- 10 minutes ago
WEEI Red Sox Insider Rob Bradford joined the show from Yankee Stadium to preview the Red Sox/Yankees series, including the pressure on Payton Tolle, Garrett Crochet’s return, the starting lineup, Yankee Stadium’s sound system, and more!
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00:00Baseball no is El Burrito.
00:02Okay.
00:03I've come so far.
00:04Baseball no is El Burrito.
00:06Yeah.
00:07But it's this sound system, the last couple years,
00:11they decided to jack it up and play it every single second
00:15of every single moment, and it's so obnoxious.
00:18Yeah.
00:18So, anyway, one of the many things to hate the Yankees about.
00:21Do they really do that during the game?
00:22Is it just like one of those non-sacrifices?
00:24It's like the Atlanta Hawks.
00:25Oh.
00:25It's like the, yeah.
00:26You nailed it.
00:27I've been to the Atlanta Hawks game.
00:28Yeah, I knew that.
00:28That was like a straight ball right down the middle for you.
00:30You're welcome.
00:31It's true.
00:32But it is.
00:34It's kind of crazy, and I know that the players, a lot of players,
00:37they say, oh, we want it more like that.
00:39We want to keep it going.
00:41And if teams say, we've got to keep the fans involved.
00:44But the Yankees took to an extreme that's obnoxious, just terrible.
00:48I just thought that the Yankees would be one of those few organizations
00:53that would be like, no, man, let's keep it classic.
00:55We don't need to do it that way.
00:57You know, we're the Yankees.
00:59But no, they've bought all in on the over, like the complete overdrive.
01:04They're blowing the woofers and tweeters as we speak.
01:06And speaking of the fart smelling, I'm so close to Rob now, I can smell them.
01:09I mean, we are tight here in the booth.
01:10It smells good.
01:10It smells good.
01:11I didn't put my postseason cologne on.
01:13It's great.
01:15All right.
01:15So this is an interesting lineup that we just got.
01:20And I know that you were just spending some time with Chad Tracy, right?
01:23Were you down there in the scrum with him?
01:24There was.
01:25Oh, yeah.
01:25We had a, they have a thing for the Beat Riders, sick brag, before this press conference.
01:30So there's sort of a double dose of Chad Tracy.
01:33So anything you want to ask, I can answer.
01:35Oh, yeah.
01:35What does he smell like?
01:37Is he?
01:37He smells exactly the same as I do.
01:39He's got the smell of the scent of the postseason all over them.
01:42Oh, of course he does.
01:44Let's just start with a couple of the obvious ones.
01:47Why is he putting Rutschman second in the lineup?
01:50I don't seem to have a big problem with it.
01:51It's just not something I'm used to.
01:53It's funny.
01:54That question was not asked of him, so I don't have a good answer for you.
01:57But, you know, I think one of the reasons is that Rutschman is one of the guys, he is
02:03one of the main contact guys for the Red Sox.
02:06They need to make contact against Schlitler.
02:08They cannot have – they've got to keep the line moving.
02:11Roman Anthony is not a contact guy.
02:13He does need to make more contact than he had been.
02:16But if you have Roman Anthony on, you have to keep the ball in play.
02:19You can't have a lot of whiffs.
02:21And I think that that probably is a big reason why Rutschman is there.
02:24Okay.
02:25Well, I mean, that makes sense.
02:27How are you feeling as far as your confidence?
02:29And I don't think I've talked to you since they announced that Tully was the starter.
02:34Are you – like, do you think that that's the right move?
02:37Where's your confidence level?
02:39Yeah, I think it's absolutely the right move.
02:41You look at what he's done against the Yankees.
02:43You look at his demeanor.
02:44I don't think that it's – maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think it's in him to just have
02:49a stinker because of the environment, because of the moment.
02:53I don't think any of that.
02:54And he talked about this yesterday.
02:56He said, listen, I tried to be the guy who was locked in.
02:59I tried to be that guy.
03:00It didn't work.
03:01Even out here, just a little while ago, he walks out to the mound, does his usual thing,
03:07bare feet on the mound, stands on the mound, stares straight ahead.
03:10But what really, for me, was noticeable wasn't that because he does that before every start.
03:15It's that he's just talking to people.
03:16Like, he's just talking to whoever.
03:19And one of the things that you're not supposed to do as a reporter is talk to the starting pitcher
03:24on the day of his game.
