Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00First in-person, WEI Afternoons Interview of the Year.
00:04You have a smile on your face, which I love.
00:07We've dealt with other coaches that you lose two in a row
00:09and the coach might not be smiling at you.
00:11And we play 162, so...
00:12That's right. There we go.
00:14So I'm not one to make excuses,
00:15but I'm going to make some excuses right off the bat.
00:18How hard was it to play the sport of baseball last night
00:21because it looked like it was hard to pitch?
00:22Well, for your team anyway.
00:24Hard to field, hard to hit.
00:25What were those conditions like?
00:27Yeah, they were very tough.
00:28I was out there doing batting practice,
00:32and it felt cold.
00:35And actually, I made two visits to the mound,
00:39and it was a lot different from the dugout.
00:41It was very windy, and it was tough.
00:45Tough to move, tough to throw, but we played the game.
00:50It sucked that we lost, but we got to be ready for tonight.
00:54So Garrett said after the game,
00:56so that's three starts on the season, one and one.
00:58Hasn't had a bad outing, per se, yet,
01:00but he said after the game that he doesn't feel like
01:03he's had his good stuff yet.
01:05So what do you think it's going to take for him
01:06to really get going and get to that next level
01:08that you've seen and we all know that he can get?
01:10I think it takes time, to be honest with you.
01:15You know, I coached a lefty in 2018
01:16that we all know, right?
01:19And Chris, it will take him probably around May 5th.
01:23I always joke around Cinco de Mayo.
01:25He'll take off.
01:27I think his stuff is really good.
01:28We're getting to know him.
01:31Probably not the swing and miss stuff that we're used to it,
01:34but he faced two out of the three teams they put the ball in play,
01:39the Rangers and the Jays.
01:40You know, they don't strike out.
01:41There were some of the bats yesterday.
01:43Vladi, for example, a lot of foul balls.
01:46And that's part of it.
01:48But at the end of the day, if you look at the line,
01:50it was six innings, one in run.
01:53It was a chance to win.
01:54We didn't play good defense behind him towards the end.
01:59But so far, so good, man.
02:01The guy is a true ace.
02:02Alex, I used to play for a ball coach.
02:04They would say the first four games of the regular season
02:06were kind of like an extension of the preseason, Bill Belichick.
02:09And, you know, you're 12 games in.
02:11And is there a similar kind of feeling out thing for you?
02:14Like, are you still trying to see what you got here?
02:17What's working?
02:18Or, you know, kind of, you know,
02:20still trying to figure out maybe totally what you got with your roster here?
02:24Yeah, I think the personality is so much different than last year.
02:27And we're trying to accomplish a few things with certain guys.
02:32You know, we want Abreu and Casas to face lefties,
02:36but we have faced only two lefties out of 12 games.
02:38So you have to play Romy and Ref.
02:40You know, that's how it works.
02:42Letting guys, you know, hit against left-handed relievers.
02:46We've done it with Abreu and Casas.
02:47We let Ref and Romy hit against righties yesterday
02:50just to see what kind of matchups we can create late in games.
02:54The bullpen is always kind of like, you know, a work in progress.
02:58You guys know we use Witt as a multi-inning weapon.
03:02Well, who's going to step up the days he's not in the bullpen, right?
03:05And it takes time, but I truly believe that this is a good baseball team, very athletic.
03:10Defensively, I know we have struggled here at home, but we are a lot better than that.
03:14You know, Jaron Duran is a gold Glover.
03:16Abreu, of course, is awesome.
03:18Rafaela, you saw that play he made.
03:20Alex, yeah, he made an error.
03:22But if you look at his numbers, I mean, his range is off the charts.
03:26So we will play defense, but it takes time.
03:29It takes time, and you want to win games.
03:31But as a manager, I'm learning about the group, and hopefully, you know, sooner rather than later,
03:37we get going and we start, you know, winning games more often.
03:42Red Sox manager Alex Cora joining us on WEI Afternoons.
03:45And one of those inconsistencies has obviously been the lineup.
03:48There's days where it's like you look like the lineup that we think it's going to be.
03:52There's other days where one for 11 with runners in scoring position.
03:55The one thing I've looked at, and I wonder what your opinion is, strikeouts.
03:59There's been some games with high 11, 13 strikeouts.
04:02Does that concern you?
04:03Are you worried about how many times this team strikes out?
