Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Sean reflects on the first 81 games of the season and considers what some of the big hurdles will be for the Red Sox in the second 81.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
The club's biggest concern:: "I think in the regular sseason it's going to be mostly about getting the seventh and eight inning in the bullpen taken care of. ... Certainly if they get more innings like they did out of Manny Delcarmen in the eighth last night, where he just overpowered people, some of those issues will go away."
On next week's stern test: "Starting Monday, seven road games against I think the two teams that they really are focused on, at least in the short term, for the division: the Rays and the Yankees. ... The Rays continue to hang with the Red Sox halfway through and show that they're a legitimate contender, and the Yankees -- although they have not had the best week -- have been able to creep a little closer and get above .500, and I think show people that they're still in the conversation for the second half. So playing those two teams back-to-back to kind of wind down the first half will go a long way I think in setting things up for post-All Star break."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Mike Lowell's clutch-hitting prowess; Jason Varitek's slump-breaking, game-winning single; the slumping Drew brothers; and tonight's meeting with Randy Johnson.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Lowell: "While he missed essentially three weeks and didn't hit his first home run until the first week of May, he has made a number of his hits come at particularly critical times for the Red Sox, and last night was no exception."
On Varitek: "He has always been a very up-and-down guy at the plate. His swing tends to get a little long when he's not going well -- certainly 0 for 24, 4 for 47 is the very definition of not going well. But he's always working at it, even though it's sometimes difficult to find time for him to staighten things out at the plate because he has so many responsibilities behind the plate as a catcher, kind of calling the game, and preparing and looking at scouting reports. ... Then you add in the fact that he's a switch hitter and almost has to approach each side of the plate individually in terms of his swing, mechanics everything else. It's been a pattern throughout his career that when he gets into a free fall it lasts for a while, but the flipside of that is that he can get hot for an extended period, and maybe ... it is starting to turn around for Varitek."
On Johnson: "Even though he's 6-10, throwing in the 90s, that slider doesn't have the sharp break to it that it once did. The fastball has lost a few miles per hour on the radar gun. He's still, I would imagine, not very fun to hit against, but he's not the dominant guy that he was, and clearly were seeing the winding down of a Hall of Fame career."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: whether the Red Sox are missing David Ortiz more now than a week ago, the odd situation at first base last night, and the prospects of a trade for a second starting pitcher.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On missing Ortiz: "I think it is starting to catch up to them. They seemed to be OK for the first couple of weeks. They were certainly riding J.D. Drew for the first couple of weeks of June, as he slid into that number-three spot and for a while at least there was no dropoff. But I suppose that it's inevitable that if you take a run producer of that magnitude out of the lineup for this long, it starts showing some effects, and I think we've seen it in the last week."
On the market for starting pitching: "Last year and the year before there was virtually no quality starting pitching available [at the trade deadline]. This year it looks like there's going to be a number of guys, including a number of left-handed guys, who are usually at even more of a premium. There will be some opportunities if the Red Sox want to upgrade. It will not be cheap of course. ... There will be plenty of teams looking -- the Yankees, Philadelphia, a number of teams are going to be in the market for starting pitching, and the Red Sox have to, like every other team, weigh the cost."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Red Sox work overtime to avoid sweep
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: yesterday's long afternoon at Fenway Park, Jonathan Papelbon's recent troubles, Daisuke Matsuzaka's disastrous start on Saturday, and the coming series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Papelbon: "I thought he threw the ball very well yesterday. He particularly overmatched the first two guys [he faced]. Ankiel was absolutely no match for Papelbon's fastball when he got it going. I'm more inclined to chalk up yesterday as a bit of an aberration, and perhaps a false first step on Coco Crisp's part to initially come in on Kennedy's ball and then have to scramble back and not get it. That doesn't change the fact that the ball was hit almost 400 feet, but I wouldn't be too concerned about Jonathan Papelbon."
On Matsuzaka: "Certainly when a guy who's been sidelined with shoulder problems comes back and is as ineffective as Matsuzaka was Saturday, it raises some eyebrows. So I think all eyes will be on him Friday night, when he makes his second start [in Houston].
On the Diamondbacks: "Arizona is where it is [first place in the NL West] because of starting pitching. The front two of [tonight's starter ] Dan Haren and Brandon Webb are as formidable as any two in the National League, and Randy Johnson has actually been pretty effective since coming back -- he'll go on Wednesday. ... They may be a typical National League team these days, where offense doesn't play much of a part, but their pitching makes them a team to be reckoned with."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Learning to love J.D. Drew
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning (before the news of Curt Schilling's surgery broke). The topics: J.D. Drew's terrific weekend in the place where he is hated the most, whether Drew can sustain his hot streak, Manny Delcarmen as the hot hand of the moment in the bullpen, and the Celtics-Red Sox bond.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Drew's big series at Citizens Bank Park: "He has always risen to the occasion playing in Philadelphia when he returns there. In fact his performance, or his history of success in Philadelphia, was one of the things the Red Sox looked at closely when they signed him to that landmark $70-million deal a few years ago. They saw that as evidence that if Drew could succeed in the face of people throwing batteries at him, as has happened in Philadelphia, then certainly he could withstand the rigors of playing in Boston."
More on Drew: "One thing you see him doing this month, that you haven't seen him do much of in his brief Red Sox career, is really drive the ball, whether it be to center field, where a lot of his home runs seem to go, or some doubles and extra-base hits that he's hit the other way off the ball at Fenway. He needs to use the whole ballpark, and he's been doing that more the last month."
On the Celtics and the Red Sox: "I think there is a bond. There's a lot of guys [on the Red Sox] who are basketball fans, they have enjoyed the run as much as the fans have, and I think there also is a bond between players who play in the same city. Even though you may not run into each other much because of conflicting schedules and seasons, but there's an identiy that's shared, that you kind of represent Boston. And I think there's some pride on the part of Red Sox players who are rooting for the Celtics, even though they may have grown up in other parts of the country, they now share Boston as their place of work."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Running wild on the base paths
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Jon Lester's outstanding showing in Philly, Terry Francona's mild reprimand of Jacoby Ellsbury, Curt Schilling's setback, and the dismissal of Willie Randolph (which Sean saw coming months ago).
