RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
March 17,2014.
~Farrell on Allen Webster : "I thought today, Allen Webster continues to grow as a pitcher," Farrell said. "There were some things that happened today that are gonna happen to him from time to time behind him. And I thought he did a great job of maintaining his poise, continuing to make pitches. He continued to keep the ball on the ground and keep things from becoming a big inning when you give the opposition one or two outs in an inning. I thought he did an outstanding job of minimizing that." Webster projects to start the season as a starter for Triple-A Pawtucket. But he wants to prove to the Red Sox that they can depend on him if a need arises. He felt Sunday might have helped his case."I felt like it was a big improvement -- an improvement I needed. I feel real confident coming out of it," said Webster.
~T.V. Times : Today's game with the Cardinals is on ESPN beginning at 1 p.m.
~Farrell on Jackie Bradley Jr. :"I thought Jackie's at-bats were very good today," said Red sox manager John Farrell. "He stayed on some fastballs away from him. He laid off some tough pitches in, even after he gets hit."Bradley did get picked off by Price, but Farrell knew exactly why."And he went first move," Farrell said. "We've been encouraging him to be a little bit more aggressive and that's part of the learning curve right now for him."Before the game, Farrell was asked what the club needed to see from Bradley in the final two weeks of camp."Quality at-bats," Farrell said. "That's not hinged to a batting average. That's just putting up quality at-bats as consistently as possible. Defensively, there's nothing to suggest that needs development. That area of the game, we're confident in him. But it's quality at-bats, getting on base and then finding his spots to be a little bit more aggressive on the basepaths -- just using his skillset."
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| DEVEN MARRERO |
How good has prospect Deven Marrerobeen at shortstop this spring?"Deven Marrero has looked spectacular at shortstop if you ask me," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "Plays that he's ranged up the middle, plays he's gone deep in the hole, plays that he's gone to his backhand."The play that stands out to me is the one in Sarasota against Alexi Casilla, where he hits a high chopper in the shallow 5-6 hole, and it's somewhat of an acrobatic play and yet we're talking about a solid-average to above-average runner that he still throws out at first base."Marrero was drafted by the Red Sox with the 24th overall pick out of Arizona State in 2012.Defense will never be an issue for Marrero. His offense, however, is a work in progress."I don't ever want to put a number on a guy because then you feel like you're limiting him and that's the expectation and then he gets labeled, but I think he's a guy who has gap power," said Farrell. "There's been such an emphasis on his part to be a situational hitter, and you see a lot of the stroke can be inside out at times. There's gap power in there. He's still developing as a hitter."
And on cue, Marrero drilled a solo homer to left in the top of the ninth in Sunday's 8-4 loss to the Rays.
~Rays 'knock around' Britton : Lefty Drake Britton, who got off a to a dazzling start this spring, was knocked around by the Rays on Sunday.Over 1 2/3 innings, he gave up six hits and five runs, walking two and striking out one."I just wasn't finishing off pitches," Britton said. "I feel like a lot of the hits came on 0-2. Most of them were pitches I should've done a better job executing. As much as it stinks to go through an outing like that, I think it's good as well. It'll give me discipline to give me the things I need to work on to get me ready for the season. Today was a rough one, but tomorrow is a new day."Manager John Farrell thinks that Britton's recent inactivity played a role in the outing. Britton became accustomed to the constant repetition of pitching in relief late last season, but has been used more like a starter during the early stages of camp."He had four or five days off from his last appearance and I think as he's converted to the bullpen, the more frequency of usage, the more touch and feel that he has," Farrell said.Britton also feels stronger mentally these days, to the point that an outing like the one he had on Sunday won't phase him."It used to weigh on me a lot," Britton said. "I was so hard on myself, I used to get upset with myself, but I feel like that's what drives me every day to get better -- so I mean this one happened, it's over with. It's Spring Training. I'm ready for the next one."
~Middlebrooks did not re-injure his finger :Third baseman Will Middlebrooks had missed the Red Sox’ two previous games, sidelined by a hyperextended right middle finger. He was not in the original lineup that was posted early Sunday morning. But, after taking some swings in the batting cage to test his finger, Middlebrooks felt good and a revised lineup was posted with his name on it.But Middlebrooks lasted just two innings in an 8-4 loss to the Rays. He got just one at-bat, striking out against Tampa Bay ace David Price in the second inning. He had a couple of chances in the field, being charged with an error in the first.Middlebrooks said he did not re-injure his finger, but manager John Farrell took him out for precautionary reasons.“He still felt a little sore,” Farrell said. “He tried to go today, wanted to get back in there. And yet when he was throwing the ball across the infield in early work kind of felt a little uncomfortable with it. I don’t think there was any drastic increase in soreness, but just didn’t feel quite right and more precautionary, wanted to get him out of there.”On the play on which he was charged with an error, Middlebrooks attempted to field James Loney’s slow roller, the ball rolling up his hand.“That ball hit me on my wrist,” Middlebrooks said. “Didn’t even hit me in the hand. No re-aggravation or anything like that. It had nothing to do with that.“Just wanted to feel things out. For one, I wanted to see Price because we’re going to see him a lot. It was a short day. Got an at-bat, couple of innings of defense. It felt a little sore so we just cut it a little short.”Middlebrooks said his injury did not bother him at the plate, either.“It was all right. I struck out but he made a good pitch. It had nothing to do with that [injury],” Middlebrooks said. “I was still a little sore. Talked about it with [Farrell] and we decided now is not the time to grind through things so let’s get it to where it needs to be and take it from there.”Middlebrooks was unsure when he would play again.“We’ll check him tomorrow and kind of see where things are,” Farrell said. “But I think it will be important to go through a full day of just some pregame work where he’s not feeling anything that’s restricting his throws or anything like that.”
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