Much has changed inside the Boston Red Sox organization in the three weeks since chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, team president Sam Kennedy and principal owner John Henry flew to Baltimore and fired manager Alex Cora and gutted the coaching staff.
But according to interim manager Chad Tracy, one thing remains the same: he decides the lineup.
“On a normal given day (I say), ‘This is what I’d like to do,’ and then we’ll talk about it and I can get ideas and hear about other people’s thoughts about where would be a good day for this guy, that guy,” Tracy said “That’s always, always the case. And I think it’s mostly a case of, as a manager or any staff member, I got really good people around me that I trust, that cover your blind spots, am I missing anything.
“But the final pen-to-paper is my call.”
It was an unexpected statement for multiple reasons. Final say on the lineup is rare in this age of baseball, when executives often weigh in, outright dictate, or overrule their field managers. Construction was among the sources of friction between Cora and Breslow, Red Sox teammates themselves in 2006. They disagreed on where to play certain players, including multi-positional infielders Caleb Durbin and Marcelo Mayer. Cora was generally frustrated with the roster Breslow constructed this year, and openly stated how difficult it was to balance playing time with five outfielders in Wilyer Abreu, Roman Anthony, Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela and Masataka Yoshida.
And in Tracy, the Red Sox have an interim manager who’s used to setting lineups to prioritize player development, not winning.
“In the minor leagues, the construction of a lineup is, ‘Who’s on the 40-man (roster) that’s immediately going to help us (in the big leagues)? Who are top prospects that we need to see get in the batter’s box a lot?’ ” said Tracy, who managed the club’s Triple-A affiliate from 2021 until last month. “Hitting first versus sixth, that could be the difference of 100 plate appearances in a year. So all that stuff is considered on, getting guys the reps they need, making sure that 40-man that are going to come up the next day are ready to go. … you still try to not put four lefties in a row if possible, but it’s less of a priority than it is here. When you’re constructing a lineup you have different thoughts in mind.”
