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00:00Alex, how are we doing today, and what did you think of the return to your pitching mound for one Brian Bale?
00:08Doing well, doing well.
00:10Obviously excited about Brian being back.
00:13He did a good job yesterday maneuvering that first inning and giving us five.
00:18You know, he ran into trouble a little bit at the end.
00:20He made some good pitches on Randy and got the strikeout.
00:24And for the first out in 96, 97 pitches, I think that's what he was.
00:28You know, it was more than enough, and it gave us a chance to win.
00:32Hey, Alex, just early on, you know, it's been, you know, kind of much maligned.
00:37Tristan Casas, he's had a couple big hits just in the last few games.
00:40He hits a three-run homer in the seventh, opened things up last night.
00:43What was your message to him after the game yesterday?
00:47Keep rolling. Keep going.
00:49He's been grinding mechanic-wise.
00:52You know, they've been working on a few things.
00:54I don't know if people noticed, his stance was different than two days ago.
01:00He was more upright, very similar to 23.
01:03And, you know, there's a kid that he dominates his strike zone, as you guys know.
01:07You know, he's very patient.
01:08He's doing the right ones.
01:10But we want him to drive the ball.
01:11You know, he cannot just be pleased with walking, you know.
01:17This guy that we believe he can hit in the middle of the lineup, obviously, giving him some breathing room, hitting in the bottom third.
01:24You know, we got Willier, who's swinging back great, hitting up there.
01:27But we believe in Christian.
01:28And when the process is the right one, and the process is swinging the strikes and do not chase, you're going to be okay.
01:36But mechanically, he's been a little bit off.
01:38He's been working hard with Peter and the group.
01:41And hopefully, that swing yesterday is the beginning of something great.
01:44Alex, it seems like Walker Bueller is starting to rediscover himself and hit a really great stride for the team.
01:53That's two quality starts in a row.
01:54The first was his longest start in four years.
01:57And then he goes seven innings, giving up one run, and striking out nine the other day.
02:00How important is that not only just for the rotation, perhaps, with Houck struggling intermittently,
02:07but also the confidence in bringing him aboard?
02:10No, this is a guy that he bet on the Red Sox.
02:14He bet on himself, right?
02:15He got a one-year deal, and he wanted to pitch here.
02:18And we all know the potential, right?
02:20We all know what he's done throughout his career.
02:23Towards the end of last season, in October, the way he threw the ball was very intriguing.
02:28I'm glad that he's here with us.
02:30Pitch ability comes into play.
02:32And at this level, when you have three different fastballs, you've got the cutter, you've got the sinker,
02:38you've got the four-seamer, that's pretty tough to hit.
02:40You know, as a hitter, you've got to pick your poison, right?
02:44And you have to show conviction going after one.
02:48Imagine trying to hit three, and he's very hard.
02:50And when he throws strikes, he's really good.
02:54The walks have been up there the last two.
02:56But as far as, like, what he has done for us, it's been fun to watch.
03:01It's a good conversation.
03:03A lot goes into his outing.
03:06He knows his craft, and I'm very pleased with everything he's doing for us.
03:10Red Sox manager Alex Cora here with us on WEI Afternoons.
03:14Last year, near the end of the season, you talked a lot about how it was a young club
03:18and a lot of young players were getting experiences.
03:21I feel like the flip side of that was on display last night, the left side of your infield.
03:25Bregman gives you a couple doubles, and then that Trevor Story turn on the double play
03:29where he spins around, makes the play, and we can get to the replay aspect of that later.
03:34How foundationally productive, I guess, are those two players to sort of where you feel
03:40like this team is and where it's going?
03:42Yeah, I think if you look at the lineup, and we've been moving Trevor within the fourth
03:48and fifth spot, depending on matchups and what the opposition has in the bullpen.
03:52And, you know, two, three, four, and five, even Willie.
03:56I mean, Willie, he's young, but he's a mature at bat, right?
04:00And I think the last two games, I've shown that you don't have to hit the ball at a ballpark
04:06to win games, although, yeah, we got the big swing by Casas, but we worked the count,
04:10we took our walks, and then we put pressure on the opposition.
