Red Sox checkup w/ Jonathan Papelbon: Trade deadline plans, Youth heat, Aroldis Chapman’s a beast

00:00:00
Speaker 1: Man, we all make mistake.

00:00:01
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, you know I thought that too, But now I've moved on to say, Don's my guy.

00:00:14
Speaker 3: He's the man of the people.

00:00:15
Speaker 4: Jonathan Paplebon joining us right now with some bright orange I like that, Pap.

00:00:19
Speaker 3: Good to see you.

00:00:20
Speaker 4: You're basically our Red Sox insider too, so I want to give you the heavy hitter right right up top here. Jaron Duran, Alex Bregman. Any of the big boys getting traded at the deadline by Craig breslowan company or are they pushing chips in what's happening out there?

00:00:34
Speaker 3: Man, I hope not.

00:00:36
Speaker 2: If they want to make a run at this, you better keep bregmant, you better keep Duran. You know, I'm hoping this is just part of the gamesmanship that you play at the trade deadline, just seeing what you could possibly maybe get, or throwing a name out there. I don't know, but you know, I get this weird feeling like they're gonna be sellers buyers and try to create this perfect deadline acquisition with this guy and that guy. I think it's just real, you know, I don't think Bresla needs to get too complicated with this, just it's real simple. What they need and they need another stud pitcher in that lineup. If they want to have a postseason contending roster.

00:01:19
Speaker 3: They need that.

00:01:21
Speaker 2: And they need another right handed bat. You know, Bregman's gonna come back, but they also need another right handed bat. And hopefully this you know, Hicks kid can come through in the bullpen, and they've already added that piece in the bullpen, so they won't need that with Chapman and Hicks setting each other up on obviously closed situations.

00:01:39
Speaker 5: So I don't know, man, I mean, is a five hundred team going to be able to make a run? Are you really expecting this?

00:01:47
Speaker 3: Or are you? Are you full? Are you full?

00:01:49
Speaker 4: Did you?

00:01:49
Speaker 5: Is it payday?

00:01:50
Speaker 2: No?

00:01:50
Speaker 5: It's not the fifteenth yet, so I just didn't know. If you just open one of your paychecks from Nessen.

00:01:56
Speaker 2: No. Look, they've been they've been playing teams that suck, Let's be honest, you know.

00:02:05
Speaker 3: And I'm going up.

00:02:07
Speaker 2: Tomorrow for the series to do the series with the Tampa Bay Series before the All Star break, and if they continue to do what they're doing against teams like Tampa.

00:02:18
Speaker 3: Bay, then I will say yes.

00:02:21
Speaker 2: But this series, believe it or not, to me is one of the biggest series that they will have this year because number one, you're going into All Star Break, you get to see what you have before that. And you know, number two, Bregman may or may not play. My guess is he's going to end up playing at this series at some point before the All Star Break. So he's a big catalyst to this team. And right now he's coaching from the bench and you can only do so much. But you know, the two big things are how are they gonna play against good teams?

00:02:54
Speaker 3: And what are they gonna be like when Bregman comes back.

00:02:57
Speaker 5: Are they gonna extend Bregman before he becomes a free agent, because don't forget, he's a Boris client and they pretty much need to because he's about the only veterans veteran presidents that they have in that position player corps.

00:03:13
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think they're gonna try to, but you know how it is dealing with Boris, you never know.

00:03:19
Speaker 3: I think that is one of their goals. I think that's one of Breslo's and Sam.

00:03:23
Speaker 2: Kennedy's goals to get someone like him who is a leader in the clubhouse and a leader on and off the field, which they desperately need.

00:03:33
Speaker 3: Right now, and hopefully they can get it done.

00:03:36
Speaker 2: You know, but I have a feeling this is gonna spill into the offseason, and you know, he may be looking for more years than what he's going to try to then what the Red Sox are going to try to give them?

00:03:49
Speaker 5: Are the Red Sox afraid of older players in the sense of leadership? You look at this team. I was just at the field two days ago and somebody asked me. They were like, oh, did you play with any of these guys? And I was like, this whole rosters like twenty four and below, and the Red Sox have constantly, this front office has constantly been like, don't buck against us. We know what is right to do on the field. Analytically, you need to listen to us, pitch calling stuff, you need to do all this stuff. So now they have a bunch of yes men because they're all young on this roster. Do you feel like that could be a detriment because some of these guys are coming up, they don't know how to play defense, they don't know how to put a bats together consistently, and they're just constantly a talented team that plays five hundred.

00:04:39
Speaker 2: Yeah, man, Kratz, I think you hit the nail on the head, really.

00:04:43
Speaker 3: And truthfully, they.

