Less Than An Hour After The Red Sox Season Ended Willson Contreras Told The Media That Data and Computers Aren’t Enough to Win And I Love It

"It's not enough when you have talent, or you have data, or you have computers telling you what to do, because this is baseball. The data is here to help us, but at the end of the day, you need experience and veteran guys to win games. There's a lot of stuff I would like to say, but I'll state it like that." 

What's the saying, "Like rats leaving a sinking ship?" I actually had to Google that to make sure that's the phrase…I think it is. Anyway, while I'm not even sure that fits here, Willson Contreras took the first chance he could after the Red Sox got embarrassed by the Yankees to insinuate the team spends too much time focused on data and not enough on talented players. 

At least that's how I heard it. 

And I love it. 

Less than an hour after the two-game sweep in New York, Contreras made clear that the team's insane 32-5 stretch would not be allowed to define the season. No, the season will be mostly remembered for a colossal failure and for having a worse season in 2026 than you had in 2025. 

And that's the way it should be.

"It's not enough when you have talent, or you have data, or you have computers telling you what to do…." 

The Sox did nowhere near enough on offense in the playoffs. (Side note - It doesn't even feel like the playoffs. They didn't even play in October. It felt like a three-game set in New York. Well, a two-game set at the end of the regular season) Their two runs came on solo home runs, one when the series was all but over (Sorry, Sogie). But as the great Meek Phil pointed out in the NY Gambling Cave after the game Wednesday night, if you take away those two home runs, the Red Sox technically never got a runner to third base in two games. 

That is atrocious. Fans thought the Sox offense had turned the corner when they cut ties with Kyle Boddy and Driveline. Turns out it wasn't Driveline's fault for the lack of offense this season and in the playoffs - it's the lack of talent. 

Rafael Devers would have helped in this series. Or Alex Bregman. Or Pete Alonso. The Sox could have had one or two of those guys. Instead, they have the 'cost-effective' Caleb Durbin and Andruw Monasterio playing in do-or-die games. 

It's also telling that Willson didn't want to give an honest answer about why the team struggled down the stretch. We NEED to know what he's talking about. Did the data team get more involved? Is he alluding to Roman Anthony's return? Is that a direct shot at manager Chad Tracy or President of Baseball Ops Craig Breslow? 

Sonny Gray didn't mind taking a direct shot at Tracy in the postgame. Was Contreras doing the same?

Tracy sucked in the series, but I put more blame on ownership for not spending like they used to. And Breslow for pivoting to pitching when the offensive market got too expensive in the offseason. 

Good for Willson, man. He's signed for next season (if there is a next season), and I'm glad he spoke his mind here. 

Hogdale and I were talking after the game about how at least this loss will make Red Sox fans mad again. No fan should be happy or content with how this season played out. The owners and organization should be embarrassed - no chance they should be allowed to use the record winning streak as a shield for criticism. 

Sounds like at least one very local player on the roster agrees.