Lou Merloni and Will Flemming join! Does this season's vibe seem different than the last few years? Should this team (with new rotation) be a playoff team? #mlb
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00:00And we are joined now by our guy Lou Merloni.
00:04Hey, Lou.
00:05Hi, Greg.
00:06We miss you.
00:06Like, what's going on?
00:07Are you coming down tonight?
00:08What's the deal?
00:09Yes, yes.
00:10I got the Noro.
00:11I would not wish it on my worst enemy.
00:15But I will be arriving.
00:17I just was arguing with Ken in the hallway
00:20about whether the company can foot the bill for a $200 jet
00:24blue flight, as opposed to using the Delta credits for a flight
00:27that gets me in at 4.45 AM tomorrow morning.
00:31It's all these big problems.
00:32Big problems, right?
00:33And I'm sure Ken did the, I'll run it up the flagpole.
00:38Yes, he did.
00:39Yes, he did.
00:40But listen, I-
00:41Hey, by the way, Greg, before you get into this,
00:43the best head of hair I have ever seen.
00:46Steve Phillips.
00:46Oh.
00:47Unbelievable.
00:48100%.
00:48A silver fox.
00:49Yes.
00:50He really is.
00:51Perfectly swabbed, too.
00:51I mean, the guy just oozes baseball and sex.
00:57Put that on a poster.
00:59Speaking of which, Will Fleming here as well.
01:02Oozing both those things.
01:05Will, what's the, is it official, Will?
01:07Are you the, I don't want to say the new Joe Castiglione,
01:10but is-
01:11We're still waiting for an announcement?
01:13I'll leave that to the powers that be.
01:15But yes, I will be the main radio guy for years to come.
01:17So awesome.
01:18Congratulations.
01:19Congrats.
01:20What'd you sign, like a 20-year deal or what?
01:24And I no longer have to battle with Ken and Mike
01:26on airfare and Ubers and all that stuff.
01:28Awesome.
01:29Wow.
01:29And Lou, I mean, you kind of-
01:31Yes, sir.
01:32You're Mr. Television now.
01:33I mean, what do we, do we get any games from you at all?
01:36Yeah.
01:37Yeah, there's going to be a few with me and Mr. Flemdog
01:40over here.
01:41But yeah, most of it's going to be on TV.
01:43So it'll be fun.
01:44That's why you're working on that tan.
01:46I am.
01:46I got to work on that tan.
01:47Looking good, Will.
01:48I need my hour a day like at the pool just to chill.
01:51I don't know if you're flexing right now,
01:52but the arms look swole.
01:53See?
01:54Yes.
01:55He's getting a workout on.
01:56You know, I mean, listen, I come into camp
01:58like in my best media shape of my life.
02:01Yeah, that's good.
02:02So both of you guys have been down there for a while,
02:05longer than we have.
02:08Is it, I don't know if you call it chemistry or vibe,
02:11is it different going into this season?
02:14Yeah, it is.
02:15It's a lot different.
02:16I would say like the last couple of years, you walked in here,
02:18and it was like, well, let's see what the kids can do.
02:22Maybe some can surprise.
02:23Maybe we can stay healthy.
02:24Maybe you can stay in it.
02:25Maybe you can pick up an addition at the all-star break
02:28and give this thing.
02:29You're basically coming up with ideas of hope
02:31and how to stay in it.
02:33And it can happen.
02:34And then all of a sudden, you walk in this year,
02:36and it's no longer hope.
02:37Like, it's right in front of you.
02:39You're like, OK, we have a good team.
02:41The guys can feel like we have a club that
02:43can compete in the AL East.
02:45You've got Crochet.
02:45You've got Buehler.
02:46In comes Bregman.
02:47Some other additions.
02:48Guys are healthier.
02:49Guys are a year older.
02:50They know what it takes.
02:51Yeah, it's just a completely different.
02:53There's no more hope.
02:54There's now expectations.
02:55It should be a playoff team.
02:57It's been said 100 times, so it seems like it might be trite.
03:01But Bregman being the adult in the room,
03:04how important is that?
03:07I think that you just can't overstate it.
03:09I mean, at all levels, you guys talked to Trevor today.
03:12I mean, he himself is impacted by Bregman's arrival.
