Nine Up, Nine Down: Spring Training Notes

February 28, 2008 at 7:53 AM

13 Comments

By Evan

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Mike Mussina responded to comments Theo Epstein made about Mussina and his complains on going to Japan in 2004. Said Theo:

"Kevin Brown and Mike Mussina spent the whole time b---tching about it ... and by the time the Yankees team got back from the trip they were all using it as a crutch. ... The research that we've done on the Japan trip from the teams that have previously gone is one or two bad apples can spoil the lot."

Couldn't agree more. I remember that trip and how Mussina made a stink about it --- not only with his mouth, but on the field too, as he had a 4.59 ERA in 164.2 IP for the Yankees that year, going 12-9.

Anyways, Moose's response? "Yeah, we used it as an excuse for winning the division."

The Yankees certainly did win the division --- no thanks to Mussina, who stank it up the first two starts of the year --- but they also were the victims of the worst choke in sports history.

Moral of the story? There isn't one, but Epstein's contention is that the trip to Japan has not bothered his players at all, which he's pleased about. We'll see, still plenty of time for a Red Sox player to sound off.

Hideki Okajima added the doki-doki to his arsenal, now Dice-K is adding the two-seamer. Why? Yeah, yeah:

��His fastball was probably the best, but all of his stuff was great,�� Kottaras said. ��He had command of everything. Everything was on.��

But this is spring training. It's not even March yet. Instead of developing a new pitch, why not develop being able to maintain control over a full game and season.

The No-Hit Kid was impressive pitching against David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Mike Lowell. Hey, if you get those three out, shouldn't you be a virtual lock for the No. 5 spot? Pitch him. Send him down midseason if you want to for a couple weeks to limit his innings, but the Red Sox winning the division title will need Buchholz's 180 innings along for the ride.

Surprise, surprise: Roger Clemens is being referred to the Department of Justice for possible perjury.Roger, it's probably not a good idea to say that you never showed up at a party in which (a) your nanny said you did, (b) there is photographic evidence that you did, (c) you constantly joke around with a story of being at the party and a resulting incident that took place and (d) you rely on Jose Canseco to be the credible witness in saying you never showed up.This will not end well.

Rob Neyer expects "not much" out of J.D. Drew this year. So wait, an extra year of adjustments, his son's medical problems behind him, getting out of Big Papi's hole in the batter's box and (possibly) using a lighter bat will result in "not much?"Sure, there's always the risk he repeats 2007 and becomes a bust. I'm more inclined to give him one more year, and I also believe he'll be huge for us this year.

Coco Crisp v. Jacoby Ellsbury. No one gives Crisp a shot to win the centerfield job, but Terry Francona has mentioned that Crisp is the incumbent and should be treated as such. We all know that Coco has said he will ask for a trade should he not win the job, which is completely understandable. But something in me tells me that this may be an actual competition, and it's possible that the Red Sox may decide it's far better to play Coco the first couple of months to showcase him in a trade and have Jacoby be the backup outfielder or report to Triple-A.On the face of it, it doesn't sound possible. Jacoby's our centerfielder, right? The more I think about it though, the more possible I think it could be. It'll temper our expectations for Jacoby, making it easier for him to slide in... make sure Crisp isn't a bad apple until he's traded and allow us to wait on dealing Crisp until we get something of value back. Something to ponder.

One reason why I'm a proponent of moving Crisp as soon as possible and having Bobby Kielty be the backup outfielder is that it would allow Terry Francona to put Kevin Youkilis in left field for when Manny Ramirez needs a breather.If Ellsbury wins the job and Crisp is the fourth outfielder, Tito will feel obligated to get Crisp in as much as possible. If we move him and Youk can spell Manny, it adds more time at first base for Sean Casey. Casey's never going to be an elite first baseman, but he does hit for high average and I think to have him on the bench and rarely utilize him would be a mistake. Moving Crisp would result in more playing time for Casey.

