Pitchers
Randor Bierd
Fernando Cabrera
Kris Johnson
Casey Kelly
Adam Mills
Edwin Moreno
Joe Nelson
Brian Shouse
Jorge Sosa
Kyle Weiland
Catchers
Luis Exposito
Gustavo Molina
Infielders
Lars Anderson
Yamaico Navarro
Angel Sanchez
Gil Velazquez
Outfielders
Zach Daeges
Ryan Kalish
Che-Hsuan Lin
Darnell McDonald
• Something to ponder while watching the Sox shift Jacoby Ellsbury to left for Mike Cameron: Of all the teams that have had a starting center fielder 37 or older (minimum 120 games, 85 percent in CF), only one made it to the World Series, and that was in a war year, 1945.
There have been 24 seasons (17 players) in which a team has had a starting CF that met the age and playing criteria noted above. Doc Cramer was 39 years old when he played for the 1945 Tigers, who beat the Cubs in seven games to win the World Series. Cramer, who played 5 of his 20 big-league seasons with the Red Sox, making the All-Star team four times, hit .379 in that series, collecting three hits in Game 7.
Cramer was the only one to make it to the World Series. Only three other center fielders in Cameron's age group advanced as far as the playoffs, and all were eliminated in the first round: Kenny Lofton, Steve Finley (twice) and Brett Butler.
Cameron has never played in a World Series. He was the center fielder for Mariners teams that lost the ALCS to the Yankees in 2000 and 2001. He also played for the Padres in 2006 and Brewers in 2008, both of whom lost in the division series.
He is the oldest center fielder in the big leagues. There were only five regular center-fielders 30 or older in the big leagues last season: Cameron; Torii Hunter, 33, Kosuke Fukudome; Aaron Rowand, 31; and Vernon Wells, 30. But since his big-league debut in 1995, he has been on the disabled list just three times, one stint stemming from his horrific collision with Carlos Beltran while playing for the Mets on Aug. 12, 2005, ending his season. He also dislocated his finger on a slide in 2000 and had tendinitis in his left wrist at the start of the 2005 season, which cost him a month.
Claire Smith, my ESPN colleague, who received the baseball writer of the year award from the museum, says that Bob Kendrick, the museum’s vice president of marketing, told her that Cameron brought 11 family members to the event at his own expense. Cameron has been to the museum three times, and Kendrick told Claire that he has been one of the museum’s biggest financial supporters.
• ESPN crack researcher Jeremy Lundblad passes along a few of his findings on Joe Nelson, the right-handed reliever signed by the Sox to a minor-league contract, with an invitation to big-league camp.
Nelson was nearly unhittable with the bases empty last season. Over his career, opponents are hitting just .195 against him compared to .261 with runners on.
Lowest opponents' batting average with the bases empty in 2009 (min. 75 Batters Faced):
Mike Adams, Padres -- .091
Joe Nelson, Rays -- .138
Robinson Tejeda, Royals -- .138
Jonathan Broxton, Dodgers -- .147
Huston Street, Rockies -- .147
While Nelson was stingy with the bases empty, it’s a different story with runners on base. In 2009, Nelson faced 80 batters with runners on base, yielding an opponents’ batting average of .317 and an OPS of 1.074.
Sox left-handed reliever Hideki Okajima had a very similar 2009 season from this standpoint. With the bases empty, opponents hit .199 compared to .305 with runners on.
In 2008, Nelson had a 2.00 ERA for the Marlins, the ninth-lowest among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. So what was the biggest difference between that pitcher and the one who was designated for assignment last September by the Rays? You could make a good case that it was his performance with men on base. In 2008, opponents hit just .219 against him with men on base.
After posting an 8.53 ERA last May, Nelson had a 1.45 ERA and .115 opponents batting average in June and July combined. However, he was demoted on August 1 after a wild July. After walking 1 batter in 10 2/3 IP in June, Nelson issued 10 walks in 8 IP in July.
Sox announce signings of Nelson, Molina
BOSTON, MA -- The Red Sox announced Wednesday the signings of catcher Gustavo Molina and right-handed pitcher Joe Nelson to minor league contracts. Both players will attend spring training as non-roster players and will be on the Pawtucket roster.
