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About Alex Speier

Before he joined WEEI.com, Alex covered the Red Sox for several New England and national publications, including the New Hampshire Union Leader, Boston Metro, Boston Herald and Baseball America. Alex graduated from Harvard, where he served as the captain of the debate team, an experience that has been of surprisingly little use in press boxes across the country.

 
COLUMNS
Alex Speier
04/27/2011 - 7:00am
Waiting for the Gonzo Show: Slugger's power projections reconsidered
BALTIMORE – It started over the months and years during which the rumors floated in the ether. It intensified immensely when the Padres and Red Sox agreed to a deal, pending a successful negotiation between the player and his new team.
Alex Speier
04/26/2011 - 2:42am
Going places? Sox top pitching prospect Anthony Ranaudo is making his case
A case can be made that Anthony Ranaudo was the most-hyped Red Sox draft pick of all time. At a time when interest in the amateur selection process has grown to unprecedented levels, the big right-hander entered 2010 ranked among the top handful of prospects in the game. Though he struggled as a junior while dealing with health and mechanical setbacks, he used a dominant run in the Cape League to re-establish his credentials.
Alex Speier
04/22/2011 - 8:15am
The catching conundrum: What options do Sox have?
The Red Sox’ catching situation is starting to be perceived as if it’s something of a crisis. It’s not terribly difficult to understand why.
Alex Speier
04/21/2011 - 3:00am
Closers future, past and present: How Sox relievers relate to their roles
On a day when Clay Buchholz helped the Red Sox to complete one of their best turns of the rotation in the past 64 years, it was nonetheless the bullpen that provided the game’s foremost drama and intrigue.
Alex Speier
04/20/2011 - 12:45am
Jed Lowrie returns to a familiar place
It may have seemed like Jed Lowrie was playing out of his mind during the Red Sox’ homestand at Fenway Park, having a sort of once-in-a-lifetime, out-of-body run of brilliance at the plate. He wasn’t.
Alex Speier
04/19/2011 - 7:00am
10 Things We Learned as Sox, Daisuke found their way
Daisuke Matsuzaka likely wasn’t pitching for his rotation spot on Monday. But he pitched as if he was, with dazzling results.
Alex Speier
04/18/2011 - 2:01am
For Jacoby Ellsbury, no time like the present to reclaim leading man role
The Red Sox said all spring that their best lineup features Jacoby Ellsbury as a leadoff hitter. Monday might be a good time for them to start testing that hypothesis again.
Alex Speier
04/16/2011 - 4:00am
The hits keep on (not) coming for Carl Crawford
It started as a day of coronation for Adrian Gonzalez as a player worthy of joining the $100 million club, and ended with doubts about whether another player who will receive comparable piles of cash from the Red Sox can earn his keep.
Alex Speier
04/14/2011 - 5:21am
Work in progress: Why Carl Crawford believes routine will end his slump
The Red Sox did not just commit $142 million to Carl Crawford because of what he can do when performing to the best of the abilities. The team’s faith in the outfielder was also a product of how he handles adversity, and the process he has in place to deal with slumps such as the one that has characterized the start of his Boston tenure.
Alex Speier
04/13/2011 - 3:22am
When does it stop being early for Red Sox?
OK, it’s early. But for how much longer?
Alex Speier
04/11/2011 - 3:00am
Best Beckett ever? Why Sunday's outing may have been pitcher's best with Red Sox
The question was obvious: When was the last time members of the Red Sox had seen Josh Beckett be this good?
Alex Speier
04/10/2011 - 7:07pm
Extension reflects coming of age for Clay Buchholz
In March, Pawtucket pitching coach Rich Sauveur was getting buzzed by a small hovercraft in the Red Sox' spring training clubhouse. His response was unexpected.
Alex Speier
04/09/2011 - 6:54pm
False start: Red Sox rotation woes run deep in early-going
There’s no need to dance around the subject.
Alex Speier
04/05/2011 - 12:00am
Remembering the birth of a closer, five years later
ARLINGTON, Texas – Five years ago today, a closer was born.
Alex Speier
04/04/2011 - 7:14am
10 Things We Learned from the Red Sox' opening weekend
ARLINGTON, Texas — Do with the three-game losing streak what you will. View it as cause for alarm or as a normal part of the rhythm of the baseball season, a false first step in a marathon that offers plenty of time to recover.
Alex Speier
04/03/2011 - 8:00am
A staggering start for Sox pitchers
ARLINGTON, Texas – OK, it’s early. The Red Sox have played all of two games, or about 1.2 percent of a full baseball season. So the fact that they got shelled by the Rangers, 12-5, in the second game of the year (recap) ultimately means little.
Alex Speier
04/02/2011 - 7:29am
Pitching imperfect: Opening Day loss offers Sox a reminder
ARLINGTON, Texas – It wasn’t so much a warning as it was a reminder.
Alex Speier
04/01/2011 - 11:50am
For Darnell McDonald, an Opening Day symbol of arrival
ARLINGTON, Texas — There are players for whom the significance of the Opening Day introductions will be obvious.
Alex Speier
03/31/2011 - 9:04pm
25 Red Sox, 25 Questions: Predicting the performance of the 2011 team
Into the great unknown! Everybody and their mom is picking the Red Sox to win the World Series, which makes for a pretty boring cross-section of prognostications. Nuts to that. We at WEEI.com prefer to explore the minutiae that occupies the gray matter of fans for 162 games or so.
Alex Speier
03/30/2011 - 1:27am
Developmental dilemma for Red Sox prospect Jose Iglesias
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Where to start Jose Iglesias this year?
Alex Speier
03/27/2011 - 3:01am
Rounding out relief: Five things we learned about Red Sox' bullpen decisions
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Decision is becoming clearer. The Red Sox are in the final stages of deciding who will be taking their talents to Texas as members of the Opening Day pitching staff.
Alex Speier
03/25/2011 - 7:52am
The iceless man cometh: Clay Buchholz and the quest for 200 innings
JUPITER, Fla. – On the mound, Clay Buchholz performed at times last year as if he had ice water in his veins. But ice on his shoulder? That’s another story completely.
Alex Speier
03/23/2011 - 7:42am
Going for Gonzo: Why Red Sox didn't wait to acquire Adrian Gonzalez
FORT MYERS, Fla. — A curiosity has loomed ever since the Red Sox and Padres consummated the blockbuster deal that brought Adrian Gonzalez to Boston in December.
Alex Speier
03/22/2011 - 11:47am
Red Sox reliever Dan Wheeler remains last of the original Devil Rays
FORT MYERS, Fla. – While Carl Crawford will be the natural focus any time the Red Sox and Rays face each other – as they do on Tuesday night in an exhibition contest in Fort Myers – another Sox newcomer has deeper roots in the Tampa Bay organization.
Alex Speier
03/16/2011 - 7:05am
From closer-by-committee to committee of closers
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Ah, the committee. Really, the whole experiment lasted just three months. And in relative terms, the whole thing was eons ago.