MVN's Roster Magazine has been unveiled with the inaugural issue being a free fantasy baseball draft kit, cheatsheets, strategy and rankings. I used to play fantasy baseball, but quit because I didn't have enough time for it. But for those who play, this may be of value.Please notice who is the second overall pick behind Alex Rodriguez that the experts at Roster Mag propose be picked. Hanley Ramirez.Yeah, Josh Beckett had an insane year, and I've learned from a little bird of mine that by his numbers, Beckett may be the most dominating postseason starter ever, but boy, that hurts a bit. Hanley would have been a megastar in Boston. Instead he's going to play three more years for the Marlins then get traded for a veritable bounty to a big-market team.On the bright side, David Ortiz has been named fantasy's best first baseman. You read that right --- ahead of Albert Pujols and the like.

George Bush made a funny at the White House Ceremony: "Manny Ramirez isn't here, I guess it's because his grandmother died again."

Categories: Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, J.D. Drew, Mike Mussina, New York Yankees, Roger Clemens, Roger Clemens and the Mitchell Report scandal, Sean Casey, Spring Training

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Discussion

13 Comments on "Nine Up, Nine Down: Spring Training Notes"

Posted by Daniel Rathman, February 28, 2008 12:55 AM

I think they're at 6am, 3am here on the West Coast. I can't believe I've almost convinced myself to stay up for them...

Posted by Jaredk, February 28, 2008 9:30 AM

Well George Bush is officially funnier then Frank Caliendo now.

Posted by Steven Roth, February 28, 2008 10:49 AM

For some reason, one of my fantasy leagues had a draft last night and I snagged Hanley Ramirez!

What time are the games on when the Sox travel down to Japan?

Posted by Evan Brunell, February 28, 2008 11:17 AM

Steve, if I remember correctly, 8 AM.

Posted by Caroline, February 28, 2008 11:24 AM

Evan, I think you're wrong, I think it's 6 a.m.

I also think if you actually imagine Youk will see time in left field, you are smoking something that you ought to pass around. ;)

Posted by BartoLoco, February 28, 2008 2:06 PM

First spring training game of the year!

Ellsbury's already drawn a walk and come around with the first run of the game. And as expected, Beckett pitched 2 hitless innings, striking out 4 out of 6 batters he faced.

Posted by BartoLoco, February 28, 2008 3:37 PM

Red Sox have actually given up a hit to BC. I'll give you a clue as to who it is, Javier Lopez pitched in the game.

Posted by Steven Roth, February 28, 2008 10:31 PM

Sucks to be BC! My proud Northeastern Huskies didn't fare too bad (15-0 L) compared to Boston College (24-0 L) haha.

Posted by Gerry, February 28, 2008 11:03 PM

Don't feel too proud, Steven, the Eagles were just cutting the Sox a break. That's how the Jebbies trained us.

#10

Posted by Daniel Rathman, February 29, 2008 1:02 AM

Jeez...39-0 total. At least they can beat college teams pretty handily.

I must say though, it's pretty sad that Dougie managed to go 0-for-2 against mediocre college pitching. Only starter without a hit. Even Keith Ginter got one!

#11

Posted by Steven Roth, February 29, 2008 3:20 PM

Yeah okay Gerry, 24-0 loss to make the World Series Champs feel special...right.

Rathman, does that bode bad news for the season about Beli? If he can't hit collegiate pitching, how is he going to produce against the MLB pitchers??

#12

Posted by uy80ni72, March 2, 2008 12:51 AM

What? That wasn't a big stink at all, Mike wasn't that excited about it but he did it anyway. Big deal. Do you have to be gung-ho about everything at your job? This was a long time ago, I don't even get why this matters anymore. I guess if ESPN is squawking its ugly little head everyone else in the blogosphere must follow suit.

#13

Posted by Gerry, March 4, 2008 2:04 AM

say what?

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