Red Sox backup backup catcher John Flaherty retired yesterday after 14 years in the majors, and thats all I got to say about that.
David Ortiz hit two huge homeruns yesterday to propell the Dominican Republic over Venezuala. Ortiz is starting off the WBC the way he ended last regular season, on a tear. Ortiz is the man, and clearly the scariest hitter in baseball. Forget any of you who say its Bonds, without the juice he can barely walk. Ortiz is gonna have another huge year, and he still doesn't need the cream or the clear.
In off the field news, David Wells completely ripped Bud Selig. During his rant he called for Selig's resignation, called him "a piece of sh**," and said "If he has that much passion for the game of baseball, then why isn't he doing something good for it? Name one good thing he's done for the game of baseball." Apparently he has some strong feelings about the commissioner, so we'll have to see from the commissioner's reaction what his feelings are about David Wells.
I've been out of town for a little bit so there havent been any updates recently, so here goes.
David Wells decided that he does not want to be traded to the west coast anymore. He told Theo Epstein yesterday that he will finish out his carreer in Boston, and retire after this season. This new update in the Wells situation has created a definate issue in the starting rotation. Francona has eluded to Papelbon starting the season in the bullpen, but he is afraid that Papelbon will not get enough work, and has yet to rule out some AAA action. With three fairly old starters, with two of them (Wells and Shilling) injury prone of late, Papelbon will likely see action in the starting rotation this year even if there are no moves made with our pitching staff, ie. Arroyo to the Nationals.
Oh yeah, almost forgot, Manny never wanted to be traded in the first place according to his agent. Whats next for Manny? No one knows, especially Manny.
What is going on between the Red Sox and the Nationals. Sources have reported that the Nationals are interested in either David Wells, or Bronson Arroyo. The Nationals are in need of a starter after loosing Brian Lawrence for most of the season with a torn labrum in his pitching arm. Apparently there was talks of Soriano moving to the Sox, but they are not interested. The closest to a possible trade proposal as it stands right now would be Arroyo for either Nick Johnson (1B) or Ryan Church (OF). The Red Sox just signed Arroyo to a new three year deal, and getting another 1st baseman for him would not seem to be the greatest of ideas. We do have seven starters and the ones towards the end of the rotation would seem to be expendable, however, we are more than likely going to loose Wells and as Francona said you can never have too many starters. Point being, we should make the Nationals pay for a quality starter, and not just trade him as an expendible piece.
Who knew that the focus at Red Sox camp would be on Manny. It has been reported that he is still not happy in Boston, mainly because of the media, he does not have to report to spring training until March 1st, and he will more than likely pull out of playing in the World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic. Manny seems to love to draw a lot of attention, especially for someone who does not like attention from the media. Off the field he is unpredictable, but on the field he is the man. Everyone knows that he more than makes up for his shortcomings in the field with his bat, and I think it is fair to say that no matter what is said off the field, Manny will once again tear it up with his bat for the Red Sox this season.
Not much going on in Red Sox camp this weekend. Ortiz has showed up, and Foulke reportedly told the Herald that his "arm feels better now probably than it has in a couple of years." This is great news, but we will have to see how he looks as the season progresses.
Manny is still a no show, and no one really knows were he is. "Manny being Manny," what can you say. No one knows what he's thinking or what he wants. The chance of the Red Sox unloading his huge contract on another team and recieving an equal trade is slim to none. Hopefully Manny will just realize he's being Manny and all will be forgotten with another huge season at the plate.
It has been reported that Sammy Sosa has unofficially retired. How should baseball feel? How should he be remembered? I will remember him as a steroid user who suddenly lost the ability to speak English in front of Congress, and oh yeah, got caught corking his bat. He got offered $500,000 this year by the Nationals which is surprising because he couldn't hit to save his life last year. I love the argument that even if they did juice, it wouldnt help their hitting, yet all of the sudden when they start testing all the best sluggers fall apart. Sammy gets caught with a cork and never hits over 45 again, Bonds can barely walk, Giambi almost dies, and McGwire well he doesn't want to talk about the past. Sammy Sosa was one of the best sluggers in an era of cheaters, and if Rose and Shoeless Joe are not in the Hall then Sammy doesn't deserve to be there either.
For those of you worrying about what how bad our offense will be here are some stats that may make you think twice before bagging on the Sox this year. Yes we will miss Damon leading off, and possibly Renteria, but maybe not as much as people might think. Our infield is clearly better defensively, and we no longer have a noodle arm in center field. As far as our pitching staff is concerned, we have an ace this year, and more than likely Shilling will be back to form (anything is better than last year). Point being those of you predicting the Sox to finish behind the Yankees and the Jays will be surprised, especially when half the Yankees geriatric starting pitching either dies from old age or have to retire with hip, back, knee, etc... injuries.
Here is the Red Sox lineup's numbers from last year (with the additions)
Keith Foulke was the first veteran to report to the Red Sox spring training yesterday. As was printed in the Providence journal, that's "a great sign," manager Terry Francona said. "I think, in his own mind, he feels like he has some work to do and something to prove." That may be the understatement of the year. Foulke has more than a lot to prove, he has everything to prove, and if he doesn't show early on that he is back to 2004 form he is either gone or sitting. Foulke was awful last year but hopefully that was due completely to his two surgeries, and not to him falling off the proverbial wagon.
Francona is also not sure whether Jonathan Papelbon will start the season as a starter or a reliever. Papelbon is the future, and even if he does not start at the beginning of this season, it is only a matter of time before he makes his way into the rotation. Francona reportedly said that even if Wells leaves, Arroyo will most likely take the fifth spot in the depth chart, so look for Papelbon to start the season in the bullpen.
Wells is also still optomistic about being traded to the west coast before the start of the season. His agent claims that he is an "ultimate pro" and will be ready for the season regardless. Define ultimate pro; drunk, overweight, old, and still able to throw some junk? My favorite memory of Wells was when he was pitching for Toronto and had complained about getting taken out too early. He started getting shelled early on but the manager (i believe it was Gaston) left him in to the point were he was looking to the bulpen, begging to be taken out. I suppose we will have to just wait and see what happens.
It does not look good on the Roger Clemens front. As was reported yesterday his agent said that he was leaning towards retirement after the World Baseball Classic. The Astros are apparently at the top of his list if he is to return, but along with the tape sent to him by the Red Sox, there has reportedly been a meeting between certain Red Sox officials, and the Rocket in the past week. Having the Rocket back would be great on all levels especially for our rotation. With some anxiety over Shilling's arm strength, and Beckett's shoulder, the Red Sox do not look to have an extremely impressive rotation as of now. I think these fears are misplaced, and Beckett is going to have his best year yet, with a great defense as well as a much better offense behind him. As far as Shilling is concerned, he will be back to form this year and we will be able to put last year behind us.
I tried to ignore Damon's full page add in The Boston Globe yesterday but it made its way onto Cold Pizza today so I figured I'd add my two cents. Damon deserved a better offer from the BoSox. His offer from the Sox was insulting, and he did the right thing by taking the offer from the Yankees. I hate the Yankees, and I now have to say that Damon is a bum and I will never wish him well again, and however nice his little add was I'm over it, and I'm over Damon. We just have to keap an eye on our farm system, I mean the Royals to see who's their next up and comer we can snag.
