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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
07/20/2009 - 2:09am
Five Things We Learned: Shortstop Isn't the Only Red Sox Revolving Door
The phrase is becoming almost redundant: bad day for the Red Sox leadoff hitter. J.D. Drew didn’t have much to write home about on Sunday. He started the game by striking out looking against Roy Halladay, had a couple of infield groundouts and fouled out to first. It would be difficult to pin the blame for the Red Sox’ 3-1 loss to Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays. (Recap here.)
Alex Speier
07/17/2009 - 2:23am
The State of Bay: Outfielder Open to Negotiations with Red Sox in Second Half
The regular season is now closer to the end than to the beginning, yet almost nothing has happened in the talks between Jason Bay and the Red Sox about a potential contract extension. The All-Star break has come and gone. Some dialogue took place between the two sides during the Red Sox’ four-day break in the season. According to multiple baseball sources, however, none of the conversations were significantly different in substance or tenor from what had taken place since spring training.
Alex Speier
07/15/2009 - 3:22pm
How Albert Pujols Almost Almost Joined The Red Sox
ST. LOUIS – The All-Star Game served as a backdrop to a three-day lovefest for Albert Pujols in his baseball hometown. The Cardinals slugger, almost universally acclaimed as the best hitter in the game, was feted as the king of the game. It was Pujols who shared the stage with President Barack Obama for the ceremonial first pitch. It was Pujols who stood in line to take a bow with a succession of St. Louis greats: Red Schoendienst, Lou Brock, Bob Gibson Ozzie Smith and Stan “The Man” Musial.
Alex Speier
07/14/2009 - 4:35am
Pop Mart: An All-Star Look at Where the Sox Might Shop for Power
ST. LOUIS – It’s coming. The All-Star Game marks not merely the end of baseball’s first half, but also the beginning of the most fevered stretch of the trade and rumor season. Multiple executives have suggested that in the days following this year’s All-Star break, they expect a logjam to break.
Alex Speier
07/13/2009 - 2:50am
A Long Awakening: Remembering Wakefield's Arrival in Boston
ST. LOUIS – A deal that merited almost no attention at the time now stands as one of the best free-agent signings in Red Sox and even baseball history. 
Alex Speier
07/13/2009 - 2:32am
Wakefield in Perspective: The Top Free-Agent Signings in Red Sox History
Few free agents in major-league history have ever offered the kind of value on the dollar of Tim Wakefield. According to the excellent resource fangraphs.com, which looks at the totality of a player’s statistics and assigns a value to it, Wakefield’s performance has been “worth” roughly $70 million since 2002 (the earliest season charted by the site), or roughly $40 million than he’s earned in that time.
Alex Speier
07/08/2009 - 2:57am
Five Things We Learned: Beckett Has Never Been Better
Josh Beckett did not speak like a man amidst the greatest run of his pitching career. His statements were riddled with self-criticism as he attempted to offer praise to anyone but himself. Beckett dominated Oakland on Tuesday for his 10th win of the season. He gave up two runs and six hits (two of them infield dinks) in 6.2 innings, getting 15 of his 20 outs via groundball or strikeout.
Alex Speier
07/07/2009 - 4:44am
Five Things We Learned: The Sox' Need for a Bat Is Growing
All season long, the baseball world has marveled at the depth of the Red Sox’ pitching staff, extending from the 12-man pitching staff across levels of the minor-league system. The offensive options, on the other hand, have not been nearly as far-reaching.
Alex Speier
07/06/2009 - 3:14am
Five Things We Learned on a Day When Pedroia Played Like an All-Star
For Tim Wakefield and most of the raft of six Red Sox who will head to St. Louis next week, selection for the All-Star game represented validation for a season of excellence. For Dustin Pedroia, the honor came with slightly more complicated emotions. The reigning American League Most Valuable Player was grateful for his second straight election as an All-Star starter. Even so, there was nearly a hint of apology, and certainly one of modesty, as he accepted the honor.
Alex Speier
07/04/2009 - 3:29am
Five Things We Learned: Wakefield Gained One Honor But Might Have Missed Out Another
