Postgame, 7-4: A couple of quick notes as we prepare to move into the first and only off-day of the Grapefruit League slate.
J.D. Drew left this game because he has been under the weather. “His head’s a little clogged,” Terry Francona said.
Drew will be just fine with a day away from the park, which will be used up by almost everybody. One of the exceptions, of course, is Adrian Gonzalez. He will DH over at the minor league complex Wednesday. Francona said his first baseman will get as many at-bats as he needs as he gets his first back-to-back action of the spring.
Look for a report from the player development complex tomorrow. Until then, thanks for following along. The next game is Thursday in Jupiter against Florida.
Final, Rays 7-4: Time to make some moves! The Red Sox have dropped six in a row by a combined score of 43-19, and surely the front office is scrambling.
I jest, of course, and I’m sure Terry Francona is not concerned. Heading down to hear from him right now. Back in a bit to wrap it all up for you.
Mid 9th, Rays 7-4: Three hits and an error give the Rays an insurance run off Randy Williams in the ninth.
Paul Hoover will look to ignite things in the bottom half like only he can.
End 8th, Rays 6-4: Winless in their last eight spring training games against the Rays (it’s true, they are 0-7-1), the Red Sox are rallying to end the streak.
Aaron Bates, who had a bad error earlier in the game, just launched a three-run shot down the line in right.
Randy Williams will pitch the ninth.
Mid 8th, Rays 6-1: Bobby Jenks remains unscored upon in six Grapefruit League innings.
For those of you keeping track, the run off Dennys Reyes in the seventh was unearned. He has given up one earned run in his eight innings of work. Still, he lacked sharpness, giving up a hit, a walk and hitting a batter on a pitch that bounced about 10 feet in front of the plate and then caught the player on the leg.
9:27 p.m.: Upon return to the press box, Bobby Jenks jogs on to pitch the eighth inning of a 6-1 game.
John Lackey said he felt great physically. He wanted to be able to get up and down seven times instead of six, but “stuff-wise I feel like I’m ready to go.”
He was not too concerned with the five runs, saying one of his home runs came on a pretty good pitch and the other was just a young kid sitting on a fastball.
We will have a little more on Lackey in a postgame take on the night later on.
9:10 p.m.: An error has just allowed the Rays to tack on another run and Dennys Reyes is not sharp. Meanwhile, we are off to hear from John Lackey. Back soon.
End 6th, Rays 5-1: David Price is just about set for the regular season. He has seven strikeouts in six innings, fanning Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth.
Kevin Youkilis was hit by a pitch in the right arm/shoulder. He was not pleased, but was given some relief when Drew Sutton went in to run for him. That is just one part of wholesale changes for the Red Sox.
The only one really worth noting is that Dennys Reyes, firmly entrenched in a fight for a bullpen job, is now on to pitch.
Mid 6th, Rays 5-1: Michael Bowden fails to keep his inherited runner from scoring, closing the books on John Lackey.
Lackey gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four, gave up two home runs, hit a batter and threw 57-of-96 pitches for strikes.
8:43 p.m.: Manny Ramirez reached base all three times he faced John Lackey. First, he had the two walks, and in the sixth he ripped a leadoff single to center.
Ramirez simply wears out Lackey.
Lackey might not be a happy camper after this one. Not only did he struggle a bit, but he did not love the strike zone of home plate umpire Fieldin Culbreth and Dan Johnson, who already took him deep, was granted time twice as Lackey begins his delivery.
Lackey is never one to hide his emotions on the mound and his body language has shown some disgust, particularly when Johnson stepped out.
Anyway, after Ramirez was replaced by a pinch runner, Johnson took Lackey to the warning track in right. That was his last batter of the game. Michael Bowden is on to try to strand the runner.
End 5th, Rays 4-1: Marco Scutaro hit into a double play for the second time in this one and Jacoby Ellsbury struck out. That, and Jason Varitek’s second single of the night, is about all that was notable in the bottom of the fifth.
Ryan Kalish is in center field now. Jeremy Hazelbaker is in right.
Mid 5th, Rays 4-1: A single, hit batter and double by Ben Zobrist leads to another run for the Rays, and John Lackey is fortunate it wasn’t worse.
Jose Lobaton, who was hit by the pitch, would’ve scored easily if the double by Zobrist had not hopped the wall in center.
Then, Lobaton got caught heading home on a grounder to Dustin Pedroia. Another good defensive play to bail out Lackey.