Audio On Demand

It Is What It Is Cast: Ex…

It Is What It Is Cast: Examining the New England Patriots offseason

In the latest edition of the "It Is What It Is" podcast, Chris Price and CSNNE's Mike Giardi take a look at the Patriots offseason on both sides of the ball, try and get a handle on which new guys will make an impact first, and whether or not the Patriots have altered their style when it comes to drafting and developing wide receivers.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk on Tebow's release

Mike Florio joined the program to discuss the Jets decision to release Tim Tebow, he said the situation is as disaster all around for the Jets and that the problems begins with owner Woody Johnson. Mike also said that he was disappointed with the Pats moving back in the first round.

Mike Petraglia, WEEI.com, Sits Down with Butch Stearns to Help Break Down the Pats Draft

One of the hardest working men in the biz, Mike Petraglia aka "Trags", sits down with Butch Stearns live in Foxborough to help break down all the latest Pats moves. He discusses his reaction to the trade in Round 1 and the guys those picks produced. Also, the boys talk about the decent trade the Pats made in acquiring LeGarrette Blount from Tampa Bay for Jeff Demps and a 7th rounder.

Celtics President Danny A…

Celtics President Danny Ainge with Salk and Holley

We check in with Danny Ainge for our first talk to him since the Celtics season ended last weekend. We talk about the future of the team, KG, Pierce, Doc Rivers and more, as Danny directly answers the rumors being floated by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith.

