If the 2013 Sox are as bad as the pessimists predict, the minors will probably receive another infusion at midseason when Ellsbury, Hanrahan, Drew, and Uehara are traded.

No way. If it's really as bad as the pessimists predict, each of those guys will be traded in turn for Brent Lillibridge, who will promptly be cut, sign on with a new team, and then re-acquired by the Red Sox. Rinse, repeat, etc.

Who is overrating Chris Hernandez?

...Speier (longer article on Rubby)...

They're saying Kalish needs surgey again. Sigh.

"He looked very good," said Farrell, who along with pitching coach Juan Nieves watched Bard throw in Mississippi. "His arm slot is back to a normal position. He shows the power he previously had as a reliever. His mind-set is more clear and his approach is more simplified."

I think the bullpen is the part of this team I'm most excited to see in action. There are a whole bunch of ifs as there are with most bullpens but I think the realistic upside out there is incredibly high. Bailey, Hanrahan and Bard are all a year away from being elite relievers and Tazawa is a guy worth being excited about.

Scouting Grades (present/future): Hit: 4/6 | Power: 3/5 | Run: 5/5 | Arm: 6/6 | Field: 4/6 | Overall: 5/6

The Aruba native and 2012 Futures Game participant has some serious tools and he’s used them to rush up the Red Sox’s organizational ladder, reaching Double-A in 2012 at age 19. He has the ability to make hard contact and can shoot the ball to all fields with excellent bat speed and a smooth swing. He has significant raw power he’s still learning to tap into and he will be a better overall hitter as his plate discipline continues to improve, something that happened in the Carolina League in 2012, but not as much once he moved up a level. His plus arm works just fine from shortstop and while he’s an average runner, he has better range than one would expect for a player his size. If he has to move over to third, his bat looks like it will play just fine there, though Will Middlebrooks is standing in the way there.

That report on Bogaerts makes no sense to me. A guy with OK power and mediocre plate discipline who might stick at shortstop doesn't sound like anything close to a #20 prospect to me.

i figured it out. 3/5 is a range ... they mean 3-5. notice how some of the numbers are /5 and some are /6. if that meant "out of" you would expect a consistent upper bound.

Projected Rosters are up at Sox Prospects. Nothing too earth shattering but a nifty snapshot of the state of the system. Nice to see a lot of key prospects in Portland.

"The feel he has for offspeed pitches, particularly when you have that type of velocity or fastball you can go to, he's obviously showing us the ability to pitch without being predictable," said manager John Farrell. "A couple of 3-2 counts, right-handed, left-handed, he's not only willing but goes to [the changeup] with confidence and when you combine that with the power, it's really a rare combination. And just with two outings in spring training, he's not been afraid to go to any pitch in any count. It's been very encouraging the way he's thrown the baseball."

De La Rosa's explosive fastball inspires radar (gun) love and scoreboard watching to see how close to triple digits it can come. That pitch alone would make him a significant prospect.

But the fact that his secondary pitches are so good that he sometimes favors them as much as, if not more, than the fastball? That's a bit ridiculous, not to mention unfair to opposing hitters who are trying to gain their timing in spring training.

The 23-year-old right-hander, as Farrell noted, showed three swing-and-miss pitches on Friday, something that suggests not just a starter's arsenal but the potential to pitch in the upper half of a rotation (depending on command and pitch efficiency -- elements that could sabotage not just that ceiling but even could jeopardize a future in the rotation).

Personally I'm a fan, though I don't know how keen Ellsbury would be on playing LF (at least this time it wouldn't be for a 40 year old to play CF nor would it put him in harm's way from charging Beltres).

Alex Speier is the best of all possible beat writers. New article up on Rubby and Webster.

Regardless of where these guys start the season I'm feeling a hell of a lot Better about the future of the Boston Red Sox than I did about a week ago.

Who is bad mouthing the Punto Trade? The trades that make Cherington look like an idiot are the Melancon and Bailey trades. You could probably add giving away Youkilis for nothing as well.

JBJ is getting into a lot of games. They've started giving him some innings in the corners too. I still don't expect to see him come north, but I think there is a definite possibility that he will.

What if "75% as good as 2011" is the same as 2011 rate stats but misses a month and a half with an injury? Is that who they want to go past 3 years with?

The point that Dan was responding to had to do with whether Bradley's possible emergence as an MLB contributor would be a major factor in the decision, and I agree with Dan that it shouldn't be. I can dream on an Ellsbury-Bradley pairing in the outfield.

But I was inferring he thought if they need to go beyond 3 years to keep Ellsbury, they should. That's all I was contesting. If Ellsbury can't stay healthy this year, they shouldn't go beyond 3 years with him.

I don't disagree in general, but nitpick I must. You can't expect any ballplayer to go a full season without taking some small injury. One 15-day DL trip shouldn't disqualify Ellsbury, so long as it's nothing that's expected to linger.

How did he not get a DUI?