Expect Breslow to overhaul the Red Sox's pitching development and acquisition
There were a lot of questions about Boston's pitching situation and, unsurprisingly, Breslow agreed that it was certainly an organizational need. It seemed like every third response he gave referenced the fact that he is well-aware that the Red Sox are going to need starting pitching going into next season.
That shouldn't shock anyone, but it was heartening to see him mention his success in overhauling the Cubs' pitching development and that he was very confident that he can get the pitching staff back into shape.
Don't expect much to change in Boston on the ownership side
Another common theme throughout the press conference was that Breslow emphasized over and over again how everyone, including ownership, wants to win. He feels confident that Boston will be able to make moves to make that happen and that is admirable.
However, that also sounds an awful lot like what was said when the Red Sox brought in Chaim Bloom. In this very press conference, Sam Kennedy said that ownership's role is to provide Breslow and co. with the resources they need to build a winning roster. However, actions speak louder than words here and ownership's track record of consistently hamstringing the Red Sox's payroll is going to need more than lip service to ignore.
Breslow is going to lean heavily on analytics, but also understands that it is only part of the picture
By all accounts, Breslow believes strongly in the value of analytics when it comes to game-planning, player development, and player acquisition. Frankly, he is right because the vast majority of the best teams in the league use data to gain competitive advantages big and small.
However, he also correctly noted that as a former player himself, it is how that data is used to communicate and execute a gameplan that separates the best teams in MLB. His goal is to take all the information at his disposal from data to coaches' input to the players themselves to make the best decisions possible for the club. Again, that is certainly the safest answer to give, but it did seem genuine at least.