RED SOX : News & Notes April 3,2014.

RED SOX : NEWS & NOTES
April 3,2014.






~Sox minor league rosters set : The Red Sox full-season minor league affiliate rosters were announced on Tuesday. Here’s a look at the rosters for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox, Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, High-A Salem Red Sox, and Low-A Greenville Drive.
All four teams open their respective seasons on Thursday, April 3.
SoxProspects.com ranking in parentheses 

PAWTUCKET
Pitchers: Allen Webster (6), Anthony Ranaudo (7), Drake Britton (11), Dalier Hinojosa (25),Alex Wilson (31), Rubby De La Rosa (N/E), Brayan Villarreal (N/E), Rich Hill (N/E), Chris Resop(N/E), Chris Hernandez, Tommy Layne, Jeremy Kehrt
Catchers: Christian Vazquez (13), Dan Butler (26), Ryan Lavarnway (N/E)
Infield: Garin Cecchini (4), Heiker Meneses (60), Brock Holt (N/E), Brandon Snyder (N/E),Mike McCoy (N/E)
Outfield: Bryce Brentz (17), Alex Hassan (24), Corey Brown, Justin Henry, Peter Hissey
Disabled List: Matt Barnes (8), John Ely (N/E)

PORTLAND
Pitchers: Henry Owens (3), Noe Ramirez (27), Mickey Pena (43), Miguel Celestino (44), Keith Couch (45), Mike Augliera, Wilfredo Boscan, Michael Olmsted, Nate Reed, Robby Scott, Mike McCarthy, Matty Ott, Jose Valdez (N/E)
Catchers: Blake Swihart (5), Matt Spring, Michael Brenly
Infield: Mookie Betts (10), Deven Marrero (16), Sean Coyle (23), Travis Shaw (42), Carlos Rivero, Stefan Welch, Derrik Gibson
Outfield: Henry Ramos (32), Shannon Wilkerson, Bo Greenwell
Disabled List: Keury De La Cruz (33), Aaron Kurcz, Pete Ruiz

SALEM
Pitchers: Brian Johnson (2), Simon Mercedes (22), Corey Littrell (28), Luis Diaz (34), Kyle Martin (46), Kyle Stroup (48), Justin Haley (51), William Cuevas, Madison Younginer, Austin Maddox, Kyle Kraus, Dayan Diaz
Catchers: Carson Blair, Jayson Hernandez, Leonel Escobar
Infield: David Chester (47), Reed Gragnani, Mario Martinez, Jose Vinicio, Ryan Dent, Dreily Guerrero, Matt Gedman
Outfield: Jonathan Roof, Matty Johnson, Aneury Tavarez, Kevin Heller
Disabled List: Matt Price (49), Heri Quevedo (50), Bryan Johns

GREENVILLE
Pitchers: Teddy Stankiewicz (15), Jamie Callahan (21), Cody Kukuk (29), Myles Smith (30), Pat Light (35), Joe Gunkel (37), Sergio Gomez (52), Jonathan Aro (53), Mike Adams, Mario Alcantara, Jake Dahlstrand, Raynel Velette
Catchers: Jordan Weems, Jake Romanski, Carlos Coste
Infield: Tim Roberson, Wendell Rijo (19), Tzu-Wei Lin (36), Carlos Asuaje, Jimmy Rider, Jantzen Witte, Kevin Mager , Mike Miller
Outfield: Manuel Margot (14), Jesus Loya, Aaron King, Zach Kapstein
Disabled List: Jason Garcia

N/E = Not eligible to be ranked as a prospect

~Ellsbury hitless in debut : It came down to the wire, but Jacoby Ellsbury pushed past a sore right calf and was in the New York Yankees' lineup for their season-opener against the Houston Astros on Tuesday.Ellsbury hit leadoff and played center field, but was hitless in four at-bats as the Yankees lost, 6-2. He drew a walk in the eighth inning and later scored.

STEPHEN DREW ~ Will not attend

~Drew will not attend 'ring ceremony' : Stephen Drew still doesn’t have a team, but his work in trying to find one will keep him away from Fenway Park on Friday. Drew’s agent, Scott Boras, and his coach, Alex Ochoa, told the Boston Globe that the former Red Sox shortstop will not attend the team’s World Series ring ceremony before the home opener against the Milwaukee Brewers. Drew, who turned down the Red Sox’s one-year, $14.1 million qualifying offer after last season, is working out with Ochoa in Miami Gardens, Fla., and still hopes to latch on with another major league team. The 31-year-old shortstop signed a one-year, $9.5 million contract with the Red Sox in December 2012 and finished 2013 hitting .253 with 14 home runs and 67 RBIs. Drew’s big contribution during last year’s playoffs came in the decisive Game 6 of the World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals, when he launched a solo homer in the fourth inning to give Boston a 4-0 lead.


~Visit to 'Walter Reed Medical Center' puts things in perspective for the Red Sox : The visit to the White House was clearly the headline portion of the off-day the Red Sox had on Tuesday, but the trip to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center later in the day was perhaps the most meaningful.Seeing wounded soldiers without limbs and countless other misfortunes put things in perspective in a hurry. By coincidence, the Boston Celtics were at the facility during the same time as the Red Sox."I think that was the better part of my day, to be able to go over there," said Mike Napoli. "To be able to get their mind off of what their struggles were for a couple of minutes, to be able to talk to them and thank them for what they've done for us. I think, for me, that made my day. It just topped off everything to be able to do that."
While Jonny Gomes stood out with the American flag sports coat he wore to the White House, the soldiers confirmed to the outfielder that his attire was perfect."I don't know much of the [publicity] -- positive or negative -- going into it, but at the end of the day, what the troops said to me at Walter Reed was pretty awesome," said Gomes. "I got more thank yous for that from these guys and they sacrifice health and limbs for what that flag stands for at the end of the day. Like I said, I didn't try to make any statement or anything. Hopefully I'll have the opportunity to do it again."The visit was a chilling reminder for Gomes, given the fact he nearly chose the path ofmilitary service."I think it's a little different for me with my past," said Gomes. "In 2001, I had two contracts on my table, one from the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and the other for the Marines. I always put myself in a position to think, 'Which one of those guys would have been me? Would it be the tombstone? Would it be the guy who is the double amputee? Would it be a guy who is still over there?'"For David Ortiz, it was his third trip to Walter Reed after winning a World Series. But this visit meant just as much to him as the others."Unbelievable," Ortiz said. "This one young guy, he's like 26 right now, he got both his legs blown up by a bomb. His spirit was so good. Me, [Dustin] Pedroia and some of the Celtics players, we were around him and we were looking at each other like, 'Seriously?' There's many people complaining about stupid things in life and look at this guy. I think the best thing that ever happened to me was to go and look at this guy. I guarantee you that made me a better human being."He was so excited to watch us and see him in the hospital, it was unbelievable. I had a really good time there yesterday visiting the veterans and getting to hang out with them. It was a good thing for all of us, to see how excited they got to see us. I think every single athlete should go out there and hang out with these people. It would give them a good moment of happiness. This guy was sitting down, with no legs and he was acting like he was the happiest guy on the planet earth because of the fact we were all there and hanging out with him. That was awesome."