SARASOTA, Fla. — Shane Victorino has yet to play a game in spring training for the Red Sox. When he does come back, which should be soon, it may only be as a righthanded hitter.

Victorino largely abandoned switch hitting in August last season because of a strained left hamstring. It proved successful as he hit .300 with an .896 OPS in 115 plate appearances batting righthanded against a righthanded pitcher.

Victorino has been coy about his plans, refusing to say whether he will bat lefthanded again. But he has yet to take a swing batting lefthanded during batting practice sessions on the field.

"It's almost going to be a game-time decision. I think he has his viewpoints on it and where his confidence is," manager John Farrell said this morning. "He hasn't told me that he's eliminating switch hitting."

Victorino is a natural righthanded hitter who learned to switch hit in 2002 when he was in the minors. He has been a better hitter righthanded over the course of his career.

"The right side has always been his strong side," Farrell said. "I think last year his production against righthanded pitching probably has enabled him to be a little bit more open-minded to getting the majority of at-bats from that side of the plate."

Farrell said the Red Sox support the idea.

"We want the most productive player," he said. "If that's what it lends to, we'd be perfectly fine with it if that's what he opts to do."

Batting righthanded Victorino hit a modest .216 in the postseason but drove in 12 runs over 14 games. He had big hits in Game 6 of the ALCS and Game 6 of the World Series.

"You look at the approach at the plate and the overall production and the confidence and you tend to think that has a chance to [continue]," Farrell said. "Time will tell."

Victorino has been held out of games so far for several reasons. He is recovering from surgery on his right thumb and has been doing extra work to strengthen groin muscles that gave him problems last season.

"Hopefully by sometime early this coming week he will be on the field," Farrell said. "All his on-field work has been free, no issues. That's been encouraging."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2014/03/victorino_may_give_up_switch-hitting.html?camp=misc:on:twit:sox&SREF=Optin&dlvrit=199675

I think this would be a good decision by Victorino. Hopefully he continues to have the same success he had last season, hitting from that side of the plate

I realize this post likely ensures he'll be injured by nightfall, but it's getting hard to not be at least a little excited at what we might have here.

Not so, Boomer. Miami Marlins officials were "outraged" the Red Sox sent only JBJ and Lavarnway after they sold "premium" tickets to see the World Champs. This article sums up my feelings pretty well.

The Miami Marlins, who won 62 games last season and routinely trotted out a regular season lineup featuring players like Jeff Mathis, Donovan Solano and 37-year-old Placido Polanco, are apparently in a tizzy over the spring training lineup the Red Sox put together for Thursday’s Grapefruit League game in Jupiter, Fla. That’s according to the Sun-Sentinel‘s Marlins beat reporter Juan C. Rodriguez, who wrote that team executives were “outraged” over the squad of minor leaguers that Boston sent to Miami’s Roger Dean Stadium to play a team that will feature 36-year-old Rafael Furcal at second base in games that actually count.

 

Rodriguez also notes that Boston’s lineup was especially galling given that the Marlins had instigated “super premium” pricing for tickets to Thursday’s game against the defending World Series champion, only to watch “organizational filler in Red Sox batting practice jerseys with numbers befitting an offensive line” face a team that, in 2013, charged its fans to watch Ed Lucas compile nearly 400 plate appearances for a team that finished 34 games out of first place in the National League East.

 

The Marlins, meanwhile, had a lineup that featured seven of their likely Opening Day starters, including Furcal, who has not played in the majors since 2012; third baseman Casey McGehee, who spent all of 2013 in Japan; and shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria, who was the worst player in baseball last season by WAR (-1.9).

Thursday’s game between the Marlins and Red Sox was called after eight innings due to rain with both teams tied at zero. Boston’s lineup out-hit Miami’s, 7-2.

 

Nothing much I can add to that.  I can't fathom the pain he's likely feeling.

Their 2 main catchers are Ross and Pierzynski.  Ross is a very good defensive catcher who played well in the World Series.  Pierzynski is still an above-average hitter, and they make a nice L-R combo behind the plate.  

But they're old.  36 and 37 years old, respectively.  They are not the future.

