206 replies to this topic

[Rovin Romine]

Holy crap. 

 

From ESPN Boston:

 

The arrest occurred at 4:42 a.m. Saturday, on Ben Hill Griffin Parkway in Estero, which is adjacent to Fort Myers. According to the arrest report, Britton, who was driving a 2008 black Chevrolet Silverado (a pickup truck), was paced at a maximum speed of 111 miles an hour in a 45 m.p.h. zone. With a police car in pursuit, Britton's truck swerved in between other moving vehicles and jumped over a curb, continuing down a small decline and knocking down a barbed-wire fence, according to the police report. Britton then continued down a dirt road for a quarter of a mile and attempted to pull into a wooded area before coming to a stop. When the officer approached and asked for his license, Britton first handed him his debit card.

Nice.  I had a client with a "he gave me his credit card" DUI.  FL cops love that line.  (We won that one at trial, btw, since jurors don't like that kind of line without corroboration.)  I should really move out to Ft. Myers and pick up a few of these spring training DUIs. 

 

Here's his booking page from the Lee County Sheriff's Office http://www.sheriffle...267733257458693

 

Looks like he got the standard bond set - which is somewhat surprising given the 100mph/swerving through cars before crashing facts alleged.

 

Bad news: in addition to DUI (and DUI property, which raises the usual first offense DUI penalty of 60 days max to 365 days max) http://www.flsenate..../2012/0316.1935

it looks like the State Attorney might be able to add: 

Fleeing and Eluding (High Speed), which is a second degree felony in FL, punishable by up to 15 years state prison.  http://www.flsenate..../2012/0316.1935

 

Dashboard cams/video of stops are county by county in FL.  In "outrageous" DUI cases, such as this one, having/not having a video will often make or break the case if there's no blow (which there was not in this case, apparently).  So I'd like to see if there's a video. 

 

He's set to be arraigned on 3/18/2013: http://apps.leeclerk...iminal Traffic#

Edited by Rovin Romine, 05 March 2013 - 01:52 PM.

[Harry Hooper]

Back on the field in Fort Myers, the Sox played the WBC Puerto Rico contingent at JetBlue Park tonight. My first time in the new park since I boycotted ST last year due to the Valentine hiring.

 

John Lackey started and went 3 innings. On the optimistic side, his outing was largely without incident as he allowed one hit per frame. On the pessimistic side, his fastball started at 90-91 and declined about 1 mph per inning.

 

Hopefully just ST department: Stephen Drew went 3 steps to his left and booted a simple grounder. Ugly play.

 

Will Middlebrooks smashed a HR over everything to deep LCF. This one would have made the sidewalk on the far side on Lansdowne, at least.

 

Mike Napoli looked foolish on one play in the field. Off the bat, he (mis)read a grounder DTL as a hot smash. He made a panic dive down onto the chalk to try and block it, only to watch the moderate speed bounding ball go past him into RF. He did make a nice play on a grounder to his right moments later, preventing the runner on 2b from scoring. At the plate Napoli launched a Dave Kingman-esque moonscaper HR to dead LF. It took a loooonng time to come down.

 

Mortensen got cuffed around in his first inning of work, hard shots ringing around the park. He also crossed up Lavarnway with a runner on 3B for a gift run for Puerto Rico. He went on to retire 5 in a row before ex-teammate Mike Aviles golfed what looked to be a down-and-in change off the LF wall for a double.

 

Former Allard Baird KC bonus baby Mitch Maier hit a jamshot flutterball about 30 feet behind the third baseman. It landed on the warning track and kicked left into the seats for a cheapie automatic double. He didn't help his cause in his next AB. With the leadoff batter on 2B, he lofted a flyball to LF instead of getting the runner over.

 

Bradley Jr. got one AB late and made it count. He stayed back nicely on the pitch and slashed a double that short-hopped the wall in LF. It probably should have been caught by the outfielder, but it was smacked hard.

