Red Sox CEO and President, Sam Kennedy joins the show!
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
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02:03we thought we were getting when we originally made the deal, um, two off seasons ago.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.