Many of us thought that Lavarnway was the future behind the plate.  Good power, and improving defensive skills, it does appear that he has lost the confidence of Sox' brass to be behind the plate.  He's played some at 1b this spring, which may simply be to improve his chances of being a MLB contributor (if you can play multiple positions, that's a good thing), but the reality is that they seem disinclined to pursue Lavarnway as a catching option.  

See here for an interesting article on that:  https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2014/03/04/ryan-lavarnway-taking-first-steps-first-base/hW5jT5pZbEkHpFXzY7uuJN/story.html

I don't know much about Dan Butler, but at 27, I can't see him being the future behind the plate either.  Although he did have a pretty good year in AAA in 2013:  .262/.350/.479/.829, with 14 homers in just 282 at-bats.  So he has a little pop and might end up being useful.

The future appears to be Vazquez and Swihart.  

Vazquez (2013):  345 ab, 5 hr, 48 rbi, .287/.375/.391/.766, and is a tremendous defensive catcher with a cannon for an arm. 23 yrs old.

Swihart (2013):  376 ab, 2 hr, 42 rbi, .298/.366/.428/.794, and is solid behind the plate.  21 yrs old.

Each has tremendous upside.  The question is when will they be ready for the majors?  Vazquez' defensive ability may make him ready to go as soon as 2015.  Swihart is further behind.  Could the Sox go with Ross and Pierzynski this year, and then Vazquez and another veteran (re-sign Pierzynski?) in 2015, with the idea being Vazquez and Swihart starting in 2016?  And what of Lavarnway?

 

Since the beginning of the PITCHf/x era, researchers have calculated framing in several different ways. We are presenting a new method that we will call the "Regressed Probabilistic Model" of framing (RPM for short). In brief, RPM works by calculating the combined probability (and associated run value) that each pitch will be called a strike; summing those probabilities (and run values) across opportunities; attributing those values to a player (catcher or pitcher); and regressing "career" values to the mean.

We will freely admit: If you haven't seen the results of previous framing studies, it can be tough to wrap your mind around the size of the impact of a good or bad framing catcher. These effect sizes are not out of line with what has been reported in the past, but they're still obscenely large. Everyone agrees that Mike Trout was either a deserving MVP or a deserving runner-up in each of the past two seasons, which the stats say were worth close to 10 wins apiece. Our data suggest that over the past five years, the teams that have employed good framers like Jonathan Lucroy, Brian McCann, and Jose Molina have received essentially "free" MVP-caliber seasons from framing alone. (Each of those catchers has been worth about two extra wins per season over that span). This is a staggering amount of value. Add in the fact that these wins are almost assuredly not properly priced into the free agent market, and the difference between having a good framing catcher or a bad framing catcher can make or break a cost-conscious team.

Considering the money he made and the accomplishments that decorated his career, it would be easy for Martinez to just sit back on his boat in the Dominican Republic or look at the beach near his home in Miami.  But his job with the Red Sox, though not as glamorous as the one he had as a player, is one Martinez has really taken to.

 

"It's just that I think I have so much to offer, stuff that I'm not going to put into use anymore," Martinez said. "I might as well pass it along. I'm trying to do that. I'm trying to get involved more in baseball and more with the young players and the veteran players. Whoever needs me. I would just love to pass everything I know -- all my knowledge, all of my experience -- to some of those guys, and hopefully get some good results out of every one of them."

 

Martinez had the thrill of seeing results from some of his labor last year.  In the early part of 2013, Martinez heard that lefty Drake Britton had been struggling a bit. So he volunteered to take a trip to Double-A Portland to spend time with him. By later in the summer, Britton was getting big outs at Fenway Park during a pennant race.

 

"For him to come to town like that, it's special. He flew into Portland and I got to sit down with him for about an hour. It was amazing," said Britton.

 

What type of wisdom did Martinez impart on Britton, who was charged with DUI last spring?

 

"Just the attitude and mentality that I need to have," Britton said. "Being selfless, not selfish. Just basically getting my priorities straight. He's been a very good mentor. Just to have a guy like that come to town and just reassure me and tell me that I have it and it's there and it's just about doing these other minor little things to piece it all together was pretty cool. That's Pedro Martinez. It's awesome to hear that."

