Thursday Links

Felix Doubront. Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com

The Red Sox nabbed their first win of the 2014 campaign on Wednesday night. John Lackey picked up where he left off last season, and tossed 6 innings of 3 hit, 2 run ball. Mike Napoli and David Ortiz proved to be the games offensive standouts, each collecting 2 run home runs. Boston also unveiled the semi new-look back end of the bullpen, as Edward Mujica, Junichi Tazawa, and Koji Uehara combined to toss 3 shutout innings en route to the teams 6-2 victory.

• John Lackey’s fastball was unseasonably electric on Wednesday night. Usually the right hander doesn’t throw as hard as he did this early in the season, but nevertheless he was popping A.J. Pierzynski’s mitt and getting excellent results. (An even faster fastball: John Lackey plays “old country hardball” with an arm that’s not hurting)

• With such a small international baseball presence, Aruba isn’t the place you’d expect to find a super-prospect. But two adventurous Red Sox scouts thought outside the box and ended up striking gold. (Scouts’ Honor)

• This June, the Red Sox will look to deepen their minor league system during the 2014 draft. Boston has been careful to accommodate for the draft and will feature a larger draft budget than is expected. (2014 MLB Draft: Red Sox have 16 -largest draft budget)

• Like his rotation-mate Jon Lester, Felix Doubront has money on his mind; albeit under different circumstances. The 2014 season will mark Doubront’s last year before arbitration, and a breakout season could spell payday (Doubront has a lot riding on this season)

• The official Red Sox minor league rosters were released on Wednesday. Both the Portland Sea Dogs and Pawtucket Red Sox in particular tout exciting rosters, stuffed with intriguing prospects. (Sox minor league rosters set)

• After the Red Sox were honored like hero’s at the White House, the team visited the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the real hero’s of our country rest and recuperate. (Visiting injured veterans meant a lot to Red Sox)

• Tweet of the day: Caron and Eck killing the selfie game.