Larry Jewell

Here with Dixie's 890 KTXU. And if everything is worked up right, I have Bruce Hurst on the line with me right now. Can you hear me, Bruce? Yes, I can. Okay, great. Hey, welcome to St. George. At least by telephone. Close I've been in a while. Nice to be there. Let's talk a little bit. First of all, I got to find out what's the weather in Boston? Well, cold. It's clear skies for a change. But it's cold. The leaves are changing. It's beautiful out here that way. Ah, that's what attracted you, huh? Yeah, it's definitely fall. I know you're disappointed that you're not facing the Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. Yeah, it would be a thrill. We worked so hard this summer. We had a great summer, but a lousy fall. We came up short. Was it a surprise to you that you were able to turn things around, or did you feel that you could? Well, it's kind of hard to say that you felt like you could jump over five teams to get into first place, but when we started off at home, we won 25 straight at home. We played ourselves right into contention. And it was kind of funny. The worst baseball we played all year put us into first place, and we just kind of hung on and, you know, won the division and it was a real thrill. But it seems like after we played the Yankees in New York, we won three out of four down there. We just ran out of a intensity or something. We just. We were just. Something was missing and we just couldn't put it together for the playoffs. Oakland's tough, though. Oakland's a great team. Oakland's got all the qualities of a champion. They've got great starting pitching and a great bullpen. Of course, everybody knows about their power, but they have pretty good team speed and they play good, solid defense. They do everything right. And their team is very young. They have a real young nucleus. So they have a bright future. And it seems like we played against them the way they're playing against la. Can they turn it around and beat the Dodgers? Yeah, I think they can. They got their work cut out for them tonight. Facing Hershiser, he's so good. He's got great stuff and, you know, they'll really have to go to beat him. But if they can, you know, their bats and their offense can carry you for three or four games, you know, and that's what they need to do. Hershiser's almost a surgeon out there, isn't he? He is. He just keeps the ball off the middle of the plate, and he has such great movement on his fastball. That's what Canseco made the comment the other day. He can't remember any pitcher throwing that many fastballs that he's been able to swing and miss. And it's just because he has such great movement on it and he keeps the ball off the middle of the plate and he's got a good little slider and he's got a big heart. I guess that's why I call him Bulldog, because he just knows how to win for the Red Sox. Did Joe Morgan make that much of a difference or was it just having the pressure off after all of the rumors about McNamara being on the chopping block? Well, it's probably a little bit of everything. Any reason anybody can find for why we turned this around? It's probably a little bit of everything. I can't say that it's one thing. I don't think Mack was doing all that bad a job, you know, as far as managing or. I don't think guys didn't like Mack that they weren't playing for him. There was a lot of rumors going around and a lot of controversy for floating around the team. Joe came in, in a couple instances, proved that he was our manager and that he was going to take charge. He made a comment to us one time that he didn't take the job on an interim basis, that he was going to be the manager. And I think that showed people a lot of things. And what happened with Jimmy on the bench, they got into a little confrontation and he stood up for himself and then backed down. And I think that gave some of the younger players a little more confidence that they'll get a chance to play. And everybody played and everybody made a contribution, and that made for a real good feeling on our team. Speaking about the young ballplayers, you short called a shot on Mike Greenwell. You said that he was headed towards being a Mattingly sort of hitter, and he seems to be. Yeah, he is. He can. Offensively, he can do anything he wants. He's got tremendous power. And it gets overshadowed here in Fenway because Fenway's so big to right field and to right center. And so he's not going to hit as much as many home runs as he would in other ballparks, let's say. But he's a great RBI guy and he hits for a real good average and he can put Don Mattingly type numbers on the board. And, you know, as long as Wade's in The league. He's not going to ever have a chance to win a Triple Crown, but he's got that kind of ability. For yourself, I know this is your best one loss record of your career. Was this your best season? Did you pitch as the best of your career this year? If I didn't, I was real close. There were stages in 86 that I threw the ball real well. And there were stages last year before I got sick that I threw the ball real well. I had. I put all the right games together at the right times this year, it seemed like. And early in the season I had some great offensive support. So it was, you know, it was a good season all the way around. How's your arm? I know that there was some problems in that last playoff game. Well, I strained some muscles in the back of my shoulder and Dr. Pappas saw me right after the game and he pretty much told me what I'd feel for a couple days and how I'd react. And he's been exactly right and it feels good. Now there's nothing to worry about. I'll be ready by February. I know the Red Sox are a little worried right now. Your contract has run out, hasn't it? Yeah. At the end of the season, my contract's up and I'm eligible for free agency this season. Are you willing to go that route? We don't know we have until. We have 15 days until after the end of the World Series to declare. And we've been talking the Red Sox. It's not as real detailed right now with the World Series going on. A lot of the people are out of the office and to the World Series, but I suspect after the Series we'll get into it a little more intensely. I know the speculation has been to the Cardinals in the National League or to the Oakland Athletics in the American League. Is that a possible alternative? Well, it's hard. Hard for me to say. You know, it's tampering if you talk to any clubs before you file for free agency. So I've had no contact with any team. Certainly they're both great teams and great franchises and great cities to play in. And, you know, you can just never tell what's going to happen. And, you know, we're. Right now we're just talking with the Red Sox and we're just going to pursue it that way. In all honesty, you mentioned that Oakland, you felt they could come back. Do you think they will? I don't think they will. I think it's tough, but they certainly have the ability to. I'd say if they have a. If the tables were turned, if the Dodgers were down three games to one, I think that the A's have a better chance than the Dodgers would of coming down, coming back from a deficit that way. I think they're a little better team than the Dodgers. But in a seven game series and the way the Dodgers have pitched and I think the A's have kind of had a little emotional letdown, I think the layoff might have hurt them a little bit. It's, you know, the Dodgers have done what it takes to win. They're playing with a lot of intensity, a lot of fire. Final question, Bruce. This is you're living a dream that all little boys have when they put on a baseball glove. Now you're in this position, looking at it from the perspective of being right in the middle of Major League Baseball. Is it as much of a dream as you thought it was when you were a kid? I guess I didn't know what I was dreaming about. When I was a little kid, I dreamed about all the things that go on on the field and things. And yeah, it's everything that I ever dreamed of. Being able to play against the greatest players in the world and in all these beautiful ballparks and be a major league player. And, you know, the first time I saw my face on a baseball card, it brought back so many memories. And I was just like any other little kid growing up that, you know, just dreamed about being a big leaguer. And the stuff on the field is, yes, it surpassed my wildest dreams, but seems like a lot of stuff that goes on around the contract negotiations and the travel and stuff like that. I didn't put that in my dream when I was little. And pressure from fans and of course from media types like myself. Well, there's not really any pressure. It's just part of the job. And, you know, there's just certain things that aren't as more as enjoyable as others. But you just try to get along, keep a sense of humor. But remember that most important stuff is what goes on on the field. And that's the stuff you really look forward to, is when you get to play. Bruce, thank you for being with us. I appreciate you taking some time out of your schedule. All right. Thank you, Larry. Congratulations on a great year. Best of luck in your negotiations. Alrighty. Thanks. Okay. See you sometime this winter. Sounds great. Thank you, Bruce.