 

Pedro Ciriaco made an ultra-egregious throwing error on a routine grounder at SS. He made his throw absolutely flat-footed instead of stepping towards 1B on the throw, which predictably tailed into the batter-runner. He did show some flashy footwork on the next play, snagging a grounder up the middle and doing the cha-cha (?) to the bag for a 6-3 DP.

 

Star of the game: Lavarnway smashed a liner past the third baseman for a single, a liner to deep LCF for a double, and then a long drive for  a double (triple for just about any non-Molina) to the triangle in CF. He also threw out would-be basestealers at 2b and 3B. Both throws were dead into the glove for the easy slap tag by the fielders.

 

Sox take the win despite many boisterous fans (with musical instruments and air horns) rooting for Team Puerto Rico.

Edited by Harry Hooper, 06 March 2013 - 12:00 AM.

[MakMan44]

Thanks for the write up, I know most of us had no chance to see this game and I couldn't even find a way to listen to it on the radio

[Harry Hooper]

Another report from the Fort:

 

I watched today's game vs. the Bucs from an outrageously good seat behind the plate. The Pittsburgh BP pitcher (?) with radar gun and book was three seats to my left.

 

Lester started and went 4 innings and gave up 1 run. That's about the extent of the good news on Jon. He had a lot of trouble throwing strikes. First-pitch strikes were the exception and not the rule. Fell behind 2-0 on fastballs to Marte to start the game, then threw a fat heater on pitch 4 that was launched to LCF for a triple. His breaking ball had no bite, and typically floated uselessly through the LH batter's box. He walked the 8th and 9th batters in the 2nd inning, but got out of the jam. Last inning was his best, despite leadoff walk. He got Jones to ground into a 1-6-3 DP.

 

Knuckleballer Wright followed Lester on the hill for the Sox. The highlight of his 2 IP was reaching 84 mph on his fastball. That should tell you how poor his knuckler was. He gave up a single to the first batter he faced, then a 5-4 ground out, followed by two BBs to load the bases. Then it got worse. When sent in to pich hit, Jose Tabata practically ran to the plate and promptly launched  a shot halfway up the wall in dead CF.

 

Rubby was next for a 2-inning appearance. He's quite a figure on the mound -- imagine the slim version of Ortiz pitching. He was hitting an impressive 94 mph on the JetBlue gun (which seems legit based on my 2 games there). Unfortunately the Pirates' batters were all sitting dead red and whacked Rubby around a bit. His first batter was Goedert who swatted a double to deep CF. He then got a swinging K on an up-and-in slider and a popup to 1B. The next batter hit a rocket double to LF that Overbay might have been able to catch if he hadn't sat there frozen watching the ball come in his direction. The double was followed by a sinking smash single to CF that Ciriaco pulled up too late on and had bounce off his glove into deep CF. Rubby's second inning wasn't much better.

 

Tazawa finished up with a scoreless 9th after giving up a leadoff double to Hague off the LF wall. The only highlight I recall was one particularly nasty splitter he threw.

 

Best looking pitcher of the day was Pirate Phil Irwin, who featured an excellent curveball.

 

On the offensive side of the ledger, Gomes hooked a hanging curveball into the LF corner for a RBI double. Ciriaco had a couple of solid hits and a stinging line out to the third baseman. Saltalamacchia (vs. a LHP) just missed a homer to LF by about 3 feet and had to settle for a double. Seemingly tubbier than I remember him, Linares hit a fastball (naturally!) off the LF wall for a double as well. Vazquez chipped in a RBI single, and Meneses had a single in his 1 AB.

 

Bradley Jr. twice came up to the plate vs. a LHP with a runner on 2B. He showed a relaxed, disciplined approach and worked a BB both times. I was impressed.

 

Not much good to recall on the defensive front, Holt made a nice diving grab to his left and nabbed McCutcheon at first. Ciriaco at 2B made a nice play on a grounder to his left as well.

