Sources say Napoli signs with Sox.

[BSN07]

I have not lurked at all! I just spend 9 days in Ukarine and now I'm in London with nothing but nonsensical ITV to watch so decided to check on TS. Not much has changed!!@ How you been?

 

Not bad, winter training is in full swing so busy busy. London is terrible this time of year. Most or Europe is. I can't imagine Ukraine was any nicer hahaha

 

Don't give up on British tv yet, there are some gems in there

[seabeachfred]

Not bad, winter training is in full swing so busy busy. London is terrible this time of year. Most or Europe is. I can't imagine Ukraine was any nicer hahaha

 

Don't give up on British tv yet, there are some gems in there

 

Believe it or not we had one helluva cold snap out here is supposedly warm and sunny Southern California----I kid you not. It got down to 32 degrees on two evenings and one morning I got up to go and work out when the temperature read 34 degrees. They even said that in some of the citrus areas the ranchers were worrying about losing half their crop because it got down to 29 in some areas.

 

It has been great the last three days in the high 70's and helps making me think that baseball may not be that far away. To me Spring is the best time of year. Hope it come fast this time around.

[Porcupine penis]

Good to see them work this out. I like Napoli a lot, hopefully his hip stays healthy, I think if it does, he's in for a phenominal year at fenway.

[BSN07]

Believe it or not we had one helluva cold snap out here is supposedly warm and sunny Southern California----I kid you not. It got down to 32 degrees on two evenings and one morning I got up to go and work out when the temperature read 34 degrees. They even said that in some of the citrus areas the ranchers were worrying about losing half their crop because it got down to 29 in some areas.

 

It has been great the last three days in the high 70's and helps making me think that baseball may not be that far away. To me Spring is the best time of year. Hope it come fast this time around.

 

The weather here has been weirs. Usually you wither get mild temps with overcast and drizzly rain, or more clear days, colder temps and then snow. It's been all over the place this year. One week it's 50 and I want to go outside for training and then the other it's like 20...

 

I'm just glad we have an inside complex to train at or the weather would have drove me over the age already

[Behindenemylines]

If the hip was that much of an issue I can't see Napoli catching at all. They got him for his right handed power. Playing 1B is secondary, and I have to belive catching is off the table unless it an emergency. You have Salty and Ross starting the season, and Lavarnwayis waiting in the wing.

[redsoxfan3]

If the hip was that much of an issue I can't see Napoli catching at all. They got him for his right handed power. Playing 1B is secondary, and I have to belive catching is off the table unless it an emergency. You have Salty and Ross starting the season, and Lavarnwayis waiting in the wing.

 

I still think Napoli will catch on occasion, especially in interleague away games. We could have Napoli catch and Big Papi play 1B. I don't think we will see him back there about 70 games or so, but I think we could see him play about 15-20 throughout the year. Everything is circumstantial. It depends on a lot of factors. My guess is that they do not want him to catch a lot, but if they feel that is best thing to do given the situation, then I am assuming they will put him behind the dish. I am still hoping that we can trade Salty. If we do keep Salty, I hope he can get another 20+ homer season and work on that OBP and BA. The big thing for me is that when he catches, we have a big defensive liability.

[Behindenemylines]

I still think Napoli will catch on occasion, especially in interleague away games. We could have Napoli catch and Big Papi play 1B. I don't think we will see him back there about 70 games or so, but I think we could see him play about 15-20 throughout the year. Everything is circumstantial. It depends on a lot of factors. My guess is that they do not want him to catch a lot, but if they feel that is best thing to do given the situation, then I am assuming they will put him behind the dish. I am still hoping that we can trade Salty. If we do keep Salty, I hope he can get another 20+ homer season and work on that OBP and BA. The big thing for me is that when he catches, we have a big defensive liability.

 

If game calling by the catchers is a big part of the pitchers struggles then I can see Ross catching more then most of would have guessed. Napoli is not going to be mistaken for a gold glove catcher and the Sox got him for his bat so the more he catches the more a chance that his hip problem could revisit the Sox in 2013. I got to believe that Napoli taking the one year deal and dropping the 3 for $39 deal makes the hip a future problem if he catches too much.

