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About Rob Bradford

Rob Bradford joined WEEI.com after serving as a Red Sox beat writer for the Boston Herald and the Eagle-Tribune (Lawrence, Mass.). Prior to manning the Red Sox beat, he spent several years at the Lowell Sun. He has written two books: “Chasing Steinbrenner,” following the front offices of the Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays through the 2003 season, and “Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Discovering the Champion Within,” which he co-authored with Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell.

 
COLUMNS
Rob Bradford
02/27/2009 - 9:46pm
Smoltz Uses Good Friend Tiger As Inspiration
FORT MYERS, Fla. – John Smoltz couldn’t do much, so what he did was witness what he calls “the most amazing thing I’ve ever watched.”  
Rob Bradford
02/24/2009 - 3:54am
This Is J.D. Drew: Outfielder Remains Unchanged by Boston
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The question: “How have you changed since coming to Boston?” The answer from J.D. Drew is frustratingly non-committal – a fact that, in its own way, reveals a great deal about the outfielder. “It’s hard to say,” Drew mused. “Everybody changes at some level every year at some level, different league, different team, things like that.”
Rob Bradford
02/20/2009 - 2:25am
Ortiz Faces Reality
FORT MYERS, Fla. – The moisture from the ice bag had left its mark on David Ortiz’s left shoulder. The source of it – sleeping on his side the wrong way, according to Red Sox manager Terry Francona – was no big deal, said the DH. Although the shoulder was trending to be the topic of the day, Ortiz chose to point out the fact there were no such questions about either his surgically-repaired right knee, or problematic wrist.
Rob Bradford
02/17/2009 - 2:00pm
How Dustin Pedroia Stayed Motivated
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- About four weeks into his offseason workouts, Dustin Pedroia had an epiphany. He had already won a Gold Glove and American League MVP while adding a $40 million contract to the mix. But, as Pedroia is often quick to acknowledge, every little bit of motivation goes a long way.
Rob Bradford
02/15/2009 - 5:25pm
How Beckett Is Using Last Season's Lessons For This Year's Success
FORT MYERS, Fla. -- He sat on the back porch of his rented spring training home, overlooking the kind of pond that litters almost every Florida golf course community. Risa, the dog of the house, is scratching at the screen door, trying to get out. The entrance way is finally opened, but with some trepidation.
Rob Bradford
02/12/2009 - 8:00pm
Mike Lowell Looks Back on a Winter of Challenges
FORT MYERS, Fla. – “Are you optimistic?” Mike Lowell’s answer is swift and definitive. “Absolutely.” While whispers, guesses, and proclamations born out of both have been circulated in regards to Lowell’s offseason, there has always been one piece of the equation that has been missing – the player’s own voice. Until now.
Rob Bradford
02/12/2009 - 8:00pm
Mike Lowell Looks Back on a Winter of Challenges
FORT MYERS, Fla. – “Are you optimistic?” Mike Lowell’s answer is swift and definitive. “Absolutely.” While whispers, guesses, and proclamations born out of both have been circulated in regards to Lowell’s offseason, there has always been one piece of the equation that has been missing – the player’s own voice. Until now.
Rob Bradford
02/04/2009 - 4:11am
Will Jason Bay Be The Next Big Deal For the Red Sox?
Let’s get this out of the way – the Red Sox still have not begun any sort of talks with Jason Bay and his agent, Joe Urbon, regarding any sort of contract extension. Yet.
Rob Bradford
02/04/2009 - 4:11am
Will Jason Bay Be The Next Big Deal For the Red Sox?
Let’s get this out of the way – the Red Sox still have not begun any sort of talks with Jason Bay and his agent, Joe Urbon, regarding any sort of contract extension. Yet.
Rob Bradford
01/22/2009 - 3:54pm
How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance
  The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren’t all that different.   “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”   On a sunny, early December day in Atlanta, Scherer and the Red Sox met up on a collegiate baseball field to be reminded why such opinions exist. It was the Georgia Tech coach who caught Smoltz’s pitches, and it was Sox pitching
Rob Bradford
01/14/2009 - 4:03pm
How John Smoltz Convinced The Red Sox He Was Worth A Chance
The viewpoints of Nick Scherer and the Red Sox weren’t all that different. “When I think of a great pitcher,” said Director of Operations for the Georgia Tech baseball team, “I think of John Smoltz.”
Rob Bradford
01/01/2009 - 6:32am
No. 1: Celtics Win the NBA Championship
As we sit in the front entrance to 2009, it is difficult to predict a championship for any Boston pro team. Sure, there is optimism with the Celtics and Bruins each living life atop their respective divisions, and the Red Sox figuring to be at least competitive in the upper-echelon of Major League Baseball's power rankings. But until that next title comes our way, it is the memory of the Celtics' playoff run of 2008 which we will have to bask in for now. Who would have thought?
Rob Bradford
12/29/2008 - 2:37am
No. 5: Tom Brady Gets Hurt, Matt Cassel Steps Up
Tom Brady went down, Matt Cassel stepped up. In many respects, this could have been the No. 1 'Thing We Wouldn't Shut Up About' in other years. You are talking about arguably the best player in the game of football having his knee ripped apart by a Bernard Pollard hit in the first game of the season, the replacement--who looked entirely mediocre in the preseason--making his first start since high school, and then that player, Cassel, turning out to be one of the best in the NFL by season's end.
Rob Bradford
12/15/2008 - 1:39pm
Mark Teixeira, the One That Got Away From the Red Sox
When Mark Teixeira sat with Red Sox officials recently -- soaking in the recruiting process that comes with living the life as one of baseball’s biggest free agent prizes – it ended a separation of more than 10 years many believed would never be reconciled.
Rob Bradford
12/09/2008 - 1:39pm
Driven: Mike Lowell Focuses On Hip, Not Rumors
 