[joe dokes]

Another report from the Fort:

 

 

 The next batter hit a rocket double to LF that Overbay might have been able to catch if he hadn't sat there frozen watching the ball come in his direction. The double was followed by a sinking smash single to CF that Ciriaco pulled up too late on and had bounce off his glove into deep CF. Rubby's second inning wasn't much better.

 If nothing else, spring training seems to be reiterating what seemed apparent last year --- the Ciriaco is a utility IF only; as for Overbay, I always read "he played OF in college before moving to 1B" as "they took one look at him in the OF, saw that he could hit, and said 'better move him to 1B so he doesn't get killed.'"  Assuming the two are in competition, neither Overbay nor Carp are likely to be very good. But Overbay's only getting worse (older). At least Carp is a better bet to maintain his mediocrity and has played OF in this century.  I suspect that Overbay will get the "veteran's benefit" of an early release so he has a chance to catch on elsewhere.

[Laser Show]

 If nothing else, spring training seems to be reiterating what seemed apparent last year --- the Ciriaco is a utility IF only; as for Overbay, I always read "he played OF in college before moving to 1B" as "they took one look at him in the OF, saw that he could hit, and said 'better move him to 1B so he doesn't get killed.'"  Assuming the two are in competition, neither Overbay nor Carp are likely to be very good. But Overbay's only getting worse (older). At least Carp is a better bet to maintain his mediocrity and has played OF in this century.  I suspect that Overbay will get the "veteran's benefit" of an early release so he has a chance to catch on elsewhere.

 

 

Well...

 

Obviously, the Red Sox don't want Overbay to go to the Yankees if they aren't using him. They thought enough of him to bring him to spring training, and therefore think he could be useful in the right setting. Overbay is a left-handed hitter, so you know he'd at least help out in Yankee Stadium, and with Teixeira out for the first month and change of the season, the injury-prone Travis Hafner at designated hitter, and, as of today, Dan Johnson the starting first baseman on the depth chart, you know they would be interested in picking him up if he's freely available. In short, Boston wants to make sure that either they (a) keep Overbay or (b) keep him away from the Yankees.

[Rudy Pemberton]

I don't know, if the Yankees get Overbay, it's better than them getting someone who could actually make an impact. He hardly seems like the kind of guy that you keep so the MFY don't get him.

[Savin Hillbilly]

Agree with Rudy. It would be completely nutty to keep Overbay if he isn't the best fit for our needs, just to make sure the Yankees can't have him. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face.

 

I think it's a good rule of thumb that if a player is so limited that you're in serious doubt about whether you can find even a bench role for him, then you shouldn't waste a lot of time worrying about whether one of your rivals gets hold of him.

[Laser Show]

FTR, I was referring more to the point made in the article that if they don't find a role for him they should trade him to a team like the Brewers that could use him and not simply release him. Keeping him just for the sake of keeping him away from the MFYs would be completely ridiculous.

[pokey_reese]

I don't know, I might consider Overbay something of a trojan horse for the Yankees.  At this point, there is just as good a chance that he is cooked as there is that he can be replacement-level, in which case I would rather have the Yankees learn that by giving him 100+ regular season ABs.

[mabrowndog]

Just bear in mind that the RF porch at La Toilette Nouvelle would probably be Viagra for a declining LHH like Overbay.

[joe dokes]

I am of the "he's cooked let the Yankees have him" camp.  JT Snow cooked.

And in 92 career PAs in the Bronx, he's at 198/275/284 with 1HR.

 

as of today, Dan Johnson the starting first baseman on the depth chart

 

 

Dan Johnson will hit about .135, but will be good for his annual "let's rip the Sox' testicles out through their throats" hit somewhere in April or September, the only 2 months he gets to play MLB after making the roster, sucking, raking at AAA, then getting the 40-man callup in Sept.