04:06How do you look at that?
04:07I hate strikeouts, but sometimes it's part of your DNA, right?
04:13Obviously, when Jaron strikes out three times and Rafi strike out three times,
04:16it's going to be a big strikeout day for the opposition.
04:20But what I look at is, you know, are we swinging the strikes, right?
04:26And we are.
04:27I think we're like top three in the league, swinging the pitches in the hardest zone,
04:32which is very important.
04:33Are we swinging and missing the strike zone too much?
04:36Yes, we are.
04:37But I truly believe with time, that's something we're going to get better at.
04:42You know, the guys are making adjustments little by little.
04:44And this team is going to hit.
04:46We all know that.
04:47We've got a lot of options.
04:49And guys that I think they have made progress, Abrego, for example, driving the ball the other way.
04:54Casas is doing the same thing.
04:56And when all clicks, it's fun to watch.
04:58We saw it against the Cardinals.
04:59We haven't seen it against the Jays.
05:01Yeah, I mean, there's a bunch of souvenir balls and a half dozen dents in the wall out there
05:04that will say that you guys know how to hit.
05:06And it's going to happen as well.
05:07But on the pitching side as well, so, so far, Walker hasn't really gotten going yet.
05:12And obviously, he displayed that he still can find that form at the end of last season
05:17against the Yankees, which we have, as Red Sox fans, loved.
05:20And as far as Tanner goes too, he hasn't really quite gotten going yet.
05:24And he's had a hard time against lefties as well.
05:26So what do you think it's going to take, respectively, for those guys to find their gear?
05:29I think we walk is strike one.
05:31That's very important.
05:31And that's with everybody, even with Garrett yesterday.
05:34He was erratic with the first pitch.
05:36When you're not ahead in the count, you're not going to punch tickets, you know, right?
05:40They're going to put good at-bats.
05:42With Tanner, kind of like create space for him.
05:46You know, he got the slider, the split, the sinker.
05:49Can we use the four-seamer in certain at-bats to create space for him,
05:53create room for swing and misses or miss hits?
05:56And that's something we're working on.
05:57He did a good job last year, as we know, and we expect the same thing.
06:02Alex, just Christian Campbell playing different positions, center field, second base.
06:06Just you, that's something that you are, you know, that you want to continue to do.
06:10Just so, how would you kind of just grade him so far defensively in those positions?
06:15Yeah, I think the outfit part of it is just the athlete running around.
06:20We were talking about putting him in left field.
06:22Whoever came up with that idea, come on, Alex, don't think that.
06:25You know, don't overthink it.
06:26Center field is a lot easier, and our left fielder is one of the best, especially here in Fenway.
06:32Second base, the double plays, he's been amazing.
06:35And this is something that he picked up in spring training.
06:38He struggled early on, and now he's turning the little play real well.
06:42There's going to be plays that, you know, the speed of the game at this level
06:46is a lot different than in the minor leagues, and he's going to be caught by surprise,
06:50or he's going to be trying to do more than he needs to.
06:54We saw it yesterday, right?
06:55He got that ball to the left.
06:56He has no chance to get the runner at first.
06:58He throws it, throws it away.
07:00They score.
07:00So our job is to walk him through plays, help him out.
07:04He learns quick.
07:05He does.
07:06And I think so far, he's been solid.
07:10Offensively, he's really good.
07:11He's really good.
07:12He hits the ball hard.
07:12He controls the strike zone.
07:14Late decisions, too.
07:15Kind of like, he goes, goes, goes, and stops.
07:17And he gets on base.
07:19And a good player.
07:21Glad that we signed him for a long period of time, and excited for the future.
07:25So I was listening to our guy, Will Fleming, talk to you pregame show yesterday.
07:29Asked you about the clubhouse.
07:30Not the room, but the documentary.
07:32That show.
07:32Yes, that show.
07:33That's all the rage people are loving so far.
07:35And you said you're not watching it.
07:37Till November.
07:37Till November.
07:38Is that true, and why?
07:39True.
07:41It's just, honestly, it feels awkward.
07:44Kind of like, oh, this is Alex's episode.
07:47Let's watch it.
07:48I'm like, I know what I said.
07:50You've got to watch out.
07:50The guy that's the manager in this show?
07:52Man, what a...
07:53Yeah, yeah.
07:53So, and honestly, it's not...
07:58I'd rather watch it after the season.