ESPNBoston.com reported both signings earlier in the week.
Molina, 27, played with Washington's Triple-A Syracuse affiliate last year. In 72 games, he batted .209 with two home runs and 24 RBI. He threw out 16 of 39 attempted base stealers.
Nelson, 35, was 3-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings for the Tampa Bay Rays last season. He struck out 36 while walking 27.
Nelson played with Boston twice before. In 2002 he spent time in the Red Sox's minor league system after being released by the Atlanta Braves, who picked him in the fourth round of the 1996 draft. Nelson was released by Boston that same season, but he returned to split his time between the minors and majors in 2004.
The Red Sox have signed reliever Joe Nelson to a minor league deal, a source told ESPN The Magazine's Tim Kurkjian.
The right-hander was 3-0 with a 4.02 ERA in 40 1/3 innings for the the Tampa Bay Rays last season. He struck out 36 while walking 27.
Nelson isn't new to Boston, having been part of the organization twice before. He spent time in the Red Sox's minor league system in 2002 after being released by the Atlanta Braves, who picked him in the fourth round of the 1996 draft. Nelson was released by Boston that same season, but he did return to split his time between the minors and majors in 2004.
The Red Sox reportedly are interested in checking out former Giants left-hander Noah Lowry, who is trying to make a comeback after missing the last two seasons.
Lowry, who hasn't pitched since 2007 because of a variety of issues with his forearm and shoulder, had scheduled a throwing session for major league teams for Tuesday in Arizona but has postponed the session to give himself more time to prepare for the audition.
Lowry's agent told the Associated Press the pitcher has not sustained a setback, has no physical limitations and is pain-free.
Sox ink C Gustavo Molina to minor league deal
The Boston Red Sox signed 27-year-old catcher Gustavo Molina to a minor league deal that includes an invitation to spring training, a source told MLB.com on Friday.
Molina, no relation to major league catchers Bengie and Yadier Molina, last played in the majors in 2008 and has only 19 games of major league experience under his belt. He spent last season with the Nationals' Triple-A team, hiting .209 with two homers in 72 games.
BOSTON -- The Red Sox have announced that single game tickets for most 2010 Sox home games will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. All games except those against the New York Yankees and Manny Ramirez's Los Angeles Dodgers will be available. Tickets to those games will be sold through a random drawing held at a later date.
Tickets for the Green Monster and Budweiser Right Field Roof Deck will also be sold during the random drawing
To buy tickets, log on to www.redsox.com or call the automated ticket line at 888-REDSOX6. Those who require accessible seating can call 877-REDSOX9; hearing-impaired fans should call the TTY line at (617) 226-6644.
There is a limit of 8 tickets per person.
Seven Red Sox prospects make Law's Top 100
ESPN Scouts Inc.'s Keith Law came out with his Top 100 prospects in baseball today, a list that includes seven payers in the Red Sox's system. Here's a short blurb from Law on each of the seven, but make sure to check out the full list (Insider) for much more.
- No. 18 -- Casey Kelly, Pitcher: "A solid-average fastball already, a curveball that frequently flashes plus with good depth and tight rotation, and an above-average changeup."
- No. 32 -- Ryan Westmoreland, Outfield: "A top-10 talent with his combination of athleticism, power potential and feel for hitting."
- No. 53 -- Anthony Rizzo, First Base: "As he grows he should develop 25-30 home run power."
- No. 56 -- Lars Anderson, First Base: "Everything went awry for him in 2009, and the cause appears to be more mental than physical or mechanical."
- No. 86 -- Ryan Kalish, Left Field: "A polished overall hitter who's already coming into some power and may add more."
- No. 91 -- Jose Iglesia, Shortstop: "At worst, he might be Adam Everett, but I think he'll end up more than an automatic out."
- No. 98 -- Junichi Tazawa, Pitcher: "He has more room for growth as a pitcher than the typical 23-year-old does."
Wakefield: I don't need to prove myself
With the Red Sox boasting one of the strongest and deepest starting rotations in baseball, veteran Tim Wakefield, who has been with the organization longer than anyone on the roster, is hearing familiar questions about his role.