[Dojji]

Actually as offensive catchers go, Napoli's not that bad. He's a cut above most catchers who are out there for their bat. His issue has always been his ability to play a full season behind the dish. He's always had the talent to be more than good enough defensively in any given game.

 

Given the hip condition, it'd be a pipe dream for Napoli to play more than 20-30 games as a catcher, but I can def see him playing it in interleague. It would probably be the right move. And it would allow us to bat Salty for Ross in a key at bat without worrying about not having an option to finish the game if he happened to get hurt, which is a nice perk.

[User Name]

Actually as offensive catchers go, Napoli's not that bad. He's a cut above most catchers who are out there for their bat. His issue has always been his ability to play a full season behind the dish. He's always had the talent to be more than good enough defensively in any given game.

 

Given the hip condition, it'd be a pipe dream for Napoli to play more than 20-30 games as a catcher, but I can def see him playing it in interleague. It would probably be the right move. And it would allow us to bat Salty for Ross in a key at bat without worrying about not having an option to finish the game if he happened to get hurt, which is a nice perk.

 

Also, the knock on Napoli has always been lack of mobility. I have never read or heard anyone badmouthing his game-calling, and his results with both the Angels and Texas prove that.

[who]

I doubt he catches much, plus they re-signd Saltalamaccia and have Ross and Lavarnway.

[a700hitter]

I doubt he catches much, plus they re-signd Saltalamaccia and have Ross and Lavarnway.

Tell us a little about yourself in the Introduce Yourself thread.

[who]

Im ?who? A redsox fan in a suburb of Chi who also likes the Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Hawks. Cubs and sox fans share a special bond, we always rooted for each other to finally break your curse.

[Bellhorn04]

Details of Mike Napoli’s contract

By Alex Speier

 

According to a baseball source, the one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox and Mike Napoli includes the following incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $13 million:

 

Active roster bonuses

 

$500,000 each for 30, 60, 90, 120 days on the active roster

 

Plate appearance bonuses

 

$500,000 each for 300, 325, 350, 375 plate appearances

 

$1 million each for 400, 475, 550, 625 plate appearances

 

Catch-all bonus

 

If Napoli is active for a minimum of 165 days in 2013, he will get the full $8 million in incentives for a total of $13 million

[Palodios]

Details of Mike Napoli’s contract

By Alex Speier

 

According to a baseball source, the one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox and Mike Napoli includes the following incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $13 million:

 

Active roster bonuses

 

$500,000 each for 30, 60, 90, 120 days on the active roster

 

Plate appearance bonuses

 

$500,000 each for 300, 325, 350, 375 plate appearances

 

$1 million each for 400, 475, 550, 625 plate appearances

 

Catch-all bonus

 

If Napoli is active for a minimum of 165 days in 2013, he will get the full $8 million in incentives for a total of $13 million

 

Sounds easily obtainable.

[seabeachfred]

The weather here has been weirs. Usually you wither get mild temps with overcast and drizzly rain, or more clear days, colder temps and then snow. It's been all over the place this year. One week it's 50 and I want to go outside for training and then the other it's like 20...

 

I'm just glad we have an inside complex to train at or the weather would have drove me over the age already

 

Well at least you have an inside training complex where you get some vigorous practice sessions in. When I coached high school baseball back in the early 70's, every time I woke up the first thing I did was look at the skies and then head for the newspaper to see what the weather was that February, March or April. We weren't home free until late April when the weather ceased being potentially inclement. When I decided to get my own baseball program outside of school where we played from April through August I got the good weather and never had to worry about it. Tough when you have to concern yourself with the both the weather and the opposition. Believe me, I know where you're coming from.

[BSN07]

Well at least you have an inside training complex where you get some vigorous practice sessions in. When I coached high school baseball back in the early 70's, every time I woke up the first thing I did was look at the skies and then head for the newspaper to see what the weather was that February, March or April. We weren't home free until late April when the weather ceased being potentially inclement. When I decided to get my own baseball program outside of school where we played from April through August I got the good weather and never had to worry about it. Tough when you have to concern yourself with the both the weather and the opposition. Believe me, I know where you're coming from.