[Laser Show]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

Rob Bradford ‏@bradfo

Bard 1-2-3. Tops out at 97 mph. Hitters fooled by few sliders he threw. Two strikeouts

 

EDIT: Bradford's the only one that had him at 96-97. Rest of the writers were going off Hammond Stadium's gun (93-95). Guessing Bradford might have been sitting with the scouts.

Edited by Laser Show, 07 March 2013 - 03:26 PM.

[Papelbon's Poutine]

Ladies and gentlemen:

[SoxScout]

No shit. Cool.This was from 2 days ago:

 

FORT MYERS — Daniel Bard thought his back-field throwing session earlier today went well and that he is returning to his old self.

 

“Today it felt like me, felt like the old me,’’ said Bard. “Felt like there was power behind the ball, four-seamer's pretty true. Plus some downhill plane, and that's what we're looking for."

[TimNJsoxfan]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

 

EDIT: Bradford's the only one that had him at 96-97. Rest of the writers were going off Hammond Stadium's gun (93-95). Guessing Bradford might have been sitting with the scouts.

Might need this if Hanrahan keeps "pitching" the way he is.

[mabrowndog]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

 

EDIT: Bradford's the only one that had him at 96-97. Rest of the writers were going off Hammond Stadium's gun (93-95). Guessing Bradford might have been sitting with the scouts.

 

He and Alex have been doing this all spring. 

[someoneanywhere]

Ladies and gentlemen:

 

 

EDIT: Bradford's the only one that had him at 96-97. Rest of the writers were going off Hammond Stadium's gun (93-95). Guessing Bradford might have been sitting with the scouts.

More than velo, more than stuff, what he needs is to get people out -- and not plunk anyone or walk the park. Get him some confidence. And I'm glad he seems to have a little bit of that coming back.

[Jed Zeppelin]

Rob Bradford
‏@bradfo

Bard after 1 inning, 2 strikeout outing: 'I don’t know what my velocity was, but it felt as good as it’s felt in a long time'

 

He actually struck out the side. Webster followed with a groundout and two strikeouts.

[curly2]

Might need this if Hanrahan keeps "pitching" the way he is.

 

Here's hoping Hanrahan's spring training turns out the same way Foulke's godawful spring training in 2004 did. #fingerscrossed

[pokey_reese]

Equally as promising as Bard getting his groove back, is the fact that Napoli went 2 for 3 with another homer, his 3rd in just a handful of games (though one was against Puerto Rico).  If he is actually healthy, he certainly looks like he can hit it over the monster frequently.

[foulkehampshire]

Webster continues to impress. 5K through 3IP.

[pokey_reese]

He actually struck out the side. Webster followed with a groundout and two strikeouts.

Webster ended up striking out 5 in 3 very good innings.

[OttoC]

Might need this if Hanrahan keeps "pitching" the way he is.

 

Uehara is looking like the pitcher in the pen. IF Bard returns to his previous level, trade Hanrahan and Bailey for prospects and let Uehara close.

[Harry Hooper]

Full report from the Fort later, but Bard's first 3 pitches were 94 mph, 94 mph, and 96 mph in tight for swinging K (Escobar).

 

He then dropped an 81 mph back door slider/curve (?) into the strike zone for a called K (Clement).

 

Final K was a swing-and-miss by Boggs on a fastball.

 

All speeds per the Hammond scoreboard.

 

 

FTR: Butler was the other half of the battery.

Edited by Harry Hooper, 07 March 2013 - 05:14 PM.

[Rovin Romine]

Uehara is looking like the pitcher in the pen. IF Bard returns to his previous level, trade Hanrahan and Bailey for prospects and let Uehara close.

 

If everything breaks right for us, we'll have 5 closers.  Bailey, Hanrahan, Bard, Tazawa, Uehara.  

