Matt Barnes talks 2025 Red Sox, Pitching takes, Informal retirement?

00:00:03
Speaker 1: Hey, we've got big league veteran pitcher Matt Barnes joining us right now on f going on in a minute, how you been.

00:00:09
Speaker 2: I'm good, I'm good. Was listening in. I love that take?

00:00:14
Speaker 1: Which one give it to us because because you've always you've always had strong opinions, and now you're getting to do some broadcasting too. I've caught you on some of the nets and allcasts and obstructed views.

00:00:23
Speaker 2: It's been great. So just for it.

00:00:25
Speaker 1: React to some of what you heard while you were catching.

00:00:28
Speaker 2: Out the Pirate the Pirates Marlins without a doubt with those pitching staffs. But you have to spend money. You have to, without a doubt. For me, every team that's one of the last fifteen years starts with young talent that's come up together, supplemented with big league veterans that you bring over and sign. End of story, Braves, Red Sox, Dodgers, Nationals, right like anybody who's done it has done that, and to me, that is it is, without a doubt the recipe. I like, good take.

00:01:00
Speaker 1: All right, So what are you seeing with the Red Sox right now? Because I know you've you know, done some extra coverage on them. What do you like and not like about this team.

00:01:09
Speaker 2: I think they got a good team. I mean they're second in right second in the AL East right now going into a big series against the Yankees, who frankly, they played really well against this year. The pitching staff has been incredible, complimented obviously by Geary Crochet, Gilitos throwing the ball well, BeOS throwing the ball well. The two the two young young guys that came up early and totally have been been absolutely incredible and punched out eleven in your first game is unheard of. Chatting at the back end and and I think for the most part they've been healthy or healthier right now. I know you have a bred you and Anthony on the IL with a couple other guys, but Story being healthy this year I think has been been a blessing for them. When he's healthy and on the fields, he's just he's a game changer, not only defensively, but in the middle of the in the middle of the lineup. And I think going into into the end of September, they're position really nicely. If they can get those two guys back healthy, you have a ton of guys in the team with postseason experience, which right now is critical these games, even though it's not the postseason, they start to feel like that games start to mean more. The pressure starts to mount a little bit, you know, especially playing They always kind of set it up where you play a lot of divisional games at the end, and I think all they got to do is get in, and they're in a great spot to get in. They kind of control their own destiny right now. So it's going to be exciting to see how it finishes up with the next three weeks.

00:02:32
Speaker 3: One of the things that was just constantly reiterated about the Yankees why they lost to Dodgers in the World Series and lose the Dodgers in like the Wildcar rounds so they made it to the World Series was defense. Is the Red Sox defense slash experience in the playoffs going to come up and bite them because of the fact that, in my opinion, they have Sedane Rafaela, who's playing goal gloves center field.

00:02:59
Speaker 2: He could be a goal glove second basement.

00:03:00
Speaker 3: So you kind of have like guys a little bit out of position, and with Anthony out, maybe they don't have their best defensive alignment out there.

00:03:10
Speaker 2: Yah. Yes, and no I think right now, there's so many analytics in the game where guys are positioned. Where obviously there's there's kind of ball reading and closing metrics and what not to get the fly balls and but but for me, a lot of that comes down to the coaching staff and making sure guys are in the right in the right position with Raphael and centerfield, having that guy lock it down in center field. For me, at Fenway is a very difficult, very difficult center field to play because of the angles with the monster and you've got the triangle and center. As long as he can control the entire outfield, I think that's gonna be fine with which he's done. And I think having Story up the middle really helps kind of carry that up the middle field. So genuinely, I think they're gonna be okay. In the Red Sox coaching staff has always done a really good job of making sure everybody's not only prepared, but positioned properly. So but again on the experience, they have a ton of experience. I know that relatively young, right, but they have a lot of experience with guys who have been in the World Series. In one World Series played in the postseason and those are the guys that you're going to lean on when you get to the postseason.