03:15The whole club has found out that he is everything
03:19and more that was advertised.
03:20And by the way, this is why Alex Gore was banging the drum
03:23for him for five months.
03:24I mean, this team has needed that for so long.
03:27Lou has been in the big leagues.
03:29You talk to so many players.
03:31They need adults who've done it, who've struggled,
03:34who've succeeded, who can just stand around the cage with you
03:37and tell you how to prepare, how to get out of a rut.
03:39And don't you think he's just exceeded everything?
03:42He has exceeded my expectations.
03:43I kind of was like hoping this guy would come in and just
03:46right away kind of lead.
03:47And it's even been bad.
03:49The other day, I was asking him, because you
03:50know his wife was going to his executive business
03:53school at Harvard.
03:55So I was just like, what is executive business school?
03:58I know what a business school is.
04:00And after about 30 seconds of trying to explain it,
04:02he's like, yeah, you know what?
04:03I don't know.
04:04He's like, all I want is for her to be happy and hit lasers.
04:08And there was a part of me that wanted to hug him,
04:11but I thought that'd be weird.
04:12But just everything that comes out of his mouth
04:15is about winning, is about there's no doubt in his mind
04:19he's going back to the playoffs for the ninth year in a row.
04:22And it's like this has been missing,
04:24like this veteran who's been there.
04:26And if you want to play in the playoffs, let's face it,
04:29Devers and Story, Devers has got like 26 games
04:31in the postseason.
04:32Story's got five.
04:33This guy's got 99.
04:34No other hitter has been in the playoffs.
04:37So if you plan on getting there, it's
04:38nice to have someone that walks into the postseason
04:41as if it's just an extension of the regular season
04:43his whole career.
04:44Go ahead.
04:45Do you back Alex Cora when he says that since they're
04:47all adults, there's no issue when it comes to Devers
04:49and Bregman and that whole third base situation?
04:51Or do you think that there could be a divide there?
04:54I don't think there's going to be a divide.
04:56Like part of the room wants Devers at third.
04:58It's just it's a Devers thing.
04:59The guy's got a lot of pride.
05:00He wants to continue to try to show
05:02he can get better at playing third,
05:04prove that he can play third.
05:05So I don't think he wants to move off it.
05:07In the end, if some young kid at second
05:10proves he can handle the job, Devers, you're DH.
05:13So who do you think is going to play third base?
05:15Your opinion based on you guys have been in this world
05:19like opening day or at least March 27 in Texas,
05:24who's going to be the third baseman?
05:25I think Bregman.
05:26I mean, but what Lou is talking about is exactly right.
05:28You need Campbell or Grissom or maybe even Hamilton.
05:31But I think those first two have a better chance.
05:33If they can play second base and prove
05:35that, Alex Bregman is a much better third baseman.
05:38And Cora is going to navigate this thing just fine.
05:40Whether or not they communicated in the off season,
05:42I know a lot of people are talking about that.
05:44I find it so hard to think that not knowing whether you're
05:47going to get Bregman or Arenado, you go to Rafi and say,
05:49hey, bud, we really are looking at moving you
05:51off the position you've played your whole life.
05:53I don't buy into that logic at all.
05:55I mean, that could really hurt the relationship
05:57with the player and a decision you might not end up making.
06:00So I think they want Bregman to play third,
06:03but they need somebody to find out
06:04that they can be the second baseman.
06:06I would say, I don't know about you guys,
06:08but in any interview I've ever heard from growing up
06:12as a listener to this radio station
06:13to watching Boston sports media my whole life,
06:16hearing Cora discuss Bregman, it was almost as,
06:20the only thing I could compare it to was the Bill Belichick,
06:23Teddy Brewski retirement press conference,
06:25where he said he was the perfect patriot.
06:27Like, the way Cora discussed him, he called him perfect,
06:32and it wasn't like he was trying to be,
06:35you know, it wasn't said in jest,
06:36it wasn't said tongue in cheek,
06:38it was that he thinks this guy is the catalyst
06:41to get this team where it needs to go.
06:42Yeah, because he kind of knows what's been missing,
06:45but I also think there's like a little buildup,
06:47you know, for the last two or three years,
06:49I think, you know, everybody made a big deal
06:51about like Cora and was it Cora and Kennedy wanted Bregman
06:53and Bregman, that report, Breslow wasn't sure.
