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Larry Lucchino on Streaks, Strikes, Yankees, Fire, etc...


8.15.02: Larry Lucchino (LL) on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan Show with Greg Dickerson (GD) and Michael Felger (MF)
 
GD:  What time did you get in office this morning?... LL: I stayed up for the game, just got up, headed off in about an hour...
 
(GD bragging about staying up for game and getting up at 4:15 for show) What were you thinking when they got down early?
 
LL:  I was a little concerned at that point too, but we finally saw some of that old Red Sox power... this kind of win helps, no doubt about it, we needed this, haven't had a lot of dramatic wins as you know, we talked about momentum... say it starts with the next day's pitcher, I do believe that, but we need to get on tear, 5-6 in a row, that will make a difference, not one here... one there.
 
LL:  Mike and Theo are scouring the waiver wire every day. If player clears or if we can claim one, we'll do it... but there is no one that is "hot" at the moment.  I wish I could say there were 2-3 possibilities that we're working on, but the players out there don't have what we're looking for and/or have ridiculous contracts...
 
GD:  (question about salaries)
 
LL:  I think there may be a slight increase this year, Mike Port may have a better feeling... there's definitely going to be a change in the market, salaries are astronomical.  I know that there's been a lot of skepticism in the media about the large losses for some teams.  I can tell you from being with both large market teams and small market teams, there are now large losses and considerable debt, people are acting differently.
 
MF:  If someone told you that this year you'd have a healthy Nomar, a healthy Pedro, Derek Lowe winning 17 games, would you think you'd be this far out now?
 
LL:   Well if you just accentuate the positives like that, yes.  But what if you said that Dustin Hoffman .....haaa Dustin Hoffman... I mean Dustin Hermanson was not going to pitch more that one inning through the first four months of the season.  Manny would miss all those games, some of the negatives in bullpen... the fact that we're in the hunt is what we should be recognizing.  The coaches and manager feel good about this team, that puts pressure on them because they're saying 'we've got the manpower to do it'...
 
(Timeout:  Larry selling tickets... there's been talk that there are no more tickets available for this season... there are plenty available, come on down!, over 50,000 tickets still to be purchased, some obstructed views, some standing rooms, and singles, but others are better, just a little plug so not to mislead the public)
 
MF:  What would be your grade for Grady at this point in the season?
 
LL:  Managers are going to be second guess, that's baseball.  And in Boston more than anywhere else.  The principal job of a manager is not so much the tactical as it is managerial, (something like setting the overall tone) the clubhouse role, no issues, no tumult, is best indication that this team is pointed in the right direction.  But I know what you mean, I sometimes say 'oh my goodness' when I see something...
 
GD:  (from my email to the show)  There's a feeling out there that this team has no "sense of urgency," that this team needs a kick-in-the-ass to get them going?
 
LL:  This 'fire' is more an attribute of other sports, baseball teams pride themselves on consistency, regularity, b/c of the everyday nature of it.  It's less of an issue in baseball than football. That kind of fire and coaching is part of the game of football, a football cliché.  I see it both ways, Lou Pinella had less success in his early stages of managing, he's more mellow now, more predictable, and team is reacting better...  hey I was with Earl Weaver in the early days, screaming... sure very popular with fans, but players may not respond as well...
 
GD:  But do you get a feel a "sense-of-urgency" though?  We keep saying they've got to get on a run here...
 
LL:   It's hard to see the daily evidence of that as it's more of an internal matter.  I know how intense they are, how confident they are, they do recognize the opportunity here as a number of guys are having exceptional years. If we don't capitalize on what we have, something is wrong.  They take a certain pride in being constant, not being erratic.  I don't see the evidence of it (lack of urgency, fire).  These guys are intensely competitive. We have a big payroll this year and they believe the Yankees can be caught. Now they just have to go out and do the catching...
 
MF:  So you think Manny Ramirez is saying "hey guys, we have a $100 million dollar payroll, we need to win this thing..."
 
LL:  (chuckle) Well I'm not so sure Manny thinks that :-)
 
LL:  We've picked up Embree, Horwre, Floyd.  John, Tom... we did our job. This is a year where we have a chance to do something.  And the players are not blind to that. They appreciate the intensity and commitment this ownership brings... financially and otherwise.
 
MF:  We hear reports that the luxury tax issue in the labor negotiations....
 
LL:  Well it's not a "luxury tax."  That's the Players Association's (PA) way to spin it as something not essential.  I would call it a competitive balance tax.  It's really just a payroll tax.
 
MF:  So is it a matter of just crunching that number?
 
LL:  Well I'm not at the table, but the core issues are unresolved, what's going to be the interaction between the exact level and structure of revenue sharing?  The other issue is the amount of the payroll tax, what threshold that applies and at what rate.  The Blue Ribbon Panel (BRP) found it more tolerable to the players than a salary cap.  So these issues are more moderate by nature than the salary cap issue of the past. Teams can spend as much money as they want. Just keep them in a range so they know there is a competitive balance.
 