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Lester: "The top of that [Philadelphia] lineup is as formidable as any in the game right now, and an outing like last night's is another reminder of what Lester is capable of."
On Ellsbury, who was caught stealing last night: "It's funny, it was only a few days ago that Ellsbury was talking about how the team trusts him now more, in terms of when to go and when not to, than even at the beginning the year. But last night was a reminder that, as good as he is and as good a base runner he is and as fast as he is, sometimes he makes mistakes in judgment."
On firing Randolph: [The Mets] did it in a highly unorthodox and decidedly unclassy way -- making him fly across the country and then Omar Minaya flies out during the game and then waits for Randolph and a couple of coaches at the hotel after the game to dismiss them at about 3 o'clock in the morning Eastern time. It was highly unusual and I think it's kind of symptomatic of an organization that's really in a mess, and that's why I don't think changing from Willie Randolph to Jerry Manuel is going to change much there."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Bartolo Colon's swing-for-the-fences plate approach, the debate over whether the National League should adopt the designated hitter, and Cole Hamels' prediction that the Sox and the Phils will meet again in October.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Colon, and his injury: "I guess it could have been worse, if you're the Red Sox, because look at what happened to Chien-Ming Wang, who got on the bases and then ended up breaking his foot, and is going to be out until September at the earliest."
Will the NL go with the DH? "I think the only way this changes is if you get an influx of younger National League owners. As it is now there are teams and owners in particular who would I think fight to the death before adopting the designated hitter in their league."
On the Phillies' World Series hopes: "It just seems like offense has to carry so much of what they are and point them to success. But the National League is so wide open ... I would put the Cubs as probably the best National League team, but that doesn't mean that it's impossible for the Phillies to get in and perhaps knock them off."
Click here to watch the video of Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Bartolo Colon's 150th career win and the ball that struck him in the arm last night, the Red Sox' pitching depth and how it will help them rest starters for the rest of the season, Sean Casey appealing his suspension and Jay Gibbons appealing for a job.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
The ball that hit Colon: "I think it just stung him a little bit, got him right kind of on the back of the wrist as he tried to either field the ball or get out of the way; I'm not sure which. He took a couple of warmup tosses but seemed to be OK, and obviously finished out the rest of the start, so there don't seem to be any concerns."
On the Red Sox' philosophy of giving pitchers extra rest: "They can look down the road a little bit and perhaps not be so concerned with game number 70 on the schedule, but rather look at what benefits the team in the long run and make some decisions that way. It certainly I think helped Josh Beckett last year that he ended up missing a couple of starts with the avulsion on the finger. I think those were, you know, 15 to 17 innings that he didn't have in October that benefitted him, and they'd like to do it with all their starters at some point."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Everything's not okey dokey
Click here to watch the video of Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Last night's loss, the struggling Hideki Okajima and his accountability issues, the improved state of the bullpen in general, and Kevin Millar's inability to cut the cord with Boston.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
Teammates' reactions to Okajima not answering questions about his poor outings: "I've got to believe that most of those guys in there -- who are standup guys, and who are around and are acountable for what they do and don't do -- take note of the fact that Okajima does not feel the same responsibility, and I think a number of them were struck and perhaps offput by Okajima's puzzlement a few weeks ago over why he still comes into games in the middle of innings. ... Rather than express frustration over his own inability to perform in such situations, he seemed kind of angry that he was put in them in the first place, and that seems to be misplacing the problem there and blaming it on someone else."
On Millar's continuing affection for the Red Sox: "If I'm an Orioles fan, I'm wondering what side is this guy on. I don't think he means any harm by it. He clearly enjoyed his few years here in Boston and has a hard time letting go, but if I'm a teammate or a fan, I'm probably looking at it differently in Baltimore."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Clay Buchholz's mission in Pawtucket, the Red Sox' ability so far to overcome injuries, Josh Beckett's streak of good outings, and Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th home run.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
Buchholz in Pawtucket: "They sent him there because they wanted him to get back to relying primarily on his fastball, which he has gotten away from. ... They wanted some mechanical adjustments to his delivery with his fastball to get him back sort of in sync a little bit and not relying on the secondary pitches too much. So I don't know if I'd read too much into the results here, he is working on some things and changing his delivery and his arm slot a little on his fastball, and that may have resulted in him getting hit around a little bit [last night]."
On Griffey: "I started covering baseball full-time in 1989, and I can say without fear of contradiction that Ken Griffey Jr. is the best player I've seen on a regular basis in that 20-year span. ... There's no question in my mind that, had the injuries not taken their toll, last night would have been home run number 700, if not a higher number."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: J.D. Drew is as hot as the weather
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: J.D. Drew's hot streak, John McLaren's ill-fated decision to pull Erik Bedard after five innings of work, whether Dustin Pedroia is primed to break out of his slump, and Justin Masterson's continued good work.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Drew: "Drew's numbers historically, or over his career, in the number-three spot have been far better than any other spot in that batting order. He has more power, more homers, more RBIs, higher OPS -- whatever way you want to measure. There's something about the number-three spot that agrees with J.D. Drew."
On Masterson: "It's been a remarkable debut when you think that, before [his first big-league] start, he had not pitched above Double-A, and he has come up and filled in a couple of spot starts, and now that Buchholz and Matsuzaka are both down, he has just stepped in very nicely and given them everything they could hope for and more."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A wild night at the Fens
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: the big brawl and the ramifications, concerns about Jacoby Ellsbury and Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox' draft picks and the shell of a team that is coming into town this weekend.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On the fight: "That was not your run-of-the mill, half-jog-out-to-the-mound, everyone-grabs-a-dance-partner-and-tugs-on-a-jersey-for-a-little-while, there were some real punches thrown and some real intent behind some of them, and I'm sure there will be significant ramifications in the next couple of days from Major League Baseball."
