2013 Spring Training

[SoxSport]

The sports ticker on MLB TV just said Heyman reporting Bradley will start season with Red Sox game 1.

I tweeted Jon for confirmation. He has his ways of scooping the Boston writers.

[SoxSport]

Well, if he gets sent down, he has to stay down for at least 7 barring an injury. If Ortiz comes back and shows he can play everyday then they will send him down for exactly 20 days and reevaluate from there

 

Yeah, that would make Silverman's tweet nonsense. No use coming up game 3. Heyman says he's up game 1, based on MLB TV ticker--just came out. 20 up, 20 down makes most sense. looks like a win, win that way.

[SoxSport]

Heyman just tweeted me back: "looks positive for him. we shall see."

[seabeachfred]

Fred, I agree that Iglesias could crash and burn at the plate, but I would prefer that he get his shot with this team so we know once and for all if he has a future as an MLB starting SS or whether he is just a utility type player. I don't think the prospects for this team are very good, so now is the time to give him his shot. By next year, he will have Bogaerts pushing him, so Iggy's window of opportunity. The season is about to start and I sense that you are getting optimistic about the team's chances so you want to play the guys that give us the best chance of winning. Maybe I am wrong about that. I'd like to see some of the kids get a shot this year. This has a lot of TalkSox people confused because they have convinced themselves that I am anti-prospect. LOL!! I told them that I wasn't anti-prospect, but the circumstances have to be right to hand them jobs without safety nets. This season is one of those times.

 

Ted, let me first say that my initial semi-optimism of a week or so ago has given way to some very unhappy beliefs about the coming season. For the fifth year in a row, the Red Sox are going to enter the regular season with a rotten losing streak of games-----just what a good team cannot afford , or a bad team for that matter. All this talk about pre-season games meaning nothing is a pile of ********. The last ten games or so of the exhibition season you have to play to win or you enter the season flat. Can't the people here or the luunkheads running the team remember what happened last season, in 2011, in 2010 and even in 2009? We're going to enter the regular season stumbling and bumbling about and that is a recipe for a disaster once again unfolding. Doesn't the Red Sox organizztion evere learn? We really haven't had a good start since 2007.

 

As for Iglesias, he will get his chance and I hope he will do well. To me, though, Boegarts is our future shortstop, a player who can field his position well enough but has solid hitting ability and power. Iggy needs to get some plate discipline because you don 't even need to throw him a strike because he seems to hack at everything----and we need all the hitting we can get this early going with Papi out for God knows how long.

 

That first series with the Yankees will tell us a lot. If we drop that series or get swept the season will descend into another catastrophe----and then maybe the organization will wake up and understand that when the tag end of ST comes YOU HAVE TO WIN MOST OF THOSE f***ING GAMES!!!!!!!!!!

[seabeachfred]

Iggy has shown great skills at SS so far. Very fluid. He deserves a chance to show what he can do in a saner atmosphere than last year, and it looks like he will get it. Bradley deserves the same, after showing impressive all around skills rare in a Red Sox player recently.

 

It's tough to think positive with this team, what with the piss poor organization they still have (save for Farrell and the coaches--impressive so far).

 

They are fumbling the ball right now on Bradley, showing a characteristic lack of boldness.

They seem to have lost any sense of urgency or priority with winning.

 

Sox Sport, you don't have to tell me how inept our organization is. The last four seasons has proven that ten times over, but it still looks like they haven't learned a thing. There is once again a lack of urgency or emphasis on winning but instead on TV ratings and filling up the park. Of course, another lousy start and they will have to bribe people to come.

 

As for Iglesias, he is a great fielder. No one can dispute that, but not you or anyone is going to convince me he can hit ML pitching, not with his total lack of discipline at the plate. I do hope some of that hacking does result in some hits because he may be in there longer than most people suspect. Drew has that concussion, very said and painful for him, but he is also a Drew and while other would recover faster the Drews seem to be slow in the recovery department even though in Steven's case he needs to be totally clear to play for us. A concussion is nothing to take lightly.

