RED SOX : News & Notes March 21,2014.

RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
March 21,2014.





~Ortiz not concerned :David Ortiz is 2 for 30 in spring training with 10 strikeouts and is hitless in 15 consecutive at-bats dating to March 10.But Big Papi isn't too concerned."I'm swinging fine. I'll be ready," he said this afternoon.Ortiz didn't get a single at-bat in spring training last season as he recovered from an Achilles' tendon injury. He was then 4 for 18 in six Triple A games before hitting .440 (22 of 50) with 12 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs in his first 13 major league games en route to one of the best seasons of his career.Sox manager John Farrell isn't worried about his designated hitter."I'm not concerned with David, what he's done through 30 at-bats," he said. "You watch the BP, the bat speed is clearly there, the power is there. He's seeing pitches. He's going to get more everyday at-bats starting on Sunday through the remainder of camp. I have no concern with David."

~Roster moves : The Red Sox optioned infielder Brock Holt and righthander Rubby De La Rosa to Triple A Pawtucket and reassigned infielder Brandon Snyder to minor league camp.De La Rosa will be used as as starter with Pawtucket. He was limited to 91.2 innings last season as part of his recovery from Tommy John surgery but the restrictions have been lifted.Farrell said the Red Sox have adjusted the position of De La Rosa's hands in his delivery and encouraged him to throw more curveballs to increase the variety of his pitches. "We feel like those two adjustments will help him not only command his fastball better but give him some more off-speed to attack a given hitter with," the manager said."With Rubby it's not a matter of stuff. It's a matter of more consistent location."

~Herrera makes team : The Red Sox solidified one spot on their depth chart on Thursday with the news that Jonathan Herrera beat out Brock Holt for the utility infield position.Though Herrera, acquired from the Rockies for lefty Franklin Morales, was perceived as the favorite all along, manager John Farrell had said recently that Holt was very much in the mix for the spot.What led to Herrera winning the job?"Prioritizing shortstop play," said Farrell. "While Brock has made strides on the left side of the infield, particularly from the start of last year, we felt with the acquisition of Jonathan it was more middle of the field experience, and that's the choice made."Herrera could wind up being like former Red Sox utility player Alex Cora in that he is someone who does all the little things right."You get a two- to three-game glimpse across the field, and then when you're in camp with someone for a month and a half, you get more of a sense of their instincts and how they react and respond to game situations," said Farrell. "Just the energy he brings, it's a good fit."

~Uehara and Tazawa update :Uehara and Tazawa, who have been intentionally scaled back this spring due to their workload last October, threw batting practice on Thursday to A.J. Pierzynski.
"They were originally scheduled for a bullpen [session] and felt like with the number of pitches that they've thrown to hitters, wanting to see hitters in the box, this was a little bit more of an intense work day rather than just a straight bullpen [session]," Farrell said.

~Mujica impresses Farrell : The Red Sox have already seen enough from right-hander Edward Mujica to think he will pitch like he did for the first two-thirds of last season, instead of the fatigued hurler who lost his closing job with the Cardinals."It wasn't injury related. It was more fatigue," said manager John Farrell. "Looking back at his usage, there were a number of times he went four days in a row, a couple other times he went three days in a row, and, I think, just physically, he hit a little bit of a wall. The power to the stuff declined through the course of the year."And now?"We're seeing the exact opposite now," said Farrell. "Each of the last three times out, the velocity ticks up. He's bounced back fine. There's no evidence of what he went through last year. He put in a good offseason."Mujica figures to join Junichi Tazawa as one of Boston's top two righty setup relievers in front of closer Koji Uehara.

~'Suprise"..Ellsbury out : Jacoby Ellsbury remains out of the Yankees lineup with right calf tightness. He has not played since last Friday. The Yankees gave him an MRI, which was negative.
Ellsbury was supposed to take batting practice in Tampa today but was held out to get the MRI."I'm sure he'll take BP tomorrow. We just wanted to make sure he was OK," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.It hasn't been determined when Ellsbury will return.
"We want to get him out there and get ready for the season. As soon as we can get him out there we'll get him out there," Girardi said. "I don't think he needs that many [games]. If he gets three or four that's enough. We can accelerate with games in the minors. Whatever we think is best, we'll do."