Sam Kennedy joins the show!

WEEI-FM / WEEI

8/8/2024

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

Transcript

00:00I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this show would not have been on the air for

00:05five years without the de facto approval of the program director of WEEI, our next guest,

00:12Sam Kennedy.

00:13Morning, Sam.

00:14Wow.

00:15That's quite a distinction, Greg.

00:16Five years?

00:17Five years, Greg.

00:18It feels like 50.

00:19Sam, you're telling me.

00:20I mean, it's, uh, but yeah, you know, some had us at five days, but we've, we've somehow

00:30been able to survive.

00:32Congratulations.

00:33Well, we are, yes, Curtis.

00:36I just want to just get it out of the way, Sam.

00:38I would like to humbly apologize.

00:40I was dead wrong on Alex Cora and you and Mr. Breslow and the whole crew should be applauded

00:49for the way in which that was done.

00:51And I think it speaks volumes of the direction of the organization.

00:54Wow.

00:55Well, I think the earth is turning on the opposite direction on its axis right now,

01:03but I'll take that apology.

01:05Apology accepted, Chris.

01:08And of course, I'm, I'm kidding, I'm kidding, but ours is a really important move for the

01:12organization and, um, it really excited for Alex and his family.

01:18And, uh, it's a great outcome for us and he belongs in Boston and glad he'll be here for

01:22the, uh, for the foreseeable future.

01:25Well, speaking of Alex Cora, we are, uh, we're watching a month long hot streak here when

01:33it comes to Yoshida and Alex Cora.

01:36I think he said the offense is elite when that is going on.

01:40What's been the difference for that player of late?

01:45Well, it's, um, probably just getting totally comfortable to the adjustment when you're

01:50playing professionally in Japan for lion's share of your career, you come over and there's

01:55a huge adjustment in, in every way.

01:58So hopefully he's really settling in and we're seeing the, uh, the player that, um, that

02:03we thought we were getting when we originally made the deal, um, two off seasons ago.

02:07So it's been, it's been great to see, and, um, we just, uh, we've got to keep winning

02:12series here.

02:13So it's, uh, it's a, it's a grind.

02:15We played well, but we also, uh, kind of got a sprint to the finish here with, I think

02:2049 games left, Sam and that same breath.

02:23I think some people were worried that we were going to have a repeat of some years past,

02:27uh, where there's shimmer of hope.

02:30There is excitement around the Red Sox going into all star break and then exiting.

02:34There's kind of a fall off.

02:36Doesn't seem like that's happening right now.

02:38You guys have been playing great.

02:39What's been the difference with this team compared to the last two years?

02:42Well, it's a, it's a great question, Courtney.

02:45I mean, we've sort of had the tale of, um, of two different seasons.

02:50When you look, we break down the metrics and you look at where we are, um, our, our pitching

02:55has been sort of at or near the top of the league, which is, was always critical hitting

03:01was sort of middle of the pack.

03:03Although the last month our offense has been really, really strong.

03:07Our, our outfield defense has been outstanding and our infield defense has been, uh, woeful

03:13at times, although getting better.

03:15So, um, certain parts of the game have been really, really strong and, and others still

03:21need improvement and work.

03:23And got a lot of young guys who probably to directly answer your question, have really

03:28taken that next step at the big league level.

03:31We've seen the performances from guys like Lillia Brayu and Jaron Duran and Sadon Rafaela.

03:37That's probably the biggest difference, uh, coupled with, uh, the approach to, to, to

03:41the pitching, which Andrew Bailey has led, uh, extraordinarily well.

03:46Sam, when you look at the team, I know players and manager try not to look ahead, but when

03:53you guys sit here and you kind of look at where you are and you look at basically this

03:57next, you know, the month of August and how tough your schedule is, how important is it

04:03that you finish this month in a position where it looks like this is going to be the

04:07playoff push, you know, you'll come to the end of the month, basically having to see

04:12Houston twice, Arizona, Baltimore, is this something that you talk about with the players

04:17or maybe Alex, or is it just something that's a front office conversation?

04:23We do.

04:24Yeah.

04:25We talk about it not only internally at the front office, but with the clubhouse of course.

04:29It's a, it's a good question, Wiggy, because as we were approaching the trade deadline,

04:34we were looking at the, I believe the most difficult strength of schedule, uh, in August

04:40and September with a particularly hard stretch, um, coming right after the deadline with the

04:46Rangers and the Royals and now Houston and then the Rangers again, and then four in Baltimore.

04:52I mean, it's a, it's a grind.

04:54And so yes, we, we focus on right now, really Alex has just been the last couple of days.

05:00He's just been talking about winning series, winning series and everything will take care

05:05of itself.

05:06If we can do that, we're nine games over 500, we're, we're not yet in that playoff spot.

05:11Um, but we've also not given up on the division, given all the games we have left against Baltimore

05:18and, and, um, I think three remaining or excuse me, four remaining against the Yankees.

