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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
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.
Alex Speier
03/15/2011 - 7:26am
What if Victor Martinez had re-signed with the Red Sox?
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Red Sox will undertake a thankless haul on Tuesday, a bus full of players barreling over two hours into Central Florida to play in Lakeland against the Tigers. Yet some members of the club could not hide their enthusiasm for the undertaking.
Alex Speier
03/13/2011 - 8:55pm
Who's on first? How Mark Teixeira once pushed Adrian Gonzalez to the outfield
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- It comes as no surprise that Adrian Gonzalez has established himself as one of the top defensive first basemen in the game. From the time he was taken as the top overall pick in the 2001 draft by the Marlins, Gonzalez earned raves for his work at the position.
Alex Speier
03/13/2011 - 12:40am
Ring-bearer: How an Adrian Gonzalez deal led to a championship
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Red Sox trade for Adrian Gonzalez was motivated by the idea that the first baseman could help bring the franchise a championship. If that happens, then lightning will have struck twice with the slugger.
Alex Speier
03/11/2011 - 1:58am
The $20 Million Men: How opposites Ramirez, Crawford both attracted monster salaries
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- It was perfectly aligned. Almost.
Alex Speier
03/05/2011 - 9:34am
Can Clay Buchholz repeat his dominance? Why statisticians say no -- and the Sox say yes
There is no denying that Clay Buchholz had an incredible season in 2010. But there is also no denying that his formula for success was . . . unusual.
Alex Speier
03/01/2011 - 2:57am
Anchorman: How Lester emerged as most critical Red Sox
The questions about the Red Sox rotation abound.
Alex Speier
02/23/2011 - 9:49am
A year later, prospect Ryan Westmoreland's comeback moves forward
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Thwack. It is a familiar sound, so common in spring training that it barely registers. Thwack.
Alex Speier
02/21/2011 - 3:00am
Miller's crossing: Former top prospect tries to reclaim potential
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Andrew Miller is in this position because he chose to be. In that, the 25-year-old is unique. Few players would walk away from a major league contract in favor of a minor league deal. Few would place less importance on the composition of a team’s major league roster (and potential big league openings) than on the opportunity to develop.
Alex Speier
02/19/2011 - 9:50pm
After Drew: Why Ryan Kalish hopes to make history with Carl Crawford and Jacoby Ellsbury
FORT MYERS, Fla. – As he got comfortable in his locker at the Red Sox’ Player Development Complex on Saturday, J.D. Drew faced a mix of questions about the coming year and beyond.
Alex Speier
02/19/2011 - 7:20am
Crawford recalls $142 million piece of advice
FORT MYERS, Fla. – Red Sox minor leaguers have about 142 million new reasons to listen to one of their instructors.
Alex Speier
02/18/2011 - 2:39am
The Crawford Effect: Why new Sox superstar's biggest impact could come from his glove
FORT MYERS, Fla.
Alex Speier
02/17/2011 - 7:26am
Albert or Adrian: Which superstar will perform better during his next contract?
FORT MYERS, Fla. – It is almost surely just a hypothetical exercise. After all, it would be shocking if the Red Sox and Adrian Gonzalez did not announce a long-term contract in the early days of the 2011 season that will keep the newly acquired first baseman in Boston for nearly all of the decade.
Alex Speier
02/14/2011 - 2:37am
From fringe to spotlight: Why Red Sox focus on unknowns in spring training
FORT MYERS, Fla. – It is spring training, and the Red Sox clubhouse is crammed. There are 61 players whom the team will have in major league camp, and nearly half of those will be unfamiliar to the public, individuals who have virtually no shot at breaking camp with the Sox and who, consequently, are perceived as all but irrelevant.
Alex Speier
02/12/2011 - 12:48am
Familiar territory: Return from injury nothing new to Dustin Pedroia
FORT MYERS, Fla. – This is not the first time that Dustin Pedroia has attempted to return from a major, immobilizing injury.
Alex Speier
02/11/2011 - 2:53am
Can Josh Beckett bounce back? Re-examining his terrible 2010 and what it means going forward
FORT MYERS, Fla. — For most of the offseason, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford assumed primacy in the rapidly escalating expectations for the Red Sox. Those two provided answers to team needs. But two returning players who loom as question marks may be just as significant.
Alex Speier
02/09/2011 - 5:15am
Spelling relief: A closer look at the Red Sox' crowded competition for bullpen roles
Will quality beget quantity?
Alex Speier
02/04/2011 - 8:31am
Developing opportunity for Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia
For most Red Sox starters, the offseason focus has been on getting in shape and preparing themselves physically for the coming year. The winter has been a diligent exercise in going through the motions to be in shape for 2011. But for one player, it has been different — and will continue to be.
Alex Speier
02/01/2011 - 2:58am
Hungry Red Sox brain trust takes stock of the winter
It has been an offseason in which the pendulum swung in dramatic fashion. The Red Sox were left with an empty feeling at the end of the 2010 season. A once-promising club with grand postseason ambitions instead was left to disperse on the final day of the regular season. October baseball never made it to Fenway.
Alex Speier
01/22/2011 - 12:06pm
No alternative: Why Crawford's deal looks even better in light of Wells trade
Thought Carl Crawford was expensive? Consider the alternative – something that led the Angels to one of the more shocking moves in recent memory.
Alex Speier
01/20/2011 - 4:00am
Red Sox and Ryan Kalish see virtue in patience
Alex Speier
01/15/2011 - 9:15am
Who's on short (and why)? How Marco Scutaro and Jed Lowrie compare
First things first: It’s an enviable dilemma.
Alex Speier
01/09/2011 - 11:52am
Matt Garza and the Red Sox nemeses: The top pitchers against the Sox
The credentials of Matt Garza as a Red Sox killer were established in 2008, when the pitcher -- in his first year after being acquired in a trade from the Twins -- outpitched Jon Lester in Games 3 and 7 of the American League Championship Series to propel Tampa Bay to the World Series, garnering ALCS MVP honors in the process.
Alex Speier
01/07/2011 - 2:00am
The Next Wave? A closer look at the Red Sox' 2011 Rookie Development Program class
In recent seasons, the announcement of the list of players slated to take part in the Rookie Development Program featured the sort of blue-chip names that brought the immediate future of the Red Sox into view.
Alex Speier
01/06/2011 - 8:57am
The Cameron Equation: How the outfielder fits the 2011 Red Sox
Mike Cameron had a pair of noteworthy phone conversations around the time the Red Sox signed free agent Carl Crawford to his landmark seven-year, $142 million deal.


