Fenway West - A Boston Red Sox Blog

Josh Beckett on Intentional Talk

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:05:54 +0000

Since the 2011 season ended, we haven't heard anything from Josh Beckett. Zip. Nada. There were a lot of people who said that Josh was a clubhouse issue in 2011 and that he had become a problem. A lot of players made comments and called into the radio, but Josh was not one of them. He stayed silent. Today was the first time that Josh has spoken directly to a member of the media since the door closed on 2011. Of course, he gets a cookie, easy interview by doing it with Kevin Millar on Intentional Talk. Beckett talked about the controversy and the September collapse. Beckett did make a point of saying that whatever goes on in the clubhouse should stay in the clubhouse. Beckett spoke about meeting with Bobby Valentine and them both being excited about 2012. And of course, he and Millar trash talked back and forth. It's a cute little interview.

If you happen to have missed it, here it is below. Enjoy! Baseball is just around the corner folks!

Rehabbing with Rich Hill

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:00:17 +0000

Rich Hill is one of my fav members of the Red Sox. And no, not just because I crazily asked him to sign a picture of him and his cats:

Rich Hill has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and signed a minor league deal to stay with the Red Sox this off season. Hill was having himself quite an impressive season in 2011 until he grabbed his elbow on the mound and was headed for surgery. Here is a video from the Sox about his rehab and how he is preparing himself to be a productive part of the Sox in 2012:

Cody Ross- the answer in right field?

mikpassanisi@aol.com (Michael Passanisi) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:19:34 +0000

The name Cody Ross has begun appearing in pre-spring training columns. On Sunday, Nick Cafardo wrote: "I think Cody Ross will take the Red Sox' right field job permanently once Carl Crawford returns. They need his righthanded power full time." On Tuesday, Michael Silverman quotes GM Ben Cherington: "We think (Ross) can be an everyday player. He obviously hits lefthanders very well but he's held his own against righties, he can play defense. If he's playing every day we're fine, and obviously he's motivated to do that."

The term "motivated" is interesting, since that was one of the big knocks on Ross' predecessor in right, JD Drew. Ross, who was signed to a one-year contract by the Sox on January 23, has played for five major league teams, but did not hit his stride until 2007 with the Florida Marlins. In five seasons in Florida, he showed some power while establishing a reputation as a clutch hitter and above-average fielder, batting .265 with 80 homers and 297 rbi's. Picked up by the Giants in 2010 after Florida had fallen out of contention, he starred in the NL Divisional Series, batting in the winning runs in two of San Francisco's victories.. He went on to be MVP of the Championship Series, hitting .350 with 3 homers, 3 doubles, and 5 rbi's. His homer off Roy Hallyday in game 1 was the first off Hallyday in 11 innnings, as he had thrown a no-hitter in his previous start.

Ross, like Drew, had a subpar season in 2011, but still had 14 homers and 52 rbi's for the Giants. He will cost the team much less than Drew did, and has the reputation of being a clutch man (nickname: Ross the Boss), which his predecessor definitely did not. Since he hits from the right side, he is more of a threat in Fenway than Drew. If Jacoby Ellsbury could repeat his tremendous year and Crawford recovers from a disappointing 2011, the Sox outfield could do some damage.

Quote of the Day

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 17:50:37 +0000

"There was an expectation when Theo left that the Red Sox would receive significant compensation for allowing the Cubs to hire him and we haven’t been able to agree on what ‘significant compensation’ means.’’

-Ben Cherington on the failed negotiations with the Cubs.

MDC Signs With the Yanks

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:20:11 +0000

Manny Delcarmen has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees that includes an invite to spring training. MDC will try to earn his way back to the majors as a reliver after pitching in the minors all of last season. Delcarmen is a Boston native and will have to hold his nose as he puts on the pinstripes.

Quote of the Day

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 20:11:26 +0000

“There have been a number of clubs who have called, who have an interest in signing me but I’m kind of just weighing my options right now. I think I can be a valuable asset to them (Red Sox) as an insurance policy, you know a fifth or sixth starter or if something doesn’t pan out for some of the guys they have already penciled in to the rotation. You know that’s kind of been my job these last two years; I don’t have a problem doing that.”

-Tim Wakefield waiting to see what pans out.