On the mounting injury problems: "Certainly there's availability issues coming in the next few days. ... On top of that is Coco Crisp ... certainly there will be a suspension for him somewhere down the line, and you have the issue of Ellsbury and the wrist and Manny's hamstring, so they may need some reinforcements in there."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Beating all comers at Fenway
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: the Red Sox' 12-game home winning streak, the need for instant replay in baseball, Coco Crisp's injured thumb and Curt Schilling's rehab progress.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
The Crisp injury: "It comes at a time when they are somewhat short in the outfield to begin, with given Manny Ramirez's hamstring issues, which don't appear to be great, but the last couple of nights they've taken advantage of the vacancy in the DH spot to get him out of the field and not have him run around as much as he might ordinarily. If Crisp is unable to play the outfield that would require either Manny to go back to left field, or perhaps even a roster move where Crisp goes on the DL and Brandon Moss or someone else with the ability to play the outfield would be summoned. They really can't afford to be too short-handed."
On Schilling's rehab: "I think at this point it's going well until it doesn't go well, if you know what I mean. I'm not sure [the Red Sox] knew exatcly what they were going to get from him physically this season given what he's had to overcome. People should keep in mind that even though it was an encouraging first step [Schilling throwing off a mound yesterday], he's not throwing any breaking balls; he's throwing probably three-quarter speed fastballs at this point. So there is a long, long way to go. ... A best-case scenario would have Schilling ready some time in August. So we're at least two months out from him being able to contribute at any level, and unfortunately there are a number of stops on the road back at which he could run into some problems. But so far so good."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Eleven straight wins at home
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Coco Crisp and Craig Hansen rising to the occasion, David Ortiz's rehabilitation plan, and why the Sox will never, ever sign Barry Bonds.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Hansen: "Not only are [the Red Sox] looking for someone to work the seventh, but given the unpredictability and poor work by Okajima of late, the eighth inning is sort of up for grabs, too, and last night Hansen seized that, coming in and getting three guys right in a row with two on and the potential tying run at the plate with no outs. Certainly a big confidence booster for him, you would think, and also one that would provide more confidence by the Red Sox in him."
Why not go for Bonds? "I'd say that that has no chance of happening. There are all sorts of issues associated with that. The guy hasn't hit since last September, and his physical condition and shape would probably be about sevennth on the list. First would be the fact that he's got all sorts of perjury indictments hanging over his head. Second is his association with performance-enhancing drugs that I don't think the Red Sox would want to associate themselves with. Thirdly is his reputation for being a pretty distant and egotistical personality that could disrupt things in the clubhouse. Fourth would be ownership's connection with commissioner Bud Selig, who I would bet would not look kindly upon some team giving Bonds an opportunity to get back into the game, given all the mud that he's brought to the game in the last couple of years. We could go on and on."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A big hole in the heart of the order
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Hideki Okajima's meltdown in Baltimore, David Ortiz's wrist injury, how the Red Sox will shuffle their lineup and who needs to step up, and setting the stage for the coming visit by Tampa Bay.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On losing Ortiz: "Even with his struggles in the first couple of weeks, he was leading the team in home runs and RBI; he has with Manny Ramirez formed I think inarguably the best three-four combination in the game the last four, five seasons; and he's possibly the best run producer in baseball. So even a month out of the lineup is going to be a signficiant loss for the Red Sox. I think short term, they can probably cover themselves and move some people around and have Ellsbury play left field on a more regular basis, and have have Manny DH. There's a number of things they can do, but none of those things is going to be able to replace David Ortiz."
Who needs to step up: "I think the Red Sox woud like to see J.D. Drew step up a little bit. If you keep Lowell at the fifth spot and take Youkilis out [moving him to third in place of Ortiz], that moves Drew up probably to sixth in the lineup, and he'll be asked to provide some protection for Lowell and Ramirez, and the Red Sox have to hope that he can respond and knock some runs in on his own."
On this week's series: "I think it's going to be a good test for the Rays, because this will be an opportunity where teams and the rest of baseball will be looking to see how they respond to this. I think they've snuck up on some people the first couple of months as the young upstart team, but now here they are, coming in, in the lead in the division, playing the team that's chasing them, a team that's won two World Series in the last four years and is far more experienced about big games, and I think it will be interesting to see how Tampa
Bay responds to this."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Back on track in Baltimore
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning in Seattle. The topics: Boston's bullpen on a hot streak, Manny's 500th home run, David Ortiz's injured wrist and the fantastic debut of Cincinnati's Jay Bruce.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On the weekend series: "If you had said a week ago that the Red Sox were going to come home with a .500 record [on the current road trip -- something that hasn't been decided quite yet] and do it on the strength of a bullpen and an offense that suddenly was very much in gear, I think people would have had a pretty hearty laugh over that. You look at how the trip started: 1-5 in Oakland and Seattle, where the offense was almost nonexistent, and the bullpen wasn't very trustworthy, and then they got to Baltimore, had the day off, and it was like someone flipped a switch. They start cranking out the runs and getting very good relief from a number of guys in the bullpen, and turned the trip around."
