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Felger & Mazz

Mazz: The Red Sox did NOTHING this offseason

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On Wednesday’s Felger and Mazz, Mazz got fired up by a caller asking him what he really expected the Boston Red Sox to do pitching wise in free agency. That question led Mazz on a rant about the Red Sox offseason.

Audio

 

The Red Sox did this offseason? Mazz says NOTHING…

Mazz: I don’t think that they’re as bad as Felger does. I think they’re further away than Felger does, but I am astonished, ASTONISHED that they did nothing this offseason. Nothing.

Mike the Caller: Okay, let me ask you about that, Mazz. I think they made a concerted effort to go after Yamamoto and realized quickly he had no interest in coming to the Red Sox. What was plan B? So you tell me who you wanted them to sign. Because when I look at this bucket of suck in free agency, there aren’t a lot of guys that I would have signed for the contract, that they got. So tell me who you wouldn’t want them to sign.

Mazz: How about Jordan Montgomery?

Mike the Caller: Okay. Oh, five for what? You want to give Jordan Montgomery five years for $150 million because that’s what Scott Boras wants right now. You give that to him?

Mazz: He’s not going to get that. It’s going to be it’s going to be four years $100 million.

Mike the Caller: Fine, fine. But right now he’s not signed because he wants five years $150 million. And Snell wants nine years $270 million. You’re not signing those guys for that money.

Mazz: Forget Snell. I don’t want Snell. They’re not going to do Snell because you’re not going to give up the draft pick. Which again we can argue about, but they won’t do it. But Mike let me ask you this question: what are they going to do for pitching next winter?

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 15: Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy addresses the departure of Alex Cora as manager of the Boston Red Sox during a press conference at Fenway Park on January 15, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. A MLB investigation concluded that Cora was involved in the Houston Astros sign stealing operation in 2017 while he was the bench coach. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 15: Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy addresses the departure of Alex Cora as manager of the Boston Red Sox during a press conference at Fenway Park on January 15, 2020 in Boston, Massachusetts. A MLB investigation concluded that Cora was involved in the Houston Astros sign stealing operation in 2017 while he was the bench coach. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Mike the Caller: So I think Whitlock, Houck, and Crawford you can’t deny they’ll have upside.

Mazz: Oh please.

Mike the Caller: Why? Do they not have upside?

Mazz: Upside to what? Sucking?

J-Stew: Upside to be the third starer in a good rotation?

Felger: So these guys are denying their upside.

Mazz: No, I’m not denying the upside.

Felger: The caller said you can’t deny the upside. I think they just denied it, Mike.

Mazz: Of course they have upside. Yes, they can all be better than they are. At what point do I stop waiting for upside? And I also need some veteran pitching.

Felger: But the I think your point is next year’s market is going to be overpriced too.

Mazz: And it’s going to be worse.

Felger: This is the way it goes.

Mazz: They don’t have pitching in the system. Here’s my point to Mike the caller….If you weren’t going to get the pitching this winter, when are you going to get it? WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET IT? You want Max Scherzer next winter? He’ll be 42 or 43. Gerrit Cole will be 36 and he’s going to be looking for 250 million, too. Would you rather do that or would you rather spend on a 29 year old or 30 year old this offseason? Because you have DOG CRAP in your system. So where are you going to get the pitching? Tell me where! And you don’t have any pitching to trade, so you’re not going to be able to get it in a deal either. Where are you going to get it? If they want to build it through the draft and the system, they’re five years away. FIVE! They’ve already taken four and flushed it down the freaking toilet. And you want him to flush another five? I’ll be dead by then. Holy crap. They did nothing this offseason. NOTHING. It’s ASTONISHING.

Kevin Maggiore has been producing on the Felger & Mazz program since January of 2022 and has been producing with 98.5 The Sports Hub since 2018. Kevin also produces New England Patriots broadcasts on The Sports Hub and has produced Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins broadcasts in the past. Kevin grew up in Saugus, Massachusetts and is still in the area today. A lifelong hockey fan, Kevin collects hockey jerseys and has over 100 jerseys in his collection. Kevin loves spending his time away from the office on the golf course. Kevin writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.

Listen to Felger and Mazz from 2-6 every Monday-Friday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, with hosts Mike Felger, Tony “Mazz” Massarotti, and Jim Murray “Big Jim”. You can listen live in the Sports Hub App and subscribe to their podcasts here. Follow @FelgerAndMazz on Twitter to keep up with the show!

Stewart: Day One Red Sox Concerns

The Red Sox finished in last place in the American League East for the third time in four years and the future doesn’t look better for 2024. I just turned 43 years old and since the age of 7 I’ve always looked forward to Baseball Spring Training, pitchers and catchers reporting to Fort Myers, and day one of Red Sox manager “X” sitting at the picnic table addressing the media. My level of passion and interest for Boston’s 2024 baseball campaign is at an all time low. And that sucks and blows Mike! It’s because of the lack of moves this offseason, Red Sox leadership saying payroll will go down after telling us the Red Sox will be “full throttle” in making moves to help improve the on field baseball team, and Sam Kennedy and Craig Breslow describing different roles for new senior adviser and part-owner of Fenway Sports Group, Theo Epstein. There feels like there is a lot of disfunction and unorganized people running the Boston Red Sox. Not to mention the on field team looks young and uninspiring, unless you’re Tyler Miliken, and I even think young Tyler is frustrated by the Red Sox lack of moves.

