2009 Red Sox Prospects
November 15, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
From Baseball Prospectus:
Five-Star Prospects
1. Ryan Westmoreland, CF
2. Casey Kelly RHP/SS
Four-Star Prospects
3. Josh Reddick, OF
4. Ryan Kalish, OF
Three-Star Prospects
5. Anthony Rizzo, 1B
6. Jose Iglesias, SS
7. Junichi Tazawa, RHP
8. Michael Bowden, RHP
9. Lars Anderson, 1B
10. Reymond Fuentes, CF
11. Derrik Gibson, 2B/SS
Four More:
12. David Renfroe, RHP/SS: Like Kelly, he’s another big-bonus, two-way star, but Renfroe will begin his career as an infielder, and he projects as a prototypical third baseman due to his size, power potential, and arm.
13. Alex Wilson, RHP: He had a 0.50 ERA in New York-Penn League while giving up just 10 hits in 36 innings, but he’s already 23, so he should dominate. Still, his fastball/slider combo is impressive.
14. Stolmy Pimentel, RHP: The young Dominican righty still has plus command and plenty of projection, but performances have been so-so.
15. Che-Hsuan Lin, LF: Lin’s tools still impress, his defense remains outstanding, his numbers… not so much, but Red Sox officials remain very high on him.
1. Ryan Westmoreland, CF
DOB: 04/27/90
Height/Weight:6-2/195
Bats/Throws: L/R
Drafted/Signed:5th round, 2008, Portsmouth HS (RI)
2009 Stats: .296/.401/.484 at Short-season (60 G)
Last Year’s Ranking: 5
Year in Review: The high-profile over-slot draftee from 2008 did not disappoint in his pro debut.
The Good: One scout described Westmoreland as having “the tools of a top-five high school pick, with the advanced skills of a college player.” Supremely athletic, Westmoreland has average power with projection for more, as well as a keen understanding of the strike zone and a silky smooth swing with some natural lift to it. He’s an outstanding runner with instincts, as indicated by his 19 stolen bases in 60 games for the Spinners without getting caught.
The Bad: Westmoreland had shoulder surgery after signing, and he played in the field for only eight games last year. He had a plus arm in high school, but it’s not completely back yet. His season ended early when he broke his collarbone, so there are some minor concerns about his health record so far. Some of the more advanced left-handers of the New York-Penn League gave him trouble with good breaking balls.
Ephemera: Westmoreland knew how to get things started at Lowell, batting .423/.500/.635 in his first plate appearances over 60 games.
Perfect World Projection: Westmoreland could be the kind of player people thought Grady Sizemore would become.
Path to the Big Leagues: Jacoby Ellsbury is well established in Boston, but it’s too early to worry about that.
Timetable: Westmoreland will make a highly anticipated full-season debut in 2010, beginning the year at Low-A Greenville.
Sox Get LaRoche
July 22, 2009 by SOS · Leave a Comment
The Red Sox, in an effort to boost their dead offense traded today for Andy LaRoche. They traded two lower level minor players (not top tier prospects) to the Pirates for LaRoche. Over the past 4 seasons LaRoche has hit at least 20HR’s and had 78RBI’s. I am assuming this move is to bolster the Sox lineup if Ortiz/Lowell have any second half issues. Last year, the brother of LaRoche (Andy) was traded to the Pirates in the Manny trade. More on the trade from the Globe’s Tony Maz:
If you’re wondering what leftanded first baseman Adam LaRoche will bring to the Red Sox, here’s an assessment from a respected, longtime major league evaluator:
“I like the move for the Red Sox. … He’s real streaky [offensively] and an outstanding defender. … Most of his bad at-bats come against lefthanded pitching … He’s a rhythm hitter. If he’s a little off, he can look real ugly. If he’s right, he can get real hot. There’s no in-between with him. … He plays the game with a very easy pace. Sometimes people criticize that because it can look lackadaisical. … He’s not just a pull guy. He can go all over the field. There’s ability there. You can’t put up 25 [home runs] and 75 [RBI] every year and not have something.’’
