Peter Gammons joined the boys on the Big Show this afternoon to talk about his return to the New England baseball market after 20 years at ESPN and discuss what is happening with the Red Sox. Check out the full transcript below.

Click here for the full audio version.

So, you will actually start at NESN and the MLB Network today?

No, I mean, we are sort of working it out. I am actually going over to NESN today to do something but most of the activity will start after the first of the year but give me time to figure out exactly what I am doing.

Well, welcome back home.

Thank you. It is fun to be home, it does mean something as you know very well since I have been with you for a lot of years and it does matter to me. I grew up here and I covered that team for a lot of time and the market is tremendous. People get so emotional. I was reading Dan Shaughnessy yesterday and I was actually laughing because people are taking one word [bridge] and making such a big deal. But that is the way we are, I mean, the Red Sox are lucky that fans care that much. You could be in some markets where people just go, huh, who cares? The New York Mets have made themselves that way. The Mets are running around announcing that they have made offers to Jason Bay and now Joel Sherman is saying that it is to make sure that people believe that they are actually trying. That is not what people want to hear.

Is the Red Sox reaction to the Yankees having just won a championship?

I think so, to a certain degree. They see where the Yankees are right now and they are, again, going to be $80 million above anybody else in the American League East and, you know, that is a lot of money that is different. They did such a great job last winter with Teixeira, Sebathia, Burnett that they are in a tremendous position right now. They are going to be, Theo always says, at worst you expect them to win 95 games and at best you expect them to win 105. That is what you are dealing with and I think that Red Sox fans are discouraged about that but they should also look at it and say that the Yankees did a good job rebuilding on the fly, albeit with a lot of money. And the other thing that I think is really frustrating to Red Sox fans is that when you look at the Yankees veteran players that have been there for 14, 15 years, they don’t seem to be getting older where a lot of Red Sox players have been getting older.

When you look at Mariano Rivera, he has been doing it forever. It may be the most remarkable thing that we have seen in the last 15 years that he has been able to be at the top of the game and he does it with one pitch.

I wrote a column about that during the playoffs and this is not hyperbole, I really believe this – in the last 15 years in Major League Baseball he is the Most Valuable Player and he is the Cy Young Award winner yet he has never won an award. It is just astounding. Despite that incredible pitch he has tremendous fitness, he has a great body but the makeup. I remember I had breakfast with him on the first day of Spring Training 2002 and he had just given up the lead to Arizona in Game 7 of the World Series the previous October and I said to him “ are you ready for when pitchers and catchers reporting that you are going to get a thousand questions about it, are you ready for it?” And he said, “ oh yeah, I was over it when the plane landed in Newark.” He said ”I broke three bats, it is the nature of the game. He said there are games where I didn’t pitch as well and got the save so, now, believe me, I didn’t lose any sleep.” Most of the rest of us cannot relate to what makes great athletes great, Steve can, but most of us can’t relate.

What is your take on the Lowell trade?

I think they just decided it was best for everybody, for him and for everybody to just move him. They have to make a change at third base and I don’t think that Mike was very happy about it, but they said OK, we’ll clear the deck and move on. I know, I read all the defensive metrics and it was one of the worst seasons for a third baseman in like the last 10 years or something. But this time he has five months to rehab where last year he told me in January that he wasn’t sure what he was going to do in Spring Training. I hope he comes back but they just clearly decided to move on, he is not going to be happy and that is it. The guy they are getting may be leading the Venezuelan League in home runs but he is also leading the Venezuelan League in chickens consumed.

It all brings us back to Jason Bay. Do you buy that the Sox are hesitant to give him a fifth year that another team will?

I think there is a good chance about that. I know the Giants would go to a fifth year but I know that Jason does not want to play in San Francisco, pure and simple. If there was a mistake made here is that the Red Sox made him such a huge offer in July that it gave Joe Urbon the confidence that they will go for $3 million and another year. I am not sure that is going to happen. Would the Mets go to five years and $17 million? I think the Angels are going to end up resigning John Lackey so I think Bay is out of it there so I think it would be San Francisco, the Mets or the Red Sox and the first two are not exactly attractive alternatives. Though, it is a lot easier for a right hander to pull the ball in the new ballpark in New York than it is to go to right-center.