 

Chris Cotillo on Twitter: "Death. Taxes. Jonny Miller. pic.twitter.com/2wmn4fsqYP / Twitter"

Death. Taxes. Jonny Miller. pic.twitter.com/2wmn4fsqYP

So where does my frustration as a fan come from? It starts with Red Sox Team President Sam Kennedy. To be clear, it’s not personal, I don’t recall ever meeting Sam or having a conversation with him. My issues with Sam Kennedy are how he’s turned the Boston Red Sox baseball team into a Fenway Sports Group business, which I hate. And as a fan you should hate too.

In 2019 the Red Sox payroll was more than $235,000,000 and number one in baseball coming off a World Series Championship. I believe that Sam Kennedy pushed Dave Dombrowski out and used his business sense to do so. Sam would have appealed to Red Sox ownership about spending mistakes that Dombrowski had made and was about to make. “Sugar Daddy” Dave was all about winning games. Dave was about making sure that his manager had what he needed to win baseball games. Sam is all about winning dollar bills. I just have a core belief that the goal of a sports franchise owner is not to run a for profit business, your goal is to build a winning team that allows a community to come together. I know I said this on twitter a few weeks ago and got major push back and that’s ok.

Dave Dombrowski was fired by the Red Sox on September 9, 2019, just 10 months after winning the 2018 World Series, following a 10–5 loss to the New York Yankees, which dropped Boston’s record for the season to 76–67.

On Aug 6th, 2019, Dan Shaughnessy, wrote this in the Globe:
“I’ll be shocked if Dave Dombrowski is back with the Red Sox next season. Boston’s president of baseball operations has increasingly isolated himself with pals Frank Wren and Tony La Russa and has few friends inside Fenway’s walls. Dombrowski is under contract for just one more season. When you have the top payroll in baseball and don’t make the playoffs, somebody has to go. Alex Cora isn’t going anywhere. Dombrowski has been exactly what we thought he would be. He delivered a championship. But he gets the blame for the Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi contracts and for failing to address the bullpen need. He’s clearly not the guy to oversee a much-needed farm system rebuild.”

I believe Dave answered directly to John Henry and Tom Werner and didn’t care what Sam Kennedy had to say so that quote to Dan feels like a Sam Kennedy leak but I don’t know that. So now with Sam Kennedy, who isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, leading the way for the Red Sox, we’re just going to sit here and play Moneyball with some of the highest ticket prices in baseball. Just remember the Boston Red Sox are choosing to play Moneyball, they have the resources where they don’t have to play Moneyball.

So now, let’s turn to the on field problems I have.

  • Alex Cora Doesn’t have a Contract

    Alex Speier on Twitter: "Cora said he didn't want his uncertain job status beyond 2024 to be a story lording over the season. Asked if he wants to be with the Red Sox beyond 2024, he said he didn't want to discuss himself. / Twitter"

    Cora said he didn't want his uncertain job status beyond 2024 to be a story lording over the season. Asked if he wants to be with the Red Sox beyond 2024, he said he didn't want to discuss himself.

     

    Cora not wanting to talk about his contract could mean one of two things. One, he’s almost got an extension with the Red Sox done and he doesn’t want to publicly talk about it because he wants the team to announce it when it’s done and then tell us how excited he is about it. Two, he knows he’s porked meaning this will be his final season as Red Sox field manager because he’s not Craig Breslow’s hire. Alex Cora is an outstanding baseball mind and has proven to be an excellent baseball manager when he has a general manager who has supported his needs in building the right roster. Former Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom, now with the Cardinals, didn’t seem interested in supporting his field manager but seemed more interested in making sure his Baseball America Prospects ranking was high. Which ultimately cost him his job. It feels to me early on that Breslow and Cora have different agendas which would make a separation at the end of the 2024 season likely. I’m guessing that former Cubs manager David Ross will be the manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2025. Alex Cora would then be free to manage the Los Angeles Dodgers after Dave Roberts fails to win a World Series with them.

  • Star Power

    CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 23: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox tosses his bat after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 23, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

    CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – JUNE 23: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox tosses his bat after hitting a two-run home run in the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field on June 23, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

    Or lack of Star Power….

    Today, February 13th, 2024, the Boston Red Sox have one Superstar player, his name is Rafael Devers, he finished 18th in the MVP voting last season. This is year one of his 10-year contract extension worth $313.5 million, It’s also a franchise-record contract for the Red Sox and one of the largest extensions in MLB history. I expect him to be in the top 10 of the MVP voting this season. After Devers, who else is going to get MVP votes? Who else is going to get CY Young votes?

    The next Superstar of the Boston Red Sox should be Triston Casas who was drafted by “Sugar” Dave Dombrowski. Casas finished third in Rookie of the Year voting and some believe he’s projecting to be better than MLB the Show coverman, the Toronto Blue Jay’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr.. Guerrero Jr. finished second in MVP voting in his third year in the majors, Casas is entering his third season at the major league level. If Casas is an All-Star and gets MVP votes, he’ll slide into being Boston’s second star and with his personality, he might slide into becoming Boston’s face of the franchise.

