Big Fat Concern For Sox (2/23/16)

The big concern this past off-season was the conditioning of 3rd basemen Pablo Sandoval. A month ago, Red Sox manager John Farrell claimed that Sandoval had lost 20-25 pounds. Smart Sox fans said they'd believe it when they see it.  Well Sandoval showed up to Spring Training and....well....just look.

Yessire Bob, Sox brass is full of baloney as usual. Sandoval looks bigger than he was last year. Not only that, he claimed Sox brass never told him to lose weight. Dave Dombrowski maintained that this was true and he stands by Pablo 100%. Meanwhile Farrell reiterated that he sent a clear message to come back in better shape.

 So who's telling the truth here? Obviously someone was lying out their ass because one look at that picture of Pablo above shows that he made zero attempt to lose weight and get in shape. As if Hanley Ramirez showing up to camp without a first baseman's mitt wasn't bad enough, now we have to deal with this media circus.

History shows not all fat guys are the same once they reach 30. For every Babe Ruth, there was George Scott and Cecil Fielder. Two guys who could barely waddle around the bases by the end. Look at Prince Fielder, Cecil's son. Prince was a dangerous hitter for the Brewers and Tigers but has disintegrated since he's been in Texas. Its not like the Sox can hide Sandoval at DH like they can with Hanley Ramirez. He was never a slugger in San Fransisco while he was there. What this means is the Sox have a month and change to get Sandoval in shape and Ramirex acclimated at first. The good news is that Travis Shaw will be waiting in the wings if one of them falters. Shaw is a natural third basemen but came up through the system at first.

Still, what a sad state of affairs that this discussion is even happening. The Sox have a great core developing with Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, Blake Swihart, Shaw and Jackie Bradley Jr with David Ortiz giving one final performance. The health of Dustin Pedroia and Rusney Castillo are question marks, but both are dependable when healthy. That just leaves Sandoval and Ramirez. If they're playing well, this offense has the makings of a juggernaut. If they suck, then its back to last year. 

As mentioned earlier, at least the Sox can hide Ramirez at DH to keep him out of the field, but they're stuck with Sandoval one way or the other. His massive contract won't be easy to unload if his massive waistline has him hitting .220 by mid-May.

Still, what a difference a year makes. Last year it was pitching by committee and this year its the weight of Pablo Sandoval that has everyone talking. I'd rather see how this develops. We all know what happened last year.