04:13It's a very athletic team that can run the bases well, and it starts right now with Rafi, man.
04:19Rafi is leading the league in walks.
04:21Who would have thought that, right?
04:22And we know Jerrion's going to get going, but when you have mature at bats that, you know,
04:27you don't rush into it, you know, you're not looking for results, you know, the process,
04:30and you just want to hit the ball hard, it helps, you know, and we're going to run into
04:34some good pitching staffs, you know, Seattle is one of them.
04:37Then we go to Cleveland, they're really good.
04:39And then we go to Toronto, and you saw what they did to us.
04:43So slowing down the game is very important.
04:46I think we've done that offensively.
04:48I hope we get better defensively, and we should, right?
04:51Like, we are a lot, I mean, I think, as far as, like, defensive runs, say, we're top three
04:56in the league.
04:57For errors, I don't like them, right?
04:59We lead in the league.
05:00But in all aspects of the game, when you have veterans that can help everybody else, you
05:05feel good as a manager.
05:07Alex, you know, you see, watch Trevor Story.
05:09You know, he's going into his fourth year in Boston here, and he just, I don't know,
05:12what my vibe is, just from body language, watching him play, is like, he's kind of feeling
05:16himself.
05:17Like, he just seems more relaxed, more confident.
05:21And you're laughing, so you know where I'm going.
05:23I'm telling you, yeah.
05:24Yeah, yeah, yeah.
05:25I mean, do you see a guy that's maybe the most relaxed, and maybe his headspace is at a
05:30place that's the most positive it's been since he's been at Boston Red Sox?
05:33Well, I know a lot about Latino music.
05:37I don't know much about American music, but...
05:41Oh, hold on.
05:44Are you guys there?
05:44Yeah.
05:45I don't know much about American music, but in his walk-up song on the first at bat, I
05:50know the lyrics go, like, look who's back, you know?
05:52And that tells you a lot, you know?
05:54Like, when that happens, you know, the kid, he works, man.
05:58He's not lack of work.
06:00He's just bad luck, right?
06:01Like, he's been hurt, you know, like, broken, I mean, surgery, and then the shoulder, you
06:07know, elbow surgery, then shoulder surgery, man, it's major freaking injuries, right?
06:12And I hate when they say he's injury prone, man.
06:14He's just bad luck, right?
06:16And now, the way he's swinging the bat, the way he plays defense, it's fun to watch.
06:20And watching those two moving around over there and the communication factor, it's been
06:26great.
06:26And you guys know the athlete, man.
06:28He can run two, and so far, it's been great.
06:31And it makes a lot of sense that before the season, Alex, Alex Bregman, who's also playing
06:36his ass off these days, told us that Trevor Story might be the most important player to
06:40the Red Sox offense as well.
06:42And we're seeing it bear fruit right now.
06:44Speaking of offense, Alex, it feels to me like Jaron Duran is on the verge of really
06:49heating up.
06:50He's got a base hit in nine straight games.
06:52How important is it for him to be the catalyst to this offense really getting going?
06:57I mean, you saw it yesterday.
06:59Polanco hits a homer.
07:00They get the bases loaded.
07:01We get the double play.
07:02And then, you know, he's a triple down the line.
07:06Rafi hits a sack fly.
07:07And it's just energy for a group.
07:10And he doesn't feel great at the play, which is, you know, you said it, you know, nine
07:16game hitting streak.
07:19You know, I wish I didn't feel great and hit in nine games in a row.
07:23That never happened.
07:24You know, I never felt great.
07:25But one of the things right now, and you can see it, yesterday he was able to pull the ball,
07:31right?
07:32And last year, that's something he did with power.
07:34Right now, you know, he's hitting the ball hard the other way.
07:38But when he gets where he wants to be mechanically, then good things are going to happen.
07:44You know, two walks, I think it was, two days ago, which is great.
07:47That's always kind of like a good sign for the hitter.