 

In reality, we'll probably get less than that.  If we stay in the WC hunt, I don't see the team going with anything less than two elite relievers and an overall strong bullpen, regardless of the prospects being dangled.  Best guess is that we'll trade one of them at the deadline, not two.

[Harry Hooper]

Regarding Overbay, I regret that when looking at his 2013 physique vs. previous STs the image of Mark McGuire v.retirement comes to mind.

 

The player the Yanks need from the Red Sox is Saltalamacchia. He could fill in at 1B while learning the pitching staff, then go behind the plate when Teixeira returns, and hit 40 homers in the Toilet. Ben might want to fish for an offer he can't refuse. Get Stan Kasten to negotiate on the Yanks' behalf while Cashman is in the hospital.

[Harry Hooper]

Today's report from the Fort:

 

Technically this was a split squad game vs. the Twins, but Farrell had a starting lineup with as many (if not more) regulars as in a typical ST game. Of course, the short bus ride helps.

 

Ellsbury got things rolling with a single up the middle. He advanced to 2B on an errant pickoff throw, and was knocked in via a single to RF by Drew (batting 3rd). Napoli grounded into a textbook 5-4-3 DP to end the inning.

 

With 2 outs in the 2nd, Nava singled to RF on an offspeed pitch. He then stole 2nd base. After a Sweeney walk, Sutton "doubled". Actually he hit an easy fly ball to the CF who lost it in the sun. Sweeney somehow didn't score despite there being 2 outs.

 

Pedroia led off the 3rd with a line single to CF. With 1 out, Napoli got a rare infield hit. It really should have been a 6-4 FC, but the SS blew the flip to the second baseman. LHP Thielbar entered the game, and Lavarnway hit a RBI single to CF, and Napoli was cut down trying to get to 3B.

 

Sweeney walked with 1 out in the 4th. Sutton enjoying a lucky day lofted a broken-bat single to LF. Pedroia doubled off the LF wall for 2 RBI. Drew was HBP, and Napoli followed with a HR to LF good for 3 RBI. Sox enjoying an 8-0 lead.

 

Facing RHP Walters, Salty worked a BB to start the 5th, but Nava followed with a 4-6-3 DP. Sweeney waited nicely on a slow curve and punched it to LF for a single. Sutton struck out swinging.

 

Sox went 1-2-3 very quickly in the 6th during my visit to the snack bar. Only in America Dept.: pulled pork is a condiment! You can get it piled on nachos, hot dogs, and who knows what else.

 

Facing RHP May in the 7th, Hamilton (Don't get excited, Cafardo!) walked. Butler then put on a great extended AB before going down on a foul-tip K. That man again Bradley Jr. singled to CF. Linares flied out to LF.

 

Meier walked with 1 out in the 8th, then stole 2B. Meneses put on a long AB before singling to CF. RHP Hermsen entered and hit Diaz with a pitch to load the bases. The rally was soon ended by a called K for Carp and a Hamilton flyout to LF.

 

On to the 9th. Butler short-hopped the CF wall for a leadoff double. The now officially unstoppable Bradley Jr. hit a line single to CF for a RBI. Linares chipped in a seeing-eye single into LF. Holt hit a comebacker to the P for an easy 1-6-3, but the relay to 2B sailed into CF, and Bradley Jr. scored. Maier hit into a 4-6 FC for the final Sox run.  

 

 

 

Now over to the Sox pitchers today, where there was mostly good news.

 

Buchholz started and was everything Lester wasn't the day before. Clay was aggressive and generally ahead in the count during his 3 IP. He started nicely striking out Benson (swinging) on 3 pitches, and had a quick 1-2-3 first. In the 2nd, he gave up 1-out singles to Plouffe and Escobar before getting Clement to lunge awkwardly at a change for a popup to 1B and setting down Boggs on a called K. Two more called K's started off the 3rd inning. He got Benson with what looked like a nasty curve. Carroll grounded out for another 1-2-3 frame.

