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00:00Good weekend in New York. Good game yesterday. So hopefully show up today, pitch again. I think that's the most important thing and win the series and enjoy the off day.
00:09How's the first couple days of the Roman Anthony experience going here? And the whole Anthony family, I guess. They were right next to you there at the dugout.
00:15Yeah, yeah. It's good. You know, we've been talking about this kid for a while. You see him play and you're like, okay, you know, this can get interesting now.
00:26I think lineup wise, what he brings to the equation is something that we got a few of them, right? But we don't have many of them.
00:35We swing a lot and he doesn't swing that much. He can catch up with the four seamer. We got a few guys that struggle with that.
00:42So he creates balance. I talked to him yesterday. You know, I was like, don't, you know, you come here and do your part, you know, and obviously everybody's talking about him.
00:52He's all over the place. But the way he goes about his business is real. You know, like he doesn't get too high or too low.
01:00So think about it. He missed a ball in right field. They score. You see him in the dugout and it's like nothing happened.
01:08You know, move on to the next play. Yesterday, he has the double. You see him at second and it's like, yeah, I'm supposed to do this, which is awesome.
01:16And I think he brought energy to the equation, too. The vibe in the stadium was you felt it, you know, even the first day.
01:25And then that we made the decision like around four o'clock, you know, and then it was like, oh, OK, people are really interesting now.
01:32They're interested now. So we'll see where you take us.
01:34You after the game a couple of nights ago after that, yeah, that infield air, you I found it very interesting just kind of how you you you said, you know, he didn't look like it fazed him.
01:44And I'm I've always said to guys, look, the guys that play the longest are the guys that can forget their mistakes and move on.
01:51Yes. Just the mindset of Anthony, his at bats, the way he approached that that that air after that.
01:58He's got an elite type of mindset, right?
02:00I believe so. And I think the organization knew this when they made the decision to draft him.
02:06Just being around him. Not this year. This year, you know, he was with us last year.
02:12He came up to four or five games in to big league camp.
02:16And he was always the first one in the dugout. He always, you know, wanted to learn something about the game.
02:24He didn't start. He was there just paying attention and you see it.
02:29And the three of them are very different. I hate you know, I don't want people to compare them.
02:34You know, like Marcello is Marcello. Roman is Roman and Casey is Casey.
02:37But in this case with Roman, we feel very comfortable that whatever challenge comes up, he's going to be able to to handle it.
02:45It might take a little bit, but he'll understand that. He'll ask questions. He'll work at it.
02:50You know, we talk about his defense two days ago and yesterday he made a catch.
02:53It was a 25 percent catch probability and he made a great play.
02:57And then he went back and made the play. So we're going to keep coaching him, helping him out.
03:01But I think this kid is going to help us win games.
03:04He's got aura for sure. He definitely has something.
03:06There's a presence, right?
03:07You know, they talk about when certain people walk. David Ortiz had it for, you know, certain presidents, whatever superstars.
03:12They walk through the room. You're like, the temperature changes. He's got the aura.
03:15You talk about the difference in energy in the stadium.
03:17And I'm sure that's probably coming through in the clubhouse as well.
03:21And should have had to hit the first night, except he lined it off the pitcher's backside at 111 exit velocity on that.
03:26Awesome. First RBI.
03:28And then on the second night in front of his family, with the weight of all that expectations, game winning RBI, double and then makes a web gem.
03:35You weren't surprised at all that he had that kind of impact that quickly, were you?
03:38No, no, no. He's a good player. He is. The three of them are.
03:44But with him, the thing that really caught my attention in spring training this year, first big league camp, if I was him,
03:52let me swing the bat, let me hit homers, let me show Alex and the group that this is what I do.
03:58It was the other way around. He was taking his walks.
04:00You know, like there was one game he went, I think we went to Philly, I want to say to Clearwater, three walks, three at-bats, three walks.
04:09You know, usually the kids, they want to swing, right?
04:11Rip it, yeah.
04:12No, no, no. He stayed the course. There's a process and he's very calm in the batter's box.
04:18And that's the thing that impresses me.
04:19Okay, you know it's coming. I read some of your quotes about him and Marcelo not hitting against lefties.
04:26Is that indeed the plan? They're not going to hit against lefties? How does a plan like that come about and why does it come about?
04:32No, I mean, there's certain lefties that they're not going to face. We'll make some match.
04:39I think now with the roster that we have, we have to understand that we got Romy and Riff.
04:46They're really good at what they do.
04:47So, the other day, Roman faced the lefty in the fifth, right, in the sixth inning.
04:53But then with two outs, we have bases loaded and the game called for Romy to pinch hit.
04:58You know, and we're going to play the game.
04:59As far as starters, there's a few that we know they're tough.
05:04There's others that they're still tough, but we believe that, you know, they're going to be able to handle it.
05:08So, we'll play it like that.
05:10You know, it's not a given that, oh, they're not going to start, but we'll pick and choose when.
05:15And throughout the game, we'll pick and choose when we're going to pinch hit.
05:20I think the difference now, knowing that we have Roman, we got Marcelo, he plays into our advantage.
05:27Now, when are we going to use Riff?
