As Red Sox nation was making their way through Fourth of July barbecue leftovers this weekend, the Sox delivered a fantastic series win against the Yankees, once again declaring their independence against the Evil Empire.
The Sox won two out of three in the series, sandwiching an ugly 14-4 loss on Saturday between clutch come-from-behind wins on Friday and Sunday night.
Third baseman Rafael Devers turned in another masterclass performance against the team he’s owned for his entire career in Boston, tying David Ortiz for most career home runs hit in Yankee Stadium by a Red Sox player with 16.
Much of ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage in the rubber game inevitably focused on what each team’s strategy may look like as the trade deadline draws closer and closer.
Veteran baseball insider Buster Olney reported that rival executives believe that the Red Sox are still unsure about their strategy at the deadline.
“The message they're getting from the Red Sox is they’re undecided,” Olney said.
Greg Hill reacted to these comments on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show Tuesday. Listen to the full segment above.
“They’ve won 16 of their last 22,” Hill said. “They keep winning series against mediocre teams and against really really good teams. They are a wild card team and they appear to be, if you believe Buster Olney, undecided. It’s a joke.”
Hill couldn’t understand why the Red Sox still hadn't chosen a path at the trading deadline and, specifically, why they hadn’t decided to be buyers.
“How are you undecided? You have a 44% chance, according to the analytics, of being a playoff team right now. How are you undecided? Like your fans are begging you to do something,” he said.
Hill endorsed comments made by WEEI Red Sox broadcaster Lou Merloni in a video on X where he said the Red Sox shouldn’t be afraid to deal a top-five prospect this trading deadline.
“[Merloni] was talking about he’s all in on, he doesn’t care if it's a top-five prospect or not, like go ahead, give it up. Who cares at this point?,” Hill said.
Others on The Greg Hill Show didn’t buy Olney’s reporting, including Jermaine Wiggins.
“When Cora says, and we played the audio of him talking, you’re either buyers or sellers or you’re kind of staying the same and if you’re staying the same, other teams are getting better because they’re buyers, he’s basically telling ownership and the front office, we have a team, let’s go for it, and there’s no way they don’t do something,” Wiggy said.
But Courtney Cox trusted Olney's reporting, saying he was “a pretty big name” while adding that Cora had put pressure on the front office at past deadlines.
“He was putting their feet to the fire last year and so many players were too,” she said. “So many players were speaking out about the front office last year and they did nothing.”