[Thunder]

The sports ticker on MLB TV just said Heyman reporting Bradley will start season with Red Sox game 1.

I tweeted Jon for confirmation. He has his ways of scooping the Boston writers.

 

Good for him! I doubt he'll start on Monday, but he deserved it.

[Palodios]

That first series with the Yankees will tell us a lot. If we drop that series or get swept the season will descend into another catastrophe----and then maybe the organization will wake up and understand that when the tag end of ST comes YOU HAVE TO WIN MOST OF THOSE f***ING GAMES!!!!!!!!!!

 

Fred, its just spring training. Look at the individual stats instead of looking at the score. Who cares if Mark Duarte and Rick Scott give up 4 runs on March 29th? Who cares that Gillian Godfrey and Mike Clestino gave up 9 runs on March 26th?

 

Do you know who needs to win games? The starters. In the last three games, Lester gave up 0 runs, Buchholz gave up 0 runs and Dempster gave up 3 runs.

[SoxSport]

Cherington said tonite he expects Bradley to be "on the plane heading north on Sunday, barring any unforeseen circumstances." What the heck is he talking about? What's different vs Carp and the rest of the team? I guess maybe he's talking about the 40 man roster--he has to get him on that roster--which means he has to DFA somebody or 60 day DL Morales. That has to be the holdup.

 

They need him in LF for all 3 games of that Yankee series. I don't care who is pitching. I would also like to see Ciriaco starting at SS over Iggy. Ciriaco is a Yankee killer.

[Station 13]

Anyone have ESPN subscription can post this?

 

http://insider.espn.go.com/mlb/blog/_/name/olney_buster/id/9107108/mlb-execs-pick-top-10-players-2013-bbtn-500

[SoxSport]

Sox Sport, you don't have to tell me how inept our organization is. The last four seasons has proven that ten times over, but it still looks like they haven't learned a thing. There is once again a lack of urgency or emphasis on winning but instead on TV ratings and filling up the park. Of course, another lousy start and they will have to bribe people to come.

 

As for Iglesias, he is a great fielder. No one can dispute that, but not you or anyone is going to convince me he can hit ML pitching, not with his total lack of discipline at the plate. I do hope some of that hacking does result in some hits because he may be in there longer than most people suspect. Drew has that concussion, very said and painful for him, but he is also a Drew and while other would recover faster the Drews seem to be slow in the recovery department even though in Steven's case he needs to be totally clear to play for us. A concussion is nothing to take lightly.

 

Iggy is your typical good field, no-hit SS--the kind that abounds on Championship teams.

You can't underestimate all-world defense at SS. Ask any pitcher.

 

Ever play SS? It's like standing in the middle of the Sahara desert. Very lonely place. Range is everything. And Iggy is as fluid as molten silver.

 

That said, I'd like to see Ciriaco at SS in the Yankee series--because he kills the Yankees with his bat.

 

The Drews get hurt all the time. Cherington has to learn not to sign guys who get hurt regularly. Those guys need their own hospital.

[seabeachfred]

Fred, its just spring training. Look at the individual stats instead of looking at the score. Who cares if Mark Duarte and Rick Scott give up 4 runs on March 29th? Who cares that Gillian Godfrey and Mike Clestino gave up 9 runs on March 26th?

 

Do you know who needs to win games? The starters. In the last three games, Lester gave up 0 runs, Buchholz gave up 0 runs and Dempster gave up 3 runs.

 

Sorry Pal but this time I can't buy what you're saying. You only have to look at the past four seasons to see how our miserable conclusions in our ST games carried over into the regular season. Yes, some of the starting pitchers have done well but the hitters haven't and losing begets losing. It is one thing to lose games at the beginning of ST or during the middle part but the last ten games must see a sense of urgency.