 

Hanrahan came in to start the 4th. Seeing him in person on the mound, my reaction was "It looks like Bobby Jenks is still on the team." Unfortunately, when Hanrahan left the game 6 batters and 1 out later, my reaction was "It looks like Bobby Jenks is still on the team." Hanrahan was popping the fastball at 94-96 mph on the Hammond scoreboard gun, but like Rubby the day before he got hit anyway. First batter Willingham lofted a foul pop by the rail near the first base box seats, and Napoli got an awful read and was nowhere near where the ball landed. That out would have helped given what would ensue. Hanrahan lost Willingham to a BB after being ahead in the count. Doumit singled to RF,as did Plouffe to load the bases. Escobar smacked a 96 mph fastball to RF for a RBI, and Clement also smacked a 96 mph pitch to CF for a single and another RBI. Boggs then hit a hanging slider deep down the RF line, but it hooked foul. He eventually struck out swinging on what looked to be a slider (86 mph) up high. Exit Hanrahan.

 

Carpenter relieved and surrendered a first-pitch single to CF for 2 RBI. Carroll launched a relatively deep flyball to Sweeney in RF, who pegged a textbook one-hop throw to the plate. Salty put a nifty tag on the runner's head for the 3rd out.

 

Uehara came in for the 5th. Started Willingham off with a 88 mph fastball, and then a pair of sliders (83 mph) for a called K. Doumit grounded out 3-U and Plouffe grounded out 5-3 for a tidy 1-2-3 inning. The impressive thing about watching Uehara was the assortment of pitches to the corners and especially his use of the very top and very bottom of the strike zone. He was a grandmaster today. 

 

Not to be outdone, Bard pitched the 6th with Butler catching. Bard's first 3 pitches were 94 mph, 94 mph, and 96 mph in tight for swinging K (Escobar). He then dropped an 81 mph back door slider/curve (?) into the strike zone for a called K (Clement). Final K was a swing-and-miss by Boggs on a fastball. All speeds per the Hammond scoreboard. He definitely hit 96 more than once, and the fastballs were going where he intended. He looked great. Understandably, Farrell did not send Bard out for another inning after he struck out the side.

 

Mr. Webster then took the mound, working quickly which is always nice. Olmeda grounded out 4-3, Benson struck out swinging on a nice slider. Bernier then saw a 96 mph fastball for strike 2 before striking out swinging on a 88 mph slider/cutter.

 

Ortiz led off the bottom of the 8th with a liner deep to the RCF gap. Bradley Jr. made a long run and a diving attempt at a catch, but it bounced in and out of his glove for a triple. He probably thinks he should have caught it. If he had, he would have really turned up the pressure to bring him North for Opening Day. Fryer hit a SF to CF, and Plouffe grounded out 5-3. First pitch to Escobar was clocked at 98 mph, and was weakly fouled off to the opposite field. The next pitch was 97 mph, but was roped into RF for a single. Clement went down on a foul-tip swinging K (94 mph).

 

On to the 9th. Boggs retired via a swinging K (92 mph fastball/78 mph slurve/85 mph slider) Lehman lined out to CF, before Benson struck out swinging on a hard slider. Webster garners the 3-inning save with 5 K's.

 

 

Very early impressions dept.:

1) Napoli has some defensive shortcomings at 1B, but more reps there could help him in time. Offensively, however, he looks great with the taters. Can he go the distance with his hip issues, or will he collapse in a heap running out a routine grounder the first week of August?

2) Bradley Jr. - putting on a show, but the game is NOT this easy, right?

3) I like Meneses' swing at the plate. We'll see what he does in the minors this year.

4) Salty looked good behind the plate today. He was very quiet and smooth receiving pitches, and made that nice tag to save a run.

5) The ex-Dodgers De La Rosa and Webster have some real stuff.

6) It would be fantastic if Bard can maintain his positive momentum.