But Wakefield made it clear he sees himself as a full-time starter in comments to the Boston Herald Tuesday.
"I did make the All-Star team last year," Wakefield told the Herald. "It seems every year, and I don't know why, my name gets brought up like this when I don't feel I need to prove myself every day. I don't know where the rumors are coming from, but I try not to pay attention. I know my role and I know what my approach is going to be when I get to spring training: be a starter and help us win the World Series.
"Hopefully they respect me enough to give me the ball when we get to spring training as a member of this rotation. I think I've earned the right to be a full-time starter and go from there."
With the signing of free agent John Lackey, the Red Sox have six starters: Lackey, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Clay Buchholz and Wakefield.
Red Sox manager Terry Francona, at least publicly, has been taking a wait-and-see attitude toward Wakefield, given that the 43-year-old underwent back surgery after last season. At the Boston Baseball Writers' dinner Jan. 14, Francona said it remains to be seen what Wakefield's schedule will be in training camp.
"The days of Wake logging all those innings may be past,'' Francona said at the dinner. "But you can guarantee Wake is going to pitch and win his games. We've just got to figure out what's best for him and us.''
Wakefield told the Herald that doctors in Boston on Monday gave him an "A-plus" and that he's on his normal throwing program and feeling fine.
"It's been a long road," Wakefield said of the recovery from surgery, "but it's gotten me to the point where I can get back on the field and compete, and for that I'm thankful.
"I don't know who is saying I'm only a part-time pitcher, but I think some of their opinions might be based on not knowing how I was feeling. [Monday's doctor visit] may have gotten rid of some question marks they have."
Wakefield was in New York on Tuesday to receive the Bart Giamatti Award for community service at the Baseball Assistance Team's annual dinner.
Gordon Edes tries to breathe some life into the Hot Stove by answering your questions in his latest Red Sox mailbag. Topics include Adrian Gonzalez (big surprise there), Joe Mauer, Clay Buchholz, David Ortiz, fashion and fine dining (we kid you not).
There were hints all along that there was a lot more to how Jason Bay ended up not re-signing with the Boston Red Sox than what was on the surface, and on Friday we learned a lot more about how the months-long negotiations between the Red Sox and Bay broke down.
Bay gave his side of the story to reporter Rob Bradford, who relayed a timeline of events from the player's perspective on WEEI.com. In a nutshell, Bay says he had agreed to a deal to stay with the Red Sox in the middle of last season, but it broke down over medical concerns after he took a physical. The Red Sox tweaked their proposal and Bay got second and third opinions that he claims did not show the same medical concerns. In the end, Bay chose to take a guaranteed deal with the New York Mets over Boston's deal, which included medical contingencies.
Here's a bullet-point timeline of how it went down, as Bay described it to Bradford.
- Bay agreed to a four-year, $60 million deal with a $17 million team option for a fifth season to remain with the Red Sox back in July.
- That offer was pulled off the table after the Red Sox had concerns about Bay's knees and shoulder, which were revealed in a physical.
- The Red Sox, according to Bay, replaced that offer with a two-year deal (for $15 million per season) that included options for third and fourth years that were contingent on Bay's health and productivity. In addition, Bay told WEEI.com, the offer also required Bay to undergo knee surgery after the 2009 season.
- Bay got a second opinion on his knees and shoulder and, according to the player, the doctors said there was no cause for concern.
- When negotiations between Bay and the Red Sox started up again in late October, Boston's revised offer still included medical contingencies in the third and fourth years of the contract, but Bay would no longer be required to have knee surgery.
- When Bay told the Red Sox that the doctor he sought out for a second opinion did not agree with the Red Sox's initial diagnosis, the team suggested they seek a third opinion from an agreed-upon doctor. According to Bay, that doctor also did not see reason for concern about Bay's knees or shoulder.
- At the winter meetings in Indianapolis in early December, the Red Sox presented Bay's agent, Joe Urbon, with yet another revised contract, this one with three years guaranteed and a fourth-year option that included the medical stipulations that were in the previous proposal.
- On Dec. 12, the Red Sox called Urbon for an answer on the proposal. Urbon declined the offer.
- The next day, the Red Sox reached a five-year, $82.5 million contract with pitcher John Lackey.