I assume that you do not think that Seattle is a player for Bay but people say the Adrian Beltre thing is not cut and dry in terms of him just walking to the Red Sox no questions asked and that Seattle will offer him a contract and they have some money to spend. Do you agree with that?

Yeah, I do. I don’t know how they would do it. I mean, maybe they would play Figgins at second base but Figgins thought he was playing third base so, it will be interesting to see. I also don’t know Beltre’s frame of mind. I know he likes being on the West Coast but he hates that ballpark. I haven’t had time to do all the work on it but Scott Boras’s mathematics. I know he told the Red Sox that you can have Matt Holliday right now, just duplicate the Mark Teixeira contract. But, you know, Boras is great at what he does but his numbers will show that Beltre is a better hitter on the road than better, but, you know, we’ll see. Beltre is a very good player and a tough guy but he does have, like Jason, have a lot of injuries in his past.

I credit the Red Sox, it was phenomenal of them. Dana Levangie may be the best advanced scout in the game the way they prepare. Breaking ball, breaking ball, breaking ball, you worry about that a lot. We saw Jason go through a two month stretch where he got nothing but breaking balls but I am not sure Beltre would ever get a fast ball here.

What do they do in left field without either Bay or Holliday?

I don’t really know yet. Maybe a short term of get Mike Cameron and put him in centerfield and put Ellsbury in left field and sign Xavier Nady? That is a possibility. I think they have four or five alternatives where they go a lot more to defense, because they did have the did have the second worse defense in baseball last year and maybe they can save the pitching with that. Even though I have great respect for David Ortiz when he says they have to get more power they did hit 46 more home runs this year than they did in 2007 when they won the World Series. They scored more runs than they did in 2007, the defense of course will still be a problem but they have to have that balance. I don’t know much how much real power they are going to have. How much better can Kevin Youkilis be than he has been the last two years, I don’t know.

What do you think about the Sox acquisition of pitchers? Do they got low end reclamation projects or try to get in on the Lackeys and Halladays of the world?

I don’t think they go Halladay because I think it would be a disaster to give up Buccholz and Kelly and then try to pay a guy with his medical history $18 million a year through the age of 38. That won’t happen. I do think they are looking toward Lackey, but, there are guys, I know it is expensive for this market but what about Derek Lowe? The Braves have to move him and he didn’t pitch well this last year but he got really messed up mechanically and I know he is expensive but maybe there is a way of moving somebody who has a little bit of money left and do that. It may be that if they lose out on Bay and Holliday and so forth that maybe what they do is just hold on and look at all the teams that don’t start off well and maybe just buy off some of their players and see what they have come July 1^st.

Do you see all of this approaching the Sox approach with Beckett? Even if they get a guy like Lowe or Lackey that they cannot have too many highly paid guys at the top of the rotation and that he will have to move on after next year?

I think that is a possibility. Josh had one great year here, but as you know Rob, in the eyes of the manager, the coaches and most of the players they have two captains – one of them is Pedroia and the other one is Beckett. The way he does his between the starts sides in the bullpen, the way goes about things. There is a lot of respect that goes there. I think he has had a tremendous impact on Lester and he is starting to have a tremendous impact on Buccholz and I think they expect Kelly to be ready by late August and I know they would like to have Beckett around for him. So, even though, OK, he has a 4.05 ERA in a Red Sox uniform and yes in the last two postseasons he has four starts, 30 innings and 18 runs, but on the other hand there is something really unusual that if he is your third starter, that is pretty good. And I think that the makeup of leadership on the team that he would make a void that would be pretty difficult to fill.

What do you think of Scutaro and does that end the merry-go-round for the Sox at shortstop?

