The joy of Sox
Restart under Valentine includes emotional sendoffs, roster reno and memories of beers gone by.
DUNEDIN, FLA.— Bobby Valentine said you could tell by the foam.
“A lot thicker, and as the beer went down, the foam stayed,” he advised.
That, in a nutshell, is spring training. While some might think the new manager of the Boston Red Sox would be tangled up in ulcerinducing knots as he returns to the majors with the task of trying to fix this still-bruised ball club, the team that rode fried chicken and clubhouse beer to a September collapse a year ago, Valentine stood on the dugout steps on Wednesday morning and lectured on the wonders of Japanese draught beer.
“I never drank sake,” he said, referring to his years managing the Chiba Lotte Marines. “Just beer. And the beer there is amazing because it’s a nitrogen-based system, not CO2. Amazing.”
Replacing Jason Varitek as captain and Tim Wakefield in the rotation? Worry about that later.
The range of infielder Mike Aviles?
“It’s only been three games. I’ll let the jury stay out on that before I make a statement.”
Whether Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon can together replace the impact of Jonathan Papelbon? Have to wait until Bailey is healthy enough to pitch in a game, perhaps as early as Thursday.
And what about crunching those defensive metrics?
“They do a good job telling me what happened,” he said. “I’m not sure they can tell me what’s going to happen.”
On edge? Not a chance, even though most rate this as the 61year-old Valentine’s best chance to win that elusive World Series ring.
It’s not just that it’s the spring. It’s early in the spring, and even in always overheated Red Sox Nation, there’s that perspective that this thing is barely getting rolling.
Back out of the broadcast booth and back in the dugout as Terry Francona’s replacement, Valentine brought his Sox north on Wednesday from the spectacular, 11,000seat Jetblue Park complex in Fort Myers — exact dimensions of Fenway Park, complete with a Green Monster — for a split-squad contest with the Blue Jays.
While other clubs have turned their springtime digs into minimajor league operations, sleepy Dunedin hasn’t yet lost that quaint feel despite its own renovations over the past 36 springs. There’s the Carson Pest Control sign in centre field, the grade school next door, just 5,100 seats and the relaxed sensibility that sits well with this time of the baseball calendar. Down in Bradenton, Kyle Drabek and Drew Hutchinson were throwing against the Pirates — Drabek got thumped — while in Dunedin, it was Brandon Morrow with his first spring start and the only particularly noteworthy element on a gorgeous Central Florida day. Given that Morrow missed the first three weeks of last season with forearm tightness after a March 18 start, the Jays want him to calibrate his efforts carefully. He threw 27 pitches, 18 for strikes, mostly curveballs and change-ups while he “humped up” on only one fastball in two scoreless innings. Variety, more than velocity, is what the 27-year-old is aiming for. “I made that clear at the end of last season that’s what I wanted to do,” he said. “I felt good with my body and my mechanics, wasn’t rushing.” Morrow gave up a game-opening Aviles double off the right-field wall, then got the next six outs, including Kevin Youkilis on a flyball and David Ortiz on a swinging strikeout, to end his abbreviated day. The game included 36 players with at least one at-bat and ended in a 3-3 draw, with neither side inclined to even stretch it out to 10 with their Grapefruit League schedules just getting rolling. For the Jays, Edwin Encarnacion plated three with a base hit that was aided by a left-field error, while young shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria made a sparkling play in the field and wowed the crowd with his blazing speed while trying unsuccessfully to stretch a double into a triple.
GTA hopefuls Marcus Knecht and Dalton Pompey, up from the minor-league complex for the day, each played in the outfield and got an at-bat.
Omar Vizquel’s throwing error led to two Boston runs, while bullpen arms Darren Oliver, Sergio Santos and Francisco Cordero all threw an inning.
Boston, with Valentine having already made his mark by banning beer in the clubhouse this spring and taking potshots at Yankee stars Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, has lots of question marks heading towards opening day, including whether $142 million outfielder Carl Crawford and his surgically repaired left wrist will be ready.
Crawford has been shut down this spring after swelling erupted in the wrist, while the departures/ absences of Papelbon, Francona, Varitek and Wakefield have given the Bosox a new feel as a group.
Nothing to get worked up about yet, however. Better to just chill. You know, observe the foam.