LESTER MATCHES SANTANA IN DUEL

The Red Sox travelled to the Atlantic coast once again, this time to take on the Mets. Luckily for the Sox who made the trip (only 3 starting position players did), the team is willing to charter flights for the 150+ mile trip, as opposed to taking the bus.

Jon Lester got the start against Johan Santana. But both pitchers had surprisingly similar pitching lines. Lester went 4 innings, allowed 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk, and struck out 5. Santana also went 4, also allowed 2 hits, also allowed 0 runs, didn't walk any, and struck out 4.




Ellsbury, one of the few regulars to make the trip, went 2 for 4 with a pair of singles. Jed Lowrie continued to struggle, going 0 for 4 with a strikeout and 4 men left on base. He was also picked off of 1st base. Julio Lugo can relax a bit as his potential replacement is currently hitting .107 in grapefruit League play.

Jason Varitek went 0 for 3, but backup George Kotteras went 1 for 1 with a double. Kotteras is hitting .625 this spring, and is making a good case for himself to be the #3 catcher on the depth chart.

Hideki Okajima pitched 2 scoreless innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking 1 man out.

Brandon Moss had the only RBI for the Sox with a sac-fly in the 9th. Craig Hansen continued to struggle, allowing the only Met run to score in the 8th. The game ended a 1-1 tie after 10 innings.

The teams also set an attendance record for Tradition Stadium at 7,353. But according to Hank Steinbrenner, nobody cares about the Red Sox.



Source:
BostonRedSox.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/James A. Finley

RED SOX "LOSE" TO DOGERS

The Red Sox fell 9-6 to the Dodgers, but 7 of LA's runs came in the 9th off minor leaguers. Wakefield was strong in his start, going 3 innings, allowing 0 runs off 1 hit and 2 walks. He struck out 3 and pitched around a big Pedroia error (that was really Jed Lowrie's fault).



Ellsbury went 1 for 4 with what could have been an RBI triple if it didn't bounce over the wall for a ground rule double. Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a double and 2 RBI. Sean Casey was 2 for 3 with an RBI double and a run scored. Lowrie didn't look so good, going 0 for 3 with a sac-fly RBI and some miscues in the field. George Kotteras went 1 for 1 with an RBI, and is hitting .667 so far this spring.

Mike Timlin didn't look so hot in the 4th inning. He allowed a leadoff homerun, which was 1 of 2 hits he yielded. David Aardsma pitched 2 scoreless innings, scattering 3 hits.

Former Sox starter Derek Lowe looked awful. He was slated to pitch 3 innings, but could only get through 2+. The Sox tagged him for 6 hits and 5 runs. He also walked 2, hit Doug Mirabelli, and threw a wild pitch.



The next televised spring training game is also against the Dodgers. It's Sunday at 1:05 and will be on NESN. The game will also be on the radio in Boston.

The Red Sox and Jonathan Papelbon also agreed to terms on a one-year, $775,000 contract. This makes Papelbon the highest paid pre-arbitration closer in baseball.

Source:
BostonRedSox.com
Extra Bases

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

SOX TAKE OPENING ROUND OF MAYOR'S CUP

Every year, the Red Sox and Twins play each other five or six times in Spring Training. They're both stationed in Fort Myers, so scheduling each other so often is very convenient.

But the two teams also play for hardware. The Lee County Mayor's Cup is rewarded to the team with the best record in the spring series.

This trophy is so prestigious, that it is kept secret from most. Sean Casey didn't even know it existed until asked about it the other day. Most Sox fans don't know what it is. And only 0.01% of people knows what it looks like (basically a $10 trophy that a junior high would customize for the top scorer in intramural floor hockey).

The Red Sox won it in 2007, and took a major step to holding onto it by beating Minnesota 8-3.

Daisuke Matsuzaka took the mound for the Sox, going 2 scoreless innings. He allowed 2 hits, but a pair of double play balls kept him out of trouble.

Hideki Okajima and Mike Timlin each pitched hitless innings. Julian Tavarez allowed a solo homerun in 2 innings of work.

Julio Lugo went 0 for 3. Coco Crisp went 2 for 2 and stole 2 bases. Youkilis and Varitek hit back-to-back homers in the 4th. Backup backup catcher George Kotteras had the most explosive night going 2 for 2 with a double and a 3 run homer. He's 4 for 5 in two games, with 3 doubles and a homer.

Source:
BostonRedSox.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

RED SOX 2008 PREVIEW: CATCHER

Jason Varitek enters his 12th season as Red Sox catcher, and will undoubtedly start on Opening Day, barring some unforeseen injury.

To sum up Jason Varitek's offensive contributions, he's not a liability, but he's not much of an asset. He's not someone you mind having in the lineup, so long as he's batting no higher than 7th.

Varitek hit a subpar .255 last season, and slugged a mere .421. He hit 17 homers and knocked in 68 runs. However, his tidy OBP of .367 was above league average, and kept Tek from being a hole in the lineup. Jason had a career high 71 walks to assist his nice OBP.

But two numbers alarm me: 122 and .219.

122 is the number of times Varitek struck out. It wasn't a career high. In 2004 he struck out 126 times. But he also hit .296 with a .390 OBP and .482 slugging that year. In 2005, he struck out 117 times, but also hit .281 with 22 homers. But 122 strikeouts in 2007 was just too many.

.219 was his average with runners in scoring position. Varitek had a decent amount of RBI (68), but he had more than a good number of opportunities. He had 137 ABs with runners in scoring position, and 225 ABs with runners on base. He had 15 more at-bats with runners on than he did with nobody on. He slugged a measly .307 with runners in scoring position.

But he's still a good catcher to have for the sake of the pitching staff. One can't argue with a man who has caught 3 no-hitters from 3 different pitchers. And with young pitchers like Bucholz and Lester coming, it's important that they have a catcher they can trust.

Jason will be backed up by Doug Mirabelli. Now Doug is a real hole in the lineup when he plays. He hit .202 last year, which was sadly an improvement from his 2006 average of .191. He struck out 41 times in 114 at-bats. That's a K every 2.78 ABs.

You've got to give Mirabelli credit for his prowess at catching the knuckleball. But who knows how many knucklers will be thrown this season. Frankly, I think Wakefield should be used out of the bullpen, but that's for another preview post.



There's a rumor that the Red Sox will acquire Japanese catcher Hayato Doue of the Kagawa Olive Guyners. That's a team in an independent Japanese league. He's 25, right-handed, hit .322 in '07 and .327 in '06. The Sox would sign him to a minor league deal. If things worked out, he might possibly make it to 3rd in the organizational depth chart at catcher.

Here's a video of him.



Twenty-four year old catching prospect George Kotteras had a disappointing year in AAA Pawtucket, hitting .241. Dusty Brown, 25, hit .268 in AA Portland and could be playing in AAA this year. Along with several low-level minor league prospects, there are 4 or 5 different players contending to be the #3 catcher on the team. With Mirabelli being an offensive liability, and Tim Wakefield potentially leaving the rotation, the #3 catcher spot is much more important than it may seem.

Sources and Resources:
Baseball-Reference.com
ESPN.com
Boston.com's Extra Bases
JapaneseBallplayers.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo, 3/16/05