 

Baseball is surprisingly big here and they have some really nice complex at certain clubs. There are a few teams around that have spent a couple million on the complex. I grew up in Maine so I know the pain of watching the weather reports all march and into april and praying for that last big snow storm to stay away when you could finally see the grass. SO having an indoor facility has been an outstanding opportunity. We train inside 3 times a week from December to March and then have a few weeks of Spring games with competitions starting in April and going to September. We have a 6 week off period in the middle of the summer. Dutch people are all about their vacations lol

[seabeachfred]

If game calling by the catchers is a big part of the pitchers struggles then I can see Ross catching more then most of would have guessed. Napoli is not going to be mistaken for a gold glove catcher and the Sox got him for his bat so the more he catches the more a chance that his hip problem could revisit the Sox in 2013. I got to believe that Napoli taking the one year deal and dropping the 3 for $39 deal makes the hip a future problem if he catches too much.

 

Here's a little food for thought. I live in the Los Angeles area, the husband of a diehard Angels fan. We get a small package of Angels tickets just about every year, that in exchange for Linda's giving me free reign to travel to Boston, New York, ChiTown or wherever I want to see the Red Sox. John Lackey did some of his best pitching when Mike Napoli was catching him. I think Farrell ought to explore that possiibility, that is, if he has any plans to catch Mike at all.

[seabeachfred]

Im ?who? A redsox fan in a suburb of Chi who also likes the Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Hawks. Cubs and sox fans share a special bond, we always rooted for each other to finally break your curse.

 

Welcome aboard Who?. Glad to have you here....and you are right about that bond. We play in the two classic ballparks of a bygone era, we have been star crossed, and we both have some rabid fans along with a neighborhood that breaths baseball the year round.

 

I still hark back to 2003 and your damn Bartman and our damn Little. We could have both met up in the 2003 WS, and I stil think really lost something when that didn't happen. I also remember that WS between the Yankees and Marlins and totally dull and uninspiring and not of much interest to anyone outside of New York and Miami. Hell, if it had been us the whole country would have been jumping. Maybe one year at the end of this decade we have such a battle. Again, welcome aboard.

[Bellhorn04]

Mike Napoli discusses hip condition that altered his deal with Red Sox

By

Scott Lauber / Boston Herald

 

Turns out, Bo knows all about Mike Napoli's hip problem.

 

A physical exam administered by the Red Sox in December showed that Napoli is afflicted by "avascular necrosis," the slugger revealed today after finalizing a greatly reduced contract to be the Sox' primary first baseman. The medical condition, which can result in the death of bone tissue, exists in both of Napoli's hips, according to agent Brian Grieper, and was the reason the Red Sox insisted on turning the three-year, $39 million contract that was agreed upon Dec. 3 into an incentive-laden, one-year deal worth only $5 million guaranteed.

 

AVN led to Bo Jackson's retirement from baseball and football, although both Brett Favre and NHL goalie Ray Emery have played with the condition. Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington noted the situation is far less urgent for Napoli than it was for Jackson, and Grieper and Napoli insisted AVN was caught early. Cherington said the Red Sox are confident Napoli won't be adversely impacted in 2013.

 

"I have no symptoms of it," Napoli said. "We really don’t know what causes it. We saw a bunch of doctors, got a bunch of opinions, and went from there. I got on medication. There’s no reason I shouldn’t be healthy and ready to go for Opening Day."

 

Napoli is taking medication to treat AVN and has seen Dr. Joseph Lane at New York's Hospital for Special Surgery. According to Grieper, the condition wasn't spotted on an MRI administered by the Texas Rangers last March or during any physical until Napoli saw the Red Sox' medical staff. It developed at some point last season, although Napoli didn't miss time with any hip-related injuries.

 

The Red Sox believe Napoli's move to first base will reduce the stress on his hip. Napoli has spent most of his career as a catcher.

 

"We don't have a lot of concern about 2013," Cherington said. "There's no reason that Mike Napoli won't be our primary first baseman in 2013. There's no reason that won't happen starting Opening Day. It's very important to note that, although this condition is less common in baseball players that some other issues, from all the information that's been gathered, this has been caught very early. We're a long way ahead from Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson's circumstance was entirely different. From all the information we have, there's a good prognosis."

