Former 3B and '13 WS Champ Will Middlebrooks joins!

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Will the Rafael Devers DH decision linger into the season? #MLB Former 3B and '13 WS Champ Will Middlebrooks joins! Is the DH decision a demotion?

Transcript

00:00And on the call today will Fleming and our next guest will Middlebrooks. Hey, well

00:08Hey, what's up guys? I really wasn't expecting to be hitting the air guitar this early, but I

00:14Appreciate it good good play on the Stevie Ray Vaughan. I love it. Why what was there a

00:19reason why you would you would you decided you wanted to walk up to that back in the day, so I

00:25Grew up listening to that music with my dad. That was his favorite song, Texas flood. So that was it was for my dad

00:31Yeah, that's nice. Awesome, and it is early there. So we thank you for getting up this morning

00:36I how is the chemistry by the way coming along between you and will have you guys been working on it?

00:42Oh, well, yeah, I mean we obviously haven't done

00:45outside of spring trading games together

00:48But we've had a good relationship. Obviously we got to know each other really well last year. So we're fired up

00:53I know this is a

00:55Obviously, you know changing the guard a little bit with with Joe retiring and second taking a step away

01:00So I know I know Flynn is really excited to get going

01:04I think the two-wheel thing is weird for people. So we're gonna go with Brooksy for me. I think that's a little easier

01:13Brooksy so

01:15Let me ask you this as a guy who's played in the major leagues

01:18What is like the the thing that's easiest to get into first is it the pitching or is it the hitters like who who would

01:26just

01:27Earlier the pitchers or John the hitters

01:31well, I mean once you get to spring training, I mean the pitchers are always ahead of the hitters just because

01:36Pitchers can throw bullpens. It's not really a timing thing for them

01:39So they don't have anything to really combat other than throwing strikes right and building up their arms

01:44So I think that kind of bleeds into the regular season what you get

01:48Probably two weeks in I think everything's pretty pretty even but the way that they're managing players now in spring training

01:55They're not really baby and the starters in anymore

01:58Like these guys are playing six innings from the beginning of spring

02:01It used to be like, all right

02:02Go get your two at bats and take it to the golf course or the beach, whatever go hang out

02:06But if they kind of found out on the strength and conditioning side like get these guys in there get them going get them into

02:12Routine so hopefully, you know what these guys have in 40 50 at bats under their belt

02:17They're they're up to speed and they're ready to go

02:20Alex Cora on this station yesterday afternoon

02:24Seemed to suggest that Rafi Devers is on board with the aging

02:28Is that something that you think could?

02:32Could come up again during the season or do you feel like he has accepted what's going on there?

02:38no, no, I don't think so, you know and just being around the team and being in the clubhouse and

02:43Watching him because that's something obviously as an ex-player

02:48I want to watch his interaction with not only Alex Bregman but other players because

02:53Especially the young guys because if you have a veteran that's not happy about a situation a lot of times

02:58They just kind of keep to themselves which

03:01Rafi has not done at all. Not once he's been himself. He's been smiling. He's been happy

03:07He's been getting his work in and I don't think it's going to be an issue at all

03:11And I think a lot of that falls on the shoulders of Alex Cora and his relationship with Rafael Devers

03:16And I think winning is number one and it's got to be number one and it'll continue to be that way

03:21Well as a former third baseman, it was this the only decision for Alex Cora?

03:25like was this the correct decision and

03:27Putting Bregman at third base and we've gone back and forth about it Wiggy's been on this from the beginning

03:33Do you think that for Rafi?

03:35DH is almost a demotion. Do you guys not like the aging? I

03:41He I for Rafi I think it helps him stay engaged in the game and I feel

03:46When I went through my career and I would have DH days

03:49It felt like a mental day off just because third base you're getting missiles hit at you, you know

03:55So it's like it was good for me mentally to have it, but I was never a full-time DH

04:00But back to the decision as far as what of course this was I don't want to say an easy decision

04:06But if you're looking at like who's the better defensive player, it's obviously Alex Bregman

04:12But you do have to manage the human beings too. I think that's something Alex does really well is

04:17managing the personalities in the locker room and that obviously took a little time to get Rafi to come around to the idea of not

04:24playing third base and

04:26look, it's

04:27Rafi had really improved at their base. He really he's put a lot of work in with Alex and the infield grew here and

04:34It it wasn't the errors that were the issue like he made 12 errors last year. Bregman made 10. It wasn't the errors

04:40It's the balls that Rafi couldn't get to and if you start looking at the defensive metrics

04:45Balls right Adam and balls to his right so towards the third baseline

04:49He was actually in the plus numbers, but to his left towards shortstop

04:53It was like a negative 12 right and those those are the numbers where you look at his overall metrics and you're like wow this

04:59guy stinks

05:00It's not it's not that he's booting balls the balls. He gets to he's actually pretty good

05:05But he just the lack of range is what killed him metrically

05:09Well, you were on the last to first team 2013 that won the World Series after the disastrous Bobby V year

05:18When that year did you know the team was a little bit different and one of you witnessed with this team?

