The Spring Training Excitement Thread

[Northern Star]

most states are like that.

 

Isn't it federal law? Because that's why people are equating it to mandatory health insurance.

[VA Sox Fan]

Isn't it federal law? Because that's why people are equating it to mandatory health insurance.

 

No, it's a state law when it comes to auto insurance. Obama-care would be federal.

 

The person that hit Ron Johnson's daughter may have had minimum or lower policy limits (or no insurance). Her medical bills have to be enormous. Even with higher policy limits, enough medical bills can exhaust them easily.

 

John Lackey looks nothing like Billy Bob Thornton as the character Carl in Sling Blade. They both have an under-bite, that's it.

[a700hitter]

From today's Globe article by Shaughnessy about Yaz:

 

'I love this team we have this year,’’ he says. “I think Theo [Epstein] did a great job putting this team together. I just hope they don’t get hit with the injuries like last year. I might have to get my arm loosened up for the World Series."

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2011/03/16/out_of_spotlight_yastrzemski_stays_in_game_his_way/

 

In the article Shaughnessy mentions how Yaz has turned down 6 figure deals for books and $50k for a few hows of work for a Dental commercial. It reminds me of Yaz's final season. Each of the AL teams wanted to honor Yaz on the Sox last trip to their city that season. Yaz didn't want the distraction for himself or the team, but he relented and agreed to short ceremonies in each city, but he instructed them that he would not accept any gifts. Contrast that with Clemens' 2003 season which he announced would be his last season. He was grabbing gifts, autos etc. from all over the AL as he was honored for his fraudulent career. The Yankees lavished him with gifts. I'll bet that the greedy sociopath pig didn't return a single item when he decided to pitch for Houston the following year. What a difference!

[Palodios]

He threw out the first pitch for game 1 of the World Series, and he didn't even stick around for the game? Wow.

 

 

Here's a pretty good line:

If the Sox need him to sign baseballs for the Jimmy Fund, they know the drill: send somebody up to Yaz’s favorite North Shore butcher shop, leave the balls behind, come back in a week, and the balls will be signed."

[SoxFanForsyth]

Sox have 14 games left in spring training! Two weeks from today is Opening Day!!! Happy St. Patty's Day! :dance:

[SoxSport]

One thing Marvin Miller didn't figure on was free agency and no salary cap would push salaries up so high players would do anything to enhance their performance. He didn't figure on the corruption of riches.

 

How many out there remember Yaz' triple crown year in '67? The last player to win the triple crown.

He got more big hits that year than Papi ever dreamed of. Plus he is one of the best defensive left fielders

ever--certainly the best in Fenway.

[Dipre]

Whoa, Chadd Finn called out Tony Mazz on still whining about Teixeira in an awesome, awesome way. If Boston.com had a respect-o-meter, his would have shot up big-time.

 

Adrian Gonzalez: Gonzalez had a .980 OPS on the road last year; Mark Teixeira had a .968 OPS at home. Gonzalez had an. 821 OPS at home; Teixeira had a .728 OPS on the road. In 2009, his first in New York, Teixeira had a 141 OPS+; in 2010, his only season in Boston, Adrian Beltre had a 141 OPS+. What do these statistics mean in context? I have absolutely no idea, but I do know this: The number of Boston.com sportswriters who are still howling at the Red Sox for not signing Teixeira before the 2009 season is, by my count, down to a lonely one. Come toward the sunshine, Mazz. Gonzalez is here, Teixeira isn't, and that's a great thing going forward. To put it another way: If the former isn't superior to the latter over, say, the next five seasons, I'll eat both of Dennys Reyes's stirrup socks without any spices or condiments.

 

Awesome, just awesome.

[Dipre]

Agent Boggs wades right in.

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. — John Boggs, the agent for Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, arrived here last night and is expected to meet with general manager Theo Epstein in the coming days.

 

Boggs characterized the visit as “just a meeting to touch base with Theo and discuss the progress of Adrian.’’

 

Gonzalez is entering the final year of his contract and is due $6.3 million this season. The Sox agreed to trade four players to the Padres for Gonzalez in December without first agreeing to an extension.

 

At the time, both sides said they had made progress on a deal and understood what it would take to complete the negotiations. The new contract is expected to be for seven years and in excess of $150 million.

 

Not coincidentally, it benefits the Sox financially to wait until after Opening Day before finalizing the deal.

 

Major League Baseball’s competitive balance tax is calculated on the average annual value of contracts as of Opening Day. By delaying a formal agreement with Gonzalez, the Sox would remain close to the tax threshold of $178 million.