07:50And hopefully he can take off and get this going the right way.
07:56Alex, one of the talking points coming out of the game last night was about replay and,
08:00you know, that double play in the first inning.
08:02And, you know, they didn't get it in fast enough, whatever.
08:05So I was just wondering your general thoughts.
08:07Do you like the replay system?
08:09Do you think it's worked the way it should?
08:11Are there any changes you'd like to see?
08:12What are your thoughts on the replay system you guys use?
08:14I think it's been good.
08:15Honestly, I think they can do more, to be honest, right?
08:18If we have X amount of plays that we can challenge, you know what?
08:23Let's get every play right.
08:24That's the way I see it.
08:26Obviously, with technology, I do believe it's very possible to accomplish that.
08:35But I think, you know, since replay was installed, I think it's been okay.
08:39It's been good.
08:41Alex, if you'll just indulge me for a second.
08:44I'm just curious.
08:45We're out in Lambeau Field.
08:46We're doing the show out here from Lambeau in Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
08:51The Patriots draft tomorrow night, the draft is, and they pick a fourth overall.
08:55There's a lot of talk about the Patriots maybe selecting an offensive tackle from LSU.
09:00But the book on him, Alex, is that he's got short arms.
09:03And do we draft a guy that's got short arms at that position?
09:06And I was just curious if that transfers to baseball.
09:08I mean, are there specs?
09:10Are there measurements that you look at in players at certain positions?
09:13And is there anything you can think of in the past where, you know, I don't know,
09:16a player that was deficient from a physical standpoint was able to overcome it?
09:19Because that's what it feels like the Patriots are going to have to do if they draft Will Campbell.
09:23Is there anything similar that you can maybe draw from in baseball when it comes to measurements
09:28and that kind of stuff with a player?
09:32I bet there's a lot of stuff that goes into that process, right?
09:35At the end of the day, I think in this sport, right, there's a lot of capable people that can perform, right,
09:44from Dustin Pedroia to David Ortiz.
09:47One thing for sure, when we talk about short arms, you know, here, Alex Bregman, Edgar Martinez,
09:54you know, they come into mind and they're really, really good hitters, right?
09:59I mean, they're able to stay inside the ball and do a lot of things with certain pitches.
10:04So, yeah, I think this is a sport, you know, it's different than the NFL, different than the NBA.
10:10I think physical attributes, yeah, matters, but I truly believe that not as much as those other two sports.
10:18Alex, by chance, did you ever yell, get up to an injured player that was down on the ground in a game?
10:23From the other side, yeah.
10:30Yeah, I know, there was the whole thing, you know, Joe Mazzula says that he loves his players,
10:34but obviously it's kind of a tough love as well, and it's working for them.
10:38Yeah, obviously it's working for them.
10:39You know what I do now?
10:40I don't know if you guys have noticed when Rafaela got hit and Bregman, you know,
10:44and that was this past weekend.
10:47You know, they're over there, and I'm like, are you okay?
10:50Are you okay?
10:51Are you okay?
10:51And they're like, yeah, I'm good.
10:53So, you know what you got to do?
10:54Sprint to first base.
10:55The fan base, they love that, you know, and they actually do.
10:59You know, they sprint to first, and they get a standing ovation, so that's what we're doing out here.
11:03Awesome.
11:04Alex, before we let you go, I got to ask you, what would it take for you to put the WALL-E helmet on?
11:09Ooh, you know what it will take.
11:13You know, I'll do it, you know, hopefully at the end of October.
11:18I'll do that, you know, and hopefully we can play good baseball and make it to the playoffs
11:23and do the cool thing that happens here on Fenway, and if that happens, then, you know,
11:29I'll do the whole parade with the WALL-E head.
11:33I'll do that.
11:34I love it, but I also love that you wouldn't say the exact words, sort of like not touching the Stanley Cup.
11:39You wouldn't say two words.
11:40No, we're not.
11:41No, we're not.
11:42All right, Alex, appreciate you joining us again this week.
11:45Keep that winning streak going, and we'll talk to you next week.