On Ramirez: "I don't think there's any question, having seen him the last couple of weeks, he would joke about it before the games and with his teammates in the clubhouse, but I think it was wearing on him, the fact that it took so long to get not only 500 but 499. He hit three home runs I think in the span of 25 or so games -- that's certainly not usual and normal production for Manny. So the fact that he got 500 on Saturday night I think does remove some pressure from him, whether it be self-induced or not, and the fact that he hit one yesterday indicates that, you know, he might be able to cut loose now. Everybody has stopped watching and stopped anticipating every at-bat, and things can return to normal for him."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: What impresses us about Masterson
Click here to listen to Sean's daily audio report, which is audio only today (if we get someone freed up later today, we might be able to add pictures later). The topics: What impresses Sean about Justin Masterson, teams' inability to catch Jacoby Ellsbury clean on stolen-base attempts, fan voting for the All-Star Game, and Sean's favorite road stops.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Masterson: "I think he's remarkably poised and mature. That's one of the things I think that impressed the Red Sox so much even from the first start, where he didn't seemed rattled at all in making his major-league debut, having not pitched above Double-A for more than half a season, on the mound at Fenway against a pretty good team in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. It was like he was facing another team in the Eastern League, and it was the same thing when he made his second start. So I think the poise and composure and maturity -- all those things, and you know, those things are fine, but you have to be able to get hitters out, and he can do that too. He's got that three-quarter kind of whip-it-like delivery that reminds some people of Dennis Eckersley, and he's got a nice heavy sink to his fastball that makes him very tough, combined with his delivery, on right-handed hitters, and gets him a lot of groundballs. So there's not much not to like about Justin Masterson."
On the All-Star voting by fans: "I think we can go through this and do go through this every summer, where we point to some player who's deserving of an All-Star starting bid and who doesn't get one. You mentioned Josh Hamilton and some guys on the Rays. Certainly Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox would be another person in there. There's some guys in the National League having surprise seasons. Those kind of things you can't anticipate. I think in general, you know, fans are going to vote for players who they recognize, and who have established themselves a little bit. And furthermore, they're going to vote for guys who are on high-profile teams. That's why the Yankees dominated so much of the balloting in the '90s, when they won four World Series in five years, and now that the Red Sox have sort of perhaps eclipsed them as the national team, if you will, with two World Series wins in the last four seasons, their players are benefiting from that. It's never going to be perfect. I think even if the players or coaches and managers did the selecting, there'd be some oversights there. So I think that in general this is a game for the fans, and they get to determine who they want to see, and I think that there's nothing wrong with that."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: They forgot to bring their bats
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning in Seattle. The topics: Boston's offensive slump, Erik Bedard, Tim Wakefield, the potential return of Justin Masterson, and whether Kevin Youkilis can get the offense going again.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
"Something's happened to the offense, and it can't all be the opposing pitching, although there's been some good guys that they've faced on this trip, Erik Bedard being the perfect example last night two-hitting them through seven innings. But two of those five losses have been shutouts, in those losses they have combined for a grand total of three hits."
"Wakefield has made some adjustments mechanically since his last start. He had given up 17 runs in 14 innings in the three outings prior to last night and, you know, one of the hallmarks of his career has been that he is notoriously streaky up or down. So I think the thing that the Red Sox can perhaps take out of last night is that that outing may have been the beginning of the turnaround and they can expect him to maybe get on one of his rolls, which they could use."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A painful night for Dice-K
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning from Seattle. the topics: Daisuke Matsuzaka's injury, the ejections of Terry Francona and Julio Lugo, and encouraging signs from Manny Ramirez.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
Matsuzaka's postgame remarks re: his injury: "They were trying to leave the impression that, while it was up in the air and there was nothing definitive, that [the injury] wasn't anything terribly serious. Dice-K had his translator convey at the end the conversation with reporters that he wasn't overly concerned. If it is indeed just shoulder fatigue, then there really is nothing, you would not think, long-term to be too concerned about. But anytime you're talking about a pitcher in the prime of his career, as Matsuzaka is, to have either elbow or shoulder issues is significant in and of itself."
On Terry Francona's confrontation with umpire Angel Hernandez: "[Francona] initially went out just to sort of diffuse the situation and try to get Lugo out of the way before there was more trouble. But the longer he stayed, the angrier he got, because of comments that Hernandez gave him in response to some questions. Of course, [Francona] didn't get into any of that [in his comments after the game]. One thing that we sort of found comical in the press box -- and we're only ascribing it in our own interpretation -- but there was a point right after he was run, or maybe it was right before, when Francona, talking to Hernandez, signaled to all the people in the ball park, sort of gesturing wildly with his arm. And knowing managers as we do, and some things that get said in the heat of conversation, we could almost bet that it was something to the effect of, 'Hey, all these people didn't come here to see you perform,' which is often something that is said to umpires who get a little too big for their britches."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Ortiz raises the Yankees' ire again
Click here to listen to Sean's daily audio report, which is audio only today. The topics include the weekend debacle in Oakland, last night's win over the free-falling Mariners, Kevin Youkilis' mysterious hand injury, and the controversy over David Ortiz's "called shot" promotion, set to take place at Yankee Stadium to the dismay of the regular tenants.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as Sean was just getting his day started in California. The topics: the Red Sox' remarkable 7-0 homestand, the rarity of two grand slams in one game, Daisuke Matsuzaka's latest walk-a-rama, and the Red Sox' next two opponents: Oakland and Seattle.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Bartolo Colon, maybe the deal of the year (we'll see); Jason Varitek's hot hitting; Brandon Moss returning to the PawSox after an emergency appendectomy; and your American League All-Star starting pitcher -- Daisuke Matsuzaka?
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Another young star shines
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Justin Masterson -- his performance last night and his possible future in the bullpen -- what to look for from Bartolo Colon tonight, and whether Manny Ramirez is letting his stalled pursuit of 500 home runs get under his skin.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Lester writes Red Sox history
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's edition is all about Jon Lester's no-hitter, including a review of the many memorable starts in Lester's career so far, how the Sox might try to manage Lester's workload after he threwing so many pitches last night, and how much impact Jason Varitek has had on the Sox' remarkable wealth of no-nos.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the Red Sox' interleague dominance, Josh Beckett's recent problems, Manny Delcarmen's increased responsibilities in the bullpen, and the coming starts by Justin Masterson and Bartolo Colon.