Jackie MacMullan, ESPNBoston.com: "Gut" tells me Doc will stay

Jackie Mac joins the show to discuss the trade rumors swirling around Paul Pierce, KG, Doc Rivers and the Celtics. She also discusses the future of the Celtics head coach.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on his rumored Celtics Clippers trade

Stephen A. joined the program to discuss the trade rumors he has reported regarding a possible trade including Doc Rivers and the Clippers. Stephen A. also told the guys that he has heard that Danny and Doc may be tiring of working together.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on El…

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

John Lackey postgame guest after the last game of the Minnesota series

Joe Castiglione talked with John Lackey after he picked up the W against the Twins. Lackey threw seven innings, and retired the 1st twelve batters of the game.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

NESN's Barry Pederson on the Bruins dominance

Cleveland Indians hottest team in baseball, yet remain last in attendance May 19, 2013 By AJ Kaufman 6 Comments There’s a scene in Major League where Bob Uecker, portraying the radio voice of the Indians, bemoans, “In case you haven’t noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven’t, the Indians have managed to win a few here and there, and are threatening to climb out of the cellar.” Well, that was nearly 25 years ago and fictional, but today’s reality is that Cleveland has won 17 of its last 21, and currently tops the AL Central with a mark of 25-17. No one in the majors is better than the Indians in the past month (20-7). That’s great news. The bad news, however, is the Tribe somehow remain in the MLB cellar when it comes to attendance. How can this be? The fact that I wrote on this same topic almost to the day last year – when only Tampa Bay drew fewer fans than Cleveland - may be even more troubling. Though roughly 34,000 watched a walk-off win Friday night against Seattle, perfect weather and free caps weren’t enough to draw more than 36,000 Saturday and Sunday combined. What did the Indians do in those tilts? They nabbed another walk-off win on Saturday, then the Indians crushed the great Felix Hernandez Sunday behind Justin Masterson, arguably the AL’s best pitcher right now. Fun fact: The Indians have already faced eight Cy Young Award winners in 2013: Bartolo Colon, R.A. Dickey, Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Jake Peavy, David Price, Justin Verlander and Hernandez. They have won seven out those eight matchups. Simply astounding. This offseason, the much-maligned Indians front office finally made a legitimate attempt to improve the team through free agency. I’m not talking an Ubaldo Jimenez-like trade, but rather smart acquisitions that brought veterans Mike Aviles, Michael Bourn, Jason Giambi, Scott Kazmir, Brett Myers, Mark Reynolds, Drew Stubbs and Nick Swisher to Cleveland. In addition to being a fantastic place to watch a game due to great egress and ingress, with extremely affordable tickets, the best promo lineup anywhere, Jacobs Field boasts overall, cooler, less muggy summer weather than most Midwestern locales. The team also lowered beer and hot dog prices to $4 and $3 respectively. What other professional stadium in any sport offers that? I have visited 28 of the 30 current Major League Baseball stadia, and few top The Jake when all angles are considered. I say that as a baseball fan, not an Indians fan. As for the putative “economic” angle, these are the same people who spend insane amounts of money to watch terrible football every fall and show up in decent numbers for putrid basketball in the winter. Irrespective of season length, those sports charge up to 10 times the price for a ticket, and the atmosphere isn’t half as fan-friendly as baseball. I understand fans’ lack of willingness to get on board to some degree. A decent recap of Cleveland’s decade of “rebuilding” can be read here and the team suffered a horrific collapse last August. However, in addition to all the benefits of attending games at Jacobs (now Progressive) Field, fans should also realize the team has potential and often exceeds preseason aspirations at any point without warning. Cleveland hosts the rival Detroit Tigers — heavy favorites to repeat as AL Central champs — Tuesday and Wednesday nights before hitting the road. The temperature should be pleasant at first pitch each evening so you’d expect The Jake to be full to watch the best hitter on the planet right now — but don’t count on it.

