The Red Sox are parting ways with assistant hitting coach Ben Rosenthal, reports Chris Cotillo of MassLive. It’s possible that’ll be the only change to Alex Cora’s staff.
Rob Bradford of WEEI reported over the weekend that bench coach Ramón Vázquez, hitting coach Peter Fatse, pitching coach Andrew Bailey, bullpen coach Chris Holt, and base coaches José David Flores and Kyle Hudson would all be back. Cotillo reports that the same is true for assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, catching instructor Parker Guinn and game planning/run prevention coach Jason Varitek — assuming none of that group leave to pursue better opportunities with another club.
Rosenthal joined the Sox over the 2021-22 offseason. A former minor league player, Rosenthal had coached in college and in the Astros’ farm system before joining Boston’s MLB staff. For his first three seasons, Rosenthal worked alongside Luis Ortiz as an assistant hitting coach under Fatse. The Red Sox parted ways with Ortiz and added Lawson onto the MLB staff last season. It stands to reason they’ll now look for a new assistant hitting coach to split duties with Lawson.
Please tell me Ben Rosenthal is related to Ken, per chance?
Fun fact, he’s the son of Phil Rosenthal, writer and producer of Everybody Loves Raymond. Apparently, Ben was actually in an episode of ELR, possibly as a trick-or-treater in 1998
That would be a funk family. Could you imagine having Phil as a dad or uncle? Adored his travel show, which followed on the heels of Anthony Bourdains demise. Family trip. Hijinks ensue.
Founder of Panera, Ken Rosenthal???
Roid – No, Ken was never a rock musician.
Didn’t found Panera, but ran Corner Bakery into the ground. Good riddance
Didn’t he start a bread bowling league in his spare time?
Bread bowling- that’s next level like Carlin or Gil Scott Heron. Points!
Theo – You’re making me feel too young here. LOL!
Never heard of Gil, and all I know about Carlin is he thinks football is more masculine than baseball because he thinks football is played in a stadium while baseball is played in a “Park”.
Oh wait a minute, wasn’t he in Jersey Girl too?
Gil Scott Heron before my time too, but think he was sorta Dav8d Byrne before there was a David Byrne
Talk about a scapegoat, the guys who should have been fired are obviously Fatso and Lawson.
Fatso and Lawson? Wait is the topic still baseball Red Socks? Or are we still discussing the fallout from that disastrous kids birthday party at the Shakeys off I-93 in Sturbridge
The hitting coach is always to blame.
This is the wrong answer. Wait too long, like always, and Yek will be in another dugout.
He’s interviewed in the recent past which means insterest. Give him his shot already.
I think that he’s “next in line”, but Cora is signed through 2027. So most likely scenario is what you said, Tek leaves. Similar to Paul Toboni. Too little too late.
I do think that if Tek wanted to leave, he could easily get a job as a manager/HC somewhere. There’s a ton of vacancies this off-season, so Tek could still leave
He’s interviewed with 2 clubs in prior years, when there weren’t so many vacancies.
He wouldnt have interviewed if he wasnt interested in a larger role. The optimist in me says he was trying to signal to the red Sox “I’m ready” and that he didn’t actually want to leave.
GaSox – Nice callout on the other interview with Seattle, I didn’t even know that!
The Seattle interview i give a pass to the sox for allowing, as its generally not the best idea to have a guy 3 years removed from playing become manager, arguably overseeing current or possibly acquired players he used to play with.
But the 2023 Giants interview should have been a wake-up call, except, those powers that be seem to not take notice of such signs when they should.
RS coaching seems to indifferent to lapses in judgment and failure to remain focused in games lately.
GaSox – As we all know, if it’s Cora or Tek then ownership will side with Cora …. always.
aside from being a red sox legend and a former catcher what evidence is there that Varitek wants the sox job in particular or would be any good at being a manager? I get that he’s a good communicator but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’d be a great manager or even a good one.
I like Tek a lot and have had my fair share of issues with Cora but let’s pump the breaks on him being a franchise savior in the dugout.
Acell- I could say the same thing to you, what evidence is there that Tek wouldn’t want the job of skipper of the red Sox, and, what evidence is there he wouldnt make a good skipper?
In his corner we have his good communication skills, his game planning experience, all those years managing pitching staffs in games means he understands better than a guy reading an analytics printout the intricacies of matchups, and, perhaps after all.those seasons behind the dish can tell visually when a pitcher really needs to be pulled vs left in to grind it out.
He wasnt just a catcher, he was also team Captain responsible for pulling the guys together and help manage morale, build confidence, and get teammates motivated/fired up. He’d also have been a guy to take younger players aside and give them corrective speeches before things became clubhouse issues. Maybe even more importantly, he always gave 100% and expected the same of his teammates, whose respect he earned.
Not to mention a lot of really good skippers were former catchers.