00:04:46
Speaker 2: Are one of the younger teams and it shows. It shows when they play Hell, they lead the they lead an entire baseball and errors.

00:04:56
Speaker 3: So it is a detriment.

00:04:58
Speaker 2: It already is It been a detriment this season, and they're trying every day to overcome those types of situations, including you know, it seems like every hitter you look up every night, all these young hitters, and I watch it and from the perspective of a pitcher, but it seems like these hitters are O two from the on deck circle. Most of these young hitters, say Don william a BRAHW. They just seem to fall oh two right out the gate. And you know, to me, that's that's not passing the baton, that's not putting at bats together and trying to get the lineup through so that your damaged guys can come up with men on base and situations like that.

00:05:36
Speaker 3: So, yes, they're already suffering from.

00:05:39
Speaker 2: It, and I'm afraid my the biggest thing I'm afraid of is this is what's going to keep them out of playoff contention.

00:05:47
Speaker 6: This year, but the defense was Dever's fault. I thought they blamed the whole Wait didn't they just but he's not there anymore, so the defense hasn't gotten better. But anyways, but the other night, I want to talk to you about pitching. Brian Beao pitched awesome the other night, right, first complete game of his career. Is this him maybe taking the next step? I know is against the Rockies. I don't really care. Though it was a CG the first career one. Could he take the next step because a couple of years ago, this was the guy the Red Sox were counting on a long term and he's kind of taking a step back. Is this him going back the other way?

00:06:23
Speaker 3: Yeah, you're right, AJ.

00:06:24
Speaker 2: I mean they've they've they've paid him, and they expect.

00:06:27
Speaker 3: A lot out of him now.

00:06:29
Speaker 2: And you know, I go, I don't go back to his last start. I know his last start was phenomenal, but the start before that even.

00:06:37
Speaker 3: Was where I saw.

00:06:38
Speaker 2: Him start to change in the way he used his fastball. He was early on the season nitpicking with his fastball early in the accounts, and now he's going straight after hitters.

00:06:49
Speaker 3: He's getting ahead of hitters, and you know as well as I do.

00:06:52
Speaker 2: Guys, anytime you get ahead of hitters, you have a hitter on his heels and advantages to the pitcher anytime you get ahead of them.

00:06:59
Speaker 3: So he's doing that more. But I tell you what.

00:07:04
Speaker 2: To me, it's a it's an attitude that a difference in his attitude that.

00:07:07
Speaker 3: I've seen him come out.

00:07:09
Speaker 2: You know, he used to guys would get on and he'd kind of bitch and complain and you know, shrugged his shoulders. Now it's like, bow my neck, let me go out there, let me give the team what I want, let me give him everything I got. So I think it's a different approach in him mentally and the way he's taking these games on each and every start. But they're gonna need him. And also on the other end of it, you got Giolito who held his last seven or eight starts have all been quality. But it's got to continue, and you have another guy, and how hopefully that can come back. If Out doesn't come back the way how it used to be, he's pitching the minor leagues right now. If he doesn't come back like the old Hout come up, then they have to go get somebody else. And that's that's gonna be the difference maker there.

00:07:56
Speaker 3: Aj.

00:07:56
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00:08:00
Speaker 3: To eat during the day. No, what could we do?

00:08:02
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00:08:03
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00:08:13
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00:08:55
Speaker 6: Get after it all, right, Pab you mentioned Gilito. What about Walker Buel? What do they do with him? Because he hasn't been that great this year either. You know, they're getting to the point now where it's put up or shut up.

00:09:06
Speaker 3: Right, Yeah, there's no question about that.

00:09:09
Speaker 7: AJ And you know you gotta you commend him because you know, every time he gets interviewed after a postgame interview, you know, he says that, you know, hey, this is.

00:09:19
Speaker 3: Not me, this is not my stuff. I'm searching.

00:09:21
Speaker 2: I'm searching right now to try to find my fastball, try to find my my slider.

00:09:27
Speaker 3: But you know, to me, it's a mechanical thing with him right now. It's And they.

00:09:33
Speaker 2: Asked him if he was injured at all, and he said he didn't want to discuss that. So I'm sure there's little tweaks and stuff going on with him right now. But to me, it's more mechanical. And I don't know if it's a lead leg mechanic thing where I what I personally think is it strides a little bit too long. He's just cut a stride down just a little bit. Get back on top of the baseball, so he commanded a little bit more. But I don't think he has a long rope, There's no question about that, because you're getting to the point of the season where you can't afford to have these starts where your star goes out, it pitches to two and a third and then you waste your bullpen for the entire series.

00:10:10
Speaker 3: So the rope is definitely short for Walker Brewler, all right.

