Willson Contreras didn’t waste much time making his feelings clear after the Red Sox’ Game 2 loss to the Yankees in the AL Wild Card Series. When Boston manager Chad Tracy made a quick move to the bullpen and watched it backfire, Contreras cut straight to the heart of his frustration: the game still has to be won by players in the biggest moments, not by the numbers alone.
“In every aspect of the game, we have to get better. That’s the bottom line.”
“It’s not enough when you have talent, or you have data, or computers that are telling you what to do. This is baseball. The data is here to help us...but you need experience and to bet on the guys to… pic.twitter.com/6W36pHyivr
Contreras has never been shy, and that has only become more obvious with time. He was that way back in the Cubs organization, and he stayed that way as his Chicago tenure wound down.
By the end, there were whispers that his resistance to data had created tension between him, the team and manager David Ross. He finished the 2022 season with the Cubs, then left for the Cardinals in a move that turned contentious before St.
Louis eventually traded him to Boston last winter.
The catcher kept the same message Wednesday night, saying the only part of the situation he can control is his own preparation and presence in the clubhouse.
“The only thing that I can control is my part of the game,” he said Wednesday night. “Come here to work 100 percent and be out there day in and day out, taking care of my body.
Create a good chemistry here with the guys. Support the guys.
That’s the only thing that we can do, besides that, making decisions about data, about all the stuff we cannot do anything about it. Like I said, it’s here to help us.
But at the end of the day, it’s not about data, it’s about executing the game plan.”
There’s no question data has become a massive part of the sport, and teams aren’t exactly eager to hear players dismiss it. Contreras would likely point to the career-best season he just put together as evidence that he knows how to handle his business. Still, as a catcher, his gripe here looks aimed squarely at pitching changes, especially with Boston choosing not to ride potential AL Cy Young finalist Sonny Gray in a win-or-go-home spot.
Instead, Tracy went to the bullpen, and the Yankees jumped on it quickly, just as they had in Game 1. For Contreras and the Red Sox, that meant an abrupt end to an uneven 2026 season and another round of questions about the divide between instinct and information heading into next year.
In Other News...
Former Cubs Are Making Chicago's October Problem Even Harder To Ignore
The Cubs quick exit against San Diego only sharpened the questions hanging over an October that ended almost before it started. Chicago managed just one run in a two-game Wild Card sweep, and while the club is left sorting through what went wrong, several familiar names are still getting the kind of postseason spotlight the Cubs wanted for themselves.
Kyle Tucker has given the Dodgers a boost, Kyle Schwarber has helped power the Phillies, and Trevor Megill has been steady out of the Brewers bullpen as a closer. For Cubs fans, it is the kind of reminder that cuts a little deeper in the fall, because the players once in Chicago are still shaping the playoff picture while their old team watches from home. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs Gold Glove List Will Have Fans Arguing Over One Omission
The Cubs defense spent the regular season building a case as one of the clubs real calling cards, and the numbers backed it up. Chicago finished as the best defensive team in baseball by Fielding Run Value, then saw Rawlings reward that work with five Gold Glove finalists: Alex Bregman, Dansby Swanson, Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Seiya Suzuki.
Still, the finalist list was bound to spark some debate in Chicago because Nico Hoerner was left off it despite his usual strong defensive presence. For a team that spent the year winning with gloves and positioning as much as power, the omission stands out and gives fans one more reason to argue over how much defensive value really showed up in the final ballot. [Read more 🡒]
Cubs May Have Just Caught A Break In Ryan Flaherty Watch
Don Mattinglys decision to return to manage the Phillies on a two-year contract is one more domino in an offseason of managerial movement, and it may matter in Chicago more than it first appears. With several clubs still looking for skippers, including the Mariners and Astros, the market is still sorting itself out, and that has kept attention on names around the game who could be in line for a bigger job.
For the Cubs, the watch has centered on bench coach Ryan Flaherty, who has drawn consideration as a managerial candidate even if he has not been publicly tied to any specific opening this winter. Every vacancy that gets filled narrows the lane a little more, and Mattinglys move could be a small bit of good news for Chicago if it helps keep Flaherty right where he is for now. [Read more 🡒]