Yeah, I think for a couple of years. They did a lot of medicals on him because he had the plantar fasciitis the last five or six weeks of the season and it really effected him. As of about July 20^th, if you believe all those defensive metrics they use in baseball, he was the best defensive shortstop in baseball and he struggled after that. Allan Baird went and worked him out and they got all the medicals on him and Allan said he was just the way he was early in the season, he is a very smart player. And, because of the nature of being able to vest the third year I think that they see him as a guy who eventually becomes a utility player and eventually becomes the mentor to Jose Iglesias who they and everybody I talk to in baseball thinks is really going to become one of the great defensive shortstops. About that merry-go-round, I am one who really like Jed Lowrie. I think he is an average to above average defensive shortstop who could have 50 extra base hits. But, once he gets those hand injuries he has got to be really afraid. That is one reason that they have been a little bit cautious on Mark DeRosa. He had that wrist injury last year, is he really going to come back from it at the age of 35? It is one of those questions, it becomes a gamble. They are paying for some guys who don’t play here anymore.

Do you know exactly what you are going to be doing at NESN? On the desk before and after games? Where will we see you?

I will be there, I will be at Spring Training, I will be doing shows in the offseason. I have kind of patterned my career after someone like Dick Schofield Sr. At every position I try to get in more innings than any other infielder in history.

Maybe they will bring you back for some Bruins games? People forget you used to over the Bruins back in the day.

I would love that. I was out in the L.A. Forum when they brought Frank Sinatra out to sing the National Anthem before, I think it was Game 6 of the 1976 playoffs and Wayne Cashman cut the cord. And Sinatra was supposed to sing the National Anthem and you couldn’t hear him because Cashman had already cut the line.

You are going to continue to do that national stuff for the MLB Network. How is that going to work?

I will go down to New Jersey occasionally and I can do some of it from Boston. So, it will work out very well for me.

You will be able to spend much more time at home.

Yes I will. Which I enjoy. I like being home. Not that I didn’t love the Residence Inn in Connecticut.

27 Comments for “Transcript: Peter Gammons On The Big Show”

1. Doc Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 6:42 pm

   Re: Halladay, what health problems is Peter referring to? Except for some shoulder issues in 2004, Doc’s been a work horse. His only other significant heath issue was a broken leg caused by a Kevin Mench line drive. Halladay is well known for his training regime and should be able to pitch effectively for years.

2. tuna411 Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 6:51 pm

   How do you even have a job? Idiot, Doc Halladay AVERAGED 230 innings over the last 4 years, what injury history are you talking about.

3. What? Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 6:55 pm

   Wow, another amazing article. Halladay has been injury free for a while now. All excuses because it is becoming obvious the Sox aren’t getting him. The same flip flop we saw when it went from the Sox getting Santana to not getting him. Nady is not a defensive players, not sure where that came from and Cameron is not what he used to be at age 37. Scutaro was signed to be a mentor??? Put Elssbury in LF at Fenway? LF is where a guy like Manny can play with the wall because you learn to play it, but have less of a field to play. Bay plays it well and isn’t a denfensive player. So stick the young fast guy there for Cameron???? Can’t wait to hear how great Max will be in the Lowell trade.

4. BoSoxFaninSF Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 7:24 pm

   I don’t understand the comment about Bay not wanting to play in San Francisco. He’s been linked to Seattle, which is every bit the pitchers park AT&T is. The Giants have a great young pitching staff, led by 2-time Cy Young Lincecum, Matt Cain, Jon Sanchez (no-hitter in ‘09) and Barry Zito. Power lefty Madison Bumgarner is ready as well. They also have the financial resources to be more than competitive. There is also a strong core of talent in the high minors that’s ready to break through. They draw 3M plus every year, and play in a great facility in the middle of a great city. Although AT&T has been tough on lefties, some righty pull hitters have done very well here – notably Jeff Kent. I haven’t read anywhere else that the Giants would give Bay a 5-year deal, but if they would, I can’t see why he wouldn’t jump on it.

5. Halladare Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 8:20 pm

   Halladay has been among the top 5 pitchers in the PAP list for the past 5 consecutive years. If you go back a decade to find the other pitchers who have earned this honor you will see 1 of 2 things.

   1) They are Livan Hernandez and will maintain mediocrity ad infinitum.
   2) They will go under the knife.