06:57That's the way it always is, you know what I mean?
06:59Like Cora's like, yeah, I want Bregman,
07:01and by the way, I want Burns, and I want Crochet,
07:03and I want Freed, and he wants everybody, he's the manager.
07:07So I think for the last two or three years,
07:09everybody that Cora has really wanted,
07:13I'm not sure they've delivered,
07:14so he's like, finally, you know, I got my guy,
07:17like, yeah, you want to get Crochet and Bueller, awesome,
07:18but I need this veteran,
07:20especially right-handed bat at Fenway Park.
07:23So I think part of it is just,
07:24he's excited that he identified somebody
07:27that would really help, and they went out and got him.
07:29And again, he knows what he brings,
07:31and it's everything, like on so many levels,
07:35what the team needed.
07:36But then the other side, the fan base level was like,
07:39it just satisfied the whole,
07:40are they ever going to spend ever again?
07:42And they went out and gave this guy 40 million, so.
07:45Lou, what changed Cora's mind mid-season,
07:47or at least made him open and willing
07:52to doing a deal mid-season when he said he wasn't?
07:55I think it's funny, because we always talk about
07:57Cora's going to go somewhere else, and you would say,
07:59okay, if somebody was to walk into the Red Sox in 2024,
08:04and look at the young players they have playing every day,
08:06and look at the farm system,
08:08if you were looking at where should I go manage in 2025,
08:11there's not many places better.
08:14You know, it's just he went through it for five years,
08:16but moving forward for the next five,
08:19if ownership believes in this young group,
08:21if ownership is willing to spend the money,
08:23because the young groups have come through now,
08:25and it's time to go, there wouldn't have been a,
08:28there's not a better spot.
08:29Like the Yankees is sort of like getting a little bit older,
08:32they'll always spend, the Phillies are getting older,
08:34but they'll spend, but this team, you know,
08:36if he's told that we're going to start investing
08:39into this ball club,
08:40there wasn't really many better spots.
08:41Yeah, I think the family part is real too.
08:44I mean, his daughter's finishing up at BC,
08:46his sons are big Celtics fans now, like they love Boston.
08:49And that's a real part of,
08:50I think what makes him such a great fit here
08:52is that they buy into and understand
08:55the rhythms of the city and love it, so.
08:57Something I did find interesting that he said yesterday
08:59was if you're a manager and you stay at one spot
09:02for too long, it can become difficult though,
09:04which made me confused that he would say that
09:08after signing for another three years here.
09:10Yeah, Tito always said the same thing, right?
09:12How long was he here, nine years or whatever?
09:14And then he's like, you know, it's like Boston dog years,
09:17you know, it's like 50 years managing.
09:19So Cora, who has been here since what, 18?
09:22So yeah, like the three years, like, is this it?
09:25It very well could be.
09:26I don't think he wants to manage too long, I don't.
09:28I mean, he's great at it,
09:30but whether he wants to be in a front office or whatever,
09:32and I think the dollars in this deal make it even likelier.
09:34I mean, look, if they go on some run
09:36and went two of the next three or something,
09:38it might be hard to walk away from that.
09:39But I just don't see him managing like into his sixties.
09:42He's not that kind of guy.
09:44And Lou, I need you to weigh in on a take I had yesterday.
09:46Hot, hot, hot, hot take.
09:49John Henry better owner than Robert Kraft.
09:51I love the debate.
09:53Where do you stand in Will and everybody?
09:55Where do you stand on that?
09:57Even before the Bregman, you know,
09:59the amount of crap that Henry gets
10:01and the free pass that Kraft gets is like beyond,
10:05I don't even understand it.
10:06One guy has been so-called cheap for three or four years.
10:09One guy's been cheap since he ever showed up here.
10:12Robert Kraft is what?
10:13Last in cash spending the last 10 years.
10:16I mean, it was like they've won six Super Bowls
10:18and it took a national survey about how crappy
10:20the grounds were in the training room
10:22and how they treat families.
10:23He gets shamed publicly after winning six Super Bowls,
10:26have the worst facility in football for his players
10:30who won six Super Bowls
10:31and he still didn't want to put money into it.
