By Jeff Louderback For established veterans whose respective roles on the team are already determined, spring training numbers mean little. These players use February and March to get in “baseball” shape and work on their mechanics and techniques. For top prospects in Major League camp and veterans who are non-roster invitees and striving to make [...]
By Jeff Louderback After leaving Wednesday night’s game against Baltimore following an at-bat, Will Middlebrooks and the Red Sox received good news about the condition of the 24-year-old third baseman’s right wrist. Hand specialist Dr. Tim Holovacs examined Middlebrooks’ wrist on Thursday and did not order X-rays or additional tests. Middlebrooks was cleared to play [...]
By Jeff Louderback Baseball is an unpredictable game. Sometimes, the script does not unfold as anticipated – whether it is a team’s overall performance or the plans for a top prospect. Count Jackie Bradley Jr. in the latter category. The 22-year-old Bradley, who is widely considered the second-best prospect in the Red Sox system, is [...]
By Jeff Louderback Considered the top prospect in the Red Sox farm system at the time, Will Middlebrooks provided the Major League club with a run-producing bat at the hot corner when he was summoned from Triple-A Pawtucket last year. He was so impressive that general manager Ben Cherington dealt injury-prone veteran Kevin Youkilis to [...]
By Jeff Louderback Spring Training is the only time when wins and losses are irrelevant. Veterans getting into “baseball shape” and top prospects making the most of their initial taste to the majors are elements of February and March baseball that are especially important. This weekend, the Red Sox dropped their official spring opener to [...]
By Jeff Louderback When the Boston Red Sox acquired Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster as part of the prospects package from the Los Angeles Dodgers in last summer’s blockbuster trade, Webster was more widely known than De La Rosa. Webster is viewed as one of the game’s top right-handed pitching prospects – he [...]
By Jeff Louderback While the Red Sox recently made a transaction – inking 29-year-old left-hander Matt Maloney to a minor league deal – former top prospect Lars Anderson was designated for assignment by the Chicago White Sox to make room for Conor Gillaspie on the Pale Hose 40-man roster. Anderson, who is still just 25 [...]
By Jeff Louderback The Boston sports media is touting what has been written for months on BoSox Banter – Xander Bogaerts and Jackie Bradley sure know how to play baseball. In an 11-1 Red Sox victory over Boston College on Thursday, the 20-year-old Bogaerts and the 22-year-old Bradley were in the lineup. Bogaerts, who has [...]
By Jeff Louderback While it makes sense to withhold heaping praise upon Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington until we see how the team performs in 2013 and 2014, leveling him with criticism is unwarranted, even after Boston finished the 2012 campaign in the American League East basement with a 69-93 record. It was the [...]
By Jeff Louderback Long speculated as a potential trade target, Mike Carp was acquired today by the Boston Red Sox from the Seattle Mariners for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The 26-year-old Carp, who is a left-handed hitting first baseman/left fielder, has been mentioned as an ideal fit for the Red [...]