03:25Tully doesn't care.
03:27I mean, he's just doing whatever.
03:28However, that's, okay, so the one thing about him, and we're talking about this, is this
03:34is going to be like his national coming out party, right?
03:37I mean, are there people who now, that you've seen at Yankee Stadium who are nationally covering
03:42this, who are kind of like, dude, this Peyton Tully guy, huh?
03:44And you're like, yeah, get on board.
03:46Yeah.
03:47And I think that the postseason is a weird dynamic because it really can define guys.
03:53And a lot of times it's financially, to be honest with you, where guys can make an obscene
03:57amount of money off of a three-week run.
03:59It's so stupid, honestly.
04:01But this is how it is.
04:02Nathan Evaldi doubled his salary off of what he did in that 2018 run.
04:07And CEO Joe Kelly, he did the same because he almost didn't make the postseason roster.
04:12And he goes on his run and he gets a three-year deal from the Dodgers.
04:15This happens all the time in regards to Tully.
04:18What it does is all of a sudden, oh, that guy that you kind of knew about in Seattle, but
04:23now I really know about him.
04:25The name that comes to mind is Madison Bumgarner, Giants, 2014.
04:28I mean, everyone still references that, right?
04:30Yeah, he was just so, maybe Tully, Rich gets in that zone and just for two, three weeks
04:35here, just goes on a tear every fifth day, you know?
04:38Well, I mean, listen, if they end up winning this series, first of all, the eyes that are
04:42going to be on this series, it being Red Sox, Yankees, is already massive.
04:45But I mean, I'm telling you, there's going to be a bunch of national people who are going
04:49to see him for the first time.
04:50And they're going to be like, can you believe this guy?
04:52And he's going to be like, he's going to be, we talked about the Erling Haaland from Norway.
04:56You know, he was a character that people had to, he's going to be like baseball's
05:00version of Erling Haaland that nationally, all of a sudden, people are going to get
05:03turned, you know, there's, I'm sure there's people who follow the game of baseball, but
05:07there's more casual baseball fans who watch the playoffs and all of a sudden, you know,
05:12he's going to be doing Nike commercials, Dunkin' Donuts.
05:15Yeah, what a great, the Erling comp is an awesome one.
05:19It's true though.
05:20This is what happens.
05:21And you'll last year, you had guys in the Toronto Blue Jays, Ernie Clement.
05:26Oh my goodness.
05:26Who's Ernie Clement?
05:27Well, there's Ernie Clement.
05:28You know, even guys for the Dodgers, it's, it's kind of crazy.
05:33Andy, Andy Pye has, goes over and makes, saves the season with a catch.
05:37You know, you have, unfortunately for Isaiah kind of Falefa, everybody knew his name because
05:42he's the guy who got thrown at a home.
05:44Like this, this defines so many people on this sort of stage.
05:48And, and even Schlittler last year, guys, I mean, Schlittler, this is what happened with
05:53him.
05:53I don't think a lot of people put a lot of stock in Cam Schlittler heading into that game
05:57three and the next thing you know, he pitches like one of the best games we've seen all
06:01year.
06:02So yeah, I think it's, it's going to be interesting.
06:04I was talking about pressure earlier.
06:05Do you think Schlittler's got more pressure than Tully or vice versa?
06:09No, no.
06:10I mean, he's got more pressure because there's more expectations, but I don't think, honestly,
06:14I hate Red Sox fans are going to want to hear this.
06:16I don't think it matters to him.
06:18He is legit.
06:20He, when he talks about keeping receipts, you know, this is like a cliche for a lot of
06:24guys.
06:24I think it actually does fuel him, like his demeanor and, and the way he goes about things.
06:30He, what is it now?
06:31Five starts against the Red Sox.
06:33He hasn't had one bad one.
06:35He gave, he gave up four runs, but they were all unearned, but all of them have been good.
06:39All of them have been nails and, and he's going to win the Cy Young.
06:43So I guess if there's more pressure on anyone, the expectations are there with him.
06:46I am absolutely fascinated with how they're going to use Garrett Crochet.
06:52I mean, whatever it is, when he comes in, like, that's a moment you're going to sit back
06:57and go, sweet Lord, I don't know what's about to happen.
07:00Yeah.
07:00They said this, they're going to say the same thing, Rich.
07:02Yeah.
07:03I mean, we don't, they don't know what's going to happen.
07:05I mean, it's been, how do you think he's going to be utilized?