As most everyone knows at this point, the Red Sox needed a lefthanded bat that could provide them with some thump from the middle of the lineup, whether it be from the No. 5 or No. 6 spot. In their last 21 games against righthanded pitching, the Red Sox are batting .221 with a .679 OPS. David Ortiz’s overall decline, coupled with J.D. Drew’s sudden and worrisome ineffectiveness — he’s batting .236 now — left the Red Sox especially vulnerable against righthanders.
Teixeira: Loose Lips Hurt Red Sox Again
Mark Teixeira said in an interview that the Red Sox leaking public info during their negotiations hurt them this past off season. Extra Bases from the Globe Reports:
Teixeira was asked specifically if the public nature of the Red Sox negotiations last winter bothered him. “It did, it did,” replied Teixeira. “And I think in the end, it probably worked against them a little bit, because everyone thought the Red Sox were [my] No. 1, but in reality, the Yankees were gonna be the team, like I said all along, if all things were equal, the Yankees were the place that I wanted to go. It made the most sense for my family. It made the most sense for me and my career and where I wanted to go. Being a Yankee and wearing the pinstripes into the new Yankee Stadium, it doesn’t get any better than that. They had a leg up all along.”
Well done again Larry Luccino and John Henry, they cry foul about everything else but never let Theo do his thing. Those two dinks should stay out of the public eye and stop making comments on anything and everything. The Red Sox already let Super Hobbit Rat Charles Steinberg go, but they are still too public when they do not need to be. I don’t think that Tex was worth that contract but it isn’t my money. Since losing out on Teixeira the Red Sox did not pick up another bat, so they must have had concerns about Drew, Lowell & Ortiz if they went that hard after the free-agent slugger. The Sox should have plenty of money to play with come the trading deadline.
Julio Lugo might have tear in knee
March 14, 2009 by SOS · Leave a Comment
Julio Lugo might have a tear in his meniscus which could cost him more than a month especially if he needs it to be operated on. Lugo, left last nights spring training game against he Yankees. If Lugo starts the season on the DL then Nick Green might make the roster. More from Boston.com”
The early word from manager Terry Francona was that Lugo might have a meniscus tear. According to a team source, Lugo will return to Boston tomorrow and could have arthroscopic surgery as early as Tuesday; such a procedure, said the source, would sideline Lugo for a month.
“I’m worried,” Lugo said shortly after 8 a.m. “Every time you have something hurt you’re worried, because I know I’m the type when something bothers me, when I say something, I’m in pain. Otherwise I’m not going to complain [about] pain. If you see me coming out, I’m hurting.”
He later added, “It is disappointing. But at the same time, things happen for a reason. God works his magic. That’s the only way I see it. Something happens, you can’t explain why it happens, but it happens. I’ve been blessed in my life, all the good things I got.”
UPDATE: Lugo will have arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury. In other news, the Red Sox officially announced the signing of Jon Lester.
Jonathan Robert Papelbon calls Manny a “Cancer”
March 12, 2009 by SOS · Leave a Comment
In an interview with “Esquire” Magazine Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon called Manny Ramirez a “cancer” for forcing his way out of town last year. Just when you thought you could put the Manny saga behind the Red Sox, Curt Schilling Jr. has to run his mouth. Now the Red Sox will have to continue to talk about Manny again. Just move on from this, please, I’m begging you. More from the interview with Papelbon:
“It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that’s exactly what was happening,” Papelbon said, according to the magazine. “Once we saw that, we weren’t afraid to get rid of him. It’s like cancer. That’s what he was. Cancer. He had to go. It [stunk], but that was the only scenario that was going to work. That was it for us.”
“He was on a different train!” Papelbon said of Ramirez, according to Esquire. “And you saw what happened with that. We got rid of him, and we moved on without him. That comes from the manager, and it comes from guys likeJason Varitek and Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz. Nobody is ever going to be allowed to do that.”
“So Manny was tough for us,” Papelbon added, according to the story. “You have somebody like him, you know at any point in the ball game, he can dictate the outcome of the game. And for him not to be on the same page as the rest of the team was a killer, man!”