[Toe Nash]

Uehara is looking like the pitcher in the pen. IF Bard returns to his previous level, trade Hanrahan and Bailey for prospects and let Uehara close.

We're basing trade ideas on established veterans' performances in spring training now?

[geoduck no quahog]

I assume he was joking.

[pokey_reese]

So, Victorino has only received 6 ABs since leaving the team for the WBC.  I actually like the tournament and think it's really neat, and worth the ST disruption every few years.  However, if the US continues to play through the brackets and advances, Victorino will most likely continue to be a bench player, and end up getting maybe half of the normal ABs in spring compared to the other regulars.

 

The guy has had one hit so far this spring, and is coming off a down year, so it seems like he would really benefit from getting the extra PAs.  Joe Torre is trying to sabotage the Red Sox, still.

[mabrowndog]

OF Alex Hassan & RHSP Steven Wright optioned to AAA Pawtucket.

 

1B/OF Mark Hamilton, RHRP Pedro Beato, and OFs J.C. Linares & Jeremy Hazelbaker reassigned to minor league camp.

 

SoxProspects.com

Edited by mabrowndog, 12 March 2013 - 08:43 PM.

[Ted Cox 4 president]

The Pirates have optioned Stolmy Pimentel and Jerry Sands to their Triple-A club in Indianapolis. Pimentel may end up starting the season at Double-A Altoona.  

 

[SoxScout]

The Rangers’ search for bullpen help isn’t just widening to minor league camp. It stretches all the way to Florida, too.

 

The club has reportedly sent senior scout Don Welke, a special assistant to general manager Jon Daniels, to look at the New York Yankees’ Joba Chamberlain and, according to a major league source, to get a feel for the possible matchups with the Boston Red Sox, who are believed to have relief depth. The Yankees and Red Sox both had representatives at the Rangers-Oakland exhibition Thursday.

http://rangersblog.d...rovements.html/

[Rice4HOF]

Ok, a little late, but my observations from the games I watched on March 5th (PR) and 6th (Pitts).

 

March 6 - http://rsnalberta.bl...running-93.html

March 5 - http://rsnalberta.bl...ining-trip.html

Also saw the game and took notes for March 7th but didn't get a chance to post a recap.

 

In summary JBJ looked great. Very impressed with what I saw from Allan Webster and Bard (I think that was mainly on the 7th).  Lavarnway played well on both sides of the ball.

[Pearl Wilson]

Sweeney got batting help from Rod Carew (in Florida as special assistant to the Twins).

 

If Sweeney makes the team, he owes a big assist to Carew. For two weeks, Carew took about 45 minutes per day to break down Sweeney’s plate approach, and perhaps unlock the mystery of how a 6-foot-4, 225-pound hitter can have only 14 home runs in 1,900 career plate appearances, and none in his last 331.

 

The answer: After years of being told he has home run potential, Sweeney must give up that notion, sound advice coming from Carew, who had 3,053 career hits but only 92 homers.

 

Rather than continuing to try to generate power to right field by opening his front hip, a mechanical flaw that caused his bat to drag through the hitting zone, Carew suggested that Sweeney change his stance to create a different swing path designed to result in more solid contact.

 

BH Link

 

[Snodgrass'Muff]

If Sweeney can get his contact rate up and become a 285/325/390 type hitter with most of his powers coming from doubles, he can be a solid bench outfielder for this team.  Unfortunately, I'm not seeing a lot in his stats to suggest that making contact has been his problem.  His O-Swing% jumped up to 29% last year and his Z-Swing has been down from the low 60s to roughly 54% in the last two years.  He's also swung less in general in the last two years.  It looks like he's been trying to be more patient at the plate.  Unfortunately, this has not led to more walks and last year it was coupled with a rise in chasing pitches out of the zone which may mean his ability to recognize pitches is suffering.  His Z-Contact% and Contact% are both steady and his swinging strike rate is consistent with his career so I'm not seeing a lot to bank a hope that he's going to become a better contact hitter on.