    Beyond Devers and Casas, pitcher Brayan Bello could become an ACE and a face of the franchise pitcher this season but he has to be MUCH better than his post August 1st numbers of 5-5 with a 5.16 ERA in 11 starts.

    Red Sox people are all horned up to tell you how great Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel are the next coming of Betts, Bogaerts and Bradley Jr. And with respect to Trevor Story, Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreau and Vaughn Grissom, I need to see it to believe that these players can be stars and superstars.

  • The Outfield

    Alex Speier on Twitter: "Cora said Rafaela will be the CF if he makes the team, but TBD if he opens in AAA or the big leagues. "The defensive game is elite. It's a game-changer." / Twitter"

    Cora said Rafaela will be the CF if he makes the team, but TBD if he opens in AAA or the big leagues. "The defensive game is elite. It's a game-changer."

    On the subject of the Red Sox outfield which consists of Jarren Duran, Masataka Yoshida, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, Tyler O’Neill, Rob Refsnyder and maybe Vaughn Grissom, they’re all the same hit first, average or below average on defense, except for Rafaela who has been an elite defensive outfielder in the minors but might not be able to hit at the major league level. Think of Cristian Pache. I hope Rafaela is a better hitter than Pache. Based on what Cora said today at spring training, it feels like the outfield linemen will be Duran in left, Rafaela in center and O’Neill / Abreu in right field with Yoshida being the main DH in an open rotation. Defensively they should catch everything hit to them. Offensively, Boston’s Outfield WAR was 1.1, 13th in MLB. That needs to be much better. I know from talking to a member of the Red Sox, yes, I have a few friends who work with the Red Sox, they expect Abreu and Rafaela to have breakout seasons in the outfield. As a fan, I hope they’re right. If I could trade Duran and get a top pitching prospect I’d do it yesterday because the Red Sox are desperate for young pitching. DESPERATE.

  • The Pitching

    Ian Cundall on Twitter: "New on @SoxProspects, a deep dive into the Red Sox draft strategy and how it has affected their pitching development. Included within, a breakdown of how Red Sox and every other team have used their draft budget from 2018-23 and more. Full article here: https://t.co/F6d1MO3YlP pic.twitter.com/ro2yq4mkeH / Twitter"

    New on @SoxProspects, a deep dive into the Red Sox draft strategy and how it has affected their pitching development. Included within, a breakdown of how Red Sox and every other team have used their draft budget from 2018-23 and more. Full article here: https://t.co/F6d1MO3YlP pic.twitter.com/ro2yq4mkeH

    Good job by Ian with this chart of the Red Sox spending the least amount of money on pitching in the MLB draft. It makes sense since the Red Sox haven’t drafted and developed an elite pitcher since Jon Lester. Right now the Red Sox rotation looks like crap because their young pitching is in the bullpen:

    Lucas Giolito, Brayan Bello, Nick Pivetta, Kutter Crawford and TBA.

    The bullpen could be elite but the Red Sox need a lead to get to Kenley Jansen, Chris Martin, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock, John Schreiber, and Josh Winckowski. I’m not big on Jansen or Winckowski but the back end of this pitching staff, if healthy, could be at the top of the league and with Cora manipulating match ups. It should be a top 3 bullpen in baseball. No more wheel of gutless bums.

  • Infield Defense

    BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 17: Trevor Story #10 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park on June 17, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

    BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JUNE 17: Trevor Story #10 of the Boston Red Sox throws to first base during the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park on June 17, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images)

    Tom Werner said if the Red Sox would have had 9 to 10 more wins with league average defense. Depending on who those wins might have been against, the Red Sox could have been in the postseason. So what did the Red Sox do to improve the infield defense? Vaughn Grissom at second. Or will he be in the outfield?  If Trevor Story can play 130 games then that is a massive upgrade over Kiké Hernández at shortstop. But if Story can’t, what’s behind him? Bobby Dalbec? I’d love that to be sarcastic, but the infield depth chart is Bobby Dalbec and Pablo Reyes. And Pablo can’t play everyday. Can coaching make Devers and Casas better at their positions? Hopefully! In 2023 the Red Sox were below average at all four infield positions and the improvement the Red Sox made was Vaughn Grissom who was about to be moved to the outfield. Yikes.

    The Red Sox won 78 games last season, though one of the owners thinks if they had league average defense they would have won as many as 88 games. That still kind of stinks when the gold standard for the Boston Red Sox should be the Terry Francona – Theo Epstein era, which was 95 wins. The leadership of team president Larry Lucchino and General Manager Theo Epstein were in on everything. They spent, got big names, and built an excellent farm system. Baseball teams can do both. The Red Sox should always be able to do both. This will be season five of the “Sam Kennedy Red Sox team president era in Boston”. If the Red Sox don’t turn it around, my hope is he’ll be bumped out of Red Sox leadership and Henry and Werner will bring in a real team president with on field goals in mind, not business goals in mind.

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