2009 Spring Training

[BoSox21]

Beckett will start Opening Day, Masterson has officially been moved to the 'pen and provided he gets stretched out enough, Brad Penny will be the 5th starter. Buchholz is likely to be the 6th starter

 

Full Story - RedSox.com

[riverside sluggers]

Ed Rogers hit a walkoff grand slam against (IIRC) the Twins and had a titanic spring, and still has yet to sniff the majors again since his brief 2005 and 2006 cameos.

 

Heck, Kevin Cash hit a game-winning HR against the cards in a regular season game last year. He's still Kevin Cash.

 

Ambres is intriguing because of good AAA numbers but in the final analysis the guy's the definition of AAAA. If Baldelli and Drew are hurt at the same time you might see him in midseason as a desperation option, but otherwise I doubt he sniffs the big leagues again.

 

Where did I say I was ecstatic about Ambres??

 

I was just giving an update on the current game

[riverside sluggers]

Sox combine for 3 HRs so far in the 3rd inning vs Francisco Liriano. 3 run jack by Rocco, 2 run by Papi, and 2 run by Bay. Like last season, Tito still has Lowell in front of Bay. I just dont get that

[Cocos Disciples]

Beckett will start Opening Day, Masterson has officially been moved to the 'pen and provided he gets stretched out enough, Brad Penny will be the 5th starter. Buchholz is likely to be the 6th starter

 

Full Story - RedSox.com

 

No surprises there. Any chance they put Wakefield 2nd or 3rd to 'mix things up'? I remember they've done that a couple times in the past.

[riverside sluggers]

Opening Series, per nesn

 

Beckett vs Shields

Lester vs Kazmir

Matsuzaka vs Garza

Wakefield vs Sonnanstine

[Jacoby_Ellsbury]

No surprises there. Any chance they put Wakefield 2nd or 3rd to 'mix things up'? I remember they've done that a couple times in the past.

I hope they've learned their lesson and don't try that again.

 

 

Wakefield against the other teams #5 is rattling enough. I don't need to see him trying to stay with Kazmir or Shields.

[Cocos Disciples]

Glad we get Sonnanstine over Price.

[Dojji]

Sox combine for 3 HRs so far in the 3rd inning vs Francisco Liriano. 3 run jack by Rocco' date=' 2 run by Papi, and 2 run by Bay. [b']Like last season, Tito still has Lowell in front of Bay. I just dont get that[/b]

 

Lowell's a decent hitter, but I think the deciding factor is that he's proven himself to Tito while Bay, despite being off to a great start, really hasn't yet. I imagine that if it becomes blindingly obvious the lineup needs to change, it will change.

 

In the meantime I'm just glad that it looks like Mikey is going to make the opening day lineup. There were times we didn't think that'd happen. He might not be a game-changer like Teixeira, but we definitely need him to be healthy and hitting in order to go anywhere this year.

 

Personally I'm betting that Lowell goes back to his usual modus operandi of playing 140 or more games, hitting 20 HR's and a crapload of doubles, and playing above average D. He's only 35 this year, and there's no particular sign of his batspeed slowing down so there's no reason to predict a decline for him , not yet anyway.

[Dojji]

BTW -- Masterson to the pen, officially. Makes it very unlikely that he gets his innings limit raised this year, so I have to ask: Is this going to more or less be a permanent thing or is it more like when Derek Lowe was our setup man and closer?

[BoSox21]

Opening Series, per nesn

 

Beckett vs Shields

Lester vs Kazmir

Matsuzaka vs Garza

Wakefield vs Sonnanstine

 

The Tampa series is a 3-gamer. Wakefield will open vs. Anaheim

[Cocos Disciples]

Correct indeed.

[BSN07]

Interesting to see Lester bumped up to the #2 spot. Not saying he doesn't deserve it or anything. Top 3 of the rotation is nasty.

[riverside sluggers]

The Tampa series is a 3-gamer. Wakefield will open vs. Anaheim

 

oops to nesn then because they did have up on the screen, wakefield going up against sonnanstine

[TheKilo]

Lowell's a decent hitter, but I think the deciding factor is that he's proven himself to Tito while Bay, despite being off to a great start, really hasn't yet. I imagine that if it becomes blindingly obvious the lineup needs to change, it will change.

 

 

Holy crap I hope this isn't the reason, what stupidity.

[BoSox21]

Brad Wilkerson has temporarily left Red Sox camp to assess other options, according to the Boston Globe.