Most of what he is happens to be what AC isnt, or wasn’t, including first and foremost a cheating shortcut taker. I’ve got nothing to support it other than gut feeling, but, I really don’t associate ‘respect’ with Cora. Of anything, its dont get on his bad side as he’ll backstab you as soon as look at you.
GA: for starters I mentioned that he was a catcher but most of the skills you mentioned are part of what it means to be a good manger. There’s a lot more that goes into it. Perhaps he’s learned along the way, there’s just not any evidence of it. Like I said while he’s taken other managerial interviews, it would not be surprising if he preferred to take his first gig at a different team than the Red Sox because of his history with the club.
Most importantly, Tek has never been a manager at any level. He hasn’t even been a bench coach. I’d actually be delighted if he took over for Vazquez in that role for the sox. Personally that feels like a better stepping stone to the mangers position.
I appreciate and applaud your willingness to say it’s a “gut” feeling because that what it mainly is for the majority of people who want Varitek. I just take a more measured approach. I honestly wouldn’t be mad if the Sox went in that direction.
He might be great, he might not, there just isn’t enough evidence to say he would one way or another. I certainly want him to be great, I also would want a little more experience in the dugout beyond what did as a player.
Accell, whats your take on Cora after seeing how he handled the team once again this season – anything from pen management to his public shaming of Anthony shagging flyballs for the media presentation?
There’s somewhat of a movevent in baseball towards hiring guys who didn’t take the traditional route through the minors managing teams… Just like theres GMs who hadn’t been AGMs or even high level responsibility guys.
I guess the question is, would losing the chance to see what Tek could do be worth it for…. well, what alternative.
Joemo: “Similar to Paul Toboni. Too little too late.”
=====================
Wrong. Toboni got a President of Baseball Operations job. This is the highest job there is in a baseball department. There is no way the Red Sox could prevent Toboni from leaving unless they fired Breslow and gave him Breslow’s POBO job.
If they were more aggressive and promoted Toboni to GM earlier, he might not have jumped ship to Washington.
Breslow has been in his role for two years. What’s the holdup with hiring an actual GM under him?
Toboni is just the latest greatest example of the Sox ‘waiting one year too long…’
Remember Mike Hazen?
Remember Torey Lovullo?
Just two of the recent names, but the list is quite long. Theres been a number of years the organization had groomed someone in waiting, and, then the year after those guys get tired of waiting a jump ship the team decides to make a move they’d have been able to slide into
GA: in fairness. Toboni got the top job in baseball Ops with the nationals. Unless the sox were planning to fire Breslow he wasn’t getting the top job with the sox. It made no sense for him to stick around unless Toboni was going to be the top guy.. Same with Mike Hazen for that matter.
I see the point, using after the fact curcumstances, but at the same time, recently promoted guys often dont draw the same level of attention to be hired away as the guys who languish in the same position for long periods of time without advancement are, and, sometimes deny the interview because they dont feel trapped in a dead end.
GA: Disagree with you on that one. off the top of my head Hazen was hired in Arizona the year after he was promoted to GM. Plenty of teams hire young guys that worked their way up other organizations even if it was after a recent promotion.
Joemo, on what planet would Toboni pass on running an entire baseball opps for team to stay as a second in command?
I’m not sure anyone be noticed the number of times Kyle Hudson cost the Red Sox an out or a run this season, but once you see it, you’re always looking for it. Maybe I’m being too hard on the guy, but I think he should have been let go. I saw him one time literally grab a baserunner (Bregman?) as he was rounding third. I’m pretty sure you can’t do that.
Fen – I do remember the Bregman play, definitely against the rules. Also Hudson was at the center of the Angels pregame dustup, and quite often he strayed far outside the coach’s box to steal signs.
With that said, I don’t recall too many instances where Sox players were thrown out at the plate. Maybe it’s because I remember guys like Windmill Kim and Febles who were both really bad.
If anything, Hudson has been criticized for being too cautious. Two plays immediately come to mind, one against the Orioles and another in the WC Series against the Yankees …. in both instances, he held Eaton when he probably shouldn’t have.
FPG
I have read about Coras desire to be a front office guy on several occasions. It appears they are grooming Jason Varitek to be the next manager. I’m actually surprised we haven’t heard of him being connected to any other jobs.
I thought it was Wendell “wave him in ” Kim ….
CDC – I’m guessing Tek is just holding out to replace Cora, even if he has to wait until the end of Cora’s contract. And I get it, staying in Boston is more important to him than having an immediate pay increase.