Click here to listen to today's edition of projo SoxTalk (audio only today). Sean discusses the Red Sox' harrowing day yesterday, Josh Beckett's surprising inability to retire the Orioles' usually inept lineup, the Terry Francona-Brad Mills relationship, and the Red Sox' meeting this afternoon with Daniel Cabrera, the guy who sparked a bench-clearing incident with the Sox last September.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Clay Buchholz's troubles on the road, and how it makes the club's decision about Bartolo Colon easier, looking to deal Julian Tavarez and giving Craig Hansen a vote of confidence, Josh Beckett's assignment tonight in Baltimore, Alex Rodriguez's injury and the Rays' run for first place.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The hits keep on coming
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the relentless Red Sox offense, Kevin Cash the .375 hitter, doing it with speed and power, tonight's date with Livan Hernandez, and the still-hot Tampa Bay Rays.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: That hot-starting Youkilis
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Kevin Youkilis' hot start -- can he make it last? -- Josh Beckett's steady improvement, Manny Ramirez's quest for 500 home runs -- and is 600 a realistic goal? -- and the Minnesota Twins, who are hanging in there despite the loss of Johan Santana and Torii Hunter.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: a tough, tough way to lose a game, Julio Lugo's channeling of Edgar Renteria, whether there's a market for Julian Tavarez, and the struggles of tonight's Tigers starter, Justin Verlander.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The old guys can still throw
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the combined shutout by 41-year-old Tim Wakefield and 42-year-old Mike Timlin; the first throwing session of the year for 41-year-old Curt Schilling; Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz becoming a force in the middle again; and the MLB Players Association's investigation of the owners' failure for not finding a job for Barry Bonds.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Daisuke Matsuzaka's inability to control his pitches, Craig Hansen's inability so far to seize the opportunity handed to him, Mike Lowell's first RBIs of the season, and the inconsistency of the Detroit Tigers.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the bizarre balk call that prolonged last night's game (I had already turned the thing off...); the Red Sox' abysmal offensive showing this week; a showdown series against ... Tampa Bay; and the injury problems down in the Bronx.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Another dramatic victory
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: A fourth consecutive fine pitching performance offsetting the general offensive futility, Toronto's penchant for beating itself, the latest injury news and the advantages of a potential spring-training move to Sarasota.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Last night's ninth-inning victory, Dustin Pedroia as a danger to his own health, up-and-down Jon Lester very much up last night, and Roy Halladay's frustrating world.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Jacoby Ellsbury's 17-for-17 stolen-base streak, Bartolo Colon's path back to the mound, the Toronto Blue Jays struggling early in the season, and the latest Roger Clemens scandal.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Swept Away in Tampa Bay
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the five-game losing streak, Tampa Bay's prospects to compete down the road, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz giving good outings, and the coming return of Mike Lowell.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: the illness that is messing up the Red Sox' plans, what to expect from Justin Masterson, and Craig Hansen's 2008 debut.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Ellsbury shines vs. L.A.
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. Today's topics: Jacoby Ellsbury's terrific night against the Angels, the Ellsbury-Dustin Pedroia duo looking great, David Pauley's future with the team, and the roster move to come later today.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Happy stories all around
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. All's right for the Red Sox fans of the world, as our conversation topics suggest: the team's fast start (same record through 21 games as they had en route to the World Series last year), Jacoby Ellsbury's standout play of late and Julio Lugo responding to the challenge from young Jed Lowrie. Also, Sean provides a briefing on the L.A. Angels, who hit Fenway for three games beginning tonight.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Earning the split in New York
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as from New York. He discusses Manny Ramirez's mastery of Mike Mussina, Kyle Farnsworth's brush-back pitch and possible repercussions down the road, Josh Beckett, similarities between the current editions of the Sox and the Yanks, and why Jonathan Papelbon struggles when the game is not on the line.
Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam: A long and fruitless night
Last night's was a pretty ugly game, so I guess it's appropriate that today's edition of SoxTalk is sound only, with no pictures. Sean discusses Clay Buchholz's tough night, Chien-Ming Wang's inability to follow up on Friday's excellent effort, Kevin Youkilis' injured foot and the strange scheduling decision by Major League Baseball to have the Yankees finish this season on the road.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Another ninth-inning win
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning from as he was en route to the Cleveland airport and a morning flight to New York. He discusses the motivation teams get from late-inning wins, Jason Varitek's early-season power surge, Jed Lowrie's debut, Alex Cora's injured elbow and tonight's Clay Buchholz vs. Chien-Ming Wang matchup.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: High drama in Cleveland
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning from chilly Cleveland. He discusses Julian Tavarez, Joe Borowski, Jon Lester, and the David Ortiz-Terry Francona text messaging story.
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Yankees go home, and now we're off to Cleveland
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as he was on his way to Cleveland. He discusses the Red Sox bullpen, Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox' ability to capitalize on Phil Hughes' mistakes, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and the continued difficult schedule.
Last night: "They were able to score runs in bunches, had three different innings where they scored four runs, and kind of broke out a little bit offensively. That's something they haven't been able to do."
Ortiz: "It may only be 10 games, but ... he really seems lost up there. Some of it may be the surgically repaired knee is not yet 100 percent. He has traditionally been a slow starter, who has said that it usually takes him a little while to find his swing, and it's pretty obvious right now that he hasn't found it yet. And until he does, there are going to have to be others who come through and pick up the slack a little bit."
Cash: "He's very solid fundamentally and defensively. He's not going to provide a lot of offense, but then again neither was [Doug] Mirabelli, and I think they're very happy with the way that Cash not only catches the knuckleball and handles Wakefield, but is available and pretty sound to contribute in other ways when he's behind the plate."
