Red Sox President Sam Kennedy on the pressure to keep up with the teams in town || Greg Hill Show

Red Sox President Sam Kennedy joins The Greg Hill Show to discuss the Red Sox series against the Orioles, the trade deadline, and the pressure to win in Boston. #redsox #mlb

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hey good morning Greg how you doing good how are you I’m doing well thanks um on uh just a a quick note somewhat of an emotional note uh last night that the 2024 Fenway honors Award presented postumus to uh the wakefields and and just a a little bit from you about what they meant to this organization yeah thanks it it’s uh sort of hard to to describe or put in words how um tragic um this these two losses are for everyone around New England Tim and Stacy were such incredible people um still sort of surreal that they’re gone um but to have Bri and Trevor there last night to receive this honor uh on their parents’ behalf was uh was very emotional um and so we’ve appreciated everybody’s support uh over the last several months and um it’s it’s indicative of New England and how this Sports Community comes together in in a really difficult time but both Tim and Stacy were so beloved and and um we’re going to do everything we can to honor their legacy uh at the Red Sox uh for forever and really appreciate everybody’s care and concern for for the family and it’s been been a difficult period but a really really nice uh ceremony last night and was also uh great to see um wake’s teammates uh going into the Red Sox Hall of Fame where they belong from Trot to Dustin patroa to Jonathan papelon um really great great memories and of course Elaine stor went in as well longtime Red Sox front office executive and uh just a a special night all around Sam that uh 04 team is really rallied behind the the Wakefield kids after the tragic passing their parents there was a story that was shared by Kevin malar about standing up with the kids before opening day about being there for them and to call that they were all their uncles a pretty remarkable group to be this close this far removed from their time playing together Chris you know your your your spot on um we had a a a pretty um pretty powerful celebration of life the morning of uh of opening day it was a a service at uh Hotel Commonwealth with the entire team there and and um and trot and Mike Timlin uh stood up and said exactly that they they they reinforced Trevor and Bri that you know they that that they’ve got the support of of all these these guys you see sitting here all all your uncles and uh it it was pretty remarkable and you know being there last night at Fenway with uh with a great crowd and um a group of people supporting these Red Sox Hall of Famers you know you’re just reminded of how that 04 team completely and totally changed the culture of the Red Sox and um we’ve obviously had some some high highs and low lows over the last two and a half decades but establishing a culture of winning really changing the mindset after 86 years um is something that is uh is is really important and Tim Wakefield was was right at the center of all of that he and his teammates ushered in really a whole new mindset and experience for Red Sox Nation and uh we’re forever grateful for that and then Bri went out and showed how truly embarrassing my first pitch at Fenway really was well she it’s great that she is she is a rock star as everybody everybody knows her she’s going to be um coming to Boston College here in the fall so it’ll be great to have her local and um we’re really excited to get her uh up to the New England area and she’s uh she she’s a role model in in many ways H man you know what I’d like is uh cuz Curtis is constantly mocking my first pitch and Fenway I would like to be able to give I’d like to be able to give him the opportunity to try to outdo me at at a game we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of this show in July is it possible Sam that I could get him can we get because I think you would like I think you’d like to perhaps be able to critique Curtis on his first pitch as well Sam not not to overstate my importance but I think I would need to be fitted with the George W bush bulletproof vest from the mound no I don’t I don’t think so I don’t think so you got a lot of fans let let’s set that up we we’re um we’ve got availability let’s see J every game in July we’re we got to make that happen let’s do it let’s do that I got a laum tear hey has we talk about overachieving and underachieving has this team so far overachieved in your mind you know it’s it’s a good question it’s sort of been a tale of two seasons and and um uh really positive in in many ways and and then really negative in in others so I don’t think so I think it’s a talented group incredibly athletic young um we’ve seen sort of uh What uh the the glimpse of of how we’re going to get back to the postseason with athletic play and um young homegrown guys that have come to our system um and performances from a pitching staff that has just been sort of Otherworldly uh on the other hand um we have we our bats have gone quiet at the wrong time um our defense has not been where it needs to be uh and of course we’ve suffered the loss of guys like Trevor and Tristan and Tyler O’Neal now and wit going excuse me wit going down so that’s not an excuse we it’s on us to stay healthy that’s part of uh competing so um we’re we’re right um at the 500 Mark here um 56 games or whatever it is into the season got 100 plus games to go so we need to we need to get hot we need to continue to pitch the way we have and and um and start start getting guys on base and scoring more runs um but I don’t think we’ve overperformed I I I think we’ve um if anything we’ve we’ve underperformed just given the talent and um the competitiveness in that Clubhouse and can’t say enough about the staff Alex K and Andrew Bailey and Jason barch and um Andy Fox everybody has kept everybody up we’ve had a lot of blows um I mentioned the injuries that can really be debilitating but there’s been kind of a next man up attitude and and guys have stepped up so um we we turn the the the calendar here to June and it’s time for us to uh get going Bob Nightingale reported this week that the plan internally is to trade Kenley Jansen by deadline uh I know he said some things about that with with our guy Brad fo and wants to be here is it difficult when you get to this point and you have guys whoever it is uh who are mentioned when it comes to trade talk and and keeping them engaged it it it is it has to be hard as a as a