RED SOX : News & Notes April 14,2014.

RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
April 14,2014.






~'Good throwing session' for Koji : The Red Sox got some good news before Sunday'sgame against the Yankees, as closer Koji Uehara had what manager John Farrell termed as "a good throwing session".The righty has been out since Friday night, when he experienced soreness in his shoulder during pregame throwing.
With Monday being an off-day for the team, Uehara will be examined by team doctors in Boston on Monday.If that exam goes as the Red Sox hope, Uehara will rejoin the team for the start of a three-game series in Chicago."During the time he was throwing, he felt better than he actually expected. He's still going to return to Boston to go through a full work-up tomorrow," said Farrell. "At this point, we're hopeful and expecting him to return to us in Chicago. We'd still like to get him off a mound in a bullpen session or get him back in a game, but today, overall, was very good news regarding Koji."What did Uehara do during Sunday's throwing session?"He threw long toss out to 200 feet, and came back in at roughly 65-70 feet, and was aggressive on flat ground with both his fastball and his split," said Farrell. "He was really able to generate good arm speed. He's moving past some of the concerns, mentally, that he had. A bullpen session is certainly going to be needed and helpful to get past that further."

~Bogaerts moves up in order : When Pedroia was scratched from Sunday's lineup with soreness in his left wrist, Xander Bogaerts was moved up to the No. 2 spot in the batting order. It is the first time Bogaerts has batted above fifth this season."Just to get us a little bit of right-left balance throughout," said Farrell. "Xander's had very good at-bats in every game he's played. At the Minor League level, he's been a top-of-the-order type of hitter. So that's where we are today."

~Victorino Update : Right fielder Shane Victorino, on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain, could begin a Minor League rehab assignment as early as Tuesday, according to Farrell. Victorino will be examined by trainer Dan Dyrek in Boston on Monday.

~Middlebrooks update : Third baseman Will Middlebrooks (right calf strain) will continue to rehab under the daily watch of team trainers for the rest of the road trip, which will shift to Chicago on Tuesday. Perhaps after that, Middlebrooks will be ready to play in Minor League games before returning to the Red Sox."He's progressing as we've hoped," Farrell said.

~Farrell on 'Jackie Robinson' : When the Red Sox open their three-game series in Chicago on Tuesday night, every player on both sides will wear No. 42 in the annual recognition of "Jackie Robinson Day" in Major League Baseball."I think it's one of the great days we celebrate during any season," said Red Sox manager John Farrell. "A tribute to Jackie and the challenges he went through. All, personally, that I can do is read about it. I have no idea the challenges he faced and the strength he demonstrated every day he walked on the field."The fact that we retire that number across the game is worthy, to say the least. And I think everything that can be done, not only to increase the number of African-Americans but every race, every nationality, that has an interest in this game. This is a game that's grown globally, and it should include all."There has been a decrease of African-American players in recent years. Farrell is glad to see MLB be proactive in trying to turn the numbers back in the other direction."There's a lot of steps being taken to include every athlete that wants to play the game. The RBI program is one that's trying to tap into the abilities and the talents in the inner city," Farrell said. "I do know that baseball competes with every other sport to recruit African-American athletes. This is a trend that has gained a lot of attention over a number of years, that is trying to be reversed by baseball. To say there's any one specific reason to why is hard to say, at this point. But you'd like to see that trend be reversed."