The Yankees: "They are a little banged up. They just got [Jorge] Posada back, and [Derek] Jeter looks like he's going to be out for a few more days. And as a result of a couple of those injuries, the offense really hasn't clicked. ... No one doubts that the Yankees are going to be able to score runs in bunches. They haven't yet ... and maybe the Red Sox are catching the Yankees at the right time this weekend, if they're able to get these games in."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: An ugly loss to Detroit
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses last night's game, Mike Lowell's injury, possible roster replacements for Lowell, the bullpen dilemma and Edgar Renteria, who has hit .342 against the Sox since being booed out of town after the 2005 season.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
Last night's game: "It was not the best showing for the Red Sox on either side. Jon Lester had control problems, walked four, and that directly cost him. And after geting Bonderman on the ropes early, the offense wasn't able to take much advantage after that; the attack was pretty nonexistent after the third inning."
On Lowell: "He was pretty uncomfortable last night. In fact he needed some help getting his jacket on over his hand and that sprained thumb. ... He'll be reevaluated today, but I think it's clear that were not going to see Mike Lowell for the next few days. I guess for the Red Sox the best case scenario at this point is to stay away from a D.L. visit early in the season, and hope that it can maybe calm down in the next four to five days."
Call-ups if Lowell goes on the DL? "It's not going to be [Chris] Carter, because they do not see him as a first base candidate -- he's had real difficulties over there. [Brandon] Moss could be a possibility to come up, and have Youkilis play third base every day. Another option would be essentially what they did last night, with Casey taking over at first, Youkilis at third and then maybe bringing in somebody like Jed Lowrie to give them some flexiblility; Lowrie can play third as well [as shortstop]."
Aardsma vs. Corey vs. Lopez: "I would have said a week ago that Corey was the guy who probably was going to be kept. ... But he's not helped himself in the last week, either with his showing Saturday in Toronto, or last night when he had a bad inning. For that matter, neither Aardsma nor Lopez have looked sharp of late. So I'm not sure what decisions are going to be made here, but it seems as though neither one of these guys is stepping up and claiming this job for himself."
Renteria, a target of Boston fans: "It seems as if he has used that as some sort of motivation in coming back here, either with Detroit, or playing pretty well against them as a member of the Atlanta Braves. I think it's more evidence that the year he had here was essentially a fluke and that ... hes been a pretty good major league shortstop for 10 years."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: The Opening Day victory
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses the struggling Tigers, Daisuke Matsuzaka, J.D. Drew and Bill Buckner.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On the Tigers: "I think it's O.K. to get worried now, if you're Jim Leyland. When you go more than a week into the season and are still without your first win, then that spells trouble, particularly when you're in a division with a team that came within a few outs of the pennant last year -- the Indians -- and other teams that are kind of upstarts, like the Royals."
Matsuzaka attacking the hitters: "I think the problem last year came when he got himself in a situation where he fell behind so often that he was throwing the fastball on hitter's counts, and of course that spells trouble for a pitcher. But they clearly seem to try [this year] to get ahead more with the fastball and let other pitches do the work once he does that."
J.D. Drew's fast start: "If you go back and look at his April last year, the first two or three weeks were pretty good. And the hope if you're the Red Sox is that he continues that hot start this season, and doesn't dip the way he did last year."
On the Buckner tribute: "I thought the time to have Buckner back would have been for the 2005 ceremony, when you're trying to wash away all the sins of the past and put all the curse stuff behind you. To me, yesterday, it seemed out of place. I think the 2007 world championship that they were celebrating yesterday, and I don't want to classify it as just another championship, but it seemed to me that the time for that would have been a few years ago. And I think people forget that Buckner has already been forgiven, back in 1990 when he returned as a player for the second part of his career with the Red Sox. I thought it was a little bit of wallowing in the Red Sox' tragic past, when they should have put all of that behind them."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as he was driving to Fenway Park. He discusses the plan for opening day, Bartolo Colon's trip to the disabled list and the continued challenges of juggling Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On today's pregame ceremonies: "The bar has been set pretty high from past pregame extravaganzas, specifically in '05 -- they'll be hardpressed I think to top that from an emotional standpoint, given that that was the first [championship celebration] in 86 years -- but I don't think Red Sox ffans are tired of the ceremonies yet."
On changes at Fenway: "They've done the best with a less than optimum situation. ... I still think -- and maybe this makes me a heretic among Red Sox fans -- but I still think they'd be better off with a new ballpark. But I think financially, they decided that was not viable, so they decided to do the best they can with this, and indeed they have. ... For the first time, this year we can assume that the Red Sox will draw more than 3 million fans, and that's something I think that few people ever imagined possible at Fenway."
On Colon: "I think people got a little too amped up when he had a couple good performances, both for the Red Sox in Los Angeles and, more recently, opening Pawtucket's season. ... I don't think it's going to be much of a setback. I think that it's still quite possible that Colon will be in the rotation by the end of the month."
On Crisp and Ellsbury -- will they continue to get equal playing time? "I don't think it will be equal. I still think that they envision Ellsbury as the guy who is going to take over the job sooner rather than later, but I think early in the year it's smart to keep both of them sharp. It's also not a bad idea to showcase Crisp for some scouts who might be interested in dealing for him. ... Given that Crisp missed so much time in spring training, that sort of made it more difficult to move him, as did the whole Japan and travel and timing issues. So i think eventually they'll get to that, but until they do, they've got to find a way to work it out."
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses the Red Sox' sorry showing in Toronto as well as the coming series with the 0-6 Detroit Tigers.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On the team's travel fatigue: "I think it was inevitable that it would catch up with them at some point. I think the combination of a pretty good team to beat, and maybe the Red Sox sort of collectively hitting the wall right before they got home, combined to result in those three losses."
On Josh Beckett "It's worth remembering that Beckett did not have a traditional spring training. He faced a college team in his first actual start down in Fort Myers at the end of February, and then when he took the mound the next time, that's when the back spasms happened, and he had to scratch himself from what would have been his first real Grapefruit League start. And then everything after that was either in a camp game, a simulated game, a minor-league game -- he never really faced major-league hitters. ... So they understood that he was not going to be at 100 percent [yesterday]. He hadn't maxed out on his arm strength or thrown as many pitches as he normally would have before facing major-league hitters in a regular-season game. So I think that's the explanation for tiring in the fifth inning and having some difficulty, and that resulted in leaving the bases loaded, and things unraveled after that."