05:29You know, it might be for Marcelo.
05:31It might be for Roman.
05:33Maybe for JD with the bases loaded and one out.
05:36You know, like, now we can play the game of, okay, mixing and matching, especially with teams like this, that they have three lefties.
05:42Okay, if you're going to mix and match, we're going to maximize our roster.
05:46And I think it's a complete roster.
05:49Obviously, with time, we're going to have to make decisions when Willie comes back.
05:52But as of now, we're very comfortable with who we have, and we'll pick and choose when they're going to start against lefties.
05:58Alex, you guys have won four out of the last six.
06:00And a big reason for that is the starting pitching.
06:03Luis Giolito goes seven.
06:05You got Brian Baio, who had two good outings.
06:08His last couple, Hunter Dobbins, had a good outing a few games ago.
06:12Are you starting to see the starting pitching starting to maybe, you know, perform the way that you would hope before the season started?
06:21Yeah, this is four in a row, but we have a solid one, right?
06:24Crochet, Dobbins, Baio, and Lucas yesterday.
06:29We got Walker today.
06:30We expect him to go deep into the game.
06:31And that's the way you gain traction, right?
06:35To win seven out of ten, eight out of ten, you know, you have to pitch.
06:39It's very hard to come back every night.
06:41It's very hard to score eight or ten runs at this level.
06:45So, the 3-1 game yesterday, it was a challenge for the offense, but double with two strikes, home run, 3-1.
06:52Let's go.
06:53You know, I'll take those.
06:54I'll take those.
06:55I prefer, you know, don't get me wrong.
06:58I like when we hit.
06:59I like when we hit.
06:59But I feel very confident with the group when we start pitching.
07:05And we did it for 15 days in a row early in the season.
07:08We won a lot of games.
07:09The last four have been solid.
07:11We got Walker today.
07:13Hopefully, he goes deep.
07:15We got the off date.
07:15And then we got the big boy going on Friday to start the Yankee series.
07:19Heading into the Tampa series, the first inning year, Ray, was over seven.
07:22So, obviously, that's something, point of emphasis.
07:24But back to Roman sticking around with the team and what's going to happen with Willi or Abreu.
07:29I think you had said that nothing had been ruled out regarding Christian Campbell.
07:34Like, is there any truth to reports that maybe he may get a stint in AAA sometime soon?
07:39No, we'll make decisions when we have to.
07:41Obviously, this league is based on performance, right?
07:45And it's not always a 3-30.
07:47It's what we see numbers-wise.
07:49You know, are we hitting the ball hard?
07:51Are we controlling the strike zone?
07:52Are we playing good defense, running the base as well?
07:54So, it's going to be a tough decision coming up.
07:56We know that.
07:57But first things first, let's get Willi healthy.
08:00And it looks like he's going to swing the bat on Friday.
08:02We had a pretty good idea this was going to be the case.
08:05He was going to miss this one.
08:07So, that's three.
08:08And then the off date, that's four.
08:09So, give him a break to bounce back and be ready for, I think, the Seattle series, if I'm not mistaken.
08:17No, San Francisco.
08:18Yep.
08:18Red Sox manager Alex Kaur here with us on WEI Afternoons.
08:21Last couple days, you've gotten some of those Jaron Duran plays where it's like the fastest kid in Little League.
08:27He's like, the ball's four feet away.
08:28I'm going for it.
08:29How important can those plays be to this baseball team?
08:32Because last night was a game, you just mentioned it, a 3-1 win.
08:35Felt like maybe your cleanest, most complete game of the year.
08:38And Jaron Duran being aggressive is kind of part of that makeup of this team.
08:41Yes, and that's how we played early in the season.
08:44We were stealing bases, taking advantage of situations.
08:48Then there for a while, we struggled offensively and we tried to do too much running the bases.
08:54We got thrown out a few times.
08:55So, we have to slow it down.
08:56But now that things are starting to get going, expect us to be more aggressive, take advantage of situations.
09:03Obviously, it's always the opponent.
09:05We're not going to do that against Kansas City.
09:07They're freaking great at holding runners and doing all that stuff.
09:10But we'll pick and choose.
09:12But when he's playing at that level with that energy, it rubs with everybody, you know.
09:17And that was fun to watch yesterday.
09:18As soon as he got up, I was like, oh, shoot.
09:20He's doing it.
09:21And he did it.
09:22Was that one of those, no, no, no.
09:23Okay.
09:24Yeah.
09:26There's a few that are like, no, no, no.
09:29No, no, no.
09:30Alex, we interviewed you at the end of April.
09:32We were out in Green Bay for the NFL draft.
09:34And I remember asking you a question about Trevor Story and just his body language.
09:37And his bat was hot then.
09:40And it's cooled off after that a little bit.
09:43But the last 10 games, it's on fire again.
09:46Just what are you seeing from Trevor Story in the last 10 games at the plate that has got you happy?
09:52I think catching up with the fastball.
09:53That's the most important thing.
09:54That's something he did early in the season.
09:56Then he struggled in the second month.
09:59And now he's back to that.
10:01When he's on time and hitting fastballs, he's able to lay off off-speed pitches.
