NYlove4BoSox

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere, but what was the supposed players-only-meeting about yesterday?

Is this game televised? I have Time Warner outside NE, and I have MLB Extra Innings

I agree. Also, it seems like the Bradley project has failed. After seeing him linger at the plate Monday, not realizing that he had struck out, it seems overly apparent that he is not ready. He needs his AAA at bats.

I think Victorino has shown he's back, and getting on base. At least for now. The speed combo w/Ells is proving valuable, too. I says he's gotta stay at #2.

True. So that's the next test, and maybe the deciding factor whether its 1 or 2 starts. What's the reasoning for switching the 5th spot with Doubront's 4th spot tomorrow? Especially with the off day Tues. I assume then they get switched back next week. Edit: so I see that Ace has good #'s against the O's, and Felix against the Rays. Maybe that's it.

So Aceves tomorrow, and no indication whether Lackey will miss more than one. So that's encouraging.

Sounds good by me. I'll be very excited to watch Ace start again. Maybe two starts, 5 IP.

@PeteAbe tweeted that Farrell hinted that we could seeing Nava batting in the 2 hole against righties... Intriguing or not?

I agree. I've really enjoyed his time in the booth. I love the "I gotta have that!" Remy is entertaining, but doesn't give much baseball insight. At the same time I don't need constant baseball insight, as they do on YES. Is there talk of a third guy being added?

I gotta think the "hometown discount" waters have Ben tested a little on Ells, and they were too inviting. I don't think we have any more of signing him beyond 2013 than does any other team with money. However, I am a big fan. I believe in the "freak accidents" theory, and I hope we can keep him.

Optimistically, it sounds like Papi's recent soreness could simply be something similar to what WMB felt last week. From Rob Bradford: There were some initial concerns after Ortiz postponed his scheduled baserunning exercises Sunday due to soreness. But the designated hitter was told by the team’s medical staff that the discomfort was natural, and part of the recovery process. “To be honest with you, I did it all today and nothing gave me a hard time, which is fine,” he said. “Dan [Dyrek], our therapist, he tells me the soreness I’m getting is from things that are starting to break down, things that weren’t functioning because I wasn’t running for like six months. It’s like when you go to the gym the first time, the next day you’re going to be sore all over the place because you haven’t been working out, so that’s pretty much what happens to injuries in your shoulders, arms, knees. Once you start functioning and do all the activities you’re supposed to, you’re definitely going to get sore and you have to get used to it. Hopefully, that’s the case. I think I ran today better than I normally do.”

Game replay is starting now on MLB Network, so mind your spoilers.

You gotta assume Cherry was/is getting offers. And then he assumes the potential upside is greater from keeping him. No one is going to offer MVP runner up type of trade bait. They'll focus the injury prone angle and offer accordingly. It seems like a 50/50 shot considering all possible outcomes, according to all the different oppinions of sports writers and such.

Ells has no trade value. We have more to gain from a year of production from him than trading him. This is not a lost year by any means. I say the AL East is the most open division in baseball. Let Bradley mature at a normal rate.

With all our injuries and necessary call-ups over the last couple years, I've seen a consistency: Guys come up. They hit the snot out of the ball for about a month. Pitchers adjust, and the batter does not. I believe in the concept that players need to learn to deal with struggles at AAA. Give him time.