Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com
The Super Bowl is over! Pitchers and catchers report in just a few days! Baseball season is getting ever so close! Exclamation points! Yelling and cheering! Wooo!
- David Ortiz and the Red Sox can talk about their mutual respect for one another all they want, but in the end, it’s about the potential risk. (Will David Ortiz’s post-38 production warrant extended contract?)
- Boston has enviable pitching depth. That much is certain. But their position players, especially at third base & center field, don’t have a lot behind them. (Depth concerns for Red Sox at 3B, CF)
- Longing for the days of old? Wish you could watch a vintage Red Sox pitcher dismantle a team right now? Pedro Martinez is here. (Pedro Martinez’s greatest Red Sox games)
- Bargain bin pitchers are all the rage right now, with Rich Hill going to Boston and Daniel Bard – fresh off thoracic outlet syndrome surgery – to Texas. (Red Sox sign Rich Hill; Bard signs with Rangers)
- Minor league deals are the best. You can take fliers on guys like Corey Brown and hope it turns out well in the end with no risk. (Red Sox add Brown to OF depth chart)
- The top places where a home run looks amazing: the best baseball cathedral, a place I worked at for seven months, and the other cathedral. In that order. (Where home runs look the best, #1-3)
- Weirdly enough, there are no 500 homer club guys on any major league roster anywhere in 2014. It’s a little strange. (A first in 15 years: 2014 will open without a member of the 500-HR club)
From Baseball Prospectus 2014, on John Lackey:
“Now, [Lackey’s] a World Series hero and a recognized anchor in a strong rotation. Double-fist a couple of beers in his honor.”
Kora