There were boos. There were poor explanations. And there were lies.
Alas, Winter Weekend has come and gone — and it did nothing to assuage Red Sox fans’ fears amid another hapless offseason.
John Henry was a no-show. Tom Werner and Sam Kennedy twisted themselves into pretzels attempting to explain the team’s (in)actions. Kennedy even had the gall to call YOU, the people who actually love and support this team, liars for accusing ownership of not caring.
New year, same old disappointment. This is what the 2020s Red Sox have become.
First off, let’s tackle “full throttle”…
“A lot has been made of two words,” Werner attempted to explain to assembled reporters. “When I was saying full throttle, I admitted that (those weren’t) the most artful words. We are accountable to our fans. We’re not happy, as Sam said, for our performance last year. We expect to be better this year.”
Nothing says “we expect to be better” like trotting out essentially the same team (possibly worse) as you did a season ago when you finished last in the AL East.
As he attempted to do damage control on the “full throttle” comment earlier in the week, Werner seemingly resorted to throwing his newly-hired Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow under the bus — and he did so again at Winter Weekend.
“For me personally, full throttle is that I approach every year expecting us to be competitive, using all the levers at (Breslow’s) disposal. That could be acquiring talent through trades, free agency, building a core, having a stronger pitching staff and having a stronger coaching staff. We weren’t good enough defensively last year.”
The chairman insisted the team isn’t keeping Breslow on a leash in terms of payroll, but he did quip in an interview with MassLive.com that “whoever spends the most amount of money in free agency doesn’t necessarily hoist the World Series trophy at the end of the year.”
So which is it, Tom? Full throttle… or fully throttled? Werner’s bumbling comments at Winter Weekend were perfectly on brand for the inconsistent messaging that has been coming from ownership in recent years.
It seems my earlier intuitions were correct. In my eyes, the explanation for Breslow’s slow start was either going to be “ownership won’t let Breslow spend” or “Breslow is underperforming” — and it’s apparently the latter, at least according to Werner. But I would advise against taking his word as gospel.
Now, let’s talk about Kennedy…
In an interview with WEEI over the weekend, both he and Werner attempted to push back on the notion that they aren’t as interested in winning the World Series as they once were. Werner took a more measured approach in his denial (shocking given the above…), but Kennedy went scorched earth in his response.
“When we have two sucky seasons like we’ve had, these are natural questions. We have to take them,” said Kennedy. “But I can tell you, as a kid who grew up less than a mile from Fenway Park, if you think for one second that we aren’t passionate, committed, dedicated to the Boston Red Sox, you’re wrong, you’re a liar, and I’ll correct you on it, because it’s total BS. We are committed. We are frustrated. We take it personally.”
The results are the results, Sam. Last place last season. Last place two years ago. Last place in 2020. Since 2019, a 356-352 record and only one postseason appearance. During the 2018 World Series run, the Red Sox’s payroll of $240 million ranked first in baseball. Last season, they ranked 13th at $181 million.
Oh, and this might be a good time to mention that Kennedy expects the Red Sox’s payroll in 2024 will be lower than it was in 2023…
“It probably will be lower than it was in 2023,” Kennedy said Friday. “I don’t know that for sure. We don’t talk about specific payroll numbers. But I want to be clear that the build that we’re engaged in and have been engaged in will dictate the spend.”
But all your criticism, Red Sox fans? That’s just “BS”, apparently…
It’s fitting this event was once again held at MGM Springfield — because it’s a gamble to take anything this ownership group says seriously.
Pap emerging as Sox (media) star again
In times like these, it’s hard to remember that baseball is a game that’s actually meant to be fun.
Well, Jonathan Papelbon is still a lot of fun.
When he was announced as the host of the Red Sox’s now-defunct town hall “welcome” event, I wondered which version of Papelbon we would get. Would the Red Sox actually trot out the loose cannon that is the real Pap who’s already been critical of the team at a team-sponsored event? The answer is yes.
Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow were just introduced at "The Cinco Ocho Show" kicking off the Winter Weekend. They were broadly booed. Papelbon: "We've got Sam on the hot seat."
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) January 20, 2024
Papelbon was blunt and entertaining, by all accounts. He checks all the boxes that Red Sox fans like. He’s a winner. He’s a competitor. He’s direct. He’s entertaining. And, frankly, he’s the second coming of Dennis Eckersley (who was also in attendance this weekend. Long Live Eck!) and the perfect successor to Eckersley’s role as color commentator.
You don’t have to double dog dare @TheRealJPap58 to try the pitching cage. Any old challenge will do. pic.twitter.com/VusoCSsgwn
— NESN (@NESN) January 20, 2024
I hope NESN elevates Papelbon to the booth for the regular season. If we have to watch another last-place season, that would at least make it a more worthwhile watch.
(In)experience matters
In a rare tidbit of actual baseball news, the Red Sox have finalized the coaching staff that will support Alex Cora in what could be his final season in the dugout.
And the choices leave a lot to be desired…
Outside of Andrew Bailey, who has actual experience and success at the major league level, there isn’t a ton of big league coaching experience here.
Andy Fox, the new first base coach of the Red Sox, has never worked on the field in the majors. He has on-field experience in the minors as a manager and hitting coach in the Texas Rangers and then-Florida Marlins systems, but served only as a field coordinator in his time with the Red Sox since.
Kyle Hudson is the new third base coach replacing Carlos Febles. The Sox parted ways with Febles along with pitching coach Dave Bush after the season, and Febles was scooped up by the Blue Jays. But in fairness, it was time to move on from Febles. I can’t remember how many times I watched from the press box as he made questionable send after questionable send in recent years…
Hudson will move across the diamond after serving as the first base coach in 2023. Before that, he was a minor league bench coach and later served as a “staff assistant” for the Cleveland Guardians.
Do these hires reflect the trend we witnessed when the Red Sox were hiring a new general manager? Are established and well-respected coaches, as were their established and well-respected front office counterparts, simply not interested in working for this Red Sox franchise anymore?
Now, is a first base coach or a third base coach going to make or break a season? Nope. It's ultimately about the players on the field. But the team’s decision to bring in or stick with individuals with relatively little experience at the positions they’ve been hired for could be another sign that the Red Sox are not taking the 2024 season as seriously as they’ve promised to.