 

I will simply say I hope this time you are more on the mark than I am. I will send you kuddos if you are. Just beware though that we haven't had a good and fast start to a season since 2007.

[User Name]

Anyone who says Stephen Drew gets hurt all the time because he got beaned in the head and got a concussion is a retard.

[jung]

I have to admit that I am a little surprised that there did not appear to be more of a sense of urgency regarding these last few Spring games. In each of these last few years they have stumbled through the latter part of ST and then started slowly once the season started, almost sleepwalking through the start of the season.

 

On the other hand. maybe one of the issues arising out of all this effort to finalize the 25 man roster has been less focus on finishing the Spring strong. It would seem to be a bit of an inconsistency to be spurring the guys on when the roster is not as yet set.

 

Still and all, if there are things to work on then they have to work on them. That is really what ST is about. So, they may simply have not been in a position to treat this ST differently.

 

Things always seem more complicated in Boston than they need to be. It would be nice to se that change some day ....I guess today is not the day.

[User Name]

It.Is.Spring.Training.

 

These.Games.Mean.Nothing.

[Palodios]

Sorry Pal but this time I can't buy what you're saying. You only have to look at the past four seasons to see how our miserable conclusions in our ST games carried over into the regular season. Yes, some of the starting pitchers have done well but the hitters haven't and losing begets losing. It is one thing to lose games at the beginning of ST or during the middle part but the last ten games must see a sense of urgency.

 

I will simply say I hope this time you are more on the mark than I am. I will send you kuddos if you are. Just beware though that we haven't had a good and fast start to a season since 2007.

 

Do you know what momentum is going to carry over? The fact that Buchholz has allowed exactly two runs in his last 25 spring training innings. The fact that Lester has a 15 inning scoreless streak going on.

 

Runs scored in the last ten games -- 3, 6, 1, 12, 7, 3, 0, 6, 0, 7, 3, 5. There's plenty of offense in there. Fred, we disagree on a lot of things, and I try to stay respectful, but thinking poorly of the Red Sox team because guys like Fieri, Duarte, Celestino are losers? That's silly. Who cares how the AA team does? The major league team has done fairly well.

[User Name]

Palodios, you need to understand that the one disease modern medicine will never be able to cure is stupidity.

[jung]

You really cannot from the distance we view things from put much stock in anything we see in ST. We have no idea what the marching orders were for the day. Certainly anything they needed to be working on would supersede any notion of what the score was going to be at the end of nine innings.

[Palodios]

Palodios, you need to understand that the one disease modern medicine will never be able to cure is stupidity.

 

It just pains me that after all the moaning we've heard about (and to a lessor extent participated in) the starting pitching, they're doing awesome. The pitching was the problem. The defense is great, the bullpen will be great, and the offense will come around -- it does have six all-stars on it, a solid platoon in left, and a solid sophmore at 3B afterall.

 

Buchholz and Lester have been untouchable all spring, Dempster has been where we've expected him to be, Lackey started off poorly but has shown solid results. If the problem isn't the starting pitching then what is?

[User Name]

A jerk's propensity to whine?

[reYoukilis]

Do you know what momentum is going to carry over? The fact that Buchholz has allowed exactly two runs in his last 25 spring training innings. The fact that Lester has a 15 inning scoreless streak going on.

 

Runs scored in the last ten games -- 3, 6, 1, 12, 7, 3, 0, 6, 0, 7, 3, 5. There's plenty of offense in there. Fred, we disagree on a lot of things, and I try to stay respectful, but thinking poorly of the Red Sox team because guys like Fieri, Duarte, Celestino are losers? That's silly. Who cares how the AA team does? The major league team has done fairly well.

I agree. I dont know how the games were lost in previous ST's, but if we are ahead while the major league players were in it, we won as far as Im concerned. Seems to me that we lost many of these games later on with the minor leaguers in it.

 

Maybe Farrell allowed the minor leaguers to sink or swim and merely wanted to evaluate them, the only chance he has to do that. Also, maybe he was dissapointed.

