Post All-Star Break, the Red Sox Are Not a Disaster

Beasley Digital

On Monday's edition of Zolak & Bertrand, the guys discussed the Red Sox' first series after the All-Star break. They concluded that the weekend wasn't a success, but it also wasn't a disaster.

Transcript

00:00The Red Sox won 10 in a row, and then the All-Star break happened,

00:05and they lost their first two games out of the break,

00:08and then yesterday their ace goes to the mound after losing two in a row.

00:13They get a big win.

00:15So I ask you guys, was the weekend a success or a failure for the Red Sox?

00:19It was a failure, lost two.

00:21I mean, you want to get two out of three there, right?

00:22But that's one of the better teams in baseball.

00:24They got one of the better winning records.

00:27You know, that was the question coming out of the break.

00:29Did they want the break that early?

00:30They were on a roll.

00:31You know, you had that momentum.

00:33It sort of hit them right in the face.

00:34You had two bad games.

00:36You win this one.

00:36I mean, that's a crochet game.

00:38You know, things weren't looking great at first, but, hey,

00:41the two guys that you went and acquired in the offseason,

00:43the two big stars, Crochet and Bregman,

00:45stepped up for you big time yesterday.

00:46And Jesus Abreu, my God.

00:48Oh, Abreu, you know, has the big hit that –

00:51because it looked like it was going to be one of those early season crochet starts

00:55where you waste it.

00:57But they had to have it.

00:58But I wouldn't – I mean, obviously, you lose two out of three,

01:01so you can't consider it a success or anything like that.

01:03But I don't think it's a disaster.

01:05I'll tell you what I am concerned about, Joe.

01:08Offensively, I know there's a lot of numbers out there,

01:10a lot of, you know, post and pre-Devers numbers.

01:14And they look really, really good because of a six-game stretch

01:19against the two worst teams in baseball.

01:20They swept the Rays after that,

01:25which was, I thought, the most impressive stretch of baseball

01:27that the team has played.

01:28I mean, tough one-run games.

01:30All the games that they had been losing,

01:31they won what the first three games were one-run games

01:34that could have gone either way, came from behind in the first two.

01:37So really good games, but they're not hitting.

01:40What do you get, seven runs over the weekend?

01:41They scored 14 runs in the four-game sweep,

01:43and they scored seven over the weekend against the Cubs.

01:45You take out the Rockies and the Nationals,

01:48and this team hasn't hit since Devers left.

01:50So you think it was a failure of a weekend?

01:53Failure's strong.

01:54Failure's strong, but I'm watching.

01:56You lost two out of three in your first test out of the break.

01:59I agree with Joe.

02:00Break couldn't have come at a worse time.

02:01The team was just riding high.

02:03They did not want four days off after winning 10 in a row.

02:07And like I said, that Tampa Bay series was,

02:09those were good baseball games.

02:11All the games that they had been finding ways to lose

02:13earlier in the year, they found a way to win.

02:16The pitching's been great.

02:17I think the hitting needs to pick it up.

02:19Hitting absolutely needs to pick it up,

02:20but what do you do when, in the first inning of multiple games,

02:24first five guys are the first two games.

02:26Literally.

02:27How do you come back from that when you can't hit?

02:30So, you know, to answer the question,

02:32my take is it was a bit of a failure,

02:34but at the same time, this was a,

02:37the Cubs are a higher class, right?

02:39Like, we always talked about the tomato can game

02:43for the, you know, crossing sports.

02:45The tomato can game was always the Patriots

02:47were the higher class.

02:48Always.

02:49I think this weekend, you get a first place team

02:52in the Cubs with something to prove.

02:55They proved that they had struggle hitting

02:57and their pitching early on couldn't really,

03:00you know, couldn't really do much.

03:02But with Crochet, it seemed like there was

03:05a more confidence in the team,

03:07maybe a little bit more urgency.

03:09And I'm going to use that word a couple of times today.

03:11So, was it a failure?

03:13I agree with you, Paul.

03:13It's probably not to that extent.

03:15But this was one of their first tests

03:17after a 10-game winning streak.

03:20Right.

03:20And you could say right now that they didn't pass.

03:23They didn't pass.

03:23I agree with that.

03:24You can't call it a success by any stretch.

03:27You know, I think Crochet did what Aces do.

03:31And that was a must.

03:32I mean, must is, you know what I'm saying.

03:34Like, obviously, the season's not over.

03:36But they needed to win that game yesterday

03:37to sort of stem the tide.

03:39And he went out and did what he's done.

03:41Yeah, you got to get out of that city with one win

03:44with your best guy in the month.

03:45So, now you got to do that, you know,

03:47I think two or three more times.

03:48Now you got the Phillies.

03:49You got the Astros coming.

03:51I think the Dodgers are in there.

03:52I know the Dodgers are struggling.

03:53But they're still L.A.

03:55It's not going to be an easy series.

03:57They're going to have to do this now.

03:59You know, you can't lose two out of three

04:01when you play the good teams all the time.

04:03Right.

04:03You know, so you got to bounce back

04:05and win some of these series.

04:06So, I think this was also an eye-opening weekend

04:08of some of the needs they have.

04:10Or some of the holes that they have, I guess,

04:12and needs that they need to make.

04:14You know, at times, Connor Wong gives them nothing.

04:17And I think Narvaez is something to watch here

04:19down the stretch.

04:21They still have a hole at first base.