In some respects, sentiment now offers Tim Wakefield’s best shot at making the All-Star team. In some respects, sentiment for Wakefield’s candidacy contributed to the Red Sox’ 6-5 loss against the Mariners in 11 innings on Friday. (Recap.) Make no mistake: virtually everyone in and around the Red Sox would like to see Wakefield become a first-time All-Star at the age of 42. Members of the team make little secret of their rooting interest.
Alex Speier
07/02/2009 - 4:59pm
Rich and Risky: Red Sox Prepare to Open the Wallet for International Amateurs
Here are the car keys…and $3 million. Some 16-year-olds are now being made very, very rich by baseball teams. July 2 marked the beginning of Major League Baseball’s amateur international free-agent signing period. From that date through Aug. 31, amateur players from anywhere except the U.S. and Canada who have turned 16 can peddle their services to the highest bidder as free agents. The search for talent spans the globe, from Taiwan and Australia to Europe and, most famously, into Latin America.
Alex Speier
07/01/2009 - 2:37pm
Draft Class Takes Shape: An Update on Sox First-Rounder Reymond Fuentes and 49 Other Picks
Fifty draft picks ... and not a single Scott Boras client among them.
Alex Speier
06/30/2009 - 3:41am
Five Things We Learned: The Sox Found a New Leading Man
Red Sox manager Terry Francona waited as long as he could. But in the end, there was little choice. The Sox were 18-7 in the 25 games since they had shuffled the lineup and installed Dustin Pedroia in the leadoff spot while putting J.D. Drew behind him in the second spot. But that team success had come largely despite Pedroia’s struggles in the role: he had played in 24 of those games, hitting .214 with a .264 OBP and .565 OPS as the leadoff man.
Alex Speier
06/28/2009 - 3:34am
Five Things We Learned: Tim Wakefield Starts Re-Writing Red Sox History
Roger Clemens is on notice. Cy Young, too. On Saturday, Tim Wakefield arrived in style atop a Red Sox franchise record list. The 42-year-old knuckleballer continued his remarkable season by delivering six shutout innings to lead his club to a 1-0 victory over the Braves in Atlanta (recap). Wakefield (10-3, 4.18 ERA) allowed just three hits -- all singles -- to the Braves. No Atlanta baserunner got past second base while he was on the mound.
Alex Speier
06/27/2009 - 4:38am
Five Things We Learned: Beckett Is Channeling Pedro
Remember when Josh Beckett was 2-2 with a 7.22 ERA? That’s OK -- no one else does, either. Facing the Atlanta Braves for his second straight start (the previous one being a complete-game shutout last Saturday), Beckett again blasted zeros across the scoreboard. The Red Sox starter logged seven shutout innings in his team’s 4-1 victory (recap), permitting just six hits while walking none and punching out six.
Alex Speier
06/24/2009 - 7:04am
Five Things We Learned: Jason Bay Is a Run-Producing Monster
The way Jason Bay describes it, his job description is simple. “I’ve maintained all along,” Bay said on the Red Sox Post-Game Show, “that on those days when I’m not getting hits or hitting a homer, if I could drive in a run – like (Sunday) against Atlanta, a sac fly – get those RBIs when I can, that’s basically what I’m really worried about, driving in those runs.”
Alex Speier
06/23/2009 - 11:20am
Holiday in June: A Day in the Life of the Red Sox Draft
There are plenty of terms used to describe the baseball operations offices of the Boston Red Sox. Few are flattering. “The dungeon” and “the torture room” are a couple of phrases thrown around to depict the offices beneath Fenway where most of the team’s baseball decisions take place. Such phrases are understandable, particularly around the time of the Major League Baseball draft.
Alex Speier
06/21/2009 - 6:03am
Five Things We Learned: The Red Sox Are Built To Be Panic-Free
This is why the Red Sox stockpiled a pitching surplus. Daisuke Matsuzaka is 1-5 with an 8.52 ERA. He has looked lost on the mound for nearly all of a season in which he still has yet to deliver a single quality start. Ultimately, after he lasted just four innings and allowed six runs on Friday, the Sox had little choice but to pull the plug. The team announced that, rather than going with a six-man rotation with the impending return of John Smoltz, Matsuzaka’s next scheduled start will be skipped.
Alex Speier
06/19/2009 - 9:54am
Hanley Ramirez Offers a Reminder About What Could Have Been - And, In 2005, What Was
The return of Hanley Ramirez to Fenway Park was hardly spectacular. During a three-game series with the Marlins, the superstar shortstop collected just two hits in 10 at-bats with a pair of walks and a pair of strikeouts. Nonetheless, that modest performance made no less fascinating the “what-if” game that can be played with Ramirez, particularly in a season when the position he occupies for the Marlins has been one of weakness for the Red Sox this year.
