SoxSport

The latest tweet is Carp, Sweeney, Bradley are taking IF/OF practice. It's down to keeping 2 of the 3. No decision yet! Probably the guy who drops the first OF fly is odd man out. Little League all over again. That's the Red Sox.

I predict they will play 162 games--and win about half of them.

Another one of the Diva Sox.

Bard said he's about where he was a couple years ago in the bullpen. Velocity is back. Command is about the same. Never great.

Actually, they brought him up because Youk was hurt. When MBrooks started crushing the ball, they ditched Youks. Youks has been looking good in ST. Clean shaven. But it's only ST. Most think he's in decline. White Sox did.

If Iggy and Bradley shine, do they have the balls to keep them in the lineup? We'll see. I don't see Cherington as much of a leadership type--but there are other forces at work--the ticket sellers who know how to gauge public interest. Mainly Lucchino. It's nice to have to deal with positive surpises. Just don't blow the opportunity.

That's right. They have to come into NY loaded for bear--if that's still possible for a Red Sox team. After all, this is a team (or was a team) the last few years under Tito that threw in the towel when the Yankees got a few runs ahead. I remember some of those games, and that pissed me off more than anything else. The most complacent team in baseball under Tito the last 2-3 years. How were they allowed to get that way? The answer is the whole friggin' organization became complacent. Henry was off in England, Lucchino was counting tickets sold, and the FO was spending like drunken sailors. An organization gone to pot. Well, they have to show they are intent on turning things around. One way they can is to charge into Yankee Stadium and sweep the injury-plagued, ageing Yankees. And a way they can do that is to put a charge into their lineup, with Bradley in LF.

The FO strategy was to be conservative and spend all the money they saved for 2-3 years. Not to rely on any prospects to suddenly blossom. It still has to play out. Bradley looks like a surprise, and allows them a top defensive OF with Ells and Vic, so the Vic signing is not so bad defensively. But expensive. Iggy may stick at SS, so Drew may become expendable--they might be able to deal him. Or maybe Iggy will need more AAA time to develop his hitting. But he has impressed so far. Napoli looks like a good sign at $5mil to play 1B or DH. Gomes looks expendable. So does Dempster, whose spot could have been taken by Webster--but that was an unknown before ST. The worst sign may turn out to be Ortiz. They are stuck for two years and $26 mil? with a guy who says he can't play.

The Red Sox have a lot to prove this year. The last two years they have been the most overpaid, underachieving team in MLB. And they literally quit as a team last year after the Dodger deal. If ever a team needed to redefine itself, this is the team. If they continue to count beans in the FO, it will indicate they still don't get it.

Can't believe there are still writers on twitter rationalizing why they should send Bradley down for 12 games. No thought about trying to win those first three games in Yankee stadium--which could be the beginning of the fight for last place in the AL east. Hopefully, the management is focussed on winning--and selling tickets.

Overbay just joined the Yankees Retirement Home.

I see they cut Overbay rather than pay him $100K. Says he hasn't had a good ST, though he made a nice diving stop yesterday. Looked a bit overweight, though. He's old enough for the Yankee Retirement Home.

The kid would have made it no matter what, but the African American angle is no doubt a factor in terms of timing. Plus the need to sell tickets.

The kid is unreal. But beware: last year, Brandon Belt tore up ST, made the Giants, and then came down to earth in April. This year, he's torn up ST again. It's anybody's guess which direction he will take.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/2013/03/25/red-sox-have-some-decision-make/XNETjOUkNyfduqNtnZo2tM/story.html Cafardo talks about the classic conflict between the GM and the manager about the roster. Says the manager should have final say on who makes the team, but the trend is the FO determines who plays on the field. There are exceptions (Showalter and other experienced managers); it's a traditional conflict mentioned in the Moneyball book. Last year, Valentine clearly had little or no say on players (Lucchino's concession to the FO?); this year, I suspect it's a different situation. He also mentions some of the decisions they have to make--aside from Bradley and Iggy--which are pretty much settled off their performances and the Ortiz/Drew injuries. First base backup will be tough--Overbay made a great diving stop yesterday at 1B-- a reminder of the value of his defense. Plus he might wind up in pinstripes if they let him go. He has always hurt the Red Sox. I think it's time the FO placed more value on the defense to support the pitching. Defense has fallen into their lap with the unexpected showings of Bradley and Iggy, and now they should take advantage of it.