 

His K% was a career high last year, but it appears that was due more to looking at strikes than swinging at pitches and missing them.  Unless the shift in batting stance helps him to identify balls and strikes better, I'm not expecting a whole lot of change.

[mabrowndog]

C Dan Wilson and RHPs Alex Wilson, Allen Webster & Rubby de la Rosa optioned to AAA Pawtucket.

 

C Christian Vazquez optioned to AA Portland.

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Excellent. Psyched to watch Vazquez in Portland this summer. A great defensive catcher can really make for fun baseball to watch.

[someoneanywhere]

Don't be surprised to see the bat come around a little -- let's say Junish, after he's been in the circuit a while but before fatigue sets in. People have questions about it, but some of that is questioning to have questions. He'll hit.

[geoduck no quahog]

Haven't see roster predictions lately (are they in another thread?). With 2 weeks to go - this is what's left to talk about:

 

Do they keep 2 extra outfielders (excluding Carp): Nava and Sweeney?

Do they carry 7 Relief Pitchers: incuding Tazawa, Bard and Aceves?

 

I assume Carp is the Backup at 1st

I assume Ciriaco is the backup infielder

 

Drew, Ortiz and Breslow/Morales begin the season on the DL.

 

If Bradley begins the season in the outfield (Gomes to DH), who does he replace on the 40-man? I can't see anyone clearing waivers. Who would they trade/waive?

 

When Ortiz/Drew come back, Bradley/Iglesias go to Pawtucket.

When Breslow comes back, then one of (Tazawa, Bard, Aceves) gets optioned/traded.

 

Bradley being put on the 40-man creates issues.

It's tough to discount Tazawa, but both Aceves and Bard have big upsides (and question marks)

 

I have no opinions yet, but there seem to be some good and debatable items with 2 weeks left.

[SouthernBoSox]

If Tazawa is optioned in favor of Aceves someone should be fired.  I guess Aceves has some upside, but Tazawa is a shut down relief ace upside.

 

Dude has the goods.

[Papelbon's Poutine]

Dude also has the options. He'll likely be in AAA.

[mabrowndog]

Haven't see roster predictions lately (are they in another thread?). With 2 weeks to go - this is what's left to talk about:

 

This would have been the perfect time to start a new thread on that very topic.

[mabrowndog]

RHPs Chris Carpenter, Terry Doyle & Oscar Villarreal and LHP Chris Hernandez have been reassigned to minor league camp.

[mabrowndog]

IFs Xander Bogaerts, Jonathan Diaz and Drew Sutton assigned to minor league camp.

[pjr]

Ryan Lavarnway, Anthony Carter and Jorgr De La Torre have been assigned to Pawtucket.

 

http://fullcount.wee...ir-of-pitchers/

[Red(s)HawksFan]

Mauro Gomez optioned to Pawtucket.

 

http://twitter.com/b...357345099370496

 

Read earlier but can't find it now that Brock Holt's locker was empty before today's game, indicating he'd been optioned as well.

[Rasputin]

Mauro Gomez optioned to Pawtucket.

 

http://twitter.com/b...357345099370496

 

Read earlier but can't find it now that Brock Holt's locker was empty before today's game, indicating he'd been optioned as well.

 

So that leaves Bradley, Carp, and Sweeney for two roster spots with Sweeney's opt out clause triggered if he's not added to the roster by midnight.

[pokey_reese]

Preview tonight against the Twins of our opening day lineup?

 

Ellsbury CF

Nava DH

Pedroia 2B

Napoli 1B

Middlebrooks 3B

Victorino RF

Gomes LF

Ross C

Iglesias SS

 

I don't know if I would expect Gomes to play LF instead of Nava in NY, but the people and the order look about right.

 

edit: formatting

Edited by pokey_reese, 28 March 2013 - 04:02 PM.