6. Matt2931 Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 8:23 pm

   you are an idiot,
   the fact you can say halladay has in injury history is a joke
   i could be a better sports writer then you.
   moron.

7. Monkey16710 Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 8:50 pm

   BoSoxFaninSF Says:

   Bay does not want to play in SF because SF is a second tier team. I live in Napa, go to 15-20 Giants games per year because as you say it is a great park; but dude, as a Red Sox fan I think that players that have played not only in the AL, but the AL East, see the NL and the West (not as bad as the NL Central, where Bay spent most of his career)in particular as a demotion. If the Mets and the Sox are in on him, SF needs to go to 6/100 to get him.

8. Gammonisadouche Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 9:07 pm

   WOW, DOC’s Injury history? door knob, no wonder you got fired. He has had minimal arm injuries and has had none in the last 5 years. Groin pull, appendectomy and broken leg were his last 3 injuries. OH YAA INJURY PRONE, STAY away from him. moron, what a douche this guy is, just trying to stay in the news somehow. Those who have seen doc’s workout regiment are always amazed, he doesnt slack and rely on his gift, he works to maintain that gift. Hardest working man in baseball, and gets rewarded with this bull ish? Give me a break. . He is an absolute horse and a inning eater, give him a better team and the thrill of a postseason run and watch him shatter everyone’s expectations.

9. rotofan Says:
   December 11th, 2009 at 11:02 pm

   Gammons has has a long and storied career so I take no pleasure in questioning his competence but how could he he hold such a misguided belief about Halladay’s medical history. He’s pitched professional ball for more than a decade and had had one arm injury that caused him to miss half a season in 2004. Among elite pitchers in their 30s, his medical history is among the best.

   As for PAP, I’ve seen mixed reports on how well (or poorly) it is as a predictor of injury. But that’s besides the point — Gammons cited medical history, not high-pitch count games, as cause for concern.

10. Base Bowl Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 12:35 am

    UPDATE! UPDATE!
    Peter Gammons will leave ESPN due to injury. Given his past history with brain injuries ESPN will not be interested to allow him to comment anymore on baseball.
    The world will be a better place. Do us a favor and quit yesterday Gammons.

11. ALbert Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 2:51 am

    HAHAHa WOW you dorks are really, REALLY stupid…

    Matt2931and Tuna… I bet you guys could be better sports writers than Peter F U CKING Gammons!! The guys been one of the most influential sports writers of his era. He’s in the F U CKING MLB HALL OF FAME!!!

    When you two morons write an article… and get it try to get it published… and then make money from writing… and then get a Hall of Fame vote… and then get a Spink award and in the end spend more than 45 years covering sports and eventually get awarded as a MLB hall of fame honoree then you can talk about how much of senile old piece of c rap he is for saying those awful things about the Red Sox.. GM’s F ucking call this guy to get information about what teams are doing and knews from around the league and s hit, I think… for the most part he knows what he’s talking about… can we all agree on that? or are you all retarded like Tuna and Matt?

12. egrahC ni selraC Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 2:54 am

    hahah “knews”

    I knews what you were talking about… when you wrote knews instead of news…

13. HeidiHeartsNick Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 7:49 am

    Heidi laughs at all of you.

14. Edward Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 7:50 am

    It wasn’t a column it was a transcript from an interview. He might have meant medical prospects due to age etc. He doesn’t get to edit. If it came out wrong it is there.

    Anyone who knows anything about baseball knows that this guy has forgotten more about baseball than idiots like Tuna and Matt will ever know. Lighten up

15. Kevin Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 8:09 am

    Wow. All you jerkwads are awful hard on Peter hugh? When Gammons says there’s medical concerns about Halladay, there are medical concerns that joe blow fan doesn’t know about! Maybe there’s been major fatigue to that shoulder from throwing so many innings? Besides, you really wanna give up your top 2 pitching prospects (one of them has already proven he can be a 3 and the other could be as good as a 1) for a guy who you’ll have to pay 18mill/year past his 38th BDay? I wouldn’t.

16. teechef Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 8:40 am

    aside from the grammar and expletives……..right on ALbert! peter gammons is god .