Alex Speier
06/18/2009 - 4:04am
Five Things We Learned: Brad Penny Is One Tough Hombre
It was well and good to be called “a tough kid” by Terry Francona, but really, the Red Sox manager’s credentials to make that call only go so far. Recently retired Ultimate Fighting Championship star Chuck Liddell is another matter entirely. Liddell was on hand at Fenway to watch his friend Brad Penny win his 100th career game. Yet the pitcher almost never had that chance. In the top of the first inning, Marlins outfielder Jeremy Hermida smashed a liner straight back up the middle that hit Penny on the left side of the chest.
Alex Speier
06/17/2009 - 6:48am
Five Things We Learned: Pitchers Will Have to Adjust Against David Ortiz
In the bottom of the sixth, David Ortiz took a hellacious hack at a 91 mph fastball from Marlins reliever Burke Badenhop, fouling it straight back and narrowly missing a chance to send a ball into orbit. The vicious cut forced Badenhop to come to a conclusion that other pitchers will undoubtedly soon reach: he abandoned any efforts to go after Ortiz with fastballs.
Alex Speier
06/16/2009 - 6:01am
For Clay Buchholz, Patience Proves a Challenging Virtue
For four months, Clay Buchholz had been asked the same questions. And every time, his answers remained unaltered. Yes, Buchholz wanted to pitch in the major leagues. Yes, he understood that the line to the Red Sox rotation was long, snaking around so many times that he had no idea whether he would reach one of the coveted front five spots in 2009. Yes, he viewed it as his responsibility to redeem the faith of his organization after a year-long struggle in 2008, and he was willing to remain patient – no matter how long – while trying to do so.
Alex Speier
06/11/2009 - 5:41am
Five Things We Learned: Even Okajima Has Reason To Be Excited
Suddenly, air seemed in short supply. The Red Sox had enjoyed a comfortable journey through the first six innings of their Wednesday night game against the Yankees. Tim Wakefield had been anything but overpowering. Even so, in his own words, he “was able to spread hits around” to limit the Yankees to just three runs in his six innings. With Chien-Ming Wang imploding in the early innings, the Sox enjoyed a comfortable 6-3 advantage.
Alex Speier
06/10/2009 - 7:38am
The Future Starts Now: Dissecting Day 1 of the Red Sox' Draft
Though the offices of the Red Sox’ baseball operations department were entirely full as the clock ticked towards midnight, the mood was a boisterous one. It seemed that everywhere that the Sox turned, signs of promise abounded. On the field at Fenway Park, the Sox were busy handing the Yankees’ lunch to them. The 7-0 win saw the continued dominance of Josh Beckett along with the third home run of the year from a potentially resurgent David Ortiz.
Alex Speier
06/09/2009 - 8:55am
Red Sox Look For the Next Key Piece of Their Future
Tuesday and Wednesday are arguably the most significant days of the baseball calendar for the Red Sox, and it has nothing to do with the presence of the Yankees. Today is all about the Major League Baseball Rule 4 draft, when the Sox will begin selecting the next 50 players who they hope will help to improve the team’s long-term fortunes.


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.

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.

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.

Lyndon Byers on Torterella, Thornton, and Marchand

LB joins the guys in studio to discuss John Torterella's coaching, Shawn Thornton sticking up for Marchand, and the fourth line.

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

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

Minor Details Ep. 49: Man…

Minor Details Ep. 49: Managerial development with Torey Lovullo and Arnie Beyeler

By and large, the focus of development in the minor leagues is on players. Still, there is a developmental path for coaches and managers in the farm system, as is evident from the fact that the previous two managers of the Red Sox' Triple-A affiliate in Pawtucket -- Torey Lovullo (2010) and Arnie Beyeler (2011-12) are now both on the Red Sox' big league coaching staff. They share their insights about the differences between player and coaching expectations in Triple-A vs. the majors, while discussing professional development from the perspective of former minor league managers who aspire to similar positions in the big leagues.

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