- 1 week ago
Red Sox manager Chad Tracy was on with the guys and talked about the possibility of Roman Anthony and Trevor Story joining the team for the Yankee series this weekend, balancing who’s hot with the returning players, his comfort level as manager, and whether he hopes the team removes the interim tag.
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00:00First of all, Chad, that ending was just like you expected it, huh?
00:06No, definitely not.
00:08How are you guys doing? All right?
00:10We're good.
00:10Doing good, Chad.
00:11I'll tell you, this has been a fun team to watch over the last, I mean, really, last couple of
00:16months.
00:17But I want to go ahead and start with what's in the news right now,
00:20and that is that Roman Anthony and Trevor Story have both indicated
00:24that they think that they're going to be with you guys this weekend for the Yankees series.
00:28First of all, do you see that happening?
00:31I just say it's possible, and I know I've kind of been noncommittal on some of this stuff.
00:36So much of it really depends on what we know right now.
00:40What we know right now is they're playing again today.
00:43We know we have an off day as a big league team tomorrow,
00:46so we know we don't have to make that decision just yet.
00:49Obviously, the team's playing well.
00:51Obviously, they're still working through game reps, getting logging innings on their legs.
00:56So when we get to that point, we'll talk about it.
00:58I mean, obviously, we're always talking through it, but we don't have to make it yet.
01:03So there's obviously a lot of difficult roster decisions upcoming.
01:07Everybody knows that.
01:08But sorting through it before you get there is often a futile exercise
01:12because you never know what's going to happen over the next 48 hours.
01:15Okay.
01:15So to that point, if Roman and Story are both ready, Friday or a little bit after that,
01:22how do you balance getting two star players back into the lineup without disrupting this group
01:27that's playing its best baseball of the season one through nine?
01:32No, I think it's – the balance is just, like I said, I made some comments about it yesterday.
01:37It's like you try to find out, like, you know, these guys can help us in certain ways
01:41and understanding that you're at the point of the season.
01:43I think after today, or maybe it's starting today, we have less than 30 games left.
01:47And the most – I think 29, maybe?
01:5030, I think.
01:51And I think the most important thing over a 29-game, you know, final stretch in our position
01:57is that you've got to look at it day-to-day, be very diligent about doing your homework,
02:02about who you're facing, and what you feel like gives you the best chance to win that game.
02:07And if you're not starting somebody, how can they help us off the bench?
02:11And just looking at it that way and knowing that regardless of who it is or what,
02:16like, we have to go with it that day.
02:17And then you guys are pretty well aware at this point, like, if I see a player
02:21that starts to catch fire, I'm not afraid to leave them in there.
02:26So I believe in that, you know, especially if the matchups are still good.
02:29Obviously, there's certain days where maybe the matchup isn't good.
02:32But for the most part, that's what you're looking for this time of year
02:35is, like, we're trying to be as consistent as we can.
02:37So I don't know if that answers your question the best way you want it,
02:41but it's definitely a good question.
02:44It is a balance, but I don't plan on doing it a whole lot differently
02:48than I've been doing it to this point.
02:49It's got to be tough, though, right, Chad?
02:52I mean, when you see some guys that, you know,
02:54probably look like they're maybe more comfortable being everyday players,
02:57like a Jaron Duran, now, you know, then all of a sudden you bring Roman up
02:59and then now maybe some of his playing time goes away.
03:03And then that impact, I mean, it's – you've got to look at really all angles
03:08of the decision.
03:09It's not just as easy as putting a guy in because, you know, he can help you.
03:13It's how it affects the guys that they're going in for as well, right?
03:17Yeah, of course.
03:18Yeah, I mean, it's definitely something you have to consider
03:21and look through it that way.
03:24Like, you know, how do I think – you know,
03:27how do I think it's going to affect this person or that person?
03:31But you also are very aware of, like, you know,
03:35that we're at the time of year where we are grinding.
03:38We're getting ready.
