​The Boston Red Sox found themselves in the spotlight for travel troubles that drew national attention just before their 6-2 victory over the New York Mets last Friday night, a situation that even Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen could not ignore. Mechanical problems on the team plane left the Red Sox grounded for nearly a full day as they tried to move from Chicago to New York. The delay pushed their arrival at Citi Field to shortly after 5 p.m. ET on Friday, and it pushed the game’s start time back by 36 minutes to 7:51 p.m.
This travel saga became a talking point across platforms, with Cohen taking aim at the relentless coverage. On SNY, during a conversation with partner Ron Darling over the weekend, Cohen vented, “If I hear one more person talk about the Red Sox’s difficult travel, I might just have to expire.” He added a pointed comparison to minor league travel, arguing that the rigors faced by younger players are far more demanding and that what the Red Sox experienced last week was hardly on par with a typical Minor League schedule.
Cohen emphasized the perceived overkill of the story, saying, “The overkill on this story is just unbelievable. Come on, folks. Let’s get a grip. We’re traveling on charter flights. They slept in a nice hotel in Chicago the night before.” While he did not completely dismiss the Mets’ travel frustrations, he did acknowledge that their West Coast-heavy early schedule could have impacted their rough start to the season. He pointed out that four of the Mets’ first five road trips involved cross-country travel, before noting that the Mets never faced mechanical issues to the same extent as the Red Sox on that particular trip.
In Cohen’s view, the Red Sox’s travel hurdles were not an existential problem for the team, but rather a misnomer that amplified a situation that, in practice, involved manageable delays and the comforts of a good hotel stay in Chicago. The Red Sox ultimately carried on and secured the win in New York, but the travel narrative remained a dominant talking point in the days surrounding the game.
As the conversation continued, Cohen’s stance reflected a broader sentiment about the coverage of team travel: not all delays are created equal, and some believe the public discourse can oversell inconveniences that, while inconvenient, do not wholly derail a team’s preparation or performance. The incident underscored how travel logistics can become a public-relations storyline in major league sports, shaping perceptions even when the on-field outcomes are unaffected.
The post Gary Cohen’s blunt take on the Boston Red Sox travel woes: ‘Get a grip’ generated attention for its candor, illustrating how travel challenges can eclipse other game-related narratives. This recap appeared first on Awful Announcing, highlighting how one broadcaster’s perspective can influence the conversation around a nationally watched club’s travel difficulties and the broader debate over how such stories are reported and interpreted.