Spring Training 2023 Thread

BornToRun

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I am very optimistic this season. As Dick Williams said we will win more games than we lose. Lol
I feel the same way. I think getting the Devers situation sorted and locking him up after what went down with X and Mookie has gone a long way in impacting how I look at the team for this year and moving forward. 2023 can be a competitive year if a few things break right and it’s easy to see a bright future with all of the young talent in the pipeline and our cornerstone guy locked up for the next decade.
I’m saying 85~ wins and fighting for a wild card. I think it’s gonna be a fun year.
 

JOBU

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I know we used to have a thread (I think) dedicated for stuff like this but how does spring training work for observing practices etc? I’ll be going down the week of 3/5. Can you basically roll right up and walk out to the practice fields and watch them do their stuff? Is it free? Basically what does a first timer need to know?
 

sittingstill

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I know we used to have a thread (I think) dedicated for stuff like this but how does spring training work for observing practices etc? I’ll be going down the week of 3/5. Can you basically roll right up and walk out to the practice fields and watch them do their stuff? Is it free? Basically what does a first timer need to know?
You'll be there after the games start, so things work a bit differently than it does when camp first opens. There's not usually outdoor activity before 9/9:30-ish; they may have indoor meetings etc. for players earlier than that. Best to use the West Gate. If there's a home game that day they'll be charging for parking ($10?). You can go to the practice fields; usually the MLB squad will be using one ball field (closest to the park, furthest from the gate), the agility field, and inside the park (which you won't be able to see)--minor leaguers are likely to be working out on the first group of fields you come to. Not sure how they will handle Puerto Rico training there too that week. Access to the practice fields is sometimes restricted unexpectedly--they may rope off everything or they may allow access to the closest fields but not the far ones. Note that after the games start there are no concessions out back though there are restrooms and a water fountain.

I love the back fields. If you go on a day when there's no MLB game it's usually quiet enough that you can hear coaches working with players on drills or taking batting practice. Sometimes there will be a minigame, or a few MLB players will get some ABs against minor league pitchers, or an MLB pitcher will essentially throw a bullpen to MiLB hitters. MiLB games don't start until mid-month but those are free/great too.
 

JOBU

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You'll be there after the games start, so things work a bit differently than it does when camp first opens. There's not usually outdoor activity before 9/9:30-ish; they may have indoor meetings etc. for players earlier than that. Best to use the West Gate. If there's a home game that day they'll be charging for parking ($10?). You can go to the practice fields; usually the MLB squad will be using one ball field (closest to the park, furthest from the gate), the agility field, and inside the park (which you won't be able to see)--minor leaguers are likely to be working out on the first group of fields you come to. Not sure how they will handle Puerto Rico training there too that week. Access to the practice fields is sometimes restricted unexpectedly--they may rope off everything or they may allow access to the closest fields but not the far ones. Note that after the games start there are no concessions out back though there are restrooms and a water fountain.

I love the back fields. If you go on a day when there's no MLB game it's usually quiet enough that you can hear coaches working with players on drills or taking batting practice. Sometimes there will be a minigame, or a few MLB players will get some ABs against minor league pitchers, or an MLB pitcher will essentially throw a bullpen to MiLB hitters. MiLB games don't start until mid-month but those are free/great too.
Awesome thanks for the info
 

The Gray Eagle

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Cora didn't quite use the term "the best shape of his life," but he praised Verdugo's fitness, which is significant since he publicly criticized him about it at the end of last season.
So this could be a positive sign:
https://theathletic.com/4200424/2023/02/14/red-sox-filling-leadership-void/

Cora has been impressed with Alex Verdugo so far, noting he looks different physically. Verdugo was one of the players to arrive at camp early, but will be leaving for the World Baseball Classic to play for Team Mexico. Cora said Verdugo worked hard this offseason and said he’s hoping Verdugo can take the next step in his career. “Four or five years ago, everybody thought that this guy was a complete player, five-tool player, and we’re trying to get that guy again,” Cora said.
 

joe dokes

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Cora didn't quite use the term "the best shape of his life," but he praised Verdugo's fitness, which is significant since he publicly criticized him about it at the end of last season.
So this could be a positive sign:
https://theathletic.com/4200424/2023/02/14/red-sox-filling-leadership-void/
I want Verdugo batting leadoff on opening day.

