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.

I would assume teams have stats on an opposing pitcher showing what the odds are that he'll throw a strike after missing with 3 balls. Adding that to the consideration of whose at bat, on base, number of outs, score of game...on and on, I'd then assume there's more calculation factored into whether or not to swing on 3-0, and less of a simple approach. Maybe.

The latest is he left the game with "soreness".

Weds @ 7 Morales is starting on NESN and, for us non-NESN subscribers, on MLB Network.

In the AL East power at 1B is important, and as evidenced by our difficulty in filling that role this year, power is hard to find. I like the idea of moving WMB to 1st, as long as his power keeps up this year. Also I got the impression last year that he's going to be injury prone. I think he pulled a hammy rounding 2nd. So for both of those reasons he may be better for us at 1st.

Aceves is ultimately doomed in the way Lowrie was a couple years ago. He's too useful as a long reliever, and so should be denied a rotation spot. Lowrie was too useful as a utility guy, and denied a starting spot for Boston. Neither roles are glorious, especially for the long reliever (clean-up guy). However, if Aceves comes around, could it be good to see him utilized more by Farrell going to him quickly at the sign of struggle from a starter? I'm not necessarily saying pull Lester if he gives up 3 runs in the 1st. More so the idea of going to a long reliever when down 4 runs in the 2nd as opposed to waiting for a 5 run deficit in the 4th or 5th. I just think having Aceves and Morales both as (hopefully) effective long relievers gives us some options other clubs don't have.

From Bleacher Report- "He simply lobbed the ball during his first 15 pitches before being asked separately by Triple-A coach Rich Sauveur and new manager John Farrell if he was alright. Although he indicated he was fine, he continued his lackluster throwing. The Boston Herald’s Scott Lauber reported that only when pitching coach Juan Nieves visited the mound and spoke with him in Spanish, did the pitcher pick up the pace. He threw 12 pitches at normal speed before walking off the field and speaking again with Farrell and Nieves." I don't know if it was simply Nieves' words, the fact that he spoke in Spanish, or whatever else, but I am holding out hope that Nieves will tame Aceves. He does seem frustrated. After performing wonderfully in 2011 he's really seen no reward, so I hope he keeps his cool. He could be a great asset if he finds a happy place, figuratively speaking. And I like the fire he brings.

I remember when Pedro was in the booth with Don and Jerry last year. He thought the biggest problem with MLB pitching was an epidemic of overuse of the cutter (not specifying Lester or Mo) because of lack of seasoning due to guys being brought up too soon. I don't know a lot about it, but I ain't gonna disagree with Pedro. And it's something to consider now that he's officially in the ear of the Red Sox.

Hell Yes! Got 4 tix for July 20. Had to get 2 pairs a section apart, G13 and G15. Took about 15 minutes in the waiting room. On a side note, I've seen the Sox v Yanks once before, in Sept '09, at which point we were all but completely out of the PS. We got tix at the box office right before the game, 20 rows up behind Swisher. Anyways, the guy next to me was SLEEPING! And there was a concrete wall directly to our right. That was in the Bronx. It was lame. THIS will surely be tits and a half!

I was selected. Email came in at 6:22pm EST. What are the chances of actually getting tickets?

“I’m not completely recovered, but I’m going to be ready to go for Opening Day,” Ortiz told WEEI.com early Wednesday morning. He then added when asked if he would have to somewhat ease into spring training, “Yeah, but it all depends what the doctors say. They say I’m going to have my days I’m not going to feel that well. I haven’t had those yet, but I haven’t started the hard stuff. But the one thing I can tell you is I’m able to do the agility drills without any pain, which I wasn’t able to do before, so that’s a good thing. When I was injured those used to cause me a lot of pain, and I don’t have any pain when I do them now.” Not a surprise. I can't even say if this is good or bad, but it's an update. Here's to hopin' for plenty of dingers and lettin' Papi reign as the slowest home-run-trotter in baseball.