RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
March 18,2014.
~Rough outing for Lackey : John Lackey, who won the clinching Game 6 of last year's World Series, didn't fare as well in his latest matchup with St. Louis."I felt OK, to be honest," said Lackey. "I got to the pitch count I wanted to get to. I got some things accomplished in the bullpen before the game. I threw my cutter for the first time today. I came out of it healthy and I'll keep moving."
The righty gave up six hits and five runs over five innings, walking two and striking out three.
~Setting the batting order : Though manager John Farrell is still trying to gauge how his lineup best fits together, he seems to be warming to the idea of restoring Shane Victorinoto the No. 2 spot in the order, where the right fielder spent most of last season.Victorino batted second in Monday's game against the Cardinals, with Dustin Pedroia third and David Ortiz cleanup.Farrell has also given some thought to hitting Pedroia second and Ortiz third, with Victorino either at leadoff or sixth."He's got an ability in the two-hole to play the game a little more," said Farrell. "If there's a guy on base, he's got the ability to bunt. He's already seen some pitches by the guy ahead of him. You can't deny the track record of what spots in the lineup show and the performance, getting on base particularly.
"And, you know, it gives us another guy with some speed at the top or an on base and speed guy at the top in addition to who might be leading off with him in the two-hole. And the fact that we had Pedey and David in the 3-4 hole for pretty much the majority of last year, that's not a new thing for them either."
~T.V. Times : Today's game with the New York Yankees is on ESPN. The action begins at 1 p.m.
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| RYAN LAVARNWAY |
McAdam cites a "veteran National League talent evaluator" who said that the team is "making it known he's available.'' The Red Sox appear to be set at the major league level in 2014 with A.J. Pierzynski and David Ross at catcher. They're also well-equipped in the long-term at the position, with prospects Christian Vasquez, Daniel Butler and Blake Swihart. Vasquez and Butler in particular are slated to take on the primary catch duties with the Paw Sox.
The situation could leave the 26-year-old Lavarnway as a "tweener" that doesn't have a defined role on either team without a spot. Larvarnway, who was ranked in MLB.com's 100 prospects before last season, still holds value, but could be an expendable piece in the Red Sox system.
~Iglesias out for now : After revealing that he has stress fractures in both of his shins, Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias told MLB.com and the Detroit Free-Press that it was an issue he had dealt with since the beginning of the 2013 spring training."I just feel it from the very first moment of spring training (last year)," Iglesias said. "I just told myself to play through it, because I never expected something like that. I just feel pain, but Stephen Drew had a concussion at the time and that was an opportunity for me to start with the team. And I was like,"You know what,you've got to play through it."And I did."We didn't know what it was, but I played through it all year long."Iglesias totaled 68 spring training at-bats with the Red Sox last season, hitting .294 with a .765 OPS. Because of Drew's concussion, the 24-year-old served as the Sox Opening Day starter.
"Last year, I played through the pain all year long,"Iglesias said. "Sometimes [Red Sox manager John] Farrell had to give me some days, the same as [former Tigers manager] Jim Leyland here. He had to give me some days or take me out of the game because the pain was so bad. And I was like, "Man, I don't know what to do to get rid of it." And I never found out until right now that it was a fracture."Iglesias, who will be visiting specialist Dr. Thomas Clanton in Colorado to determine how the injury will be treated, said he is expecting to play at some point during the 2014 season.
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