After getting eliminated from the playoffs by the rival New York Yankees in the AL Wild Card Series for the second consecutive year, several Boston Red Sox players questioned the role analytics played in some in-game decisions.
First baseman Willson Contreras was one of the loudest among those voices.
“It’s not enough when you have talent or you have data or you have computers that’s telling you what to do, because this is baseball,” Contreras said last week after the Red Sox pulled both their starting pitchers in the fifth inning of close games against New York only to get outscored 18-2 overall.
On Monday, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow and manager Chad Tracy were adamant there is no franchise-wide directive regarding how analytics are used on or off the field.
“I would push back on the notion that somehow the role of the scout or the importance of the scout has been diminished in this organization. That’s not the case,” Breslow said. “We are constantly looking at how we can make the best decisions, whether those are players that we acquire or invest in, or the way that we create a roster. ... So I think it’s important that I have the chance to say that the value of scouts, the role that they fill here, it’s not diminished, it is not going away.”
The Red Sox were riding a wave of optimism after Tracy took over when Alex Cora was fired and then guided the team on a 32-5 run this summer that led Boston back to the postseason. The turnaround included Sonny Gray's ascension to No. 1 starter after Garrett Crochet was sidelined with left shoulder inflammation and spent the next five-plus months recovering.
But it was Gray who was removed after only 70 pitches and 4 2/3 innings with Boston trailing 1-0 in Game 2 against the Yankees.
New York proceeded to tee off against what had been baseball's best bullpen during the regular season, and the Yankees pulled away for a 9-2 victory.
Tracy also came under scrutiny after Boston’s 9-0 defeat in the opener, when he yanked rookie starter Payton Tolle after 4 2/3 innings and 83 pitches in a 1-0 game.
Gray, who went 18-5 with a 2.72 ERA during the regular season to tie for most wins in the majors and lead the American League in winning percentage, said he “would have liked to have been trusted in that moment.”
Asked directly if he’d ever gotten any input from the front office regarding his decisions this season or whether there was any predetermined script the team used, Tracy quickly pushed back.
"(Those) decisions are mine. We have information, just like all the other 29 teams have information. Everybody has that,” Tracy said. “But not one time since I’ve been here has anybody scripted a game, has anybody told me use this number right here to decide in this inning. Those decisions, they’re mine.”
But he also made it clear he isn’t turning a deaf ear to his players’ concerns. That included meeting for multiple hours with Contreras in the days after his comments following the Game 2 loss.
“I have a very good working relationship with him and I’ve had numerous conversations with him throughout the course of the year," Tracy said. "But I was able to talk to him. (The relationship is) in a fine place while also understanding his feelings.”
Breslow said it’s still not yet clear whether Roman Anthony will need surgery or if an operation would help the injury that caused him to make a premature exit from the postseason.
Anthony left Game 1 against the Yankees and was removed from Boston’s roster before the Red Sox were eliminated in Game 2 after he sustained a new right hand injury during the series opener.
Anthony was sidelined from early May to late August with an injury to the same hand.
“Still working through what the kind of right course of treatment is,” Breslow said. “At this point, it doesn’t seem that there’s any type of surgical intervention at this point that is planned at this point or merits consideration.”
Breslow said doctors believe resting the hand appears to be the best course of action for now.
See AP’s full MLB coverage here
Boston Red Sox designated hitter Roman Anthony greets teammates prior to Game 1 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series against the New York Yankees, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Sonny Gray, center facing, is pulled from the game against the New York Yankees during the fifth inning in Game 2 of baseball's American League Wild Card Series, Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday took his Republican midterm rescue mission to Nebraska, where he signed an executive order to ease limits on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a decision he said would save “millions” for farmers and drive down the cost of all goods with just four weeks to go until the elections.
“Pete and Jim, this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” Trump said, addressing GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats, and Gov. Jim Pillen, who is seeking a second term.
Diesel fuel prices have spiked in the aftermath of the Iran war, rattling voters and putting pressure on Republicans. Diesel fuel that is intended for off-road uses such as agriculture is exempt from federal and state excise taxes, and it is dyed for law enforcement purposes, the White House explained in a fact sheet. Temporarily removing the limits would reduce cost pressures on the businesses that rely on diesel.
“The typical trucker will save more than $100 every time they fill up,” Trump said, signing the executive order onstage before a crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, located in the solidly conservative south-central part of the state. “Farmers will also save millions and millions of dollars, and this order will also drive down the cost of all goods and to go to grocery prices very substantially.”
