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Team Building The Boston Red Sox: The Anti-Yankee Yankee Way
Team Building The Boston Red Sox: The Anti-Yankee Yankee Way
The Red Sox are being run by children. A directionless franchise with zero vision for what winning looks like. It’s embarrassing, and it’s time someone said it plainly: Breslow needs to be fired.
Frankly, it should even be argued after this humiliating interview. If there’s one takeaway, it’s that this man, tasked with leading the Boston Red Sox, is completely clueless about team building. Not to mention the fact that the franchise already gave him a babysitter, and he’s still acting like an uneducated child. There’s no longer room for interpretation on this one.
Sorry, but hitting with two strikes and playing good defense doesn’t qualify as team building. In order for that to happen, the Red Sox need to define the standard of excellence for what they’re looking for at every single position on the field.
Their failures aren’t hard to spot. Just look at the past acquisitions at second base. Tell me what this list has in common?
Trevor Story, Jeter Downs, David Hamilton, Vaughn Grissom, Christian Arroyo, Enmanuel Valdez, Jose Peraza, Nick Sogard, Jamie Westbrook, Yu Chang, etc.
Do they have any similarities? Do they have a trait that defines them as good fits for Fenway Park? Do they define the standard of excellence in terms of having a skillset that resembles the team-building structure you’re trying to achieve?
Of course, not. What the Red Sox have done is called line-item shopping. It’s no different than a five-year-old at the checkout line in the grocery store. Oh! This Candy Bar looks great. Let me grab it, sort of vibes. The nerds look at their chart and say player X gives us percentage Y in terms of increasing our chances to win. I’m telling you because I’ve been around them and know how they think. It’s not about just evaluating players. It’s about knowing how and why they exist within the team-building structure. The current regime has no clue what that means.
The Red Sox don’t scout; they spreadsheet.
This isn’t team-building. This is line-item shopping at the grocery store, hoping that enough random candy bars add up to a meal. I know how these nerds think. They look at a player’s percentile chart and convince themselves it’s worth a shot. What they don’t understand is how players fit into a team-building structure.
There’s a great book out there written by Andy Martino called The Yankee Way. It’s obvious Breslow hasn’t read that book because if he had, he would understand the way he talks about team building is laughable. What the Red Sox haven’t done in their team’s history is define the standard of excellence for what they’re looking for. When successful, the Red Sox had their own identity. The Anti Yankee, Yankee Way.
The best Red Sox teams in history almost had a sort of misfit quality about them. Grinders who were doubted and had extra swag about them. God forbid the Sox get one of those players in Triston Casas, and the organization does everything possible to tear him down and throw his name in irresponsible trade rumors, but that’s a topic for a different day.
Clutch hitters like David Ortiz became heroes. A deep rotation full of studs like Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, and Derek Lowe got you to where you needed to be. Dustin Pedroia set the tone for what it meant to be a Red Sox. Even when the team wasn’t at their best, wasn’t it guys like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino who brought that same mentality to the club?
When the Sox were at their best, they weren’t copying the Yankees — they were counter-punching them. The Anti-Yankee, Yankee Way. Swagger over suits. Grime over glamor. Fighters over finance bros.
Does this current Red Sox team resemble any of that? When they get off the bus, is anybody intimidated?
You already know the answer to that…
Here’s How I Would Build It:
*If you want a more in-depth breakdown of what excellence looks like at each position, feel free to request an interview. I won’t hold my breath, but I’ll be here when the front office is ready to stop pretending.*
3-4 Hitters (Lineup Core)
I need a David Ortiz and a Manny Ramirez.
One lefty. One righty. Both elite. Both dangerous.
They have to get on base and do damage. That’s the anchor. That’s the standard.
First Base
Big frame. Workhorse approach.
Think Youkilis with size.
Works counts. Gets on base. Grinds out at-bats.
You don’t beat aces in October unless the 5-hitter makes their life hell after surviving Manny and Papi.
Second Base
Dustin Pedroia. The standard, full stop.
Gritty. Fields his balls off.
Can hit. Knows how to lead.
He’s the soul of the infield and a tone-setter for the whole damn roster.
Shortstop
Xander Bogaerts. That’s the archetype.
Makes contact on everything. Rare bat control.
Has size, plays defense, and produces gap power with extra-base potential.
You can build around this guy in the 2-hole or the 5-hole.
Third Base
Ideally? Adrian Beltre power with Devers flair.
But if I have a Bregman-level player, I’m not wasting him here.
Bregman is Pedroia at third. That’s a misallocation. I’d shift him to second if possible and find a real masher for the hot corner.
Catcher
Jason Varitek is the standard. Leader. Handles the staff. Calls the game.
But I also want a secondary catcher—ideally international. Someone who speaks Spanish.
Pitching staffs are diverse. Pitchers respond to different energy behind the plate.
Think like they have it now with Carlos Narvaez. Great example.
Platoon the position, tailor the catcher to the pitcher.
Right Field
Mookie Betts. Explosive leadoff guy with nasty wrists.
Can turn on inside heat and shoot balls to right with authority.
Covers the ocean in Fenway’s deep RF. Sets the tone, creates havoc.
Center Field
I’ll give away the bat—defense wins here.
Jackie Bradley Jr. / Ceddanne Rafaela mold.
They hit .240-.250? Fine.
But they better track missiles and throw seeds. This is my outfield shortstop.
Left Field
That’s Manny’s home.
I’ll eat some early-season bloopers if I’m getting a 40+ homer bat out there.
Fenway’s LF is a weird beast, but it’s one that big bats can figure out.
Manny wasn’t a great fielder—he was just smart. So is my LF.
Starting Rotation
- Ace: Pedro Martinez archetype. Lightning stuff, killer instinct.
- Funky Lefty: Crochet or Chris Sale type. Tough angle, dominant upside.
- Veteran Hammer: Schilling / Zack Wheeler. Big game hunter with innings-eater pedigree.
- Wildcard Lefty: A second southpaw who throws off rhythm.
- #5 Spot: Swingman who shifts to the bullpen in October.
Bullpen
I don’t pay for relievers. Period.
If I can’t build a bullpen from my farm, I failed.
Whitlock and Houck are exactly what should’ve happened: dominant relievers who were miscast as starters.
My closer mold is Chapman on the field—nasty stuff, big presence, shutdown mode.
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