Red Sox Extend Jon Lester
Yahoo Sports is reporting that the Red Sox have extended Jon Lester for 5 years at $30 Million with a team option for $13 million in 2014. Lester was the Red Sox most consistent starter last year and pitched a no-hitter. Lester is only 25 years old and I think this is a very smart signing for the Red Sox. My only worry is that Josh Beckett’s contract/extension becomes an issue before the season ends. Lester won 16 games in ‘08 and should only continue to improve going forward. The Sox are trying to ensure the future success of the franchise by signing the young stars to team friendly extensions.
Hall of Fame…..Who Cares?
March 2, 2009 by SOS · Leave a Comment
By DanTeeMan
As an ardent Red Sox fan for over 30 years, it may shock some of my fellow pinstripe pimps that the recent A-Rod allegations actually bring no joy to Mud-ville…er Fenway. Its only a matter of time before one of our beloved Old Towne Team members appear holding a syringe or are associated with with a south of the border pharmaceutical rep selling muscles from the backseat of their Chrysler Cordova. We are all just waiting for that proverbial syringe to drop. So that brings up the point of the Hall of Fame from this point on. How can we really know when the cheating commenced, and when it stopped? If the Russian women swimmers were using steroids in the 70’s, than how do we know Rollie Fingers wasn’t dipping his waxed mustache in steriod laced vaseline? Or Rod Carew wasn’t chewing on juiced chaw? How can we be certain that baseball is clean now? There is no reliable test for HGH, so why would any player be hesitant to use it until there is one. The answers are easy…We can’t, and they won’t… So I see no need to induct any further members into this hallowed “Hall of Fame”. We can’t be certain who to include or exclude so lets just exclude everyone. When was the last time you had a discussion of who belonged in the hall of fame with one of your buddies over a cold lager? Could you name more than 15 players in the HOF? Have you ever visited the HOF? These answers to these questions are probably “never”,”no”, and “no” for most fans. They simply don’t care. The only people who care about the HOF are sportswriters trying to fill up collumns and airspace on sports radio, during the deadest months of the sports year..February and March….I say tear it down and put up a GNC for A-Rod to buy his supplements in so he doesn’t have to have his cousin buy them in the Domincan Republic. Think of the gas money he will save?
Question comments? DanTeeMan@gmail.com
“Dinner for One” thinking about a return
America’s least favorite overweight loud mouth, not named Rush Limbaugh, is thinking about pitching in 2009. Schilling said this on ESPN radio:
But if Curt Schilling returns to pitch this season in the major leagues, a comeback likely could involve the American League-champion Tampa Bay Rays or Chicago Cubs.
“The challenge would be in a place like Tampa Bay or Chicago,” the free agent said Saturday in Orlando, Fla.
Schilling, who sat out the 2008 season after undergoing shoulder surgery, said he hasn’t made a decision on coming back.
Schilling was in Florida attending ESPN The Weekend festivities at Walt Disney World.
“I’m hemming and hawing right now,” he said. “I’ll make a decision in the next couple of weeks.”
Schilling put the chances of his return at 20 percent Friday.
“I’m pretty sure I’m not going to, but I’m not positive,” he said, speaking to ESPN Radio’s Erik Kuselias on the “Tirico & Van Pelt” show. “I don’t have to make a decision yet, and I’m just not sure if I want to.”
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry wouldn’t specify whether his team would be interested in Schilling, but he sounded optimistic when discussing the prospect of the 20-year veteran’s return with the Chicago Tribune.
“We’ll always keep our eye on anybody we think can help us,” Hendry told the newspaper. “I have a lot of respect for him. Great pitcher. Great big-game pitcher.”
Schilling, who has a 216-146 career record, declined Friday to say exactly when he would announce his decision.
“I’ll figure it out when I need to figure it out,” he said.
Random Updates
February 25, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
- I placed my first ever order from VistaPrint.com. I got some custom checks. The designs where good but the price was even better, it fit right into my budget.