 

The Sox paid $1,487,149 in tax last season. They would be taxed at 30 percent on any amount they exceed the limit this year.

 

Gonzalez repeatedly has said he expects to reach an agreement with the Sox and has no plans to enter free agency.

 

Final touches on the extension before announcing it after Opening Day?

[SoxFanForsyth]

I think they'll wait until they come home and announce it prior to the Yankees game in their home opener, but yes, definitely putting the final touches on it IMO.

 

I know its early. And I know he's only thrown 5 IP, and I'm not freaking out by any means, but damn Papelbon is getting lit up this spring.

[Dipre]

Notes from around the internet:

 

Notes from the meeting between Theo and Gonzo's agent:

 

Adrian Gonzalez' agent, John Boggs, said he would "extremely surprised" if a contract extension between his clent and the Red Sox didn't get done.

 

Boggs met with Theo Epstein and Ben Cherington today in Fort Myers and came away encouraged. Boggs felt a deal could be worked out as soon as sometime in April and that both sides understand the parameters involved. Boggs said he has no problem coming to an agreement even with the deals for Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder unresolved. He said Gonzalez walked away from an offer in December because it did not meet his bottom line. Boggs said this was the first time the sides had spoken since December and continued to claim that no deal has been in place as has been speculated on in some media circles.

 

In the Boston Globe podcast, Chad Finn and Peter Abraham both think that neither Scutaro nor Mike Cameron will (or should) get traded, and they deemed the idea "ridiculous". They also endorsed (again) the idea of Scutaro as the starting Shortstop because of Lowrie's versatility, and their stance on Cameron had to do with his ability to hit lefties, Drew's health, and Ortiz' vulnerability against lefties, Kalish not being ready being the other point. They also expressed zero optimism about Dice-K, and that is not a good thing.

[jacksonianmarch]

DiceK's numbers aren't great, but his last couple outings have been good. How has he looked in terms of stuff? I've only seen a couple ST games this yr

[Dipre]

He's looked good lately, but their point was basically his "Which Dice-K will you get?" act.

 

On another note: Both Finn and Abraham are very high on Iglesias. They speak wonders about his offensive advancement, ability to put bat on ball and increased patience at the plate. Their take on it is that he's hit better than the Sox expected and he's adopted a more patient approach quicker than they expected. Their take on him is Alex Gonzales with a better OBP and BA but less power. That would do. They also think he will be the starting SS in 2011. His slight frame shouldn't be a problem, since there are a lot of productive major leaguers who have above-average power and have a very slight frame.

[SoxFanForsyth]

@Dipre - 2011 or 2012? I think they're going to let him get a few more AB's at AAA before giving him the nod this year, but if they did give him a chance in the bigs, I think he'd do fine.

 

As far as the comparison to Alex Gonzalez - I'm assuming that's purely an offensive comparison? Iggy already has better hands than Gonzalez.

[Dipre]

@Dipre - 2011 or 2012? I think they're going to let him get a few more AB's at AAA before giving him the nod this year, but if they did give him a chance in the bigs, I think he'd do fine.

 

As far as the comparison to Alex Gonzalez - I'm assuming that's purely an offensive comparison? Iggy already has better hands than Gonzalez.

 

2012. The comparison was all around. I suspect they meant Alex Gonzales in his prime.

[Palodios]

DiceK's numbers aren't great' date=' but his last couple outings have been good. How has he looked in terms of stuff? I've only seen a couple ST games this yr[/quote']

 

In his crummy games, his problem has been all about the control. There have been a few articles about Curt Young tweaking his warm-up routines and conditioning between starts in the last two weeks. Considering how reluctant he was to those kinds of changes in the past, I'm cautiously optimistic for now.

 

Apparently he was throwing his long toss, and side session between starts on the same day the last few years-- something major league pitchers don't usually do. I'm no expert, but it sounds like one of the carry-overs of pitching on a 6 day rotation instead of a 5 day one, and certainly couldn't have been good for his arm.

[SoxFanForsyth]

All DiceK has to do is pound the zone. He's a great pitcher when he does that, and it looks like maybe Curt Young has found a way to communicate that to him.

 

Last year, when DiceK threw 65 or more strikes, he posted a 2.99 ERA.

[Palodios]

I was pretty upset when Atchison was sent down to the minors, but Francona said something that justifies it, for me atleast.