17. Mozels Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 9:01 am

    doc is a horse. there is no fatigue in his arm. he is the hardest training blue jay and prob one of the most dedicated players in all of MLB. Yes he has a high PAP – but again he is a horse. one arm injury in the last 10 years is nothing. his last injuries were freak ones that did not impact his arm. o by the way he missed a couple of starts in this past season due to his groin and still finished with 9 complete games and shy of 240 innings.

    I thought boston fans would be smarter then this…. if they dont get doc and yanks do, there is no hope for you guys… Doc CC and AJ will rip apart MLB.

18. travis bickle Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 9:08 am

    Gammons never saw a Red Sox team he would admit was out of it. Pro home town guys like him should not be given airtime on a national network like espuken or mlb. Even though Olney used to cover the yanks, once he left he seemed to have little bias. Now if espuken would just get rid of Fred flintstone. Back back back back……….push him off the edge.

19. tuna411 Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 10:11 am

    @ albert

    Are you sucking off the idiot? He writes “with his medical history”, implying high negativity about roy “the best pitcher in baseball” halladay.

    I don’t need to be a paid writer to insult a paid writer who should have his facts correct.

20. Mozels Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 10:22 am

    me think gammons is growing senile in his old age…

21. lenny Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 10:26 am

    The red sox are smarter then that. They wont trade for DOC they wont give up the farm. People never think these things out.Toronto would want more from Boston because of being in same league. As for Tuna and Matt childish fools!

22. anguillaman Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 10:35 am

    Is it possible that GAMMONS is as confused about the rest of us when it comes to what it is THEO IS DOING OR NOT DOING…obviously, as a new NESN commentator it will be harder for him to be critical of the RED SOX and THEO”S BRIDGE TO NOWHERE.

23. Jeff Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pm

    Guys take it easy…Gammons has accomplished more in his career then all of you idiots combined. He knows a lot more about this then we do.

24. Steve Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

    anguillaman, don’t you have anything better to do? Ur a fraud..a troll..Could u maybe give something better than “Theo’s bridge to nowhere”, you say it on every site. Ur not foolin me!!!!

25. Harry Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    Peter fits right in with the on-air talent(?) of ‘EEI… another blow-bag know-it-all who thinks we’re lucky to have the priveledge of listening to what they say.

26. theWall8 Says:
    December 12th, 2009 at 1:51 pm

    First of all, Peter Gammons is the best baseball writer in America. Second of all, why would you ever want to give up your two best pitching prospects who will both be up with the big club within 2 seasons for a guy who will be 38 at the end of his contract? I am a Red Sox fan and I want to see them win as much as anyone, but the Red Sox have a lot of older players and most of them will be gone after 2010. Why bring in another? Stick with the farm. Halladay is not a glaring need and if you really feel they need another top of the line starter (which they don’t) sign Lackey.. all you give up is money and picks. Most of you are idiots and have obviously never been laid. Thanks.

27. stockhedging Says:
    December 13th, 2009 at 9:04 am

    I agree with all who say players are way overpaid. However, I just don’t get the Red Sox strategy, if there is one. They are paying $9 million to DUMP Mike Lowell despite his remaining a solid hitter, with power, great hands. Range problems might get better, particularly with a new shortstop that has range.

    Even assuming the worst with Mike Lowell, he could sit the bench and be a sub for $3 million more. He’s better than Casey Kotchman and the others on the bench who are getting $2-$3 million. AND he might surprise, and revert to close to the form he had 2 years ago for perhaps 130 games.

    I just don’t get it. If they can pay $9 million to DUMP Mike Lowell (the reserve catcher they got will never play signficant games for the Red Sox), then they can match whatever offer there is out there for Bay or Holliday, even though I agree that the salary picture in baseball is ridiculous.

    It’s almost like Theo has drunk at the course for billionaire morons all these hedge fund guys attended. The worse one does, the more one can make if nobody complains. We Sox fans are like shareholders, customers and the public in the financial mess. We see incompetence in management and we still kiss up to them (bailing them out when needed) and let them do what they want, no matter how stupid and lacking in common sense they are.

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