When Boof Bonser last pitched during his first rehabilitation assignment with the Pawtucket Red Sox on April 13, he lasted only two innings and allowed nine earned runs in a 12-0 loss to Lehigh Valley.
He subsequently was placed on the disabled list by Boston because of pain in his right shoulder, but Bonser didn’t exhibit evidence of that problem Wednesday night in the first game of his second rehab assignment.
Outfielder Mike Cameron admittedly isn’t 100 percent.
After playing his second rehabilitation game for Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday against Gwinnett, it’s the closest he’s been to returning to Boston since he was placed on the disabled list April 19 with a lower abdominal strain.
Outfielder Mike Cameron was scheduled for only four at-bats Monday night as he began a rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket.
He unsuccessfully tried to persuade manager Torey Lovullo to give him a fifth in the ninth inning of a game in which the Gwinnett Braves prevailed, 3-2.
Fact: As a catcher, Victor Martinez makes a good first baseman – and a D.H.
"I think one word comes to mind when you’re talking about Daniel and that’s perseverance,” said PawSox manager Torey Lovullo. “The idea that he was under-sized, stuck with it, had a love for baseball and had a passion for staying with it … there isn’t a greater story in our clubhouse because he’s had the toughest road to get here.
“I’ve heard him say he was under five-feet and 100 pounds in high school (Nava is a native of Redwood City, Calif.) and got cut from several baseball teams. Now, he’s square in the middle of a lineup for Boston’s Triple-A club. It’s a fairly minor miracle considering what he’s gone through.”
Outfielder Ryan Kalish fell so far below the proverbial Mendoza Line shortly after he was promoted to Portland last season that he was virtually invisible. Kalish began the season at high-A Salem and literally hit his way into a promotion to the Sea Dogs. In 32 games with Salem, Kalish hit .304 with five home runs, 21 RBI, a .434 OBP and seven stolen bases in 10 attempts. But in his first 21 at-bats with Portland, Kalish managed just one hit – repeat, one – which translated into a .048 batting average.
“Honestly, it was a total mental adjustment that I had to make,” said Kalish who turned 22 on March 28 but was the youngest player on Portland at the time of his promotion. “When I got there, I wanted to do too much. I was putting pressure on myself and was saying ‘In this at-bat I really, really need to get a hit.’ That’s the hardest way to play the game – by putting pressure on yourself.”
Arguably ever since Ryan Khoury first put on a baseball uniform his life in the sport has been about overcoming odds and proving his critics wrong. Too short. Too slow. Too weak. Too something. Take your pick but at one time or another Khoury was labeled one -- if not all -- of the above.
Boof Bonser is on Boston’s disabled list because of a right groin strain.
After his second rehabilitation start Tuesday for Triple-A Pawtucket, Bonser’s more concerned about his surgically-repaired right shoulder.
Bonser gave up nine earned runs in two innings against Lehigh Valley in an International League game won 12-0 by the IronPigs.
He took his first step toward a possible return to Boston by pitching five pain-free, scoreless innings Saturday against Rochester as he began a 30-day rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket.
Pawtucket won the first game of a makeup doubleheader, 1-0.
Matsuzaka, who’s been on Boston’s disabled list since April 3 with a neck strain, walked one, struck out three and hit two batters.
The fact his surgically-repaired right shoulder and right groin strain felt fine was his primary concern.
Bonser allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings during a rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox in an International League game Thursday against the Rochester Red Wings.
Pawtucket beat Rochester, 11-3.