07:08I was, I was predicting, you know, maybe an inning, like the sixth inning or so, most
07:14likely you'd pop him in.
07:15But what are you feeling?
07:17I think that initially it's going to be a matchup, you know, the, I hate this term,
07:22but the pocket, find the pocket in the Yankees lineup.
07:25But then you go from there, right?
07:27Like one of the things that Chad Tracy referenced just now was how in the last two side sessions,
07:32he's sitting at 96.
07:33So yeah, there was the, I feel great.
07:35I can do it from Garrett Crochet, but they also have to have the proof.
07:39And the proof was his velocity.
07:41And that's, by the way, with nobody in the stands.
07:44I mean, Ken knows those backfields at Fort Myers better than anyone.
07:47Do I?
07:48And he knows that you have to create your own adrenaline.
07:51I mean, I see you're doing four 440s all around the field.
07:54Yep.
07:54Fungos.
07:55Yeah.
07:55PFPs.
07:56Exactly.
07:56But Crochet was throwing 96 without anyone in the stands.
08:00So I think they feel like that's going to happen.
08:02And at least, and then you go from there, how he looks and the hitter's reactions.
08:07Is there any chance that you see this being, I mean, is he definitely going to be used?
08:13I know that's a crazy question, but is he kind of a luxury in that if you don't have to
08:18play him,
08:18they'd rather not, but they've got him there just in case?
08:22Can I say this?
08:23They better use him.
08:24And here's the reason why.
08:25Because they basically kept Brayden Ward off the roster because of Garrett Crochet.
08:30That's a good point.
08:31They carried this extra pitcher because they weren't sure about what Garrett Crochet was going to be.
08:38And you still don't know.
08:39So, like, they better use him, at least see what he has, because otherwise it's a waste.
08:44You think that he's ready to go?
08:46Then put him out there.
08:47And another subtle thing, which to keep an eye on, which is, which Chad Tracy talked about,
08:52in extra innings, there's no ghost runner.
08:54So, like, the Yankees going with ten pitchers, sure, if you play nine, that's fine.
09:00But if you get into one of these other games, it can be a very real thing in terms of
09:05testing your depth.
09:06All right.
09:07It's interesting, real quick, Rich, that Judge is out and Stanton is in,
09:11and he's only going to be used as a pinch hitter, according to Aaron Boone.
09:13That's another one of those guys, even though he's, like, so bad lately,
09:16you just fear him coming to the plate in the eighth or ninth inning.
09:19Yeah, but that's another reason, right?
09:20I mean, they're doing the exact opposite.
09:22They don't know what they get from him, so they have to keep another hitter.
09:24But he's another one of those guys that just, he's got it in him to absolutely ruin your day.
09:30And I know that, obviously, there's, you know, coming back from injuries, I don't care.
09:34He's still Stanton, you know, and sometimes, I mean, heck, when Roman first came back,
09:39he was unbelievable.
09:40Like, remember the first couple games, didn't he, like, almost hit a home run in the first game,
09:44and then the second one, he hit a home run?
09:45Is that right?
09:46So that just happens sometimes.
09:48These guys can come back and have one or two games in them all of a sudden.
09:52So, yeah, I don't like the fact that Giancarlo Stanton's in the lineup.
09:56I'm not writing that off as being something that's fluky or something that won't affect this team.
10:00All right.
10:00Can you hang out for one more break?
10:02Yeah, whatever you need.
10:03I get nowhere to go.
10:04Oh, hell yeah.
10:05All right.
10:05But 617-779-7937, we've got Rob Bradford and Ken there right now live from the booth,
10:13right where Will Fleming will be, and Jazz Chisholm standing directly behind him during the game.
10:18Ooh.
10:19Is he really?
10:19Wow.
10:20I didn't see that release.
10:21That's at least what I've heard.
10:23By the way, I've already earned my money.
10:25I took a picture of Mickey Gassard's biceps.
10:27I saw that.
10:27Ted was concerned which tendon it was.
10:29I know.
10:29I feel like if anyone can talk about biceps, it's Ted.
10:33How gross is it, by the way?
10:34Oh, it's gross.
10:35That's what I said.
10:36I'm like, Mickey, you can say no, but can I take a picture of your biceps?
10:39Because it looks so gross.
10:40People are going to know.
10:41He's going to have surgery on Friday, by the way.
10:43Oh, that sucks.