Yes “Wave Him In” was his other nickname. LOL
Last night’s game is EXACTLY why I wanted the Sox to sign Snell so badly each of the past two offseasons. He can be dominant in big games like no other. He is the first MLB pitcher to face just 24 hitters through 8 innings in the postseason since Don Larsen in 1956!!! And yes I know it was believed Snell wanted to be on the West Coast. LOL
I recall Snell saying something during the COVID year I did not like. Something to the tune of I’m not pitching/playing for that kind of money. His talent is undeniable. Not very durable. He was spectacular yesterday. Definitely an ace when able to toe the rubber.
The problem is you need another starter to pick up the slack of chunks of the season he’s going to spend on the IL, and then hope he’s healthy for the stretch run and playoffs. The Dodgers lucked into that availability scenario this year, but easily could have had to look elsewhere for a game 1 starter.
Cdchi- varitek interviewed with the Giants in 2023 to be their skipper, and with the Mariners prior to that.
GSF
I would be surprised if Varitek is not the manager of the Sox at some point.
CDC – It’s like when your mistress waits ten years for you to marry her. She wants to be with you, but how long can you expect her to wait?
If Tek leaves I wouldn’t blame him, he’s waited a very long time.
It’s like Chris Dailey working under Geno for forty (40!!) years. She deserves to be a head coach, how much longer must she wait for Geno to retire?
Not saying Dailey wouldnt be a successful HC, but, is part of what made the program so dominant for so long that division of labor? From what I know she’s super heavy into the recruitment side among other things, activities she would need to scale back in a HC role.
GaSox – I didn’t know you followed women’s college hoops! Yeah I agree with you, sometimes it’s better to be part of an elite program than to be the top person of a lesser program.
I wouldn’t be surprised if she makes more money than many head coaches.
But at some point you’d gotta believe she would want the experience of having total control – right? There’s gotta be some things she would want to do differently than Geno.
I dabble in many things Fever, repository of useless knowledge among them… then again, I lived in New england far too long to not know a thing or three about the uconn women’s program. That several year unbeaten stretch including those consecutive national championships was something else.
But, theres a lot of people who do what they do for the accomplishment and for love of what they do, not sure much about being the face and the glory…
Although, in her case, I feel like if you’re in the game, or are a rising player, you already know who she is and what she brings to the table. She’s got her fair share of fame, to the extent women’s sports allows for it.
Im sure theres stuff she would do different as head honcho, but you get into opportunity cost. It’s very possible she gets a lot of fulfillment from the role she plays in those girls lives, to whatever shed gain from trying something different is diminished by what shed miss out on. Besides, for all we know, they already collaborate and let her put her mark on things they do.
Eaton too fast gave Hudson the hiccups.
Hudson is a complete mess as 3b coach horrific
Fired the Assistant hitting coach. That should solve all their issues.
Obviously
Probably will be Breslow’s big move of the offseason
They should have fired Fatse last year after they led the league in strikeouts and chase rate. Yes they put a ton of runners in scoring position but they were the worst team in driving them in. This year it was more of the same. Sadly, even if they replaced Fatse they would just replace him with someone else who has the same hitting philosophy. Nothing will change until they change their organizational philosophy and that’s not coming anytime soon.
The problem is everyone on the team from in a position to address the issue from Brealow to Cora to everyone else in between always focuses on the wrong things. They’ll talk about average runs scored or team OPS or other such things and ignore the fact that the team scored 3 or fewer runs in 70 games this year, and 4 or fewer in over half their games (91). Sure it was great they had 22 games where they scored 10+ runs but their combined 265-86 run differential in those games masked what was an inconsistent offense and one that left them struggling to win games they could have because of the lack of offensive fundamentals.
KK
THats deep run analysis right there. I would be curious about other teams run production in a similar view. I think the lack of a slugger (30+ homeruns) may have been a big problem. T. Story is not supposed to be our leading homerun hitter. The trade of Devers left us with the lack of a true homeruns hitter. Not that I was against the trade. In my mind we had to get him out of the clubhouse. A solid #2 starter should be our # 1 priority.
The thing is I was able to compile that analysis in about 10 minutes using baseball-reference.com and a calculator. If I can do that certainly a team that employs an entire analytics department can come up with the same and better, and not leave the people making the decisions relying on total runs scored and team OPS. I would hope they’re getting this level of detail, and even deeper detail than this. And I hope people like Breslow are seeking that level of detail.
If they sign certain free agents will they bring certain coaches along? Hmmm
Where’s Waldo Hriniak?
I know, it’s Walt.
Whz
Hriniak was great for Dwight Evans,but he really screwed up Rich Gedman. He kinda taught that toe-tapping timing aspect.
CDC – That’s precisely why I always say hitting instructors shouldn’t view coaching as “one size fits all”, what works for one player may not work for another.
Yes Walt didn’t help Dewey, but he helped Yaz and was a major influence on Wade Boggs.
And let’s not forget, Walt was teaching what he learned from the great Charlie Lau.
Hey Texas Rangers- hitting coach available in Rosenthal ! Better than what you got!
Fired the wrong coach…..