00:04:22
Speaker 4: Matt, you mentioned the coaching staff. What is the coaching staff done for Brian Bayo other than that a cutter? I mean, how have they Because he came up, he was amazing. He kind of had a struggle last year and this year he's been really good again. And then Lucas Giolito kind of the same thing coming off injury, struggled a little bit.

00:04:38
Speaker 2: What is Andrew Bailey and.

00:04:39
Speaker 4: The coaching staff done there to turn them around and make them forces? Because they're forces for him right now.

00:04:44
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think a lot of it is confidence, right So it's not only attacking his own, but it's putting these guys in positions. It's the preparation and how do we get to the pitches that are your out pitches? How do we set guys up. It's being on the same page the catchers. It's having the scouting reports. You know, when I was there, we would all kind of sit down and they show you where your stuff plays best, the trends, what you're you know, where you're trying to get to to put guys out, And for me, that's a huge part of it. When you get you get guys falling behind and they're not attacking the zone, you not only put yourself into bad positions, but then the confidence of the pitchers kind of you have a little bit of bad luck. And for me, really driving home that confidence and the ability to attack guys as an absolute game changer. You've seen it with them, and even Chapman taking it to the absolute next level this year, a guy who's been a perennial All Star for what is it twelve years? You even see it with him. So for me, it's it's a kind of a combination of those those couple of things.

00:05:45
Speaker 3: All Right, this team's in second place. Technically they're in third, you know, a little bit behind the Yankees. Would they be in first place if they had kept Raffi Devers?

00:05:55
Speaker 2: You know, I don't know. I don't know. Devers is an unbelievable player, and as long as I was with him, he was an unbelievable person. He played the game like he was in little league, which for me is such a rare thing to see at a level that is so competitive. But I don't know, it's so hard to tell what's going on inside the clubhouse. You have people reporting one thing and somebody's saying another thing. But for me, like I said, I don't know, I don't know. But what I do think is that despite all of the distractions that were surrounded Devers, whether it was prior to or after, I think the team has done a really nice job of moving on from the situation and still winning.

00:06:44
Speaker 1: Time for your weekly Arena Club segment where we see what AJ pulls from a slab pack. Andre we go pull Emerald pack this week. AJ looking for something big.

00:06:58
Speaker 2: Always, I'm always looking for the big thing.

00:07:00
Speaker 1: Big things got big money, big money.

00:07:01
Speaker 2: Baby. We've got a.

00:07:04
Speaker 1: Dave Winfield card from nineteen seventy four, seventy four tops card from this Emerald pack. Estimated value three hundred bucks. You could sell it back for two seventy sold sold. I feel like you are into more of the current players. Would that be accurate?

00:07:22
Speaker 2: Like legend in my showroom might have a Robin you out, I have a Griffy Rookie car. That's true, So I mean I have some older vintageer players. Bob Gibson, Oh yeah, you have Gibson, So I know.

00:07:31
Speaker 4: I disagree Scott, But Dave Winfield for that amount of money back, I'm reselling it.

00:07:36
Speaker 1: And if you want to get your own pack or new card, you can get twenty percent off your first slab pack or card purchase at arenaclub dot com.

00:07:43
Speaker 4: Slash foul you mean, Matt, Matt Barnes is saying right now, the raffie Devers doesn't play like Dustin Pedroya played. Dustin Pedroit didn't feel like he was in Little Are you kidding?

00:07:54
Speaker 2: Are you kidding me?

00:07:54
Speaker 4: I mean very similar personalities. I mean, you know, Devers was smiling, and I don't know if PD ever smiled. I was there for a few months, three or four months. I don't know PD ever Off the field. Yes, on the field, PD was all business right.

00:08:09
Speaker 2: I mean you would show up to the field for a one o'clock game right at eleven o'clock. P D's in front of his locker wearing full UNI and I'd be like, man, what game shrucks in two hours? What are we doing? And He's like eleven, he was there nine, He was there, glove going like this, Like I asked him, like, Pete, what are we doing games in two hours? He was like, am just in case we start early? But he was ready just in case that one time happened.