[Whiteandnerdy42]

Well, we can hope that the problem gets better and doesn't affect his play during the year.

[VA Sox Fan]

;)I love this post! So you are married? I am disappoint!!!!

 

Sorry I am so disappoint.

 

Legally separated for 7 years. He can't afford health insurance otherwise. Happily single.

 

Glad the Napoli deal is finally done!!

[Palodios]

Hey Jacko, are you lurking? I always respect your opinions on these kinds of things, any thoughts on Napoli?

[jacksonianmarch]

Now that I see the diagnosis, I completely agree with the decision by the sox. The head of the femur, otherwise known in laymen's terms as the hip has a pretty tenuous blood supply. When that blood supply is disrupted (like with a dislocation or fracture, think Bo Jackson) then the head of the femur dies. That is called avascular necrosis. There are other causes, notably in kids with Legg-Calve-Perthes disease, arterial embolism, repetitive trauma, and then the idiopathic, the medical term for we dont know. Sounds like Napoli is in that category (although steroid use is linked to it as well, food for thought). What it means is that the head of his hip is all ratty and brittle. Depending on how much of the head of the femur is involved will determine how debilitated he will be, but to get the diagnosis, you need a fair amount of the hip to show an abnormality. Once pain ensues, there is no real treatment aside from hip replacement, hence the "ticking time bomb" that has been leaked out there. Brett Favre played an entire career with it. Bo Jackson needed a hip replacement which ended his career. That's the spectrum you're looking at.

[SoxSport]

Forget about him catching with a degenerative hip. They want to prolong his season, which means playing 1B exclusively, and maybe DHing if Papi goes down. They'll be lucky if they get 100 games out of him at 1B. He's basically a one year rental--for $5mil guaranteed.

 

You read about the possibility of steroids causing this, and you look at that spike year he had two years ago. That's a flag--it happens all too frequently in baseball these days. The money is so incredible you do almost anything to get those millions. Can't blame those guys at all. Most would do the same--even at a health risk.

 

Not saying that's the situation, mind you. Just circumstantial evidence. Right, ARod?

 

I'm surprised they signed Napoli under the circumstances. You wonder if anybody else would have.

 

I hear they are also looking at Smoak--a guy who has never hit for power in the minors--at a power position.

[User Name]

Obviously nobody else would have.....that's why AFTER THE HIP PROBLEMS CAME TO LIGHT, the Rangers re-opened talks (as well as the Orioles) and offered more money than the Red Sox. The only reason he went to the Sox is because they offered more playing time.

[jung]

I am at this point surprised that the Sox even offered one year at $5M although the incentive end of the deal seems fine.

 

Since Napoli is clearly staring into the abyss maybe he will have a great year. I think catching will be completely off the table. They will want to get as much of his bat as possible. Both hips are shot it boils down to which one gives out first.

[Lucienbel]

I can't imagine him catching after hearing that anymore either. Sounds like the contract they gave him will work out well. If he is able to play fine, he just goes on the market next year for someone else to take a chance with him. If not, the Red Sox don't end up paying all too much for him. Sounds like he'll give the Sox a little value for a little while in a worst case scenario....doesn't sound like he's destined to fall apart day one.

 

To me, not being able to catch greatly diminishes his value, but what can you do at this point? Guess we'll have to see how he does defensively at first while playing there every day.

[User Name]

Ben Cherington specifically noted that they'd be comfortable having Napoli catch on a part-time basis because he hasn't developed any symptoms from AVN yet.

[SoxSport]

I've read that Napoli said he knew he had the hip problem last season. That means he must have had some medical diagnosis of the problem. Maybe from the Rangers' medical.

 

Apparently, Napoli went to free agency knowing he had the problem. I still can't figure why the Red Sox would want to stick with this guy even for a rental. That doesn't solve their 1B problem.

[User Name]

Because he's the best option available and keeping him on a one-year deal allows them to pursue other options down the road? Not rocket science.

 

Also, where is it published that Napoli knew he had the condition? That contradicts every report i've seen that says the Red Sox were the ones to uncover it.