Former Red Sox manager Te…

Former Red Sox manager Terry Francona catches up with D&C

Terry Francona joins the Dennis and Callahan Show to discuss his first-place Indians team as well as his time in Boston. The former Boston manager also touches on his recent book co-authored by Dan Shaughnessy and Shaughnessy's recent dust-up with David Ortiz.

Shawn Thornton on his big game three

Shawn joined the program to discuss his big night at MSG. He told the guys that it is not Marchand's job to fight and that he needs to be on the ice and out of the penalty box.

The boys respond to Salk's attack

Our afternoon host Mike Salk was offended at Gerry and Kirk's conversation on his favorite band Rush, the guys responded.

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sport…

Pierre McGuire, NBC Sports: B's have instilled "fear" "concern" and "doubt" into Rangers

McGuire joins Mut and Merloni to discuss the Bruins game 3 win, the Rangers awful power play, and the Shawn Thornton Derek Dorsett altercation.

Buster Olney, ESPN, on Ellsbury's future with Sox

Buster Olney joins Mut and Merloni to talk about the struggling Ellsbury and what that is doing to his contract value when he becomes a free agent.

Shawn Thornton sticks up for Marchand as Derek Dorsett backs down

Mut and Merloni discuss the Derek Dorsett, Brad Marchand, and Shawn Thornton altercation and how great it was.

Full tilt, full time. New…

Full tilt, full time. Newest inductee to the Patriots Hall of Fame Tedy Bruschi with Salk and Holley

We talk to #54 about his career and well deserved induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Salk and Holley's Four (or Five) at Four - 05/21/13

We tackle four off-topic topics! Today including RGIII's wedding registry, Tiger Woods, new putters in golf and more.

Barry Melrose: Sit the injured veteran defensemen until you need them, until you lose

We check in with ESPN's great hockey analyst and former NHL coach Barry Melrose to get his take on this Bruins-Rangers series. We also ask the coach in him how he'd deal with the great play of the rookie defensemen when the vets get healthy... and his answer might surprise you.

Daily Planet Tuesday May …

Daily Planet Tuesday May 21st

The Bruins look to take a 3-0 series lead, Jon Lester gets his first loss, Dwight Howard has options in free agency.

Daily Planet Monday May 20th

Today on the Daily Planet the Bruins have a 2-0 lead over the New york Rangers, the Red Sox are back on the winning sde of things, and the noteable birthdays of the day.

Daily Planet Thursday May 9th

The Bruins have almost finished raking the Leafs, the Red Sox struggle from the mound, Miami Heat fans show their level of class.

Salk and Holley's Miked U…

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/21/13

They're like a ray of morning sunshine on an otherwise gloomy day.

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question 05/21/13

....uhhhh.....a bunch of bombs over there....

Salk and Holley's Miked Up and Answer the Question - 05/17/13

Sounds like a prostate exam to me!

Linda calls in to describ…

Linda calls in to describe the scene on Dexter St in Watertown

Linda explains how the shootout transpired in Watertown during the early morning hours. She saw the first suspect mortally wounded and police beginning the manhunt for the second suspect.

More from this show

Boston bombing hero Jeff …

Boston bombing hero Jeff Bauman: "He's dead and I'm still here"

Jeff Bauman, a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing, joined the show to give the guys an update of his condition and a first-hand account of that terrible day. Jeff told the guys how he wrote the description of the bomber as soon as he could. Mr. Bauman added that he is aided every day with the knowledge that he is alive and the terrorist that detonated the bomb is dead.

More from this show

Buster Olney, ESPN: Ellsb…

Buster Olney, ESPN: Ellsbury play will hurt him in free agency

Buster Olney joins the show to discuss the muddled AL East, the average play of Ellsbury and how that will affect him in free agency, and Tropicana Field.

More from this show

Shawn Thornton on the Bru…

Shawn Thornton on the Bruins game 2 win

Shawn joined the show to discuss the teams great performance in game two against the Rangers. Shawn said that he wouldn't mind playing for John Tortorella because he seems like a funny guy.

More from this show

Elliotte Friedman of CBC …

Elliotte Friedman of CBC on the Bruins dominance of the Rangers

Elliotte Friedman joined the show to discuss the Bruins domination of the series thus far. He said that while nothing is certain he cannot see a way in which the Rangers come back and win the series.

More from this show

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