00:08:38
Speaker 4: Oh PD was a beauty.

00:08:40
Speaker 2: PD was a beauty. Yeah, but I can't imagine similar Yeah no, no, but but Devas but he was. He's such a good person. And and for me, and I think that there's so many different takes on this, right, but but for me, and this is kind of the way that I look at it. When you give Devers three hundred and thirty million dollars, you are establishing that he is your cornerstone player that you are going to build around for the next what was it thirteen year, ten years, thirteen years, whatever it was, right, And then you go into it and obviously Devs has had some struggles at third base defensively, But you go into spring training and you sign Bregman, and there must have been some sort of miscommunication, whether they didn't talk to Devers about potentially signing him to come play third base, or they didn't talk to him once they signed Bregman to tell Devers that they wanted him to play third base. Now, the way that I look at this is, do you think that they would have ever signed somebody to play right field? And now talk to Mookie bets about it, or would they have ever signed a shortstop and now talked to Xander about it and then just told them, hey, you're going to play this position. So for me, I feel like Devers thinks he was disrespected by the organization in that communication front, and once that happens, it's really difficult to get out of that. Right. So then they say, Okay, you know what, Bregan is gonna play third. He wants you to dh Devers doesn't want to do that, but ultimately that's what he does. But then all of a sudden, somebody gets hurt, Castle gets her at first base, and they want him to play first base, and he's like, Now, for me, it feels like Devers is getting thrown in twelve different directions. Now I understand the argument where hey, we need you to play first base. We understand that you're not going to be a goal glove first baseman. There are going to be growing pains. We're gonna work with you, but this is what the team needs and ultimately putting the team first to win a championship is what needs to happen. But on Devers's front, like, I kind of understand the level of disrespect that he felt as the cornerstone guy, like you're just gonna throw me out of my position and there's not even a conversation to be had. So I kind of get I get both sides of it.

00:10:53
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you definitely see that from Acs from Alice Kora's comment like, hey, hem Bloom signed to do that contract. Heim Bloom told you you're the third baseman, and that was kind of indicative of like, yeah, maybe they didn't really go to him, and you know, it was kind of a power struggle and hey, we are where we are, and good for the Giants they picked up their their.

00:11:13
Speaker 2: Supports super star back right now. But also in defense, like AC was there with him when all of that happened, So it's not one hundred percent on high like him and John arek and they give Devers three hundred and thirty million dollars without talking to Korra. That's not gonna happen. So well, yes, Heim was the one who ultimately right and John or with John's blessing, were the ones that give Devers the contract for me for him. I don't know, like AC was part of that conversation, so I don't know. It's a tough scenario regardless. But either way, I think, you know, like you said, good for the Giants because they picked up what I know to be a great a great person and a great ballplayer and a guy who's won in one of the hardest cities in the league. And you know, the Red Sox eloaded some money and the Giants got them for you know, and and the Red Sox got a guy out of their clubhouse who they thought was hurting them. So now it's a tough situation. But the Red Sox, like I said, have continued to win and put themselves in a position to be in the postseason, which is ultimately what matters.

00:12:21
Speaker 3: It does, and they opened up some payroll to really get into that pocket. Or John Henry will just spend it on his Liverpool soccer team where he's signing all the free agents there. But that's for another discussion. You pitched, You pitched with a pitch com did you ever hear curveball and say, no, what I'm pissed at this catcher. I'm throwing a fastball. I'm not sure if he's going to catch it, but we'll see what happens.

00:12:46
Speaker 2: Never in my life, what do you think about it? That.

00:12:48
Speaker 3: Could you believe that happened based on how I saw it? I saw it as an intentional thing. Maybe that's not your opinion, But okay, how that all played out, Could you believe you saw that at the big league level?