On the bullpen: "One of the things I thought was interesting was that you have the fifth inning yesterday, which is hardly the time when you would ordinarily bring in one of your power setup guys that might otherwise be used in the seventh or eighth, and Terry Francona felt compelled to go to him in the fifth. To me that spoke to some issues about perhaps not having a lot of faith right now in the middle guys, and sort of having to use a guy like that far earlier in the game than you might otherwise do."
On the Tigers: "They're not 100-percent healthy ... they're without both Gary Sheffield and Curtis Granderson, so that affects that lineup that everyone knows is going to be pretty fearsome when it gets clicking. And it just seems like they came out of the gate and had everything bad happen to them at once. Bullpen blew a couple of games late ... really nothing has gone very well for them."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Colon, Hansen, Wakefield, previewing Toronto
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He puts last night's events in Pawtucket into context and looks ahead to the weekend series in Toronto.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
What's next for Colon: "I would think, and this is just conjecture on my part, that they would want at least one more Triple A start for him, if only to build up that pitch count a little bit. ... I would think they would want him to crack that 90-pitch threshold somewhere else other than the big leagues for the first time, and that would translate into at least one more start, and then you're looking at probably the 16th, 17th, 18th of April where he's ready to make his [Boston] debut.
Craig Hansen -- this year's Manny Delcarmen? "I think that's exactly how they envision him. ... They have not given up on this guy, and that's understandable. They invested a lot of money in their number-one pick, signed him to a major league deal to get him signed, rushed him to the big leagues to their detriment -- and his, now it would seem. But anyone who can throw in the mid 90s the way he can, and has the kind of arm and raw ability that he has; they believe he's still salvagable."
Wakefield on the eve of his 14th Red Sox season: "He had a great spring and there are no physical worries on the Red Sox part at all."
Can the Blue Jays contend? "It seems every year we think that this is going to be the year they break through that glass ceiling in the American League East and give the top two teams a real run for their money, and unfortunately for the Blue Jays it seems like every year something happens to derail them. A lot of times it's been injuries, and already they've got Scott Rolen sidelined for a month and [closer B.J.] Ryan not quite ready to go. ... I think Dustin McGowan is going to be one of the guys to keep an eye on in the American League; I really think he could break through into a 15- to 18-game winner this year, and that would give them some additional pitching depth. But the key is keeping everybody healthy. ... If they do, I think they can hang in there at least for a while. Even with their injuries the last couple of years, they've given the Red Sox all they can handle."
Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Wrapping up the Oakland trip
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning, as he was headed for the San Francisco airport and a cross-country flight back to New England. (Steve Krasner will pick up our Red Sox coverage this weekend in Toronto.) Sean discusses Jon Lester, David Ortiz, the Oakland A's future and Bartolo Colon.
Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:
On Lester:"Even though he did walk three, he did get ahead of most of the hitters and put himself in control to sort of dictate what was going to happen in the at-bats, and you can do that when you can throw strikes with multiple pitches."
On Ortiz: "He did not feel great in Japan -- kind of battled the bug, or a flu, or something -- and wasn't at full strength, in addition to all the demands of the travel. And then you factor in the fact that Ortiz has traditionally been a slow starter; by his own admission it usually takes him a little while to get his swing together when the season starts. So all those things conspired to get him off to a slow start. ... But to be able to knock the first one out and have it be the hit that gave the Red Sox their first two runs yesterday in the seventh inning, must have been something of a relief for him."
On the state of the A's: "They made an awful lot of moves in the offseason, trading Danny Haren, Swisher, Kotsay, and it's clear that they are in a rebuilding mode. When you talk to people in the game, they maintain that Billy Beane did a good job in getting a good inventory of prospects back for those guys, particularly the Haren deal ... and those are the kinds of guys that are going to dictate how good this franchise is going to be in another two, three or four years."
What to expect from Colon tonight: "His velocity was pretty good at Dodger Stadium on Friday night. He was up pretty regularly at 91-92, which is certainly enough for him to be effective at the big-league level. In terms of workload and pitch count, I think they want him to get up to about 75, maybe 80 pitches maximum."
Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, from Oakland
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses Daisuke Matsuzaka, Kevin Youkilis' errorless streak, Jason Varitek, and the latest injury to former Sox ace Pedro Martinez.
Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, from Oakland
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses the the Red Sox' challenges in the month of April, Clay Buchholz's tenuous hold on the fifth starter job, and J.D. Drew's health questions.
Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, from Los Angeles
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. He discusses the rocky first outings by Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester in Japan, Manny Ramirez's new attitude, and Saturday night's freak-show exhibition game at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
Multimedia: Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam, Monday, March 24
Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded today from Tokyo. The topics include the Red Sox' decision to bat Dustin Pedroia leadoff, Mike Timlin's health and what it means for the bullpen, and some lasting memories of Japan.
Today, Sean discusses Jonathan Papelbon's new contract, the general mood around the team this spring, Bartolo Colon's latest bullpen session and Joe Torre's challenges with the Dodgers.
Today, Sean discusses the competition for the fifth starter spot, Bartolo Colon's role in the rotation and Jonathan Papelbon's contract dispute. Click the play button below to see and hear the show; we'll post a transcript of Sean's comments later.