10:33So, yeah, listen, I think kind of get the free pass
10:36and I get it through Belichick.
10:37People just don't like John Henry.
10:39They don't like him, his personality, who he is.
10:41He's quiet.
10:42He doesn't seem like he's invested.
10:44So that's why they make this judgment.
10:46All it took for you to like him was a bag of merch.
10:48No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
10:50Listen, I've been saying this since day one
10:55before I even got any swag.
10:57One city connectors.
10:58I've always, as like a true Bostonian,
11:03I've always taken myself out of it and go,
11:05okay, who's willing to spend money?
11:08And I play for the Patriots.
11:09And who's willing to open up the checkbook
11:11and put the best possible people out there
11:14and willing to cut a check?
11:16And whether it was Kyle Crawford, Adrian Gonzalez,
11:21there's just so, Pablo Sandoval.
11:23There's been so many players that even though they're misses
11:26at least-
11:27My favorite is Roosney.
11:28At least John Henry has been willing to say win.
11:33Nobody wanted him to sign David Price
11:34because they were like, he was overpaying him.
11:36He gave him seven years and whatever it is.
11:38Robert Kraft, I remember screaming for Julius Peppers.
11:41I remember screaming for wide receivers like Steve Smith.
11:46They just have never wanted to spend money.
11:49And that's-
11:50Wiggy, to be fair, John Henry for a while
11:53was not willing to spend.
11:55And I think everybody owes a debt of gratitude
11:58to Mark Walter and the Dodgers for changing that.
12:03You gotta be fair about it.
12:04Yeah, but when did John Henry never want to spend?
12:06Because prior to these-
12:08The last four.
12:08Yeah, right.
12:09But prior to that, he had been-
12:10That's what I'm talking, last four years.
12:11Right, right.
12:12But we know and we've said he's changed his philosophy.
12:15But prior to that, he had been,
12:17the Red Sox had been in the top five
12:20when it came to payroll for like 15 years straight.
12:24Yeah.
12:24And he's not perfect.
12:26You know what I mean?
12:27Like, yeah, the last four years,
12:28I would have liked to have seen him spend as well.
12:30And this isn't really like,
12:32John Henry gets a lot of criticism.
12:33For me, it's always like I always sat back
12:35and kind of laughed at how Robert doesn't get any.
12:38Right.
12:39Or hasn't gotten any, you know?
12:40And I was like, oh, okay.
12:42But John is, you know, he spends,
12:43he had a different philosophy last four years.
12:45Let's face it.
12:46You look back now and it's like,
12:47I don't really believe in this team.
12:48We have a bunch of young kids.
12:49I need to see what they are.
12:50I'm not gonna go and spend $300 million
12:52on a team we don't believe in
12:53that I'm not even sure if my GM believes in.
12:55Yeah.
12:56So why would I do that?
12:56Let's sit back, let's draft, let's develop.
12:58And then when we're ready to spend, we will.
13:00And we were hoping it was this off season.
13:02Took a while, but you know,
13:03they went out and got Bregman
13:04and we'll see if they're done.
13:06Lou, where are you on this version
13:09of robot umps and the challenges?
13:12I like the ABS challenge system.
13:14I think that will be coming next year.
13:15I think they'll do it in the minors again.
13:17I like the whole like three challenges throughout a game.
13:21The electric strike zone,
13:23I think would be an absolute nightmare.
13:25And if pitchers think that it's a good idea,
13:28the strike zone will absolutely 100% shrink.
13:32It'll be advantage hitters
13:33because whether pitchers want to realize it or not,
13:35they get more off the plate.
13:36And I've talked to umpires who agree 100%.
13:39They have no idea how small the strike zone will get
13:42if you really just call the plate.
13:43Spoken like a true hitter.
13:45It's always there for.
13:47Yeah.
13:47I would also just say on the spending front,
13:51removing the Devers reaction and how that may impact it.
13:54As a general whole for the organization, Will and Lou,
13:57did you feel like the team now feels like,
13:59wow, now we have no bitch.
14:01We have nobody to blame.
14:02Like this organization believes in us.
14:05Bregman is a sign that we are going to be going for it
14:07for years to come.
14:08Yeah. And so will Vlad Guerrero next spring.
14:10So yeah, I do.