00:13:02
Speaker 2: No? To me, that's just it's not only reckless and dangerous, but but he loses his teammates. Now, like if we'll never know whether or not it was actually intentional. The clubhouse knows, in the in the staff and write all the players they know. But but the ketchup wants you to step off for one reason or another. You don't step off. You throw a fastball down the middle of the plate. It's not the catcher's wall. You through the ball down the middle of the plate and give up a grand slam. That's on you. So to come back and cross up your catcher is so mind boggling to me, cross them up intentionally. It's so mind boggling to me that it's hard to wrap my head around it. And to say that the pitch com couldn't hear now, like if we see him go up right, we don't know which side guys put it on. As a writer, I put it on my left side. So my glove could cover it. If right, I've ever got too loud you kind of go like this. We never saw him put his glove up to his head. We never saw any remorse once he did it. Mind you, I've crossed up bath Squez before and I pinned him with ninety seven directly in the chest back when we were using fingers. Finger got lost in the shadow and I didn't see it. Or we're going through forty five different signs with a man on second base and kind of got lost in the shuffle and small miscommunication and crossed them up. But the instant reaction isn't turned my back and walk away. It's like, man, you are right, Like hey, that sorry? Right? So I just and for the position that they're in trying to get to the postseason, like that divides a clubhouse and you lose one of your star pitchers. It's just that's not good. I bet Vaski was super happy with you, so but this and it's so funny, like it was like I think it was the second time, mind you, we were going. I think we were going like Chase to We're going was it Chase to two or Chase the one? And we used to do like this for a high fastball. Oh no, we were going chase to one and he did something like this this I and I for me, this is still a fastball. But we were following the one, so he that's what it was. He went here, here, here, so he was expecting curveball, but I was chasing the one which I thought was a high fastball and drilled him in the chest. It was awful, awful, But to your point is like after the second time that I did it, Purcella pulled me aside and was like, hey, this needs to be figured out now enough, and like that's it right, Hey that it's on me one hundred percent. But it got handled. So hopefully somebody had a conversation with him and they can figure out what's going on, not only for their team now, but but think about the guys or the catchers when he goes into free agency, Like, who's gonna want to deal with that? Like it's just such a selfish thing to do.

00:16:19
Speaker 4: Now, what about what happened in San Diego? Do you see what happened with you, Darvish, you Daris City. The catcher wanted to or you wanted a two steamer and the PitchCom wasn't working, So you just threw a curveball because that's what he heard, and he gave up a homer and then he called the catcher out and was like, I can't hear my PitchCom have you ever?

00:16:36
Speaker 2: Have you ever heard of it before? Or just too before? Why can't you just step off? You can't you just step off? I know there was nobody on base.

00:16:46
Speaker 4: Can't you just step off and start over?

00:16:48
Speaker 2: Yeah? If you if you just step off, you can the umpire is gonna give you, Like, if you step off and immediately point to your thing, the umpire is gonna give you a minute to figure it out. Now, if it happens three or four times, I mean it's at some point. I think it happened with the Red Sox not too long ago. I was watching the game and somebody was having an issue with the pitch calm, and after like the third time, they were like, all right, that's a ball, but like they work pretty well and you're gonna have issues, but the catcher's got one. You've got one. If you don't hears something, step off. The worst thing you can do is throw a pitch that either one of you a doesn't want or b doesn't know what's coming. I mean, nothing good's gonna come of that.

00:17:27
Speaker 1: Hey, Matt, I want to transition to or all this chairman. He's having just a gross year, unbelievable run for him. Finally gave up a hit for the first time in like a couple months yesterday, which is crazy. But the story I want to ask you about is the one that surfaced about him not thinking about spotting his fastball until this year. I don't know if you caught that one. We had brothers bias on the other day and he confirmed it and thought it was funny and interesting.

00:17:55
Speaker 2: So how does that happen?

00:17:57
Speaker 1: That's my question, Like to not even toy around with it and be like, wait, let me just try to spot it instead of just chucking it, you know, and aiming what down the middle or whatever?

00:18:06
Speaker 2: He is?