New Manny Tell All Coming out Soon – Becoming Manny
February 12, 2009 by Mike · Leave a Comment
This might be the surprise of the century, Manny is authorizing a new book to tell his side of the story. It will be available, soon. From BecomingManny.com here is an excerpt from the book:
Selfish Slugger?
Who is Manny Ramirez?
Reduce Manny to a series of stats, and it’s easy to see who he is: one of the best batters in history. A twelve-time All- Star and nine-time Silver Slugger, Manny ranks seventeenth in career home runs and eighth in career slugging as of this writing. The only players above him on both lists are Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, and Barry Bonds. Manny is also second all-time in gram slams, behind only Lou Gehrig, and has hit more postseason home runs than anyone in the history of professional baseball. He still appears to have several years of baseball ahead of him.
But if you skip the stats, the question “Who is Manny?” gets confusing, controversial, and cultural. A favorite target of reporters and talk show pundits, Manny’s every misstep is exhaustively analyzed and then reduced to “Manny being Manny.” This oblique phrase has come to provide a shared wink of explanation for a player whose laser-beam focus at home plate seems irreconcilable with his periodic gaffes (or “Manny Moments”) in left field and outside the ballpark.
The history of the phrase “Manny being Manny” in the popular press provides a series of thumbnail portraits of Manny at his most bizarre and intriguing, and a catalogue of the baseball world’s struggles to understand him.
Its first mention in a major publication came in 1995, when Cleveland Indians’ manager Mike Hargrove was asked about the young slugger’s carefree-bordering-on-careless approach to money.
How do you explain Manny and Dominican teammate Julian Tavarez asking a Cleveland sportswriter to loan them $60,000, so they could buy a Harley-Davidson motorcycle? And what about forgetting a paycheck in a pair of boots he left behind in the Texas Rangers visiting clubhouse?
“That’s just Manny being Manny,” Hargrove told a Newsday reporter.
Several years later, a Cleveland sportswriter used the phrase to account for why Manny’s old New York City neighborhood still adored him — because of how he showed up at his old high school cafeteria unannounced almost daily in the off-seasons to eat lunch with kids, and in spite of how he forgot promises to childhood friends to leave game tickets at the stadium box offices. But the phrase became less clearly defined after Manny moved to the Boston Red Sox in 2000, and its use grew with the city’s fascination and ultimate disillusionment with their star slugger.
It has been invoked in print and online tens of thousands of times since 2000 as a shorthand explanation for Manny’s mysterious injuries, his absences, his tardiness, his indiscriminate use of other players’ bats and clothing, his silence in the clubhouse, his quiet acts of kindness to friends, his choice of an expletive-riddled song to play over Boston’s Fenway Park sound system, his childlike playfulness, his midinning break inside Fenway’s left-field wall, his failure to show up at the White House to meet President George W. Bush after the Red Sox won the world championship, and, yes, his towering home runs and unparalleled work ethic.
Manny is partly to blame for the mystery. He rarely grants interviews, and reporters who manage to breach his defenses are rewarded with little more than clichés or incendiary oneliners.
So, with little to go on but fielding miscues, baggy uniforms, flowing dreadlocks, big hits, and tired anecdotes, the public is left with caricatures of Manny as a carefree goofball and spoiled superstar.
Yet the question of who Manny really is endures, baffling his most ardent admirers and even some of his teammates. In fact, it was never more pressing than during the 2008 season, in the days before the Boston Red Sox traded Manny to the Los Angeles Dodgers, his third team in seventeen years as a professional. Manny’s dispute with Red Sox ownership over his future — and questions about his commitment to the team — convinced many once-adoring fans that he was selfish.
The day after the trade, Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell told the Providence Journal, “For me, he’s a sure first-ballot Hall of Famer, and when he gives his speech, he’ll probably give it via satellite because he’ll be in Brazil. That’s him and that’ll be perfect. He’ll be wearing a Brazilian National Team hat when he does it.”