 

“He may feel it’s unfair. I think it’s not unfair to the organization,’’ Francona said of Atchison. “We had good competition. If it’s close, which it is, if a guy’s got an option, that’s kind of the way it is.’’[/Quote]

 

With a handful of guys who have no options, it makes sense to hold onto as many quality pieces as possible, and Atchy happened to draw the short straw. We'll see him by June I bet.

[a700hitter]

I expect that Wakefield will be cut by the middle of May.

[SoxSport]

You look at the way Wheeler and Jenks pitched tonite, and it raises more questions than answers.

Of course, Tito could have tried to win one down there--for a change. Remy said he took the regulars out

too soon in the 5th. Turned out he was right. Those A level kids looked brutal defensively the last couple of innings.

[mvp 78]

With a major league defense, Jenks pitches a clean inning.

[SoxSport]

More on last night's fiasco, which is not covered by the Boston papers this morning. I suspect it will be, because the fans in Ft Myers pay big bucks these days to see a game and surely deserved more--at this point in ST. They were playing for some kind of Cup, according to Remy, which is important down there.

 

You could say Tito erred in judgement somewhat taking this game too casually, after the regulars built up a big lead early. Plus, the Sox have lost about 9 in a row down there, and you think Tito would be trying to get this team a few wins before it dives into the season. Maybe he's just overanxious about injuries, from what happened last year. That might explain it.

 

On the plus side, AdGon looks like he's rounding into form, and Salty looks great--behind the plate and at bat. Got solid hits from both sides of the plate. Theo must be smiling about Salty at this point.

 

On the negative side, where was Ellsbury? Surely, they aren't going to platoon him. The Twins weren't even starting Liriano. Ellsbury is a key part of that lineup leading off. But then McDonald comes up with a big game--getting key hits and making a nice catch in CF. Nice player, that McDonald. Makes a lot of big plays. And Cameron looks good in RF. He's in shape. Youkilis does not look good--still doesn't have his stroke. And Papi? Well, he just can't hit lefties anymore--no matter who they are. Tito needs one of those RHd batters, Lowrie, Cameron or McDonald, to platoon at DH. But it won't happen until they lose a few games because of it.

 

Fasten your seat belts. This club is going to see everybody's left handed pitchers--down to single A-- this year.

[a700hitter]

More on last night's fiasco, which is not covered by the Boston papers this morning. I suspect it will be, because the fans in Ft Myers pay big bucks these days to see a game and surely deserved more--at this point in ST. They were playing for some kind of Cup, according to Remy, which is important down there.

The Mayor's Cup drama is a tongue in cheek thing by Remy and Francona. I have been going to Spring Training for 8 years. There is no rivalry between the Twins fans and the Sox fans. No one talks or cares about the Mayor's cup. The crowds are very low key, and they expect the regulars to leave the games after 6 innings and to watch a bunch of kids. Winning is not a do or die prospect in Ft. Myers.

[EXman369]

Spring training record has little to no indicator on how we will perform in the season all it does is gives us glimpses on how our starters are going to preform. It is a good indicator to see how good of shape they are in and there swing. But spring training is more for pitchers and to see how well our prospects are progressing.

 

No one actually thought that Kalish or Iglesias would make the team coming out of spring but it was great to see them play and for them to get some great exposure

[SoxSport]

Yeah, the Mayors cup doesn't mean anything. Never heard of it before Remy, and I've seen a few games down there. I don't care much for those ST games--too many minor leaguers and not very competitive.

 

The Red Sox are everybody's favorites to win everything this year, and they had lost 10 in a row down there before they won one today. Maybe they are saving their wins for April. They start the season with 3 tough games in Texas. And they'll face a good lefthander, Wilson, the first game.

[Youk Of The Nation]

Buchholz looked good today.

[Palodios]

Does anyone know the replay of Sox game 1 will be? I'm wondering if I can just turn on NESN at 7 pm as if it was a night game, and pretend I'm watching the premier.

[DirtDog]

Why doesn't NESN replay games from like 04 or 07 or something? Who cares about 2010.

[Palodios]

A crazy number from NESN:

 

73.3% of ESPN's baseball experts picked the Red Sox this year. The previous high? 36.8%.

 

http://www.nesn.com/2011/03/red-sox-live-blog-josh-beckett-sox-wrap-up-spring-training-in-houston.html

[boston22407]

game is on espn too

[SoxSport]

They finally put it together tonite against the Astros. Awesome performance. Beckett looked good.

Salty is a big surprise. Hitting well from both sides. He looks lean and mean--in better shape than when I saw him in Pawtucket last August. He may have been hurting last year.

 

Time for a few wins.