04:23And they still make mistakes,

04:24whether it's on the base paths or fielding.

04:27So, like, all those things are still real.

04:29I still think they're a good team.

04:30And, you know, it does come back to the Devers trade.

04:33Are they going to make some moves?

04:35But, yes, they need a front-of-the-rotation pitcher

04:38because they can't hit.

04:41And, really, it's insurance for Garrett Crochet.

04:43I'll keep saying that.

04:44I don't know how long he can continue this.

04:46He's the ace, and he was the stopper.

04:49But can they get this out of him every single time?

04:52And, to be fair, since the month of June,

04:54he's now 8-1 with a, you know, sub-2 ERA.

04:57He's been outstanding.

04:58But, you know, Giolito was pitching great, too, for a while

05:00until he didn't pitch all that great on Friday.

05:03Same thing with Baio.

05:04Now, I'm a little bit more optimistic about Baio

05:07because I think he's kind of turned a corner

05:09in his, you know, his young career.

05:12But I agree with you, Joe.

05:14I think they need a solid guy

05:16to knock those two guys down a peg.

05:18They need, you know, a Joe Ryan

05:20that everybody's been talking about for me.

05:21They need a number two guy

05:23to go right next to Crochet.

05:26He takes a little pressure off Crochet

05:27to have to win every time.

05:29And it puts guys like Baio and Giolito

05:32down a notch and takes some pressure off them, too.

05:34Breslow spoke about that.

05:35We'll get into that coming up in just a little bit.

05:38We have to talk about Alex Bregman.

05:40That guy's balls.

05:41I don't know how else to say it, man.

05:43I know they're trying to ease him back in.

05:44But he, I heard you guys doing this,

05:47our Beatle, last week talking about manager Bregman.

05:50He is.

05:52And I'm not bringing up the cheating stuff

05:54or, you know, trying to find signs

05:56or what he's doing,

05:57but he's making an impact in that clubhouse.

06:00But yesterday, pinch hit opportunity,

06:03three-run homer.

06:04It motivated the whole team.

06:06You could see some of the young players

06:07like Marcelo Meyer really just,

06:09this is the guy.

06:10Great addition.

06:12Zoe, you said it off the top.

06:13They're free agents that they signed

06:15or trades that they made.

06:17They're keeping that team going right now.

06:19But you got a day from Crochet

06:20and a day from Bregman.

06:22It was huge to see that home run.

06:24And I just, I look at that guy

06:25and I'm like, that guy's just balls.

06:27I'm not worried about Bregman, too.

06:28If he's cleared and he's ready to go health-wise,

06:31what it does is it gives,

06:32I don't want to say hope for the young guys,

06:34but the young guys see that

06:35and say that's our leader.

06:36So everything this guy's been pumping us with,

06:38we believe it.

06:39We're feeding off it.

06:40It's the anti-Devers guy.

06:42I've been saying it from day one.

06:43Bregman was brought here to be a leader.

06:45They don't have any leaders on his team

06:46or they didn't throw out the spring.

06:48They didn't throw out the early part of the season.

06:50He's your natural-born leader.

06:51And get ready for the extension.

06:53It's coming.

06:54Do you think...

06:55I don't think it is.

06:56So that's what I was going to ask.

06:57I was just about to say that.

06:59Should the extension been waiting at home plate?

07:02Think about it.

07:02When he was hurt,

07:03they were pumping his tires.

07:04They were trying to get him to sell low.

07:07Boris ain't going to let him do that.

07:09Nope.

07:09But I was wondering about that.

07:11Was that contract discussed

07:14when he was crossing home plate,

07:15looking around like,

07:16hey, are you guys sharpening that pencil over there?

07:19Are they sharpening the pencil for Bregman?

07:21Because, yeah, it's his decision.

07:23He's got the option.

07:23And for how much, Joe?

07:24Well, it's a lot of money.

07:2540, right?

07:26It's a lot of money.

07:27So if he doesn't exercise the option,

07:30what do you think he thinks he's going to get?

07:3240, man.

07:33Then who are you investing in

07:33if you don't have the Devers contract?

07:35Who's got the leverage in that situation?

07:36They kind of have to.

07:37Who's got the leverage in that situation?

07:38He does.

07:39Yeah.

07:39Especially as you point out, Joe,

07:41with Boris being the agent.

07:43Right.

07:43Now, he might just decide,

07:46and Zoe, to your point,

07:47maybe he likes it enough here

07:49that he's like,

07:50no, no, no, no,

07:50I'm just going to pick up these options.

07:52I'll do it in 40.

07:52I mean, it's not like he's not how to pay.

07:5540 million is a lot of money.

07:56Right.

07:58I have,

07:59everything you said about him as a leader,

08:01that's what I expected.

08:02He's hit better than I thought he would.

08:04I kind of thought he was on the back nine offensively.

08:07I thought he was down a little bit

08:08in his last year in Houston,

08:11and he's had a good solid year

08:13both on and off the field.

08:16Now, we've got more on this.

08:17I do get some Devers lingering things

08:19I want to get your opinions on.

08:21I agree.

08:22He's been a train wreck, huh?

08:22It's been bad, but regarding Bregman,

08:26I've just noticed some symbolism with him gone

08:29and Bregman now taking a bigger role.

08:32Just wondering if someone was in the way there.

08:33We'll get into that.

08:34Craig Breslow did have some quotes over the weekend

08:37about being aggressive.

08:38I'll believe it when I see it.

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