00:18:07
Speaker 1: Can you explain the inside picture lingo that goes on there.

00:18:12
Speaker 2: First off, To make it this long in the league and be as successful as he's had or as he's been and not try to command anything is so incredible that that I don't think people really understand, like his stuff, your stuff has to be so good to be that successful and not try to command anything. Just here it is you can't hit it. But but it's crazy to me. But the second part of that is he's evolving as a picture which at his age and what he's accomplishes is incredible in itself. And I think I talked about this a little bit on mess In the other night. But he can he can still go out there and just kind of throw a hundred and be dominant, but to get to the point where he's now trying to command it. And I think what the Red Sox are doing is they've recognized where he misses right, so as a lefty, his ball kind of rides up and rides down and in with the sinker. Instead of always trying to throw armside into a lefty away from a righty. If we work a little bit more glove side when you miss, you're still going to be a strike and be competitive. And his stuff is so good that all he has to do is get ahead and then guys are going to get put away. So and it's interesting, and I wonder how many guys in the league genuinely try to command stuff and transparently. For the first like five years of my career in the Big leagues. I was just like, here's my stuff. And then I got to a point where I was like, workmen started talking with me. I started struggling a little bit, and I started working with Brandon Workman. I didn't know much about, you know, tunneling pitches or kind of playing off of missus and kind of actually pitching, and workmen sat down with me and you started watching video and figuring out how all of this worked. And the biggest thing for me was playing off of what actually happened and not what you intended to do. So if I throw a fastball, or if we're trying to throw a fastball down in a way to a righty, but I miss up and in, well, two things happened. One, I now have a fastball up and into playing my second pitch off of But I also have the fastball down in a way that I can still go to because I never actually executed that pitch. So then that gives me an insight into Okay, well I can throw a front or a curveball off of that fastball up and in, or I can go down in a way right. So it kind of it just opens up a whole different level of thinking and the ability to tunnel stuff. And when you have stuff like his, if you tunnel it, it literally takes you from I don't always got a two and a half in his career to a one, and it goes from giving up three hits a month to none. But but what he's doing is nothing short of amazing. And the hard part for me is, and maybe this is the reliever bias in me, I don't think that relievers get enough credit towards winning a cy Young just because I mean, it's always been a starter's award for the most part. Uh And and I don't know if it's an inning sting or whatnot, but for me, what this guy is meant to the back of the bullpen for the Red Sox deserves to get him some sort of talk about winning a cy Young.

00:21:44
Speaker 3: They're coming out with a reliever Award, not the not the one that's the Mariano and Trevor Hoffman Award, but next year they're actually coming out.

00:21:51
Speaker 2: With oh so now that mimics the cy Young. That's yeah.

00:21:56
Speaker 3: So basically they'll probably get less votes for you and they'll get their Reliever of the Year award. It won't just be the closers, but it'll be Reliever Reliever of the Year award starting next year.

00:22:09
Speaker 2: Which is awesome, right, as long as it holds the same weight as a cy Young because winning a cy Young when you go into contract negotiations, if you have a cy Young under your belt, it's big money. So as long as the teams recognize that award as the reliever equivalent of a cy Young and even make the cy Young strictly your starters award, I'm fine with that, as long as there's an equivalent for the relievers and teams recognizing compensate appropriately for that perfect.

00:22:41
Speaker 1: Hey last one, Matt, we saw you're doing a little banana ball action and you didn't officially announced retirement stuff, right, Although you know our crew is not really into that. They just say, you know, I go off. What's your thing, ajaning? What do you always.

00:22:55
Speaker 2: Say stuff like I have PaperWorks not submitted officially, Okay, paperwork.

00:23:08
Speaker 4: I never submitted paperwork.