Lowell’s distinction between malice and oddity is insightful. On many levels, Manny and Boston were a mismatch from the start. Nothing excuses Manny’s shoving of sixty-four-year-old traveling secretary Jack McCormick, and perhaps Manny didn’t give the Red Sox his best in 2008. Still, there were reasons for his frustration. And one could argue that if Manny had behaved this way in 2004, the Red Sox front office, not yet emboldened by two championships in four seasons, would have found a way to weather the storm.
If Manny had finished his career in Boston — or simply departed under more amicable circumstances — the grandchildren of today’s vociferous fans might have even driven through the Manny Ramirez tunnel. That may sound farfetched, but Manny’s comments in advance of his exit are comparable to those of Red Sox legend Ted Williams, whose name graces the recently constructed highway that runs under Boston Harbor.
In fact, Williams was so embittered by his years of acrimony with the Boston press, Red Sox management, and fans that he refused to even tip his cap after his final hit. Manny’s “enough is enough” comment, directed to the Red Sox management in the middle of the 2008 season when tensions were at their peak, was less acerbic than Williams’s vituperations. As Leigh Montville described in Ted Williams:
[Williams] said he wanted to be traded. He said he hated Boston, hated the fans, hated the newspapers, hated the trees, hated the weather, hated, just hated. The word “fuck” or some derivative was woven into most sentences. He wanted out. And for most of Williams’ tenure on the team, Boston hated him right back.
Manny’s badmouthing was mild by comparison. Moreover, there is consistency in his teammates’ and coaches’ characterizations of him as a hardworking team player. He was, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, “everybody’s little brother” in his early years and, recently, has been more of a role model and source of support to younger players than he’s generally credited for. “He was a mentor to me,” says Red Sox shortstop Julio Lugo, three years his junior. “When I went through tough times, he knew that I had trouble sleeping so he would call me early in the morning, when he knew I’d be awake, and he’d say, ‘Look, don’t worry about it, man. You’re going to do good today.’ That meant a lot to me. There’s no one like Manny.”“To be honest,” says Pedro Martinez, “I don’t have enough kind words to say about Manny. I think he’s misunderstood.”
But Manny’s teammates are not the only ones capable of shedding light on the vexing question of who Manny is. Conversations with Manny and his coaches, agents, mentors, parents, wife, sisters, and childhood friends, as well as side trips to his neighborhoods, show that he cannot be reduced to a caricature. They illuminate a nuanced, if inscrutable, man who defines himself by what he is least known as — a dedicated athlete, a wellregarded teammate, and a beloved father, husband, and son.
Among the mentors in Manny’s life were his sandlot coach, Mel Zitter, and his then Triple-A manager, Charlie Manuel. But none have been more influential than his former Little League coach, Carlos Ferreira. In his neighborhood, Ferreira is endearingly known as “Macaco” — Spanish for little monkey. A thoughtful, charismatic man who left a medical career in the Dominican Republic to immigrate to the U.S. in 1979, Macaco, now fifty-nine, has coached several Little League teams in the baseball-crazed Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. He was — and he remains — a de facto father to many aspiring Dominican players.
The story of how Manny came to rely on this gentle, unassuming coach — from their first encounter in the basement of a Washington Heights housing project to their ongoing, daily conversations — is a window into Manny’s development and his hidden essence: his vulnerabilities, his values, his uncomplicated worldview, and what it really means to be Manny.
But to understand the story of Manny and Macaco, we first need to understand another story: that of Manny’s early life with his parents, Aristides and Onelcida, and his three sisters.
Copyright © 2009 by Jean Rhodes and Shawn Boburg
Also the Inside Track in the Boston Herald is sharing Manny’s side of the Jack McCormick story:
“Jack [McCormick] disrespected Manny for many years and on many occasions,” Ramirez’s former agent Gene Mato says in the new, authorized biography “Becoming Manny.” Manny’s bride, Juliana, added that her husband’s request for tickets to a Sox-Astros game was for fewer seats than the 16 cited in media reports. “Jack’s response was very rude,” she recalled. “And Jack had a history of insulting Manny in front of the other players… The team management didn’t have his back,. They gave him up to the press instead of protecting one of their own players.”