00:10:13
Speaker 6: And then there's another guy that we mentioned. You're talking about all these young guys, Christian Campbell. They signed him to a deal. He's not even on the team anymore. What's the long term prognosis, whatever you want to call it for him, what's the long term look ahead to see where he's gonna be and what he's gonna do for the Red Sox because they paid him and then all of a sudden he couldn't hit at all. Now that he's back in Wooster or wherever he is working on a swing.

00:10:36
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's in Worcester, but that's your typical Yes, we made a mistake, you know, we called this guy up too early, and I don't think that he's going to be called up back to the big leagues anytime soon.

00:10:49
Speaker 3: So they one know that he is ready. You know that was.

00:10:55
Speaker 1: That was the guy coming out of spring training. That was your Rookie of the year, your MVP, mister Redzock. He was going to the Hall of Fame. Now he's in Wooster in there. You just said he's not. Man, we all make mistakes.

00:11:07
Speaker 2: Yeah, wait, you know I thought that too, But now I've moved on to say Doan say Don's my guy now?

00:11:12
Speaker 3: So yeah, so say Done's my guy now.

00:11:17
Speaker 2: But yeah, it's just you know, they they look hey J and Cratzy, you know as well as I do. Man, when a kid comes up to the big leagues, the moment he walks through those doors, you can look at him, have a two second conversation, look in his eyes and know, man, this kid is ready for the big leagues, or man, his eyes are big and look out, I don't.

00:11:39
Speaker 3: Think he's ready. And that was the case for it. Man. I could look at him and be like, oh no, oh damn, he don't. He don't have that look in his eyes, you know. And he had it, and so he's gonna have to regain it. It's gonna be a while, that's for sure. Pa.

00:11:54
Speaker 5: You look around the League right now. And it's Christian Campbell too. It's you know, it's it's your Nettos, it's your Shannon Wells. There's teams that are calling guys up Wilang for Dylan Cruz, calling them up with like a year, less than a year minor league time when you played. There's a handful of guys that got called up with less than a year of minor league time because and those guys are Hall of famers. Fringe hall of famers are the Red Sox because the teams that do this, they're trying to just like capture lightning in a bottle and like, hope this works. Should the Red Sox be a team that hope things work because I've seen their minor league development and they can develop players if they're left down there. Did they do him a disservice by calling him up because of you know what, we locked him up and now it's an opportunity for him to be in the shows?

00:12:53
Speaker 2: I mean, had he had an amazing spring training against you know, a bunch of troops, I'm sure, and you know, oh the eyes get big, and oh we got this new grand.

00:13:07
Speaker 3: Prospect and everything is great.

00:13:10
Speaker 2: But look at the end of the day, he was not ready, and the Red Sox were in a situation where they needed somebody at second base, right, so they I fully blame Breslo for doing this, And like he knows this. Bres is not dumb. He knows that they called him up too early. But the thing is is that there's still potential there. I believe in the Red Sox. Believe it.

00:13:36
Speaker 3: So you know in a Meyer and rom and Anthony too. Hell, they're just now kind of starting to come into their own. They were, in my opinion, they were called.

00:13:45
Speaker 2: Up too early as well. It was, oh, look at these shiny new tools we have. Let's hurry up and call them up. And you know, just now they're starting to get going. But this is throughout major League Baseball and you see it. So to me, it's, you know, it's it's a lot tougher on the player when you get caught up that early and you're not ready.

00:14:06
Speaker 4: Pap last one Heraldus Chapman showing everyone how easy it is to be a closer at a late stage of your career. So how incredible is he to watch? Do you notice anything about how he's able to do this for such a long period of time. We all know he's jacked and he's a gym machine, but so are you. So what do you notice?

00:14:28
Speaker 3: Yeah, so everything on.

00:14:32
Speaker 2: The one thing I noticed is that he lifts every day. I try to lift every day, but regardless, there's some days where you do need rest. But he actually doesn't eat at the field at all. So when he gets to the field, he doesn't. He only eats his these drinks and he's shakes, so he doesn't eat food while he's there. So I'm not sure what he's doing on or off the field. But his work ethic, to me is what is what you hear.

00:15:01
Speaker 3: From everybody around him? Right, man, this guy is an animal. When he works out, he works out in the morning, he gets up, takes a nap. He reminds me a little bit of Mariano Rivera. That's not Jack.

00:15:12
Speaker 2: He works out, takes a nap, works out, does something else, takes another now, and that's how he goes about his day. And to me, it's it's obviously working. But to see a guy still doing this at his age, it's incredible and I enjoy watching it every night.

00:15:31
Speaker 3: I mean, he's he is a specimen to watch.

00:15:36
Speaker 4: Yeah, so there you go, kids, pitch lift, nap, repeat it.