"I was shocked, to say the least, that I was being told to have knee surgery in order to get the contract," Bay told WEEI.com, "particularly since I wasn't hurt."
Papelbon: Happy with one-year deal from Sox
Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon said on Boston sports radio station 98.5 The Sports Hub on Thursday that he and the Red Sox tried to reach a long-term deal in their negotiations but were unable to agree on terms.
"So far we haven't been able to iron out a long-term deal, it hasn't worked out," he said. "But that's not to say that we haven't tried. We tried to look at the whole spectrum of the equation ... it's a thing where it takes two to make it work but it hasn't."
Papelbon said that he was satisfied with the one-year $9.35 million agreement that was reached recently.
"Both sides are very happy, and that's a hard thing to do," he said.
He said that this season, Red Sox fans "can expect the pitcher they saw the last three months of last season" and that he plans to start incorporating more off-speed pitches into his game, "and not falling in love with my heater so much."
It's not an original thought -- my colleague Mark Feinsand from the New York Daily News raised the same issue long before it creased this brainpan -- but after reading Carlton Fisk diss Roger Clemens, it occurred to me that the next time I run into Dan Duquette, I may owe him an apology.
I was just a few days on the job at the end of 1996, covering the Red Sox for the Boston Globe, when Clemens spurned an offer from Duquette and the Sox to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays. I whiffed badly on that one, heeding the counsel of my then-Globe colleague Peter Gammons that Clemens was going to sign with the Red Sox or Yankees.
In the aftermath of that departure, Duquette would utter a line -- penned by Sox publicist Kevin Shea, I was later told by a club insider -- that became notorious overnight and would be thrown in Duquette's face time and again over the remainder of his term as Sox GM.
"The Red Sox and our fans were fortunate," Duquette said, "to see Roger Clemens play in his prime and we had hoped to keep him in Boston during the twilight of his career …"
The comment looked absurd when Clemens won back-to-back Cy Young Awards for the Blue Jays in his first two seasons in Toronto, won a World Series ring with the Yankees, and was still pitching a decade later.
It doesn't look as outlandish now, does it, in the aftermath of allegations by Clemens' former trainer Brian McNamee, highlighted in the Mitchell report, that beginning in the summer of 1998, he injected Clemens with steroids.
Fisk reminded me of that with his rant on Mark McGwire to Fred Mitchell of the Chicago Tribune, with Fisk also going off on The Rocket.
"The reason he got let go from the Red Sox was because he was starting to break down," Fisk said. "His last couple of years in Boston just weren't very productive, a la 'The Rocket.' Then all of a sudden he goes to Toronto and he wants to show somebody something. Then he gets two consecutive Cy Young Awards. Come on, give me a bucket.
"It's obvious to players. You notice that stuff. You know how hard it is to play the game. You know how hard it is to be productive at any age, but especially at an older age. You see guys who are as productive later on as they were early [in their careers]. It offends guys that stayed clean. But [the abusers] set their great-great-great-grandchildren up for the rest of their lives."
Clemens missed no opportunity to rip Duquette after he left Boston. And neither did the media, present company included. Turns out the darkness might have been kinder to Clemens if he had allowed it to come in its own good time.
Treuel sees a bumper crop of young Red Sox arms
Casey Kelly is beginning just the second year of his professional career, and Red Sox minor-league pitching coordinator Ralph Treuel already notices a difference.
"He's much bigger now than he was last year,'' Treuel said while Kelly was talking to a cluster of reporters Wednesday morning in the bubble at Boston College's Alumni Stadium, where Red Sox director of player development Mike Hazen had invited the media to meet with the participants in this winter's Red Sox Rookie Program.
"He looks taller and a lot stronger, I think,'' Treuel said. "The conditioning has made a difference.''
Kelly, the team's No. 1 draft choice in 2008, split last season between pitching and playing shortstop, but this winter made a full-time commitment to pitching. He has been invited to big-league camp and will be competing for a spot at Double-A Portland.
"He's got everything to be very good,'' Treuel said. "But don't lose sight of the fact that he's only 20 years old, and he's only pitched 100 innings in the minor leagues. He'll show us if he's good enough" to pitch in Portland.'