03:38Keep in mind, like, now it's that last stretch
03:40where we're getting ready to play 13 games in 12 days.
03:44So we have a doubleheader on Saturday.
03:46We don't have another off day after this one on Thursday.
03:49We don't have another off day until, you know,
03:50kind of getting towards the middle part of September,
03:52end of the second week of September.
03:54So you are actually at a point in the schedule again
03:57where finding a break for a guy here, a guy there, here and there
04:01is actually probably a beneficial thing to make sure you get to that last stretch
04:04where you've got three off days in three weeks to end September.
04:08So we do have a run of games coming up here.
04:10It's a lot of games in very few days.
04:12And that's important as well, I guess, to your point of if there is a time
04:17where you've got to get a guy out here and there, it doesn't hurt them either.
04:19Chad, with these tough lineup decisions, do the players have any say?
04:23Is it a player's democracy?
04:24Will anybody get a little say in the council there?
04:28No.
04:29No, I mean, you know, there's – that's our decision.
04:33You know, obviously when I – when we get to that point, depending on, you know,
04:37again, I can't stress it enough, we've got 48 more hours to get through
04:40and you don't know what's going to happen.
04:41But when you get there, just, you know, being diligent about whatever, you know,
04:47knowing that if you get there and you end up having a lot of really good players,
04:50which, mind you, is a really good problem to have, you know.
04:53I don't even call it a problem when you have really good players
04:54and you have depth, that's a good thing.
04:56But just being diligent on our end to have the conversations about the things
05:00we're talking about right now, that we're going to do what's best for our team
05:03in this month.
05:04So you've – Chad Tracy, we're talking to Chad Tracy.
05:07You've said that returning players aren't automatically getting their job back.
05:10And I just want to know, like, how do you tell a veteran like Trevor Story,
05:14look, we're winning with these guys, so you're going to have to earn your way back in?
05:18I actually didn't say that returning players are not getting their job back.
05:22I just said that when we balance this on a day-to-day basis,
05:27that there's no just guarantees that anybody's in the lineup.
05:30That's all I was saying.
05:31I wasn't talking about specifically returning players.
05:34I was talking about everybody as a group.
05:36And I said – and I actually made the comment that everybody in our locker room
05:39currently and or that's coming I think will understand when you're at 25 or so games left
05:44that we're going to do whatever it takes for the team to win.
05:46So I know that comment gets picked apart sideways and up ways and down ways
05:51about always talking about this specific player, and I'm not.
05:54I was talking about everybody based on how players are currently going,
05:58what the matchups are, that we'll do our best to make the best day
06:03knowing that you'll use the other guys off the bench if you need them.
06:06I'm going to take a little bit of a right turn, Chad.
06:08I'm just curious just to get your thoughts on how are you doing?
06:11How are you feeling?
06:13How's this been?
06:14Has this been fun?
06:15I mean, is this nerve-wracking?
06:17What's it been like to kind of navigate this team from where you started to now?
06:21How's that – how's that just – how are you handling the whole pressure
06:25of being the manager of the Red Sox?
06:27Oh, I'm fine.
06:29I mean, there's – you know, there's – I came into it with a pretty clear mind
06:33as to what the job entails and then also what the job entails in Boston
06:39compared to other places.
06:41So I'm good.
06:43I understand there's a lot of – you know, the people ride the wave
06:47and when it's going really good, it's great and you lose a couple of people.
06:50You know, it's just – it's part of it.
06:52So I love our group.
06:53I try to keep myself very, very focused and engaged with our group of players
06:59and I find that when my mind is on them and actually, like,
07:03going through the ups and downs with them and understanding you're there for them,
07:06that that's all that really matters.
07:08Like, so I stay focused on our guys.
07:11I stay focused on our group.
07:12I stay focused on, you know, if there's a problem to solve
07:17or if there's something to talk through with the group or whatever.
07:19That keeps me focused on what I really need to be focused on.
07:22So I'm great with all of it.