I'll have to tweet that to Middlebrooks.

Hey, it IS a great story. They didn't even have to make it up.

great at bat. The kid went with the pitch. Bailey and Ellsbury are the type of guys who constantly have to look up to make sure a piano isn't falling on their heads.

Spring training is going great for the Red Sox. How can that be--with Ortiz and Drew down? Maybe a blessing in disguise. Bradley and Iggy are shining right now. All of a sudden, there is a vision of a great DEFENSIVE team--with Iggy at SS and Vic-Ells-Bradley in the OF. Who would have thought? Not pre-season, when the strategy seemed mainly to shore up the RHd hitting for Fenway and sign somebody who could replace Ells in CF if he got dealt. But that's changed now with the emergence of Bradley, injuries, and Iggy's strong spring. It looks like the strong suit now may be the defense--which can be a big help to the pitching. And pitching will make or break this team. And oh yeah, Gomes. He gets to play his best defensive position--DH.

5. call 'em as I see 'em. like an umpire--without a boss.

Can't help but think Selig has Henry's ear about Bradley, what with the JR movie 42 coming out, and his desire to see more African Americans in MLB. Has to help the kid, since he has a real shot at being a star player. African Americans tend more to football and basketball these days--it's the Caribbean kids who are dominating in baseball. PR-wise, Bradley is very valuable right now, aside from his obvious maturity and ability. Says a lot about drafting college grads with talent. They should need less minor league time, and cost less to develop. Bradley could be the most exciting new Red Sox player in many years.

The folks upstairs can influence the performance on the field, by their selection of the players and by the team's style. For example, the Red Sox have shown in recent years a disdain for stealing bases (while allowing their opponents to steal them blind), and a propensity for their hitters to be up there swinging away--instead of allowing the situation to dictate the strategy. This prompted one ex-player announcing a game to say they weren't playing as a team in spite of their considerable talent (when AdGon and Crawford were playing). This style of behavior can only have come from upstairs--at the manager level or higher. Perhaps Tito had his hands tied. We don't know. We do know that conflict between the FO and the manager is common--who to play on the field and how to play. Farrell was asked yesterday in an interview why Ellsbury hadn't even attempted a stolen base in ST so far. He didn't give a straight answer. Said you might expect more during the season. Last year, Ells stole only 17 bases--below his career frequency based on PAs. Could be he is a bit gunshy on the basepaths following his injury on the ground at 2B. Farrell's Toronto team was 5th in SBs last year (Red Sox were 10th), so you would expect more SB emphasis this year, especially with Victorino and maybe Bradley in the lineup. Plus Pedey, who will get his 20 SBs. Hopefully, Farrell will get his way on this--the team as constituted needs to move baserunners better to generate more runs for its questionable pitching. The starting pitching has looked good in ST so far, but that may be just a mirage. Relying just on the long ball won't get them far.

That's true in any organization. The higherups never take the blame. And even if they do, they are immune to getting axed or penalized. Just saw that Moneyball movie. Nice scene at Fenway where Henry offered Beane $12.5 million to be Red Sox GM in '02. Didn't say number of years but probably 4-5? DePodesta (Beane's asst) was going to be new A's GM--wanted Youkilis from the Red Sox for Beane. Beane turned down the Red Sox because he didn't want to give up Youkilis.

Yeah, he didn't object to the change--though he had failed at starting in the minors. That should have been a flag for the FO, but they seemed intent on saving money by not signing a FA starter, and trading for a closer. Fortunately, Chapman said he wanted to close, so that sealed the decision for him.

Boy did they screw this guy up changing roles for him. The Reds shouldn't risk the same with Chapman. It's really a case of overmanaging--trying to fix what isn't broke. It's done all the time with pitching these days.