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Sunday, June 16, 2013

Ballou: Another Drew attracts anxiety for Red Sox

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posted 4 days ago by Repoz to history, red sox | 27 comment(s)

Scat Ballou: Is this the way to make a shiity column…? You bet it is!

Now, the Sox have taken it to a new level with the Brothers Drew.

Neither is very good, but there’s something about a Drew that whoever Boston’s general manager is can’t resist, be it Theo Epstein or Ben Cherington.

OK, J.D. Drew had a couple of respectable seasons with the Red Sox. And, OK, Stephen Drew is a good defensive shortstop. Still, starting with Opening Day of 2010, Boston has committed $37.5 million ...

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101. The Mohole* of David Wells (* - Piehole)

posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:46 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Bump

102. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:48 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Maybe Nava looks worse than he is out there? My eyes see a range of nil.

That homer was a breath of fresh air. Too bad they spent the entire Bogaerts at-bat replaying it.

103. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:50 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

He's definitely not rangy but he's sure handed and seems to have a decent arm. Not saying I want him as a defensive replacement but I'd be comfortable with him in either corner ( maybe not so much in right in Fenway).

104. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:55 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Maybe Nava looks worse than he is out there? My eyes see a range of nil.

I don't see Jeremy Giambi out there. He's not utterly awful. I'm expecting Mike Carp isn't meaningfully better.

105. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:56 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

What the hell was that?

106. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:57 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Carp is probably a similar defender, but has a lot more upside as a power bat.

107. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:57 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Sure, just hand the runs right back.

108. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:58 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Carp is probably a similar defender, but has a lot more upside as a power bat.

Yup. But he also might suck. And Nava has upside as an OBP bat.

109. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 04:59 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

What the hell was that?

Brock Holt, proving Pirates fans right.

110. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:03 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

JBJ!!

111. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:08 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

JBJ :(

112. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:08 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

That seemed like a tiny lead to try and be stealing.

113. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:14 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

So I want to clarify a baseball rule. When a player runs between bases on a pitched ball, the catcher can throw the ball to the next base, and it's possible for the runner to be out if he's tagged before he reaches the base?

I had forgotten that rule recently, for some reason.

114. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:15 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

That seemed like a tiny lead to try and be stealing.

It was a 3-2 count, wasn't it? I don't think it was exactly a steal.

115. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:19 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Including the Strike out- Caught Stealing DP, the Sox have hit into 5 DP in 8 innings today.

116. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:22 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Remy's right - really nice swing by Hazelbaker, good mechanics, excellent balance.

A reminder that the truly galling thing about Remy is that he could be a very good announcer.

117. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:24 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Professional at-bat by Bogaerts. Admittedly against random NRI fodder.

But I love the look of his swing. He's almost, dare I say it, reminiscent of Manny. It's the really calm hands and lower body, the easy power and weight shift.

118. Dan posted on February 23, 2013 at 05:27 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

A reminder that the truly galling thing about Remy is that he could be a very good announcer.

He was a good announcer back when he cared about and was still interested in baseball.

Oh, Nava.

119. Darren

posted on February 23, 2013 at 07:09 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I'm torn on Nava. I really want him to do well, but he can be stashed at AAA and Carp has to make the team to stay....

120. Dan posted on February 24, 2013 at 04:11 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Looks like the Yankees might be the ones bit by the injury bug this year: Granderson hit by a pitch in his first ST PA, and will miss 10 weeks with a fractured forearm.

121. Darren

posted on February 25, 2013 at 08:00 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

WEEI says Webster was impressive:

After allowing an RBI double to Melky Cabrera, Webster went on to strike out four Blue Jays batters in a row. Make the feat more impressive was that those hitters – Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, J.P. Arencibia and Brett Lawrie – are considered to be the meat of the Jays’ batting order once the regular season rolls around.

122. Darren

posted on February 25, 2013 at 08:07 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Should have added that he was hitting 98 and 99.

123. Dan posted on February 25, 2013 at 08:32 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Should have posted that in the minor help thread where we were already discussing it!

124. philly posted on February 27, 2013 at 02:29 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Tonight's game is on MLB Network at 7 pm. Anybody have a list of pitchers slated to throw?

125. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 27, 2013 at 03:46 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

In my experience boston.com is the best source for this stuff. Here's what they got for tonight's game;

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Victorino RF
Saltalamacchia C
Middlebrooks 3B
Drew SS
Nava 1B
Hamilton DH
Pitching: LHP Franklin Morales followed by LHP Drake Britton, RHP Junichi Tazawa, RHP Joel Hanrahan, RHP Koji Uehara, RHP Andrew Bailey and LHP Andrew Miller.

126. philly posted on February 27, 2013 at 04:29 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Thanks. Bullpen day means seeing lots of guys who will be on the team on the plus side, but well you know it's also just the releivers. Oh well.

127. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 27, 2013 at 08:23 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Middlebrooks checked his swing on the first pitch he saw and injured his wrist and left the game.

NESNs sideline reporter did inform us that she talked to Middlebrooks prior to the game and that he had worked with Mike Lowell on his footing. That was useful.

128. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 08:32 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Well, we're boned.

129. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 08:44 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Seriously though, third base is a terrible place to lose the starter for this team. There's practically no depth there right now. Pedro Ciriaco's bat at first for several weeks is a terrible, horrible option. I'd honestly rather toss Bogaerts into the deep end than watch Ciriaco get everyday PT at a corner position.

130. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 08:49 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

And on cue, Ciriaco makes a throwing error from third base. Yeah, if I have to watch this guy play third base, I'm going to be incredibly sad.

131. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 08:58 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Speier already has a short piece up about the depth issues, etc.

132. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee posted on February 27, 2013 at 09:50 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I'd rather see Brock Holt(!) than Ciriaco, if it comes to that. If Middlebrooks' wrist is this weak, then I fear for what we might see of his power this year.

133. ellsbury my heart at wounded knee posted on February 27, 2013 at 09:53 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Doublepost.

134. Petunia inquires about ponies posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:12 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Andrew Miller is one good-looking man.

135. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:13 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I'd rather see Brock Holt(!) than Ciriaco, if it comes to that. If Middlebrooks' wrist is this weak, then I fear for what we might see of his power this year.

I was pretty terrified about long term implications from the moment the pitch hit his wrist. Hopefully our concerns are overblown.

136. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:43 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Via Jenny Dell Middlebrooks just spoke in the clubhouse and said nothing is broken, it was just a scare but not as bad as it appeared. Orsillo reporting no X-rays taken yet though.

137. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:51 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

They reported that Granderson just had a bruise before the X-rayed him, FWIW. I'm not going to calm down about it just yet.

138. villageidiom posted on February 27, 2013 at 10:53 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

We still don't know what the question is, but regardless I am pretty sure Ryan Dent is not the answer.

139. Matt Clement of Alexandria posted on February 27, 2013 at 11:10 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

This isn't analysis:

Does anyone else feel like this Middlebrooks incident determines the season? If he's fine, we're going to have a mostly normal baseball season for a mediocre baseball team. If he's gone for five months, baseball still hates me.

140. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 11:14 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Britton: not quite as impressive tonight as he was in his first game.

141. Dan posted on February 27, 2013 at 11:16 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Does anyone else feel like this Middlebrooks incident determines the season? If he's fine, we're going to have a mostly normal baseball season for a mediocre baseball team. If he's gone for five months, baseball still hates me.

I think everyone feels that way on some level, whether they're willing to admit it or not. You'd have to be an emotionless robot to not have felt that way when you saw him grab at the wrist. So, maybe RDP would be unfazed, but everyone else was thinking "oh no, here we go again".

142. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 28, 2013 at 09:22 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Does anyone else feel like this Middlebrooks incident determines the season? If he's fine, we're going to have a mostly normal baseball season for a mediocre baseball team. If he's gone for five months, baseball still hates me.

Sounds about right. It's not just an exciting young player it's the one guy on the team that really doesn't have a tolerable backup. If the Gods were out to get the Sox Middlebrooks would be the guy they would smite. Every other position has a replacement ready that would at least let us survive for awhile but if I have to watch Ciriaco play third base for two months I may kill myself.

143. tfbg9 posted on February 28, 2013 at 09:42 AM # hit 0 | hit 0

Wrist said to be fine. Just a scare. "NO X-RAYS SCHEDULED".
They're kidding about the last part, no?

Edit: semi-coke to Jose.

144. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 28, 2013 at 12:18 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Per Boston.com Middlebrooks to see a specialist today as a precaution. This seems like a good thing. I just think back to Pedroia the last couple of years seeing a specialist and getting a clean bill of health and going on a tear. Hopefully Middlebrooks will get the A-OK and use that as a boost to be comfortable doing things.

145. tfbg9 posted on February 28, 2013 at 12:24 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Well, lets get the thing x-rayed, MRI'd etc.? No repeats of the Ellsbury and Bucholz fiasco's? Please?

146. Nasty Nate posted on February 28, 2013 at 01:12 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I have a bad feeling about his wrist.

If he misses time, they have some internal options:

(1) Simply plug Ciriaco in as the starter.
(2) Drew Sutton
(3) Teach Drew to play third, and start Iglesias at SS. In games in which they are trailing, they can pinch hit for Iglesias, slide Drew back, and insert Ciriaco (or Sutton) at 3B.
(4) Teach Brock Holt to play third.
(5) some combination of the above

I assume that Gomez is not really an option besides emergency use at 3B?

147. Drew (Primakov, Gungho Iguanas) posted on February 28, 2013 at 01:26 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Due to Middlebrooks' injury, Bogaerts will be playing today in...CF.

Huh?

148. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 28, 2013 at 01:42 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Due to Middlebrooks' injury, Bogaerts will be playing today in...CF.

Huh?

Where are you seeing that? I'm pretty sure Bogaerts has already left for Asia to join the Honkballers.

Extra Bases has Bradley listed in center. I wonder if whatever site you looked at put in the wrong "B" prospect.

149. Dan posted on February 28, 2013 at 01:47 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

Apparently Middlebrooks took Bp today without incident.

150. Jose Can Still Seabiscuit posted on February 28, 2013 at 01:51 PM # hit 0 | hit 0

I assume that Gomez is not really an option besides emergency use at 3B?

I mention this with some regularity but it is still not clear to me why 3rd base is not an option for a converted catcher (e.g. Napoli or hell even Lavarnway). Fundamentally it's the same skills at first base; semi-competence on grounder, good feet, quick hands and then you add in a strong arm. That seems like a reasonable set of skills that would translate well from behind the plate.

I had thoughts last night that it would be awfully exciting to see Bogaerts jump in there. So many reasons that it's a lousy idea for a kid who just turned 20 and has a month at AA under his belt but the thought of an October article "when Will Middlebrooks broke his wrist checking his swing, little did we know that a door opened for the player who would generate an excitement not seen by a Boston rookie since Nomar burst onto the scene..."

Then I remember he's 20 and drew one walk in a month of AA ball and maybe I should settle down.

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Sunday, June 16, 2013

Ballou: Another Drew attracts anxiety for Red Sox

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