[redsoxbeatz]

The latest in the Bradley soap opera is they will bring him up for game 3 in Yankee stadium--after CC and Pettite have pitched the first 2 games. They have no confidence already in the kid to hit lefthanders, despite hitting Lee and others. Not much hope for this organization the way they are mishandling this kid.

No balls.

 

This thing is beginning to look like the manager search, all over again.

 

My favorite thing about sports forums is that everyone is capable of being a competent professional sports team's general manager/manager/head coach. I wonder if most GMs get hired via forums like talksox.com?

[redsoxbeatz]

Do you know what momentum is going to carry over? The fact that Buchholz has allowed exactly two runs in his last 25 spring training innings. The fact that Lester has a 15 inning scoreless streak going on.

 

Runs scored in the last ten games -- 3, 6, 1, 12, 7, 3, 0, 6, 0, 7, 3, 5. There's plenty of offense in there. Fred, we disagree on a lot of things, and I try to stay respectful, but thinking poorly of the Red Sox team because guys like Fieri, Duarte, Celestino are losers? That's silly. Who cares how the AA team does? The major league team has done fairly well.

 

money!!

[mvp 78]

It just pains me that after all the moaning we've heard about (and to a lessor extent participated in) the starting pitching, they're doing awesome. The pitching was the problem. The defense is great, the bullpen will be great, and the offense will come around -- it does have six all-stars on it, a solid platoon in left, and a solid sophmore at 3B afterall.

 

Buchholz and Lester have been untouchable all spring, Dempster has been where we've expected him to be, Lackey started off poorly but has shown solid results. If the problem isn't the starting pitching then what is?

 

That's way there is a big difference between realism and overwhelming negativity.

 

"I hate the Red Sox so much, but they're my favorite team in the world!"

[mvp 78]

From ESPN:

 

* Some numbers Juan Nieves must love in his first year as a big-league pitching coach: Going into Friday’s action, Red Sox pitchers were first in the major leagues this spring in ERA (3.89), opponent batting average (.244), opponent OPS (.700), opponent OBP (.308) and WHIP (1.25); second in opponent slugging percentage (.391); and tied for third in strikeouts (251).

[mvp 78]

And not to burst Fred's bubble, but he is completely wrong about previous Spring Training results. Last year, they went 5-1-1 over the last 7 games. In 09 and 10, they had the seventh most wins out of all teams. But hey, facts don't matter around here, right?

[User Name]

And how about that "the Red Sox haven't had a fast start since 2007" nonsense?

 

The Sox had winning percentages of .593 and .636 in April for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. But again, facts don't matter around here.

[mvp 78]

2008 was a failure!

 

This is the longest Fred has had to wait for a championship during his Sox fandom. So sad.

[Bellhorn04]

Jeez Fred, if you're such a big believer in these spring games, you should be doing cartwheels over Iggy's numbers : 292/324/446 770

[jung]

Oh God.....how can you possibly look at any of this Spring stuff seriously....ahead when the starters were in???? Untouchable against what......Sisters of the Poor???? Suffice to say that at least from the distance we get to view things, Lester and Buch and really almost all of the starters could hardly have "looked" better this Spring. However, I don't care if you were in JetBlue the day of a given game, unless you know what the training intent for given players on both teams was for that day, you have no idea what you were looking at. Heck, nine guys all trying to make a team might have a better chance of "winning" one of these spring games or even doing enough things right to win a game than the usual mix of players would have.

 

The one thing we do know is that virtually anything and everything that is considered preparation for the 162 takes precedence over winning a spring game or even scoring runs or holding a team down from scoring runs. It goes from ST (don't give a rats ass about anything but preparing) to Regular Season (don't care about anything but winning). The chasm between the two is multiple universes wide.

[Bellhorn04]

Fred's right about one thing, we have had some very s***** starts the last few years. 4-9 in 2010, 2-10 in 2011, 4-10 last year.