Spring Training Report 3 (3/21/14)

As we approach Opening Day the roster is taking shape. Rubby De La Rosa and Brandon Snyder were sent down to Pawtucket for obvious reasons. Snyder will resume his role he had last year which was dominate Triple A pitching and get called up if somebody gets hurt. De La Rosa just can't seem to locate his pitches effectively, same as Allen Webster actually. What is it with LA Dodger pitching prospects that have great stuff but don't know where the ball's going? If the two of them can put it together then there's a starter/closer combo that would be deadly for years.

                                                    See you when someone gets hurt fellas.

In other news, a deadly grudge match between Brock Holt and Jonathan Herrera has been decided. Holt was the "other" guy in the Joel Hanrahan trade who helped the Pawtucket Red Sox fall 2 wins short of a second straight Governor's Cup. Herrera was the utility infielder the Sox got from Colorado for Franklin Morales. After a fierce battle, the winner....and...NEWWWWWWW utility infielder for the Boston Red Sox, JONATHAN HERRERAAAAAAAA!!!!

                                                     The winner and new champion

Holt goes back to Triple A and other than Jonathan Diaz, Ryan Rowland-Smith, Pedro Beato and Jose De La Torre, the band will be getting back together to make a run at the Govenor's Cup again.

As for the Red Sox, the final roster is taking shape. Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront are the locked in starters. Mike Napoli, David Ortiz, Jonny Gomes, Shane Victorino, Dustin Pedroia Daniel Nava, Will Middlebrooks, David Ross, AJ Pierzynski, Jonathan Herrera, Xander Bogaerts and Mike Carp the locked in position players. Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Edward Mujica, Burke Badenhop, Brandon Workman and Andrew Miller are the locked in relief pitchers. The remaining battles are Jackie Bradley Jr vs Grazy Sizemore for the centerfield spot. If Sizemore wins, Bradley joins Holt in Triple A. If Bradley wins, Sizemore rides off into the sunset. Craig Breslow would normally be on this list but he'll most likely start the season on the disabled list, quite like he did last season. With Breslow out, Chris Capuano takes on Fransisco Cordero for the final relief spot which looks like its going to be Capuano after he blinded the Yankees for 3 innings yesterday.

Other than Breslow who's not technically injured, the Sox have been relatively injury free which is a miracle. Jarrod Parker of the A's and Kris Medlen of the Atlanta Braves both needed Tommy John surgery and will be lost for the year. Jose Iglesias of the Tigers may be out for the year with stress fractures in his shins. Derek Holland of the Texas Rangers is gone with knee surgery and there have been other ailments with various teams. Last year the Sox had a lot of injuries through the year but thankfully only a few relief pitchers suffered season ending ones (Andrew Bailey, Joel Hanrahan, Alex Wilson and Andrew Miller). Anytime you have an injury free spring, you already are a step ahead of most other teams.

                                          Thankfully Dr. Pierce hasn't been needed so far

All in all, the Spring training record stands at 8-13 but other than Yankee fans that have absolutely nothing else to brag about, nobody cares. As long as everyone is healthy and in shape for the season then standings don't matter at all. The semi-finals between Jackie Bradley/Grady Sizemore and Capuano/Cordero should be settled shortly.