PREMATURE COMMITMENT: Boston Red Sox Extend Chad Tracy—Should They Have WAITED for October?

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The Red Sox just committed three years to Chad Tracy. After what we saw in October, was that too soon? [upbeat music] You are Locked On Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, everyone, and welcome to Locked On Red Sox, your daily Boston Red Sox podcast. I'm your host, Gabby Maljanian, and today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Make this your most rewarding season ever with FanDuel Rewards Club. Every week, check the FanDuel app to see what's waiting for you. You're intrigued? You'll find out a little bit more later on in today's show, but welcome to another episode. We're officially turning the page today. Unfortunately have to. Series against the Yankees is over, season is over, and now we start thinking about what's next for the Red Sox, what to take away from this season, what's sustainable, what can Craig Breslow assume could happen again versus not assume will happen again? Which Red Sox team was the real one, the one that went on the 15 and nine game win streaks, or the team whose offense disappeared in September and October? Plus, was the manager extended far too soon? The more that I've thought about this season, the more I've realized something, because I don't know if I've ever covered a Red Sox team with two identities that are this dramatically different. I mean, I'm trying to figure out what the last six months actually mean for this team. At one point you have a team that's 32 and 46, then they go on a 32 and five stretch. They had a 15-game winning streak in there where literally nothing was going wrong. Then later they go on a nine-game winning streak, produce the best 30-game stretch in franchise history, and then September arrived, the offense disappeared. They finished that month with just a .500 record. They got to Yankee Stadium and were outscored 18 to two in two playoff games. So what was the real 2026 Red Sox, and did the Red Sox commit to Chad Tracy before it actually knew what kind of manager Chad Tracy was? Because nine days before the season ended was when the Red Sox gave him a three-year contract through the 2029 season with an option for 2030. Then we all watched his first experience managing a postseason series, and there are some decisions that I think we're now gonna be talking about all winter. So that's why I wanna start there, because I wanna be