14:11I think it's lifted a lot of that pressure from everybody.
14:14And again, to your first question,
14:16they feel it in that room.
14:17I mean, everyone, it's like, okay, now we can really go.
14:21And even though crochet was a trade,
14:23I think that's coming soon.
14:25I think that's, it's felt to me forever.
14:28Like the kind of thing that everybody's down here
14:30and happy and in great moods.
14:31And the third week of spring training, bang,
14:33six year extension for Garrett Crochet.
14:35So I think that's the kind of thing that's coming now too.
14:38So yeah, they're all, they're lined up to keep spending.
14:40Chris, I would say on that real quick,
14:42like last year you walked in this clubhouse,
14:43six to eight guys kind of walk up to you.
14:45Yeah.
14:46And they're look at me or Will and go, what are we doing?
14:49Yeah.
14:50Like, what are we doing?
14:51We don't, why didn't we get involved with this guy?
14:53Why don't we get involved with this?
14:54You know what I mean?
14:55Like those questions aren't,
14:56you're not hearing it this year, but yeah,
14:58the last couple of years, like, what are we doing?
15:01Like, are we going to spend like what, you know what I mean?
15:02Like I heard it from guys.
15:04Well, yeah.
15:04I mean, I can only imagine if we feel it
15:05as people covering it or the team,
15:08the guys on the team had to feel it differently
15:10and maybe the delay in the announcement has Ken
15:13and Mike checked with Casas about the new booth
15:16because he may have to get final approval.
15:20You know, depending.
15:21He's making all the decisions.
15:22I mean, I don't know, football,
15:23but in baseball, it's like the biggest canned answer.
15:26Like the easiest answer in the world.
15:28You hear it all the time is that those decisions
15:31are above my pay grade.
15:32Yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:33That's for the coach.
15:34It's the easiest answer in the book.
15:36I'm here to hit baseballs.
15:37I'm here to play football.
15:38That's for the coach.
15:39But let me ask my last question for you, Lou,
15:42because I'm always fascinated to be around the training camp,
15:48whether it's football, baseball,
15:50but just to see the advancements
15:53because you and I played so long ago
15:56and I was kind of blown away with this part of the ballpark.
15:59What's the advancements like?
16:01I've seen Trevor's, not Trevor's story,
16:03but Bregman shows a lot of his workouts on social media.
16:07What are these advancements like for these young kids
16:10that helped them become way better baseball players
16:14because of the technology
16:15and all this other stuff that they have?
16:17It's just like, you look over here where you guys are,
16:19catching drills and infield drills.
16:21When I was playing, there was no drills.
16:25It was like, I'm gonna go hit some ground balls
16:27and that's where you're gonna work on your form.
16:29That's where you're gonna work on catching the ball.
16:30The pitchers that are working on framing
16:32here in front of you, there was no drill.
16:34They worked on framing on bullpens.
16:37You know what I mean?
16:37Now everything is so specific,
16:41whether it's hitting, whether it's fielding,
16:42whether it's outfield work,
16:43there's so many little drills to work on fundamentals,
16:47that kind of muscle memory to take you into the game
16:49and forget about the nutrition.
16:51We had two trainers and a strength coach when I played here.
16:54We travel with what, 12 total, maybe more, 15.
16:59Like it's just strength and trainers everywhere.
17:01And the video technology is nuts.
17:03Forget about it, it's so advanced, crazy.
17:06So Lou, are they underachieving
17:08if they don't win the division?
17:10I wouldn't say win the division.
17:12I mean, I can't say that because Yankees win 98 games,
17:15but they are 100% underachieving
17:17if they don't make the postseason
17:18and they should be competitive in the division.
17:20I think that's how everybody feels.
17:22Yeah.
17:23Well, have you settled on a signature call yet?
17:27Can you believe it has taken off?
17:30I heard some of those Bregman calls from Jones and Keefe.
17:33Breg on your face?
17:34Yes.
17:35ABC.
17:36Breg in the stallion, I like that.
17:38Breg another Bregman.
17:39Alex said they gotta come up with some different ones.
17:41Yeah, yeah, he was not a fan.
17:43No, he wasn't.
17:44I'm glad he signed before hearing that.
17:47All right, guys. We'll see you.