00:23:10
Speaker 2: I think it's I think it's a formality. Honestly, in this day and age, I think it's probably just to get your name up on an Instagram post. Don't do it, But no I haven't. I was trying to play earlier this year and genuinely, and this is what's kind of frustrating about it. I went through the entire process with Tread and I would do the whole six month thing. And I threw down at Tread's pro day and what was it, January tenth, I think it was. And this to me is how far the game has come, which is good but also crazy. Like in January tenth, I was ninety two to ninety three with great stuff and a bullpen inside, and I started talking to one of the Cubs scouts and I'm like, this is like, hey, this is like even when I threw ninety nine to a hot like I took ninety three miles an hour in a bullpen, There's some guys out there that can throw ninety eight miles an hour. They just flip a switch. I can do it in a bullpen. I've never been that guy. But so I ended up talking to the one of the Cub scouts and I'm like, this is such an interesting position to me. For like, if I was in this bullpen throwing ninety five today, I'd have a job at the end of the day. Not that I could have, but if I was, I'd be thrown I'd have a job at the end of the day. But I also know that if I tried to go out there and like only focus on trying to throw ninety five for the last four months, and I was throw ninety five in January tenth, by the time September rolled around, I'd be throwing eighty six. So it was such an interesting position to be in. And you know what, it didn't work out. I didn't end up getting a job offer, and truthful, it sucks. But when I look back on the last however many years I was, you know, nine ten years in the big leagues, I just I don't have any regrets. I was very fortunate to accomplish a lot of stuff and do some really cool things. And now I get to be home with my son and my family and and do some other fun stuff and kind of move on to the next chapter of my life, which has been incredible. I mean, do you miss the game and parts of it? Of course you do, but you know there's there's sometimes you just kind of the next chapter closes, and and you know, not many of us get to go out on our own terms or you know, exactly how we want to. So I've been fortunate enough to kind of do a lot. But now I'm now I get to go play band of ball every once in a while when I want to. That's cool, that's cool.

00:25:32
Speaker 3: Do you think teams are Do you think teams are missing the boat there because we have an epidemic of injuries and dudes wearing out? Do you think teams are missing the boat because they don't give a guy who has nine years ten years of experience in the big leagues a job just because he's not throwing ninety six to ninety eight in a bullpen in January, because I always said and I had to go to spring training to try to make the team. I never had a spot. I had to come into spring training ready to go. I couldn't have tried out for a team in January, like there's like a build up ready to go right the last.

00:26:06
Speaker 2: The season, right like I got dfaed by the Nats in May of last year, and transparently I had thought about at that point, I was doing one hundred and ten percent of the work to get seventy percent of the output, and I was like, I don't even know if I want to do this anymore. My son was four months old, but then after a few months off, I was like, man, I got the itch. So that's when I started going through everything. And I only wanted, honestly, God, I was trying to get a minor league, a minor league deal with an invite to camp to prove myself. I wouldn't expect it. I never asked for a big league deal either, Like I just wanted a chance to come show you that I was good. I never got single offer. But I think the hard part A lot of teams want the young guy that either a they don't have to pay a lot to, or they have control over. And for me, with my time, there was no control. If I was in the big leagues, then if you wanted to get rid of me, you had the DFA me so. And they want flexibility a guy throwing you know, I'll take four guys throwing one hundred and eventually one of them is going to click, as opposed to a guy throwing ninety five. But then again, I think the other part of it is how many teams are actually competitive, Because if you're not a competitive, if you're not competitive, why would you bring in a guy who's thirty four turning thirty five? This year, who's you know, ninety four ninety five when at this point, arguably my biggest asset is my experience to a help younger generation. But be in the postseason and having been there five times or whatever, four times, whatever it was. But if a team's not competing to win, then that doesn't appeal to them at all. And the teams that are in a position to win, have you know, ten guys that are throwing ninety seven to ninety nine now, So it's it was a super unique position to be in.

00:28:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a good point. I mean a third of the league's like me, So I'm glad we got the insight.

00:28:05
Speaker 2: Matt.

00:28:05
Speaker 1: It's great catching up and obviously hope we do it again because I love your takes.

00:28:09
Speaker 2: So thanks for joining absolutely anytime, guys, appreciate it. Appreciate it, man,