results which is which is rewarding

08:23Sam would it be fair to say that Craig Breslow has been given the go to go full

08:28throttle at the deadline any other questions guys you guys have been

08:39playing well Alex got them you know he's got this team doing a great job of

08:43and if you were or are to add you guys are always constantly watching the

08:49development of the team and what areas you need to get better at what areas do

08:55you feel like if you are to add that you might look and go okay we could use a

09:00little help here and starting pitching bullpen of their specific areas that you

09:05look at and say okay we could potentially use a little help here if we

09:09do it yeah I just from from my time in the game and just being around for so

09:16long for me wiggy it's pitching it's just you just can never ever have enough

09:21we've seen the the Red Sox teams and where we've had success over the last

09:2623 years since since I've been here we've been able to and when the game

09:32changes when you get into the postseason so hopefully that's that's where we're

09:36headed and and you really can never have enough pitching so that's that's

09:40always a priority and it's like welcome to welcome to the club you know you want

09:46more pitching everybody wants more pitching and it comes at such a premium

09:50at the trade deadline so but that's that's an area where you're always

09:54looking to to to try and add if at all possible one more for me Sam in the past

09:59the Fenway sports group has expressed interest in an NBA franchise are you

10:04interested in buying the Boston Celtics Greg I thought you were gonna be the

10:10next owner of the Boston Celtics given the tight relationship you have with

10:15WIC and all those courtside seats I figured you'd step up I would like it I

10:20can you finance that over 10,000 years if so I could I won't I won't I won't

10:29touch that one other than to say you know and we publicly put out a statement

10:35around WIC and and and his family just you know as someone who grew up here a

10:40Celtics fan diehard Celtics fan in the 80s and in what they ushered in the new

10:46generation WIC you know has just done an amazing job and it was a epic run this

10:53year so far my my family are just huge huge Celtics fan so really congratulate

10:59WIC and his family and we'll see what the see what the future holds for that

11:03organization but he's committed to bringing in the right the right group he

11:07said that publicly so we'll see how that plays out but we've got our hands full

11:10but FSG would be the right group well y'all let you start the campaign can I

11:19just do a quick one here Sam I'm no more full throttle but just you said earlier

11:22in the interview that Alex and you and Breslow have had a long relationship

11:27correct but you guys have known each other for a while yeah obviously those

11:32guys is those major league baseball players GM's and managers and me is a

11:36boring front office person but yes we've known each other for a long time never

11:42worked together in the capacity that we're working together now obviously

11:46which is a totally new dynamic but having a long-standing underlying

11:51relationship has been great for the new working relationship the last six months

11:58it's been been really good really positive and everything's been great the

12:01first half the team's been great Alex of course had a fresh attitude he seems

12:04revitalized energized whatever you want to call it I just if he's not back here

12:11next year will it be because he just doesn't align with the current way in

12:16which the organization is being run in other words you want him here but he may

12:21not want to endure a longer rebuild does that make sense yeah Chris not

12:27gonna not gonna speculate on situations about what may or may not happen next

12:31year like I said we've three of us are on the exact same page and not about not

12:35talking about that publicly we committed that to each other when we came together

12:40last fall and we're gonna keep it that way all right Sam thanks we'll talk to

12:45you again soon keep it going over there thanks guys appreciate it all right that

12:50is Sam Kennedy the president of the Fenway sports group

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