The Sox were focused on working with Kelly on his fastball and changeup last season, and will encourage him to throw his breaking stuff more this season, Treuel said.
Treuel, who also served as a pitching coordinator in the '90s, said the pitching depth in the Sox organization is as strong as he's ever seen it. He mentioned Felix Doubront, who was at BC on Wednesday, as another "who is on the fast track, too. He doesn't have that mid-90s fastball, but he's got a fastball that gets swings and misses.
"Look at guys like Ryne Miller, who last year wasn't even on the radar. Look at his performance. [Kyle] Weiland had a nice year. Guys like [Fabian] Williamson, Stormy Pimentel, [Seth] Garrison, [Brock] Huntizinger.
"This is my second tour of duty. The first one, we had guys like [Carl] Pavano, [Brian] Rose, we had a few guys who stood out. But depth-wise, this is as deep as I've seen in this organization. We've got arms, and that's even after trading some guys, like [Nick] Hagadone and [Bryan] Price [both of whom went to Cleveland, with Justin Masterson, in the Victor Martinez deal].''
A great website to check the stats and background on these pitchers is Mike Andrews' Soxprospects.com, a terrific resource for tracking Boston's minor leaguers. Andrews, incidentally, is no relation to the former Sox second baseman.
Prospect Iglesias makes a good first impression
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- I met Jose Iglesias for the first time Wednesday morning in the bubble at Boston College's Alumni Stadium, where a select group of Red Sox prospects worked out and then chatted with the media. I hate to sound like I've succumbed to the hype -- and I want to see him play before I get too carried away -- but you can't help but be impressed by the Cuban-born shortstop.
He just turned 20 on Jan. 5, but the maturity is obvious. He comes across as very self-possessed and self-confident. Surrounded by a group of reporters, he looked you in the eye when he was asked a question, gave thoughtful answers, some of which were condensed in translation, and seemed at ease in a culture radically different from the one he left as a defector last summer.
"I've had an incredible change in my life,'' he said. "It's amazing how far I've come ... it's a tremendous experience.''
Iglesias is smaller, by at least a couple of inches, than his listed height of 5-foot-11. Put it this way: Dustin Pedroia won't have to look up to him. His skills afield have drawn universal acclaim from those who have watched him, and while he must demonstrate that he will hit in the big leagues, the scouts I talked to who saw him in the Fall League project him as a contact hitter with better-than-average speed.
He also has a sense of humor. I'd been told that after he hit a home run in the Arizona Fall League, he did the exaggerated bat flip before circling the bases. His next at-bat, he was drilled.
When I asked him about it, he smiled. "That happened,'' he said. "Call it a rookie mistake. It's very different than in Cuba, where [being demonstrative] is considered normal. I learned from the bruise. Hopefully, it won't happen again.''
His father, Candelario, is a big Luis Tiant fan. That's on his to-do list, meeting Tiant.
Iglesias, whom the Sox had seen play numerous times in international competition, signed a four-year, $8.25 million contract with the Red Sox last summer. He is penciled in to be on the Double-A Portland roster this spring. I asked him about predictions that he may arrive in the big leagues by 2011.
"I don't know about that,'' he said. "I worry when they will need me. It may be tomorrow, or 10 years from now. I'll be ready.''
Iglesias has embraced his new home, by all accounts. As Alex Speier of WEEI.com noted earlier this month, general manager Theo Epstein told fans at his charity event that Iglesias was even studying U.S. history.
"I am 100 percent dedicated to getting used to here,'' Iglesias said. "I live here now. It's my job to learn everything about here, the ways here. So far, I'm very happy.''
Craig Shipley, who oversees the team's international scouting, lobbied hard for the Red Sox to sign Iglesias. He is one of the team's most respected talent evaluators, and it's clear that in Iglesias, he saw a young man who not only can play, but is equipped to handle the challenges of assimilating here. Even his choice of favorite American TV show was revealing.
"The Discovery Channel,'' he said.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Gordon Edes
Gordon Edes, who joined ESPNBoston.com in Nov. 2009, has covered MLB for more than 25 years. He spent 12 years covering the Sox for the Globe. Ask a question for his next mailbag.
