Plus, John Schreiber has a new pitch

Another day, another former colleague of Craig Breslow’s offering heaps of praise on the new Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer. This time it’s Will Venable. The former Sox bench coach and fellow Ivy Leaguer (he went to Princeton) has worked alongside Breslow for the past few years with the Chicago Cubs and thinks he’ll be a “good voice for that club in getting them on track.” (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)

Breslow won’t be the only former Ivy League pitcher in charge of a team when he takes over, as Chris Young of the Texas Rangers also fits that description. Considering where the Rangers are right now (the freaking World Series) it would be nice if Breslow’s career in the big chair starts out similarly. (Jen McCaffrey, The Athletic)

Meanwhile, Young’s World Series counterpart, Mike Hazen of the Arizona Diamondbacks (and formerly of the Sox) also has some words of advice for Breslow. (Rob Bradford, WEEI)

Speaking of the Diamondbacks, blink-and-you-missed-it former Sox outfielder Tommy Pham was dominant at the plate in Game Two. But even amidst his near-historic performance (he voluntarily gave up the chance to become the first player in history to go 5-5 in a World Series game) he’s being asked about the Sox. He’s optimistic about the team’s future. (Gio Rivera, NESN)

John Schreiber has been a very solid bullpen option for the Sox the past few years. But he wants to get even better, so he’s working on adding a new cutter to his repertoire at the famous Driveline facility in Washington state. (Tim Crowley, NESN)