07:24So, Chad, when you guys had acquired Eric Miller,
07:26we took to calling him the dump truck, but you called him a godsend the other day,
07:30which I think is an even better nickname.
07:31So now we're going to call him the godsend.
07:33But with Eric Miller, with the godsend, what's he like to deal with?
07:37Do you even talk to him at all, just run him out there anytime you need him?
07:39How's he been?
07:41He's been fantastic.
07:43I think that what I called him there was just more relative to what has happened
07:49to our bullpen over the course of the last two weeks
07:51with two key contributors in Whitlock and Slayton going down.
07:56And what you knew, you know, during the course of a baseball season,
08:00you're going to have guys get banged up,
08:01and you're going to, you know, especially the way we had to use our bullpen
08:03because we were winning almost every day,
08:05and we were using our back end guys a lot.
08:08So the thought going into the deadline with, like, whether it's a starter or a reliever,
08:12but, like, a starter you get or a reliever that you get that supplements your bullpen, right,
08:17and helps, you know, sustain if there's an injury.
08:19And sure enough, we have a couple of them.
08:22And, you know, you have Eric Miller sitting there that has come in,
08:26and now he's picked up some of those big-time, high-leverage, meaningful innings
08:30that sometimes Slayton would take or that Whit would take
08:33and has helped keep our bullpen afloat, you know,
08:37when in a time where we're a little banged up down there.
08:40So that's why I use the term.
08:41He's been tremendous.
08:43Yeah, I've had conversations with him.
08:44He's a good dude.
08:45He's a quiet dude.
08:46He goes about his business, takes the ball when you ask him to,
08:49and he has been awesome for us.
08:53Any other guys have nicknames we don't know about on the team?
08:57No, you guys made those nicknames.
08:58Yeah, that's true.
08:59I didn't make that.
09:00Well, the godsend was, you know, we heard you call him that.
09:03I don't know if there's anything.
09:04No, I didn't call him the godsend.
09:05I said he has been a godsend.
09:07He has been a godsend based on the current situation and what's going on.
09:12Chad's coming correct today.
09:14Chad's correct.
09:14Yeah, he's making sure we all.
09:16He added a the in front of it and made it a nickname.
09:19He's got to earn the the.
09:20All right.
09:21Is there a nickname for Mickey Gasper?
09:23Because, I mean, the dude is maybe Mickey Mantle.
09:26Mantle Gasper.
09:26Yeah, because since he since he's been up, the dude has absolutely been on on fire.
09:31First of all, like, do you like what are you seeing out of this?
09:35Have you ever seen anything like this?
09:37A guy coming from AAA and just killing it the way he's doing it.
09:40And in order to keep him in the lineup, would you ever consider him playing?
09:46Because I know he's played catcher before.
09:47Would you ever consider him playing catcher if you needed to?
09:50We had him catch earlier this year.
09:52You know, he was catching quite a bit.
09:53There was that period of time earlier in May or so where we were running three catchers.
09:58You know, we had a three catcher roster for a while.
10:00Things seemed to stabilize on the team.
10:02And Mickey went down the first time to get reps and stay sharp.
10:05But it stabilized when we had two.
10:08So, you know, have I ever seen?
10:11I'm sure this has happened before.
10:12I mean, it's incredible what he's doing.
10:15You asked if you ever seen him before.
10:16I've seen him do this before.
10:17I've seen this in AAA.
10:18I've seen him hit like this.
10:20I've made various comments since May or whenever he'd come up about what I feel like this guy brings as
10:29a left-handed hitter.
10:30Been adamant about it.
10:31Like, he's a great, great at-bat from the left side.
10:34Now, are you expecting five home runs in a week from him all the time?
10:38No.
10:39But I have seen him perform at the AAA level with this kind of, you know, this kind of consistency.
10:46He's, oh, it's AAA.
10:47Well, nobody else is doing it in AAA.
10:48All due respect.
10:49Like, I don't see anybody else doing it in AAA.
10:51So, if you can do that in AAA, you like to think you can hit in the big leagues.