Water is wet....and Sale is skinny: (Shaughnessy alert);
But he looks even thinner than usual. Gandhi-like. And though I am neither a doctor nor nutritionist, Sale’s physique makes me wonder whether his hereditary frame — the skinny gene — makes things tougher as he attempts to once again be a stud starter for the Sox.[
-----------------------------
He’s listed as 6 feet 6 inches, 183 pounds. I asked how much he actually weighs.
“Want to pick me up?” he challenged with a grin. “I haven’t stepped on a scale in a minute, but I’d say I’m around 185-ish.”
Is it difficult for him to maintain weight as he gets older — unlike most of us?
“No,” he said. “I’ve noticed that I kind of gain weight throughout the year. I have three kids, so I wake up early and go to bed early, so when I’m eating two extra meals at 11 o’clock at night, I’ll start packing it on and probably get up to 190-195.”
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/15/sports/chris-sale-appears-thinner-than-usual-doesnt-sound-concerned-about-holding-up/
 

InsideTheParker

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I want Verdugo batting leadoff on opening day.

Water is wet....and Sale is skinny: (Shaughnessy alert);


https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/15/sports/chris-sale-appears-thinner-than-usual-doesnt-sound-concerned-about-holding-up/
I haven't read the article, but I did see video on NESN of Sale throwing the other day, and he is really skinny. I was yelling at the screen, "Eat some cheeseburgers, please!" I really don't know how putting on weight could help him stay healthy, but he just doesn't LOOK healthy being that thin.
 

BornToRun

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I haven't read the article, but I did see video on NESN of Sale throwing the other day, and he is really skinny. I was yelling at the screen, "Eat some cheeseburgers, please!" I really don't know how putting on weight could help him stay healthy, but he just doesn't LOOK healthy being that thin.
I’m willing to eat a few cheeseburgers in solidarity if that helps.
 

YTF

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I haven't read the article, but I did see video on NESN of Sale throwing the other day, and he is really skinny. I was yelling at the screen, "Eat some cheeseburgers, please!" I really don't know how putting on weight could help him stay healthy, but he just doesn't LOOK healthy being that thin.
I'm not qualified to speak on body types, metabolism or the physics of all of this, but I do wonder how a man of his height and weight holds up during the every day grind of being an MLB pitcher. While he might not play everyday, one might argue that the stress being put on his body every five days along with individual off day routines is at the very least equal to teammates who are everyday players. The biggest concern I might have about his weight is the idea that over the course of six month, 162 game season is the idea one might lose weight. I mean it seems logical with that sort of grueling schedule, especially when you consider that a good many of those games will be played outside during the hottest time of the year. That said Sale says that he tends to gain weight during the season, so what do I know.
 

nvalvo

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The thing, though, is that until 2019, he was one of the most durable, reliable pitchers in baseball. He’s been thin the whole time.

Maybe it caught up with him, but through the seven seasons 2013-2019, Sale was eighth in IP, and had a *much* higher strikeout rate than everyone ahead of him (except Max Scherzer, who is first in IP and merely a tic behind Sale in Ks).
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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The thing, though, is that until 2019, he was one of the most durable, reliable pitchers in baseball. He’s been thin the whole time.