Sox 67- Bud Collins

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:13:59 +0000

As 1967 spring training approached, a Globe column under the byline of Bud Collins appeared. It was entitled "Will the Sox have More Buddins?" The reference is to Don Buddin, who played shortstop for the team in the late 50's and early 60's. Buddin, who died last year at age 77, was one of the symbols of the underachieving, uncaring Sox players. He was a constant boo-bird target, not only because of his inept play but his apparent lack of desire to improve.

Collins, who later became a tennis guru both in print and on TV, occasionally covered baseball. A literate man, he was known for his subtle and ironic criticism of the Red Sox. Unlike the sometimes boring harshness of many writers today, Collins' method was understated. He gained the enmity of the Sox organization by referring to them as the Old Town Team, implying that they belonged to another era.

Like many fans and writers, Collins apparently expected little change in 1967, despite the presence of a new manager. "Another endless summer for Uncle Tom's Townies begins Saturday morning when recreation director Dick Williams asks them to try to touch their toes a few times....He won't ask them to do anything hard right away, like catching the baseball. They will have trouble doing that in August, and to ask that of them now would only break their spirits before the season has begun."

Soon Collins went back in time to the year 1960, his first spring training covering the team. "In that year, the Sox were solid contenders for seventh place-and they made it....It is exciting to look back at that club, led by Hall of Fame shortstop Donald T. Buddin and managed by Billy Jurges."

A word about Jurges, one of the forgotten names in Sox managerial history. He had been hired the previous July and somehow moved the team from eighth to fifth place by September. A scrappy, hustling infielder with the Cubs and Giants in the 30's and 40's, Jurges tried without success to change the team's attitude. The atmosphere simply became too much for him and with his team mired in the cellar he was canned in mid-1960 after showing symptoms of a physical and mental breakdown. It is interesting to note that though Jurges lived into his late 80's and did some scouting, he never managed again. With the Sox, he was both preceded and succeeded as manager by Mike Higgins.

One of Collins' interesting "stories"-told in his ironic style-concerns Higgins. "Mike's beautiful line was 'Aaaarghhck-we'll get 'em tomorrow!'. The first word of that inspirational sentence was a poignant Russian word from one of Boris Pasternak's poems. Thereafter most of the correspondents were awed in Higgins' scholarly presence." There are probably many sportswriters today who think that Pasternak must be a Russian goalie who played for the Capitols.

One final comment concerning Buddin is typical Collins. He tells of an "incident" when Buddin, removed from a game at Fenway for a pinch hitter, left the park in uniform, crossed the street and entered a cafe. "The bartender, recognizing the customer, hesitated to serve him, realizing that the shortstop had a tendency to drop everything that came his way."

Sorry you retired from the Globe, Bud. You are definitely missed.

Quote of the Day

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:56:14 +0000

"Fans feel disrespected. I think the guys get it. ... They went home with a bad taste in their mouth and are going to do everything they can to get that taste out."

-Bobby Valentine looking forward to the 2012 season.

Red Sox Announce Digital Initiative to Keep Tickets Outta Scalpers Hands

shelley1005@gmail.com (shelley) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:57:51 +0000

The Red Sox announced an initiative yesterday that will hopefully have more tickets in the hands of fans and less tickets in the hands of scalpers and ticket selling websites. The cheapest tickets in the house for Red Sox games are the upper bleachers which are sold for $12. However, for certain premiere games they are often bought up and then end up on websites for a significantly more expensive price. This initiative should hopefully put a stop to that. People couldn't buy it for the sole purpose of re-selling it for a huge profit.

Here is how it would work. You would buy the tickets and whichever credit card you used for the purchase you would have to bring to the park with you and scan it to gain entrance to the park. Therefore, only the person who purchased the ticket would be able to use it to get into the park. I love this initiative. I always hate to see bleacher seats on those ticket websites selling for $80 or $100.

There will be a special sale for these tickets starting on Feb 1st. I might log on and buy a few and see how it goes. They are selling digital tickets for 30 games: April 13th (Opening Day), April 20-22 (Yankees and 100th Anniversary game), June 8-10 (Nationals), June 22-24 (Braves), August 3-5 (Twins), August 24-26 (Kansas City) and September 11-13 (Yankees).

Here is the press release from the Red Sox on the initiative.

Meet the New NESN Red Sox On-Field Reporter

odmatt@gmail.com (Matt O'Donnell) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:59:48 +0000

Heidi Watney's replacement at NESN will be Jenny Dell from ESPN. Dell has perviously covered the X Games and the NBA Draft and is a graduate of UMass.

You can learn more about Dell from her facebook page and you may also want to follow her on twitter.