 

For Martinez, it was complete gratification, and it reassured him that his second baseball career is worthwhile.

 

"Well, the first thing was I was honest to him. I will always be," Martinez said. "I was straightforward with him and I told him exactly what I would probably love to hear if I was in the same situation. I talk about his stuff, trusting his stuff, about his personal life, how he should treat some of the things that were happening. How much of a battle he wanted to put up after things like that happened.

 

"I'm extremely proud of him, extremely proud to see him overcome all that and actually pay me back. That's all I wanted -- I wanted to see him have success. And to see him at the end of the year pitching so well and doing so well for the team, helping the team so much, it really made me like a proud father."

And about his TV appearances:

Of course, Martinez's job with the Red Sox isn't his only profession. He broke into the media during the postseason last year, serving as an engaging studio host for TBS.  Martinez will work for TBS again in 2014.

 

"You know what? I have a lot more respect for you guys," Martinez said. "I thought TV was just, 'Sit down and talk about baseball.' Especially analyzing. I have to really tip my hat to some of you for the work you do. It's so much searching and little details that you have to look at, game-changing situations.

 

"It's a lot more work than I thought, but it's really interesting and I had a great time, especially working with the guys I was working with. It was great. They were true professionals, guys that were really on top of the game. And not only that, they were trying to teach me every day how to become more comfortable. Yes, I have one more year with TBS, and who knows along the way? But I'll remain in baseball. I don't want to go away from baseball."

There's more, about the hall of fame and other players he'd like to work with.  But I think it's really cool that despite his semi-acrimonious departure, he's helping out the Red Sox rather than... well, the Expos he knew don't exist anymore, and the Mets are the Mets, but at least he's not with the Dodgers.  Can still wear my #45 jersey with pride.

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/10513938/brian-butterfield-arnie-beyeler-boston-red-sox-defense?ex_cid=espnapi_public

Today we get a nice article from ProJo's Tim Britton, who tells us Carp's working to enhance his versatility -- and that it was his idea, prompted by Daniel Nava's success at first base:

 

Nava ended up starting eight games at first and playing 86 innings there overall on the year.

 

Carp saw how much learning a new position helped Nava, and so he approached Brian Butterfield with an idea the first day of workouts. How about a few ground balls at third base?

 

“It’s something that I’m familiar with but not completely familiar with,” said Carp, who played a dozen games at third in the Gulf Coast League and Single-A South Atlantic League while in the Mets system nearly a decade ago. “The way our coaching staff prepares us, if I can get with them and shadow Will [Middlebrooks] and watch those guys do their business, who’s to say I can’t get a few at-bats at third this year?”

 

It’s a no-risk move for Carp, who’s not quite a natural defender in left field or at first base. Third base is a spot where the Red Sox are lacking in depth — even utilityman Jonathan Herrera is shallow in experience at the hot corner — and Carp is itching for a chance to see more playing time. Remember, Brock Holt and Xander Bogaerts each played third base last season for Boston, and neither had any experience at the position before spring training.

So... How's he doing? 

 

Butterfield and Carp had their first session of extra work at third on Saturday.

 

“He caught the ball well,” said Butterfield. “He’s at a point where he’s comfortable with the environment, he’s played well for us. We’re more than willing to see what he looks like over at third base.”

 

Carp is particularly happy that his shoulder — which he injured on Opening Day in 2012 while with the Mariners — feels healthy enough for him to even consider making the throw across the diamond.

 

“It speaks a lot about how our coaching staff thinks and prepares themselves,” Carp said. “Nava came in camp and learned first base on the fly and really helped us out when we needed it. I’m going to do the same thing and see what happens.”

An infield with Nava at 1B, WMB at 2B and Carp at 3B would be mighty entertaining this spring -- and downright terrifying anytime after April 1 except in games where they're leading by 10+ runs. But I'm loving the "Let's all become supersubs!" era of this club.

Drew is getting screwed by a fundamentally unfair system and has every right to complain about it. Just because his loss is relative to a baseline that is pretty awesome doesn't mean his loss isn't real.