Trump's trip is part of what the Republican president says is a 32-day blitz of rallies ahead of Nov. 3 that so far has taken him to ruby-red territory such as Oklahoma and Alabama.
On Wednesday, he'll make his second stop in two weeks in Texas with a rally in San Antonio.
Ricketts, a former governor of the state, was appointed then later elected to fill Sen. Ben Sasse’s seat when he left to run the University of Florida in 2023. Now Ricketts is running for his first full six-year term against independent Dan Osborn — a race that initially was not expected to be competitive but is now being watched by the national parties.
Voters across the country are frustrated with Trump's handling of the economy, including persistently high costs for fuel and groceries. It's a major issue for rural voters who have backed the president and his party in recent elections.
The administration’s plan to allow more imports of foreign beef has particularly roiled the agriculture-rich state of Nebraska. Trump wants to lower beef prices for consumers, but ranchers have rebelled against the import proposal, arguing it would undercut them.
“The plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers,” Ricketts told the AP. “I would advise the White House to change that policy and look for longer-term things that will help us build the size of the herd and ultimately bring the price of beef down for consumers.”
In Grand Island, rally-goers said they they trusted Trump to solve the high cost of living.
“I feel like if we get our reserves built back up, get this situation in Iran taken care of, our gas prices will go down. The economy as far as groceries and stuff like that, it's going to go down too. It’ll stabilize. I have faith in him. More faith in him than I ever had in any other president," said Marlene Abel from Garfield, Kansas, who traveled to the rally with her sister.
David Kuncl, who grew up on a farm, also urged patience, expressing confidence things would improve in the long run. But the Lincoln, Nebraska, resident insisted Trump wasn't to blame, pointing instead to what he believes is “a coup, a plot to try to hurt Trump" and the Republicans in the midterms.
“It’s hurting us. Gas prices. Diesel prices. Beef prices," he said. “I don’t know why they’re high. But it’s not that Trump’s got anything to do with that. He’ll do what he can. But of course he can’t wave a magic wand and make it go lower.”
There are tentative plans for Trump to travel to other election battlegrounds, including Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Nevada and Arizona before November's Election Day. That's according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and cautioned the plans could shift.
In the House of Representatives, the Grand Island area is represented by Republican Rep. Adrian Smith, whose race is not expected to be close. But Nebraska has a competitive House race farther east in Omaha, considered the “blue dot” of the state because the area’s electoral vote in presidential elections often goes to Democrats.
Osborn, a former labor union chief, ran against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost by 7 percentage points. Though national Democrats support him, he has refused to say what party he would caucus with should he be elected in November.
Other independents in the Senate, including Maine’s Angus King on the moderate end and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders on the left, caucus with Democrats for organizational purposes and committee assignments.
With the Democratic brand remaining deeply unpopular in conservative states, Osborn isn’t the only declared independent running for the Senate against Republicans this year. In South Dakota, Navy and Air Force veteran Brian Bengs is campaigning as an independent against Republican Sen. Mike Rounds. Bengs ran as a Democrat for the Senate four years ago and was handily defeated by now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
It’s a similar dynamic in Idaho, where independent Todd Achilles is challenging GOP Sen. Jim Risch.
Democratic voters in Nebraska chose Cindy Burbank as their party nominee earlier this year, but Burbank specifically campaigned on ensuring that no votes would be siphoned from Osborn in the general election in November, and she has since formally dropped out of the race.
Osborn has been traveling across Nebraska to hold meetings in all 93 counties, and has repeatedly criticized Ricketts for not holding town halls to meet with constituents.
Ricketts, whose family founded TD Ameritrade and owns Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, served as governor from 2015 to 2023.
As Trump traveled to Nebraska, Vice President JD Vance headed to Fairbanks — with his wife and their two youngest kids in tow — to rally with Republican candidates there, including Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is locked in a contest with Democrat Mary Peltola that's one of a handful expected to determine control of the chamber in the November elections.
The two-term senator was in the Oval Office last week as Trump announced that South Korea planned to invest about $54 billion in a natural gas project in Alaska, but South Korean officials were more cautious, saying they needed to assess the project’s commercial viability before committing to the investment.
Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Meg Kinnard and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump hands a signed executive order to White House aide Natalie Harp at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People arrive before President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
People arrive before President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
President Donald Trump gestures from the stairs of Air Force One upon his departure at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump dances as he departs after speaking during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