TRANSCRIPT
The fifth starter competition: Is it a competition? "Certainly the first four spots are accounted for, with Beckett, Matsuzaka, Lester and Wakefield. With the fifth spot, you'd have to figure that Clay Buchholz is the odds-on favorite to win that. It would be a natural progression for him, having made a few starts last year, including the no-hitter of course against Baltimore. He did not pitch particularly well in his first outing [of spring training], sort of piggy-backing on Tim Wakefield Sunday afternoon, had a rough first inning in which he allowed four runs, and then settled down and came out and got the side in order in the second inning. So, I think they were happy to see some adjustments. I would say that, while Tavarez and Kyle Snyder remain sort of on the periphery of any sort of competition for the number-five spot, it really is Buchholz, with Colon maybe coming up fast on the rails, given how impressive he's been. We have not seen him in a game situation yet, but they like his arm strength, they like the way he looks so far. We'll know a lot more tomorrow, after his second bullpen session. Following that is either a third bullpen or a live batting practice session, and then they determine when his first game is -- it will probably around the 15th. It's hard to imagine that he could be ready to start the season, and we don't know whether he's going to go to Japan to continue to make some progress, or get left back in Florida to stretch out his arm, but he would seem to be Buchholz's principal competition for that fifth spot, and again, it could be that Buchholz starts the year as the number five, and if he struggles at all, then they have some depth in Colon to make some changes."
Could Colon be a reliever? "I don't see ... there hasn't been any mention of that. In fact, Colon really sort of chafed last year in September, when Mike Scioscia attempted to use him out of the bullpen; he does not like pitching in that role. I'm fairly certain that there was some agreement when he signed his deal here that he would not be asked to pitch out of relief. I think it's starter or bust for him.
Why not just give Papelbon the money? "I think it sets a precedent of sorts for them, where every second- and third-year player who is not yet eligible for salary arbitration could come in and point to Papelbon's more than doubling his salary from $425,500 to 900,000 from his second to third year, and that happens a few times, and it starts adding up to possibly some money. The fact of the matter is that major-league players for the first three years of their big-league careers, the teams have the hammer. They have the power, because players have no leverage or arbitration rights, and after the third year the pendulum swings over dramatically in the players' favor. ... Prior to [years] four, five and six they have the rights to go to arbitration, which owners and executives claim artificially escalates salaraies at a rate higher than should be, and then after six years there's the prospect of free agency. The Red Sox are actually fairly generous with their 0-3 players. You look at what Florida has done with Hanley Ramirez -- here is a guy who had an MVP-caliber year the last couple of years, in two years of service time he's established himself as one of the best young shortstops in the game, and he got renewed at about $440,000 over the weekend. That's $60,000 more than the minimum. The Red Sox will not do that with Jonathan Papelbon, but nor will they give him Ryan Howard-like money, I don't think."
Today, Sean discusses Terry Francona's new contract, the Bartolo Colon acquisition, and the prospects for Jed Lowrie. Click the play button below to see and hear the show; we'll post a transcript of Sean's comments later.
TRANSCRIPT
On Francona's extension: "Certainly it wasn't anyting that they wanted to have dragon once the seaon began, or even later into the exhibition season here, so they took the opportunity when it's a litte quieter in the first couple of weeks to get it taken care of. It was said to be a priority of ownership after the World Series win last October, and as these things tend to do, it got put off and really kind of came together over that last week, where they narrrowed some differences and were able to get it done first thing Sunday morning. I think everyone's glad that it's off the plate and they have Francona under control for as many as six more years, if they wish: the final year of the existing deal, three years that are guaranteed and then two additional team options. So it's conceivable that Terry Francona could be the manager of this team all the way through 2013, which would be quite a run for any franchise, but particularly this one."
What should we expect from Colon, and what are his chances of making the team at some point? " think that second one is very difficult to answer, Mike. He has not done a lot in the last three weeks since pitching in the Caribbean World Series, so they kind of have to start him from scratch, from long toss to bullpen sessions to live BP and then ultimately in some games later this month. But it's a project that they think is worthwhile, given that only three years ago this was the American Cy Young Award winner. The last two years he's been limited by injuries and ... I don't think his conditioning is probably going to be working in his favor here. The Red Sox are braced for the fact that he's going to be pretty big. I think the Red Sox have been told as much as a preemptive warning. But he's always been a guy, as Theo Epstein said yesterday, that pitches with a pretty big body and it hasn't affected him. My only comment to that would be, it gets a little difficult as you get into your mid to late 30s to carry that excessive weight. We've seen guys that have struggled with it, guys like Sid Fernandez with the Mets back in the 80s and early 90s, that got so big that he was putting additional stress on his knees, and you know, it becomes problematic. You can get away with that in your 20s; as you get older it makes it tougher."
What does Jed Lowrie need to do to get to the big leagues? "Well, I think it's really just playing time and experience. He's had a pretty quick rise through the organization, last year was at both Double A, then finished up in Triple A the last couple of months. I think the problem with him is that there is no obvious in the immediate future opening for him. You've got Dustin Pedroia, who was the Rookie of the Year last year, is going to be the second baseman for some time. You've got Julio Lugo, who's got three years left plus some options on his long-term deal, and you've got Mike Lowell, who just signed a three-year extension. So the three positions that Lowrie could conceivably help out in are spoken for for the time being, and so for that matter is the utility spot of Alex Cora, who the Red Sox love. He's got a two-year deal that is up after this year, but i think the Red Sox would be very much interested in bringing him back and having him fill that role, so you wonder if there's much of a future here for Lowrie, or if he gets put in a deal. His name certainly came up quite a bit in the offseason in the Johan Santana talks, so it will be interesting to see where he fits in, if at all. But the Red Sox like him; in fact francona the other day was making some comparisons to Dustin Pedroia: they both played at Pac-10 schools, they're both middle infielders and they're both pretty polished players. But the tough part, as I said, is figuring out where Lowrie fits in in the immediate future here."
In our first edition of SoxTalk for the 2008 season, Sean discusses the handicap the Red Sox already face with Curt Schilling injured, just how much the team is paying attention to the Mitchell fallout, the Terry Francona contract talks and what is in store for the rest of this week. Click the play button below to hear and see the show.
