RED SOX : News & Notes March 20,2013.

RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
March 20,2014.





~Breslow Update :Lefty reliever Craig Breslow, an invaluable component to Boston's bullpen last season, will pitch in his first exhibition game on Monday. By then, the Red Sox should have a better indication of whether it is realistic for him to make the Opening Day roster with just one week of game activity in Florida.
Though the club has not linked a specific injury to Breslow, they said a conservative approach was observed to help avoid the fatigue that led to his starting 2013 on the disabled list."It's going to be dependent on what his needs are currently," manager John Farrell said. "To say we're following the same schedule or calendar we did a year ago, we're basing this all on what he's capable of. There's been no final determination yet. We expect him to be in a game on Monday. He's got a bullpen today and hitters Friday. We'll gradually get to the right decision."The Red Sox have two other lefties in their bullpen in Andrew Miller and Chris Capuano. Farrell would not confirm whether, should Breslow start on the disabled list, he would replace him with another lefty."If there's a scenario in which he's going to be delayed, we'll look to take the best available pitcher," Farrell said. "And at that point, we'd like to think, or I personally think, that a multi-inning reliever is needed."

~Next 10 days critical for Sizemore : Grady Sizemore's progression continued on Wednesday when he went 3-for-4 with a double in a Minor League game. The center fielder is scheduled to start Thursday night's home game against the Yankees.The next two weeks will be critical for the Red Sox in determining whether Sizemore is physically able to break camp as the starting center fielder.Sizemore has passed all tests so far, but there are a few more before the team can declare him the starting center fielder for Opening Day."We'll probably have a better read on that in another 10 days," manager John Farrell said. "Because next week, we're hopeful to have him play five times. There's been a pretty well thought-out plan to the increase in volume. We're going to take every available day to gather as much information."Farrell projects that, following an off-day Friday, Sizemore will play three days in a row for the first time from Saturday to Monday."I didn't know how the body was going to hold up day to day, if I was going to be able to push it every day," Sizemore said. "So far it's allowed me to keep upping the volume and pushing the intensity. I still don't feel like I've reached that ceiling where I went too far. As long as I'm there, I'm happy."The one thing Sizemore has not yet done is steal a base.
"We've put him in motion a couple of times already," Farrell said. "But to say we're just absolutely going to turn him loose with the green light ... we'll try to continue to ramp up his volume before we look to do anything situationally that might be different than what we've gone through right now."There will come a time when the brakes come off completely."At a point in time in hopefully the near future, that all becomes 'react to the game,' and we've seen every other phase of his game be natural and second nature to him," Farrell said. "He's advanced on a ball in the dirt; we've put him in motion two or three times. There's no hesitation on him sliding or anything like that. So far, so good."Sizemore is hoping his skills will continue to come back to him as the days evolve."Everything feels good, but I still feel like there's a lot of room for improvement -- getting breaks, getting a better first step, feeling more explosive, feeling that quickness in that good first step," Sizemore said. "I'm happy with where it's at, but I'd like a little bit more improvement."

~Middlebrooks returns : Third baseman Will Middlebrooks returned to the lineup for Wednesday night's game after being bothered for several days by soreness in his right middle finger. The injury was never considered to be serious, and Middlebrooks hoped to keep building on what had been a solid spring so far."He went through a full day of activity yesterday, threw quite a bit, both in terms of his throwing program and taking ground balls," Farrell said. "He's back in tonight. We'll probably go tonight, and then both games on the road Friday and Saturday with him. We might take a look at [Jonathan] Herrera at third base a little bit more tomorrow night."

~Regulars 'In' from Sunday on : Farrell said the regular Red Sox lineup could be on the field every day beginning Sunday.

~Happy Birthday : Catcher David Ross turned 37 today.

~Koji to get some work : Closer Koji Uehara has yet to pitch in a save situation this spring, and actually has yet to pitch after the eighth inning. Farrell may look to change that soon.“I think there’s a lot of merit to start to get particularly the relievers’ minds thinking along with the game and anticipating when their time is coming inside an outing,” Farrell said.

~The 'other' center fielders : Farrell would like to get a look at others in center field, including Shane Victorino and Daniel Nava, as well as Grady Sizemore and Jackie Bradley, Jr. But, he may have to get somewhat creative, keeping in mind there is a position competition going on and that regulars will be playing deeper into games.“Shane will probably get some reps [in center] mid next week,” Farrell said. “We’re still getting him built up to the number of innings and at-bats inside a given game. We still have a competition in center field, have to be cognizant of that and that means the majority of the reps are going to come between Jackie and Grady.“So we might see Daniel Nava in center field game on a Triple A game, just to get some reps out there as well. So those are all things that are being factored in, and being sensitive to a sincere competition going on in center.”