Maybe it caught up with him, but through the seven seasons 2013-2019, Sale was eighth in IP, and had a *much* higher strikeout rate than everyone ahead of him (except Max Scherzer, who is first in IP and merely a tic behind Sale in Ks).
I don't think it's caught up to him at all. I don't think his weight has had anything to do with the last four years for him. Shoulder inflammation happens to pitchers of all shapes and sizes every year. UCL tears happen to pitchers of all shapes and sizes every year. Broken bones as a result of trauma are hard to blame on his frame/body type unless we think more bulk would have protected his finger or his wrist. (maybe more "padding" might have protected his ribs better? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I think if his frame starts to become a problem, it's probably going to be more ligament and tendon strains. But it's arguable that that sort of thing becomes an issue for most pitchers as they age into their mid/late 30s, and adding bulk might just exacerbate things.

If anything, being so thin and light is probably more an issue for stamina, and might be why Sale has always seemed to fade (from otherworldly to merely very very good) as the season goes on.
 

EyeBob

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Dec 22, 2022
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I don't think it's caught up to him at all. I don't think his weight has had anything to do with the last four years for him. Shoulder inflammation happens to pitchers of all shapes and sizes every year. UCL tears happen to pitchers of all shapes and sizes every year. Broken bones as a result of trauma are hard to blame on his frame/body type unless we think more bulk would have protected his finger or his wrist. (maybe more "padding" might have protected his ribs better? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯) I think if his frame starts to become a problem, it's probably going to be more ligament and tendon strains. But it's arguable that that sort of thing becomes an issue for most pitchers as they age into their mid/late 30s, and adding bulk might just exacerbate things.

If anything, being so thin and light is probably more an issue for stamina, and might be why Sale has always seemed to fade (from otherworldly to merely very very good) as the season goes on.
I followed your logic right up until you mentioned that it might affect stamina. If that were the case, fat marathoners would win the Boston Marathon every year.
Look, physiology is a crap shoot, just leave it at that.
 

RG33

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The dreaded forearm soreness/tightness.
I just said this exact phrase out loud when I saw the report on The Athletic. LOL.

They are saying it is “not serious” but that still makes me very nervous.
 

koufax32

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I just said this exact phrase out loud when I saw the report on The Athletic. LOL.

They are saying it is “not serious” but that still makes me very nervous.
Like the old adage: “minor surgery is surgery happening to someone you don’t know.”
I’ll believe it’s no big deal when he’s back to throwing everything with no more problems.
 

thisyearisthe

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I haven't read the article, but I did see video on NESN of Sale throwing the other day, and he is really skinny. I was yelling at the screen, "Eat some cheeseburgers, please!" I really don't know how putting on weight could help him stay healthy, but he just doesn't LOOK healthy being that thin.
Fucking Shaughnessy. Never grows tired of his own bullshit.
 

LogansDad

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Dustin Pedroia is at the complex working out with the team.

He rolled his eyes at the mere suggestion he will be Boston’s 21st-century Johnny Pesky, which would mean banging out grounders with his trusty fungo bat well into his 80s. But I suspect he’ll be a spring training regular, and that he’ll be a valuable in-season troubleshooter when there’s a kid in Double-A Portland who needs a nudge. In that way, he could play Alex Cora to Boston’s next Dustin Pedroia.
Worth 5 minutes of your time to read, I promise.
 

SouthernBoSox

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Dustin Pedroia is at the complex working out with the team.



Worth 5 minutes of your time to read, I promise.
Great read. Pedroia is someone who I immediately get bummed out when reflecting. With time people have forgotten just how good he was. He was unquestionably on a hall of fame path. To have that path not only ruined by injury, but by a injury inflicted from another player, it’s just a challenging pill to swallow.
 

YTF

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Kind of. I think he's going to do surprisingly well in Hall of Fame voting. He may not make it in with the writers, but he has a decent chance with a veterans committee in the future.
Was questioning the statement that "with time" people have forgotten how good he was. Has the man been gone so long that we don't remember him for being the impact player that he was?
 

InsideTheParker

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Was questioning the statement that "with time" people have forgotten how good he was. Has the man been gone so long that we don't remember him for being the impact player that he was?
Who doesn't watch the games and say at least once a game, "Pedroia gets to that."?