05:23With the addition of Bregman and the addition of crochet as you watch them begin their season

05:29yeah, so as soon as

05:30Johnny Gomes and Mike Napoli and all these guys walked through the door

05:35Shane Victorino, I mean the list goes on and on that we had a you know super veteran team you combine those personalities with

05:41Pedroia Ellsbury

05:43Poppy Lester and all those it was just like the perfect storm so honestly from day one

05:49I was like okay

05:50I know it's only my second year in the big leagues, but I've been on a lot of baseball teams in my life

05:55This is different

05:56And I think that whole thing changed when Alex Bregman work walked in the door this year because he's that guy

06:03and we talked about

06:05The the influence that Bregman has on the younger players and then Marcello Meyer Christian Campbell who obviously made the team

06:13Roman Anthony spending all this time with the young players and molding these guys

06:16which is very important to creating a winning culture and I like that he's doing that too because that means like he

06:22Realizes these guys are gonna be a part of the team and in the coming years, and he has some opt-outs in his contract

06:28Obviously, so it's like all right if he's if he's really cares about these young guys. Maybe he really does want to stay here

06:35but what he does for

06:37the middle area players or even the veteran players like the Trevor stories and the

06:42Ref Snyder's it takes pressure off of other guys to be leaders, too

06:46So it's when you can spread that around the room and all of a sudden

06:50There's a room full of adults now and not just a bunch of young guys with you know

06:53Two or three years in the big leagues trying to run a clubhouse

06:56It completely changes the tone and Bregman is a winner and and that goes back to I mean his first full season in the big leagues

07:03Who was his bench coach Alex Cora? So Alex is really molded this guy into

07:09Just a baseball lifer and and that is really contagious when you're under the same roof with a guy like that

07:14Well, you brought up Gary crochet

07:18He obviously was looking to get a new deal done by the start of the season

07:22They're not there if you were in the front office for the Red Sox

07:26Would you give this guy a new deal?

07:29Knowing that if he goes out there and he has the season what they expect that price tag can go through the roof

07:36Yeah, so this is a tough one. That's a great question. It's it's I think if I'm in the front office

07:41I think if I offer him like a five like five-year 125

07:45I if I'm crochet I take that but also in the same breath. He's 25

07:49He wants to bet on himself and that that price could go way up if he go out and he's a top

07:55Two or three in Cy Young voting or went to Cy Young which he has a stuff to be that guy that you take that risk

08:01If you don't get a deal done of that price skyrocketing

08:04But that's a good problem to have when when he's wearing your jersey, so

08:08The issue there lies is health, right?

08:10He has this big history of of arm issues with and that comes along with throwing 100 miles an hour

08:15He's only been a starter for really one full season. So I can understand

08:22Breslow

08:23kind of holding back on that

08:26It's it's one of those things where you can see both sides like yeah extend the guy

08:29He's a stud or okay. Let's wait and see because his arm could fall off

08:32so

08:33I like trying to offer him a deal

08:35Like I said, like I think five like 120 125 is a very good deal for both sides

08:41But you probably have a player that knows how good he is and he's gonna bet on himself

08:46So you think because you said earlier he you if you were him you would take that

08:52I would because he's making three. I have 43 career homers, but

08:55I have 43 career homers, but

09:02I know I know I know if you're garrett crochet you would take it

09:07yeah, I I think so just because

09:09I mean, it's not like

09:11At the end of that deal you're 30 and you probably still can get another

09:15Four to five maybe six year contract after that if you've proven to be healthy

09:20But let's say he he blows out halfway through the season

09:23This year

09:25It's like all right. What does the contract look like after you come back from a second arm surgery?

09:29so

09:30That's one if i'm him i'm laying in bed at night staring at the ceiling. Oh, man

09:34Should I and this is assuming I don't know if he has an offer or not?

09:38I feel like we would have an idea at some point in this world that

09:42The news would get out and we would know that there was an offer. But um

09:46If there was an offer there, that'd be a really tough one if you're garrett crochet

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