Audio On Demand

Former Patriot Matt Light…

Former Patriot Matt Light on the Pats offseason

Matt joined the program to discuss his first ever cornhole contest and to break down the Patriots offseason. He told the guys that he was upset that the Pats were unable to bring Wes Welker back to the team.

Tom Brady on the loss of Wes Welker

Tom Brady joined the program to discuss his upcoming charitable event supporting Best Buddies and his off-season. Tom said that he has learned not to worry about free agency decisions since he cant control any of them. Lastly he defended his over the top celebration at the Kentucky Derby.

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.

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.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington…

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Jacoby Ellsbury

Ben joined the program to discuss the return of Terry Francona and said that he always had a good relationship with the former manager. Ben added that he thinks Ellsbury is in a slump due in part to the amount of left handed pitchers the team has faced.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia postgame with Joe and Dave

Salty spoke with Joe Castiglione & Dave O'Brien after he helped his team to a 6-2 victory over the Chicago White Sox tonight. The Red Sox return to Fenway after going 6-3 on the road trip.

Red Sox Manager John Farrell with Salk and Holley

We check in with Red Sox Manager John Farrell live from Chicago and get his take on a good week for the Sox, a tough series since then in Chicago, and other team related notes.

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.

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington…

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington on Jacoby Ellsbury

Ben joined the program to discuss the return of Terry Francona and said that he always had a good relationship with the former manager. Ben added that he thinks Ellsbury is in a slump due in part to the amount of left handed pitchers the team has faced.

Former Patriot Matt Light on the Pats offseason

Matt joined the program to discuss his first ever cornhole contest and to break down the Patriots offseason. He told the guys that he was upset that the Pats were unable to bring Wes Welker back to the team.

Tom Brady on the loss of Wes Welker

Tom Brady joined the program to discuss his upcoming charitable event supporting Best Buddies and his off-season. Tom said that he has learned not to worry about free agency decisions since he cant control any of them. Lastly he defended his over the top celebration at the Kentucky Derby.

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.

An hour with Jack Edwards…

An hour with Jack Edwards: Bruins win all four line match-ups with Rangers

With the Bruins up 3-0 in the series, we talk to Jack Edwards and take your calls. We touch on all things B's-Rangers and also focus on the future of the Bruins three promising young defensemen.

Salk and Holley's Four at Four - 05/22/13

We touch on four topics we haven't talked about today... topics today include: Brian Urlacher retires, NFL schedule expansion, Sergio Garcia and more...

Golfer Sergio Garcia goes 'Fuzzy Zoeller' and gets racial against Tiger Woods

We discuss Spain's Sergio Garcia and his ignorant, racist comments against Tiger Woods.

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 - 05/22/13

The Jerks are joined by another, Jerk Minihane.

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....

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

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.

More from this show

Tom Brady on the loss of …

Tom Brady on the loss of Wes Welker

Tom Brady joined the program to discuss his upcoming charitable event supporting Best Buddies and his off-season. Tom said that he has learned not to worry about free agency decisions since he cant control any of them. Lastly he defended his over the top celebration at the Kentucky Derby.

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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