 

Chris Carter presumably has beaten him out for a job. Wilkerson hit just .118 this spring with 18 strikeouts in 42 at-bats. He wasn't likely to make the final roster, and his deal allows him to opt out on April 1. He could sign a minor league deal with another club in a few days.

 

Rotoworld

 

So long, Brad

[riverside sluggers]

Alright Carter!

[BSN07]

Anyone see Jacoby's shot? I know the wind was blowing, but hitting out of the stadium was cool.

[Dojji]

Holy crap I hope this isn't the reason' date=' what stupidity.[/quote']

 

I can't think of any other plausible reason why we'd have a 30 HR bat hitting behind Drew and Lowell.

[a700hitter]

Carter and Bailey just continue to hit. Carter hit his 6th HR and Bailey had a double. Both are hitting around .360. Too bad that in today's game teams carry 11 or 12 pitchers. They would make for a nice lefty-righty pinch hitting tandem.

[Dojji]

Which of our pitchers would you fire and not replace with Buchholz or Bard for the sake of a 30 year old career minor league first baseman?

 

Not that I have anything against Bailey -- heck, I wanted him over Kotsay in the playoffs last year. But that's really what it comes down to.

[a700hitter]

Which of our pitchers would you fire and not replace with Buchholz or Bard for the sake of a 30 year old career minor league first baseman?

 

Not that I have anything against Bailey -- heck, I wanted him over Kotsay in the playoffs last year. But that's really what it comes down to.

As I said in my post, the game has changed. With today's specialization and coddling of starters, 11 or 12 pitchers are needed.

[Dojji]

I think we have the same lefty-righty hitting with Baldelli-Carter. Throw in Kots for good measure.

[a700hitter]

Lester gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings today. That line brings back unpleasant memories.

[BSN07]

Lester had one really off inning and then bounced back nicely the following inning. He had some trouble locating his FB, which isn't to surprising giving what time of year it is. I'm sure he will be able to reel it in when the season comes around. The coaches must think the same if they are making him the # 2 SP as well.

 

Overall not too bad of a spring for the Sox, outside of Tek's feeble swing. But he would have had to probably juiced all winter for anything to change on that front:D

[BoSox21]

I didn't watch the game but I know Lester has been trying his changeup more and more, did that affect the amount of walks he gave up?

[a700hitter]

I didn't watch the game but I know Lester has been trying his changeup more and more' date=' did that affect the amount of walks he gave up?[/quote']If the changeup is causing deeper counts and more walks, he should ditch it. He's got enough of an arsenal to tear through lineups without it, and in the second half of last season he had become a strike throwing machine. We need him to go deep into games. If the changeup starts resulting in 5 inning 100 pitch performances, the coaching staff should cut off Tek's 4th finger.

[BSN07]

If the changeup is causing deeper counts and more walks' date=' he should ditch it. He's got enough of an arsenal to tear through lineups without it, and in the second half of last season he had become a strike throwing machine. We need him to go deep into games. If the changeup starts resulting in 5 inning 100 pitch performances, the coaching staff should cut off Tek's 4th finger.[/quote']

 

I don't know if he will use it a lot during the season, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't try to work on it in a ST start. Maybe by next season it will be a decent pitch. Never hurts to add to the pitching arsenal.

[a700hitter]

I don't know if he will use it a lot during the season' date=' but that doesn't mean he shouldn't try to work on it in a ST start. Maybe by next season it will be a decent pitch. Never hurts to add to the pitching arsenal.[/quote']Well, that is not entirely true. Dick Radatz was one of the most dominant reliever that anyone has ever seen. He completely dominated Micky Mantle. The story goes that one spring Ted Williams, who had done a bit of pitching before coming to the big leagues, gave a little advice to Radatz. He told him that he had a perfect motion for a sinker. Radatz started working on the sinker all spring. He claims that he developed a pretty good sinker, but when the bell rang for the season he found that he had lost a foot on his fastball. Was it a coincidence, or was it the result of a slight change in his delivery? Anyway, it was a fast crash to earth for the Monster after that. He went from being dominant to washed up in a very short period.

[riverside sluggers]

Lester gave up 6 hits and 4 walks in 5 innings today. That line brings back unpleasant memories.

 

And with the 4 walks in that game, he's up to... 6 in the spring

[jacksonianmarch]

I dont put too much stock in a pitcher's performance who isnt fighting for a rotation or pen slot. Lester could go out there and get lit up all day long, so long as he answers the bell April 6th and on, nobody cares.