10:06He's the ball all over the place.
10:08And, you know, the last 10 days, like you said, I think he started in Milwaukee.
10:12He had a great at-bat against our closer.
10:15Then he went to Atlanta, put some good swings.
10:18Strikeouts are going to be part of his game.
10:20We know that, you know, but how he's striking out.
10:22Right now, he's not chasing.
10:24You know, he's probably taking some pitches that he cannot handle, you know, with two strikes.
10:30And that's good, you know, on the edges.
10:32And we can accept that.
10:33But earlier in the count, he's getting to the fastball.
10:36And defensively, I think he has gained some confidence.
10:39And we made some adjustments positioning-wise.
10:42And we put him in a better spot now.
10:44And he's playing great.
10:44Does that affect the hitting?
10:46I think it goes both ways, you know.
10:49Like, right now, you see him walking around.
10:52And, you know, he looks, you know, the real Trevor story.
10:54Gotcha.
10:55How about that bat flip last night after he ripped that one over?
10:57Yeah, you know what?
10:58Trevor, he's a homo kid, you know.
11:01Like, very quiet.
11:03But if you go back to Colorado, you know, when he was hitting 30, 35, there was a lot of bat flips.
11:08A lot of them.
11:09It was good.
11:10We don't mind that.
11:12We don't mind that.
11:13Yeah, it's a vibe now.
11:13He actually dropped a oof.
11:15I think so, right?
11:18And, you know, it's funny because it was in the preseason, I believe, at an avail at JetBlue,
11:23that Bregman said, the most important player on the offense to me is Trevor Story.
11:28And look, now he's coming around and more wins are coming through.
11:31Obviously, pitching helps as well.
11:32Speaking of Bregman, any update?
11:34How's he doing?
11:35Doing good.
11:36Doing good.
11:37Yeah.
11:38He has this target day in his mind.
11:40He's not telling anybody, but the progress has been good.
11:45You know, actually, he should be out in a little bit for his run progression.
11:50One day while this kid, man, like, you know how it is.
11:53Like, sometimes you're in the IL and you feel like you're not part of the team and you just
11:57want to hide and be in the training room and not help people.
12:01It's the other way around.
12:02It's the other way around.
12:03This guy, he's locked in with the pitching plan, with defensive plans, just trying to help
12:08everybody, the first one to show up to take care of his body, and then he'll stay, you
12:13know, just to help everybody.
12:14We got a bunch of guys like that, but, you know, he went to New York.
12:17He wanted to make a point, you know, and we talked a little bit about that.
12:21I'm like, what do you think?
12:22You know, like, I mean, Houston, New York is a big one.
12:25You know, since 2017, what we did, they crushed those guys up there.
12:31And I was like, what do you got?
12:32He's like, no, no, it's different.
12:34You know, Boston, New York is a lot different.
12:36And he enjoyed it, Alex, before we let you go, I know, you know, how the media works
12:39and we've already started reading trade deadline stories and projections and who should be
12:44targeting who, and you guys are a team that's underachieved.
12:47So from afar, people perceive that as, well, we could go poach a couple of players off their
12:51teams without getting into specific players.
12:54How do you, how do you deal with that in the clubhouse?
12:56Do you talk to guys individually?
12:57Do you proactively go to them?
12:59Do you talk to the team?
13:00Like, how do you deal with those rumors that are going to just start coming?
13:03Yeah, I think it's too early for that right now, to be honest with you.
13:06I saw a few.
13:07I was like, man, like, this just started.
13:09I read one this morning.
13:10That's why I brought it up.
13:11Yeah.
13:11I was like, this is just too early.
13:14But obviously, that's something we cannot control.
13:18You know, I think we're very honest with players.
13:21One thing, and I think I said it on the show here a few weeks ago, that part, you know,
13:26like, I work with Jim Bowden, you know, and we were sitting in the green room, and it's
13:30like, hey, how about this trade?
13:32I'm like, what?
13:33Man, you're making that up.
13:34It's like, boom.
13:35And then he tweeted it.
13:37So, don't believe everything you read.
13:40Just stay in the moment.
13:41You know, one thing they can control, all of them, is to show up today and play hard and
13:45see what the future holds.
13:46And, Alex, if somebody wanted to get Hunter Dobbins a four-pack of beer for something he
13:51may have said recently, how do I do that?
13:52Just knock on the door and throw it off.
13:56I mean, come on.
13:57You had to have loved that.
13:58You know what I love?
14:00That, you know, everything that happened, I don't even know this.
14:03I mean, like, there's so many things out there that are like, what is this?
14:07But he shows up on Sunday, gives up the homer, kept pounding in strike zone.
14:12He went five in a game that we needed.
14:14And then he'll be ready for the next one here.
14:16The kid, he's built different, to be honest with you.
14:19You know, he's not afraid.
14:20He knows he's good.
14:21And what he did on Sunday was special.
14:23All right, Alex, appreciate you joining us.
14:25Thank you, guys.
14:26Good luck tonight.
14:27Hopefully we start stringing them together.
14:28Keep that momentum going.
14:30Alex Cora, the manager of the Boston Red Sox here on WEI Afternoon.