10:54So, I watched it in 2024 the first time we had him.
10:58I watched it again the beginning of this year when we had him.
11:01We sent him down, you know, wherever it was.
11:04Like, a little bit prior to going on the run, we sent him down.
11:06He went down, and I think he was hitting like 390 when we brought him back.
11:09So, he can hit.
11:11He's always been able to hit, and he's just getting an opportunity right now for a string of games to
11:15show it, and he's showing it.
11:17All right, Chad, real quick.
11:18You have gone from 14 games below .500 on June 24th to 14 games over .500 as of yesterday.
11:27Do you ever say to yourself, what the hell else do I need to do to get this interim tag
11:32off of my title?
11:35I don't.
11:36I really don't.
11:37I'm going to give you guys the same cliche answer that you don't want to hear from me.
11:42Like, I'm really trying not to focus on that.
11:47There's so much that's gone on in a very short period of time as far as this team, the work
11:53that's been put in and how quickly we got it turned
11:55and how well we played, and now we're approaching the home stretch part of the season where the focus just
12:01can't be divided.
12:04And, you know, I think that's an important distinction.
12:07Like, I've got to keep my focus on the guys, on the players, and on helping us continue to win
12:12ballgames.
12:13And just, you know, have the faith that what you're talking about there will work itself out if it needs
12:18to.
12:18So I just take that approach.
12:21I just take and deal with the data that's in front of me.
12:23That's all.
12:24Siegler said some nice things about you at the Jimmy Fong deal.
12:26I asked him, like, should they remove it?
12:28And he was pretty much saying, absolutely.
12:30Let's get that sucker off.
12:31I think they want you to remain the manager.
12:34Do you understand how much?
12:35Well, I hope the players want me.
12:36If that's a good thing, if that's the case, then that's a good start, I guess, if the players want
12:41you.
12:41Sure.
12:42Then maybe that's right.
12:44A step in the right direction.
12:46And, you know, letting the world know that, including, you know, some very important people up above that they would
12:51be absolute idiots
12:52if they didn't take away that interim manager tag.
12:55I'm sorry, there was an article this week that kind of pissed me off.
12:57It was just like, well, I mean, they could go with this guy if it doesn't work out.
13:00I'm like, what the hell else does this dude need to do to take the tag off?
13:04All right.
13:04Yeah, that's what they do, though.
13:07I'm not saying, like, this, it's, I don't take offense to those things.
13:13It's people's job, you know.
13:14Like, it's, you know, there's always going to be a story and something to write about, you know,
13:18and something to dig into.
13:20And I get that, you know.
13:23So I just, I don't have the bandwidth to put too much energy into, like, reading that or getting bent
13:28out of shape about stuff like that.
13:30I just don't, you know.
13:31I have to stay focused on what we got going on.
13:34Well, Chad, what weird-ass way are you going to win tonight?
13:36I don't know.
13:37I hope.
13:39Whatever it is, I really don't care if it ends in a W.
13:41I don't really care which way it is as long as it ends in a W.
13:45But we're at least positioned well.
13:47Obviously, we've got a lot of bullpen we've used.
13:49But we've got Sonny out there, you know, with an off day tomorrow.
13:53So hopefully we can go put another one together.
13:55Awesome.
13:56Well, good luck.
13:56As I said, this has been must-watch baseball over the last several months.
14:00And it just, you know, every, the text chain back and forth is like, well, I can't believe it.
14:05It's almost like, you know, you've made some, this team has made some sort of deal with some sort of
14:10mystical entity where the endings are just,
14:12it's like the 8th and the 9th inning literally are the best things on television right now for you guys.
14:19Well, you know what?
14:20I would love to win one today prior to the 8th or 9th inning.
14:23That would be awesome.
14:24Maybe we'll try that, right?
14:25The first or second.
14:26All right.
14:26Chad, thanks for coming on with us, man.
14:28We really appreciate it.
14:29All right, guys.
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