07:59I don't want to get caught up in the whole thing.
08:02We can sign cliche.
08:04Let's stay in the present, you know?
08:05But now, it's just something about feeling uncomfortable watching it that I don't want
08:11to do it now.
08:11I'll do it back home with the family.
08:14They'll watch it before.
08:15But, yeah, that was a promise I made to myself, and I'm going to keep it.
08:18So, I got to tell you, I'm about a quarter of the way into it so far, and the one adjective
08:24that I would choose to describe it is human.
08:26It humanizes yourself, especially some of the other players as well.
08:32Obviously, we'll get into the Duran thing in a second.
08:33But just seeing the struggles everybody goes through...
08:37I made the mistake also of watching it with my 12- and 7-year-old, and I was like, all
08:40right, that's the fifth F word.
08:42It's very raw and real, but you see just how much they overthink all the work that they
08:47put into it, how much they prepare, how much they let the game weigh on them as well.
08:51So, now getting a chance to see that intimate portrayal, how difficult is it or how fulfilling
08:57is it for you to try to manage the emotional, personal side of these characters, like Duran,
09:02and expect Casas, who is just fascinating when you watch this show.
09:06He is fascinating.
09:07Is that the word you'd use?
09:08Fascinating.
09:10Unique.
09:11Unique.
09:11Yeah, he is.
09:12Something I take pride on, the one thing about this job, and I love every single day of
09:21it, if you're in last place or first place, I love putting this uniform on and come here
09:26to Fenway and work.
09:28Relationships matter.
09:30And at the end of the day, I love the fact that in 2018, I managed David Price, a guy that
09:36he was unique, right?
09:38People didn't like, quote unquote, and he will text me during the season, AC, how you
09:43doing?
09:43You know, that matters.
09:45You know, Porcello, Nate is pitching for the Rangers, and he's still watching the Red Sox.
09:50You know, I think Mookie Betts made a comment a month ago.
09:55He's like, I watch every game.
09:56You know, I watch the Red Sox.
09:58I love AC.
09:59You know, that matters.
09:59You know, I stay in touch with those guys, and that's what I take out of all this thing.
10:06You know, like, your window is three and a half years, four years, you know, for these
10:10players now.
10:10It's not eight, ten years like we used to have it.
10:14And for them to connect with me, I connect with them, and really care about each other,
10:19that weights more than, you know, wins and losses at the end.
10:22Obviously, from April to October, Ws count.
10:28You know, we know that, but at the end, you know, the offseason, connected with them,
10:32knowing them, and obviously, in Jaron's situation, just caring about him, it matters.
10:38You know, just, I'd love to just touch on that.
10:40I thought it was incredible.
10:41He came out and said what he said.
10:43You don't hear a lot of guys say that.
10:44It takes a lot of courage.
10:46Just, you know, has that been received in the clubhouse, and do you think maybe him just
10:52saying that, getting it off his chest, is maybe unlock something with him?
10:55It unlocked something with him a few years ago, and this one is a bigger one, right?
11:00And like I said yesterday, he's saving lives.
11:04That's the most important thing, right?
11:05He's saving lives.
11:06And in the clubhouse, we all know who he is, how much he cares about our club.
11:14He's a leader.
11:15You know, he's the one.
11:16You know, I always said, come here early.
11:18Don't miss it, because he might hit a single to left field and extend it to a double.
11:22He might hit a homer.
11:24He might strike out and snap, you know, like you never know.
11:27But we're very proud of him.
11:29We're very happy for him, happy for his family.
11:32They're helping, and I'm very proud.
11:35Not to bring this just back to baseball, but any update on Bayo and Giolito?
11:39Are they on the horizon?
11:41Gio, he was supposed to start yesterday.
11:44It got snowed out, I guess, you know.
11:46No snowed in Boston.
11:47We're in Worcester.
11:48Hard to believe.
11:50He's pitching tonight.
11:51Bayo, his next one is on Friday.
11:55Liam Hendricks is going on a rehab assignment this weekend, so we're getting healthy.
11:59You got some troops on the way.
12:00We do need to let you know before you go, you do know you are undefeated after talking to us.
12:052-0.
12:05That's what I'm talking about.
12:06Right.
12:07No problem.
12:08We win today.
12:08I'm not coming tomorrow.
12:10Thank you, guys.
12:11Thank you, Alex.