player you don’t know where these rumors come from um you know what I always think about when I hear rumors like that is who who does who do the rumors benefit right when you see unnamed sources and things getting out in the media um where would that narrative help the most who who would gain a competitive Advantage from um a narrative like that certainly not the Boston Red Sox so that’s coming uh from somewhere else and and it’s unfortunate and it’s hard on players because um guys especially baseball players want to know where they’re going to be they they’re going to want certainty um so we have to do our best to block out the noise and and ignore it but yeah it’s it’s difficult on players and and their families for sure I had a chance to spend a couple hours with Dustin uh padya and his wife Kelly last night like the fact that he was able to play his entire career here in Boston uh was so special and and it’s and it’s rare these days so um this is an environment where players want to be the the the the wiring of a of a baseball player to want to be in Boston uh takes a special type of person and character um and you know when guys get here hopefully they see we we we have the best fans in baseball we try to treat our players and their families better than any other uh major league club in terms of um how we handle the families and so when there’s rumors about Departures it can be hard on on players for sure Sam I thought that there was an interesting theme last night whether it was Trot or Dustin or Jonathan uh that they brought a a championship mentality culture back into the clubhouse Talent aside the current Clubhouse you have do you feel like that mentality is still there that the championship culture is still here well look we we we can talk about it but we haven’t um uh won the World Series since 2018 so it’s a it’s a it’s a new group of guys and and it’s a young group of guys that are are building um towards a championship and and what I would say is that every single guy in that Clubhouse knows that the expectations around Red Sox Nation uh are to win to play baseball in October um and so our obviously our our manager has been there he knows what it takes to win in October our our general manager um while new Craig breslo knows what it takes he’s got two World Series rings himself he’s he’s won as a member of the Boston Red Sox so we talk about uh winning a lot and Pap actually uh was incredibly eloquent last night about sort of his experience being drafted um and playing in the minor leagues while the 04 team was doing what it did and and guys like Trot Nixon ushering in a new era so listen the the the expectation uh is to win championships in Boston it’s been that way since the early 2000s that hasn’t changed and and I think that attitude and culture is per invasive um but we’re obviously you know we we see where we are we’re a 500 team right now so we’ve got a ways to go but but that is the expectation and the goal every single guy in that Clubhouse wants the success and and the World Series rings that uh some of the guys had on last night for sure on the business side of things when you see what Wick and the Celtics are doing right now is there added is there do you feel added pressure whether whether it’s John Henry or or this ownership group like does that create added pressure for you guys definitely I I I think that um there is no doubt about it that the competitiveness of the Patriots the Celtics the Bruins the Red Sox um each organization each front office the players on the field on the ice on the court have um felt a pressure to keep up um with our uh with our with our our neighbors and professional sports if you will and um the Celtics are you know we’re we’re all big wick grossbeck fans you know that Greg and and huge Brad Stevens fans and and it’s just been it’s been great to watch but yeah it I can tell you Alex cor has dates circled on his calendar of you know off days when he can he and coaches can go over and players can go see the Celtics play so there’s a great camaraderie in the Boston Sports community and from a business perspective from an ownership perspective there’s a there there is definitely a competitive feeling where um we know our fans expect championships and I think that’s that’s been pervasive for for 20 years and it’s a good thing for for this region and one thing to note Sam um there was something that happened five years ago and Greg Hill came to Wei and there hasn’t been a title since in the Years prior the Celtics I’m sorry the Patriots and the Red Sox won back-to-back championships and the ruins were in game seven of the Stanley Cup Final and now we’ve had tumble weeds so if you’re looking someone to blame it’s Greg Hill Cur curse of the Hill man Hey listen we we we Greg let’s let’s talk about that we can we can work through these issues together well Sam you can add that to your list of excuses that’s one I that’s one I don’t think we’ll point to all right well listen uh it’s I last one for me is just in your mind thinking about the deadline month and a half away or whatever it is couple months uh where does this team have to be when it comes to you guys being buyers have you thought about that yeah I mean listen we’re we’re Craig has has laid out a um a very um uh articulate vision for this baseball team and it’s rooted in um athleticism and young healthy players that can come up stay stay um on the roster uh for the long term we’ve started to see signs of that in terms of the trade deadline for this year I think you know we’re the the beautiful thing of baseball is that last week we we came off a uh we we swept the ra down in Tampa and all of a sudden it’s like here we go you know we’re we’re headed towards a a long hot streak and then we struggled against the Brewers and and the Orioles and that’s just the nature of baseball so look we’ve got 50 60 games to go until the trade deadline it’s a it’s a lifetime away the the end of July a lot is going to happen between now and then um but one thing is for sure we’re we’re going to do everything we possibly can over these next eight weeks to be in a position to be adding to this roster and and to be going for it um down the stretch if if not we’ll we’ll have to Audible and pivot but that’s the mindset right now there’s a there’s a belief that starts with brez and and AC and and permeates throughout that Clubhouse so we got we got a lot of work to do um but that’s the goal is to be right in this thing until the very end all right Sam Kennedy thanks for taking the time we’ll talk to you again soon thanks guys