05:23So, um, there's still opportunity to gain significant ground in the American leagues,

05:29but, um, it, it is a tough schedule in, in August and September as we go forward.

05:34Sam, I don't know where you put the value of great clubhouse guys, but the, from the

05:40outside, it seems like Liam Hendricks is one and he, he seems raring to go is, is he that

05:49kind of guy, like going into this stretch that, that can make a difference from that

05:54perspective?

05:55Yeah.

05:56I mean, a hundred percent, Greg, and let me tell you something about Liam Hendricks.

06:00I mean, well, first of all, he's, he's a little bit nutty, uh, as everybody knows, he, he

06:05is out there and he's, he's hilarious.

06:08Um, his sense of humor is incredibly dry and he's an absolute character, but having the

06:15injury that he had, um, being sort of the veteran status, he, he has been around the

06:20club literally every day since, uh, since he arrived and he's been a huge boost to that

06:27clubhouse.

06:28Um, but, but what I wanted to tell you about him is when we had Lisa Sherber and the, and

06:33the Jimmy fund, um, trip, the teens came over to the ballpark.

06:37We do a event with them at, at spring training, of course, and then one at Fenway that's hosted

06:41by Mike and Christina Gordon, um, big Red Sox owners and, and Liam met every single

06:48kid.

06:49He was right there, um, talking to them, cheering them up, and it was extraordinary to watch

06:54someone who just gets this community, what, what the Red Sox are all about.

06:58So hoping to get him back on the field soon and, and, and he can, he can help us down

07:03the stretch here for sure.

07:04Sam, just curious of the, from your perspective, we had Craig on last week and he shared his

07:12thoughts about the relationship that was growing between him and Cora and how that led to the

07:17new contract.

07:18Just from where you're seated, was this something that was sort of growing and building all

07:22year long or was there something that happened that led Alex and Craig to get together and

07:28work this out in the middle of the year?

07:30Because it was something that Alex himself had said to Jones and Mayco that he really

07:34wasn't interested in discussing during the season.

07:36Yeah, it's a, it's a fair question.

07:40I think that the, um, maybe I just took it for granted being, being around here for so

07:45long.

07:46I, um, you never want to assume something, but going through the interview process with

07:51Brez when we, when we hired him last fall, um, it just really seemed to me like what

07:57he values and what he prioritizes within a baseball operation.

08:02It just made sense listening to him through that process that, um, Alex would be the ideal

08:09manager for him and we sort of had the makings of an elite baseball operation in every way

08:16and their skill sets would really complement each other.

08:20Um, but of course we, we made it clear that that had to develop naturally and build on

08:26that relationship.

08:27Um, thankfully it did.

08:29And, um, Brez came and came to us in ownership and said, listen, this is what I want to do.

08:36And I think it was sort of the same reaction because it's like, well, Alex made it pretty

08:40clear he wants to wait until after the season and get through all this and not be a distraction.

08:46Um, and Brez, you know, really took the bull by the horns and said, you know what, that's

08:51fine.

08:52But I want to, I want to engage and I want to push that discussion now, which of course

08:56we fully supported and he got it done.

08:58Well, you brought up the Jimmy Fond.

08:59We are looking forward to next Tuesday and Wednesday being there Fenway for what I believe

09:05is the 22nd annual Jimmy Fund radio telethon.

09:10So in red socks, you guys, uh, go, uh, uh, throw everything at this and, uh, we can't

09:18wait to get that underway and I'm sure we'll see you there Tuesday and Wednesday, Sam.

09:23Well, thanks guys for supporting it.

09:25Yeah.

09:26It's been a couple of decades and, and one of the longest standing relationships in sports

09:32the telethon and we're going to have a special component of the telethon to honor the late

09:39Larry Lucchino, who all of us know your listeners know is the legendary CEO of the Red Sox and

09:45the Orioles and the San Diego Padres is obviously missed down in Worcester and within the Red

09:51Sox, uh, ownership ranks.

09:53So look, looking forward to celebrating Larry, but also drawing attention to this, this horrific

09:59disease.

10:01So thanks for, for all you guys are doing on that front.

10:03All right, Sam.

10:04Uh, also journey with a journey without Steve Perry, less than satisfying.

10:08I assumed you were there, Greg, and I did not see you in the mosh pit for green day,

10:14but we'll, we'll hold a spot for you for whoever's remaining.

10:18I think we've got a few shows remaining.

10:19I will be there for post Malone.

10:21Will you be there for post Malone, September 18th of course, big post Malone fan.

10:26I think we've got two Pearl jams, so it's going to be a great September.

10:30I believe I was told, uh, also a big post Malone fan, Craig Breslow.

10:34Oh, by the way, uh, Craig Breslow's birthday today, so happy birthday.

10:41Happy birthday.

10:42All right.

10:43Was it your gift to him that you would come on the show and he didn't get the day off.

10:48All right, Sam, we'll see you next week.

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