GD:  Throwing out numbers we've heard... $100M threshold if over 50% tax, $50M of funds funneled back...
 
LL:  No determination as to what would happen with a payroll tax (funds).  But this is an alternative... there was payroll tax from '97-'99 between 34-35%. But money was used for baseball development and other possibilities.  What would it be used for and how will that be determined?
 
LL:  I'm not at the table but it could be used as a central fund for baseball, ball park development in certain places other meritous causes. Maybe a separate fund, we've used the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, designed for amateur and children's baseball.  Money could be used on a combination of three to four things.
 
MF:  But will this help the Kansas City's...?
 
LL:  First part of the payroll tax would discourage clubs for having an "out of whack" payroll in comparison to everybody else.  That's what the BRP had in mind. Some greater comparability about payroll. A floor and certain amount.  Hey, if you're at $100M and want to add to your payroll, you can do it, but we want to discourage it by taxing you.  It's designed to keep a comparability in payrolls.
 
MF:  Does revenue sharing hurt or help the Red Sox? 
 
LL:  Sure the immediate impact is probably detrimental as it diverts revenue from us to other places.  But the expectation is that it will be better in long-term. Competitive balance will make the games even more exciting . Competitive games are attractive to fans at the gate and on TV and contribute to escalating growth in players' salaries.  We have a system that works well for one team, the New York Yankees.  They have a chance to win, add payroll, and make money at the end.  The other 29 teams are in a different category because of the differences in the markets.
 
GD:  Hold on Larry, we're getting phone calls that people are calling the Red Sox ticket office and they are being told that "tickets sold out for the remainder of the season"...
 
LL:  What I think needs to happen is that I have to get dressed and get down there...  we have tickets the day of a game, or day before game when tickets are freed up.  If want to go on Tuesday, call on Tuesday.  Get on web, phone... you don't have to come down..  But we did count yesterday and that's what we've got (50,000 tickets).  Maybe not four together, if that's what they're calling about...
 
MF:  When do I get beer on Yawkey Way?
 
LL:  There you go again, there you go again...   it happens on September 5th and I think fans will like extra option of food...  MF: Beer?  LL:  Space! Fans will like less congestion, and hopefully it will lead to some horizontal expansion of Fenway.
 
GD:  I've been going to Red Sox games at Camden for years, Utah Street is a great idea...   LL: Exactly, we're going to have sound piped in so you can still get a feel for game... It's funny, we used Fenway as model for Camden, now we're using a Camden element for Fenway...
 
GD:  Larry, we heard Trot Nixon speaking to the media after game and we could hear the Backstreet Boys playing in the background... we know of no team that has ever won the World Series that listened to the Back Street Boys...   LL:  Well maybe no team hasn't won that... 
 
GD:  Right after you go down there and the heads are done rolling in the ticket office, can you address the music issue in the clubhouse...
 
LL:  Yes...I'll march right in there and ask 'what kind of music are you people listening to?' :-) 
 
GD: Jimmy Fund radio-thon?
 
LL:  Oh yes, Jimmy Fund breakfast for one of the great causes in the world, pediatric oncology, fighting kids' cancer... Tom, John and I will be there, actively participating in the radio-thon...  Grady, coaches, Trot and Daubach...(who spend a lot of time at Dana-Farber unpublicized)... 
 
GD: (Talking about how great the Jimmy Fund is)
 
LL:  My association with Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund goes back to 1985, highly personal in nature.  Two of the great characteristics of living in this area, the Red Sox role will be even bigger and better in the next 50 years...


Wild Card Wannabees

AL Wild

W

L

GB

Oakland

46

36

---

Boston

45

37

1.0

Anaheim

44

39

2.5

Chicago

42

38

3.0

Tampa Bay

42

41

4.5

AL East

W

L

GB

New York

51

31

---

Boston

45

37

6.0

Tampa Bay

42

41

9.5

Toronto

38

46

14.0

Baltimore

36

45

15.0


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The “Curt’s Pitch for ALS” program is a joint effort by Curt and Shonda Schilling, and The ALS Association Mass Chapter to strike out Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

Curt and Shonda will be contributing $25,000 to The ALS Association Massachusetts Chapter, and they are asking fans to contribute as well. All proceeds will benefit research and patient services for those in Massachusetts affected by the disease. Program participants will receive different incentive prizes based on the dollar amount per strikeout that they pledge. Please click here to learn more about the program.

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The Curt and Shonda Schilling Melanoma Foundation of America welcomes Red Sox Nation to join in their fight to save future generations from melanoma, a potentially preventable skin cancer.


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