Rob Bradford
12/04/2008 - 1:39pm
For Dustin Pedroia and Red Sox, They Were Unique Negotiations For a Unique Player
It was August 12 and Dustin Pedroia’s agents, Sam and Seth Levinson, had ventured to Fenway Park to talk contract for their player. The meeting was far from the first of its kind. The Red Sox had shown interest in locking up their second baseman the offseason before, and continued to sporadically broach the subject with Pedroia’s representatives as the 2008 season unfolded. Both sides had carved out a sense of familiarity.
Rob Bradford
12/01/2008 - 1:39pm
Pats Heading Toward Wrong Road?
  Here they are, at the kind of crossroads few thought they would be seeing quite so soon.
Rob Bradford
11/24/2008 - 1:39pm
Patriots May Pay Price For Feisty Fourth Quarter
 
Rob Bradford
11/18/2008 - 10:18am
The Great Debate: Should Pedroia or Youkilis Win the MVP?
Alex Speier and Rob Bradford go toe-to-toe to determine whether Dustin Pedroia or Kevin Youkilis is more deserving of the American League MVP award.
Rob Bradford
11/17/2008 - 1:39pm
This Is One Pitcher Who Might Actually Be Worth the Money
Did anybody notice that Daisuke Matsuzaka was deemed the fourth-best pitcher in the American League for the 2008 season by those casting ballots for the Cy Young Award? Were you paying attention to the reality that the Red Sox starter had a 5-1 record with a 3.25 ERA against American League East foes, won 18 games, finished with a 2.90 ERA, and held opponents to the lowest batting average of any starting pitcher in the big leagues?
Rob Bradford
11/14/2008 - 1:39pm
Should We Worry About Randy?
Speier: Moss is still the man
Rob Bradford
11/08/2008 - 1:39pm
Patriots Are Starting to Answer 'The' Question
 CBS play-by-play man Dick Enberg called the ability of New England's wide receivers to toe the sidelines “delicious.” If you’re a fan of the Patriots, that was virtually the only thing that created an uneasy feeling after your team’s 20-10 win over Buffalo on Sunday at Gillette Stadium.
Rob Bradford
11/07/2008 - 1:39pm
Pedroia is History in the Making
You might think life is starting to get good again for Dustin Pedroia.
Rob Bradford
10/24/2008 - 12:39pm
Brady Serves As Cautionary Tale For Lowell
It seemed like the perfect place to watch Game 7. For Mike Lowell and his wife, Bertha, the New York City bar resided just a few blocks from the hospital where he would be undergoing surgery the next day. And the fact that just about the only six people in the place were Red Sox fans offered an even greater sense of affirmation. “People were in there wearing Red Sox hats and t-shirts,” Lowell said. “It was awesome.”
Rob Bradford
10/22/2008 - 12:39pm
How Bad It Was For Beckett
Josh Beckett wanted to keep it a mystery.


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.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia pos…

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

Steve Zipay of Newsday on…

Steve Zipay of Newsday on the Rangers

Steve joined the show to discuss the Rangers and their coach John Tortorella. Steve said that the Bruins have been the far better team thus far in the series.

More from this show

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