One note on a position change. J.D. Drew, who made a nice leaping grab an inning ago, was replaced in right field by Ryan Kalish in the fifth. Not sure if that leap caused something to be strained.
End 4th, Rays 3-1: The great thing about this stage of spring training is that there are many more moments when it feels like the real thing again.
The bottom of fourth offered up one such moment. The Red Sox loaded the bases against David Price on a double by Dustin Pedroia and walks to Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez.
Price then went to 3-2 on David Ortiz, and with flashbulbs popping (that is such a 1940s kinda statement, isn’t it?), Price blew away Ortiz with a fastball.
J.D. Drew then hit one up the middle that second baseman Sean Rodriguez bobbled but recovered in time to get the force at second.
Kevin Youkilis also struck out in the inning. He is now hitting .200 (8-for-40) with nine strikeouts this spring.
Mid 4th, Rays 3-1: Some outstanding defense helps John Lackey work around a leadoff walk to Manny Ramirez (see prior notes on their matchups).
Dan Johnson, moments after really getting under Lackey’s skin by stepping out and calling time on what could’ve been strike three, hit a sharp one-hopper that Dustin Pedroia speared with a flourish and flipped to Marco Scutaro for a 4-6-3 DP.
B.J. Upton then took Lackey the other way with a liner toward the corner. J.D. Drew sprinted and timed his leap perfectly to snare the final out. Good stuff there by two outstanding defenders.
End 3rd, Rays 3-1: A good sign for J.D. Drew as he gets a base hit off a dominant lefty to begin the third.
Drew took David Price the other way for the first Red Sox hit, moved to third on a Jason Varitek single and then scored when Marco Scutaro hit into a double play.
Mid 3rd, Rays 3-0: It’s spring training and John Lackey has looked extremely strong this month, so it doesn’t mean too much that the Rays have two home runs in three innings against him, the latest a solo shot by catcher Jose Lobaton in the third.
However, Lackey had some minor issues with the Rays last year. He gave up 16 runs on 34 hits in 23 innings against them, good for a 6.26 ERA. Much of that came in a Patriot’s Day stinker, but it could be something to watch, especially with the way Manny Ramirez (.394) and Johnny Damon (.360) have abused him over the years.
Manny will lead off the fourth. He was at the plate when Matt Joyce was thrown out by Jason Varitek trying to steal second.
End 2nd, Rays 2-0: David Price cruises through the heart of the Red Sox lineup in the second.
He got Kevin Youkilis on a strikeout, Adrian Gonzalez on a grounder to short and David Ortiz on a fly to right.
Whenever I see David Price going forward I’m going to think about the start he made against the Red Sox in Tampa last year in which he threw almost nothing but fastballs and was dominant. His second off-speed pitch didn’t come until the fifth inning and 100 of his 111 pitches were heaters. It was something to behold.
Mid 2nd, Rays 2-0: We mentioned an inning ago that Manny Ramirez has drawn 10 walks (to go along with 13 hits) in just 43 regular season plate appearances against John Lackey.
Ramirez just worked the second walk of the spring given up by Lackey (in 17 2/3 innings), and Dan Johnson followed with a two-run bomb to right field.
Lackey recovered to get the next three outs. He ended the inning with a strikeout of Sean Rodriguez.
End 1st, 0-0: Carl Crawford’s first ever matchup with former teammate David Price results in a grounder to first, the culmination of a quick inning for Price.
Price is facing the Red Sox for the first time this spring. If you recall, he had to leave a Grapefruit League matchup at City of Palms Park last year after Adrian Beltre’s broken bat caught him on the right hand, inducing a laceration.
By my recollection, that was the last time he was on the mound at this place.
Mid 1st, 0-0: When John Lackey is right, his innings can pass with barely a notice.
The first inning was one such frame. Lackey got a grounder to second, a strikeout and a foul pop that Jason Varitek caught inches from the Rays dugout.
Manny Ramirez leads off the second. He is 13-for-33 (.394) with five home runs, three doubles and 10 walks in his career against Lackey.
6:45 p.m.: Just about 20 minutes from the first pitch on another spectacular night in Fort Myers. Again, not to rub anything in, but the weather has been picture perfect this spring.
I promised some Joe Maddon thoughts on Manny Ramirez, who just got a bear hug from David Ortiz in center field, much to the delight of the fans (one woman yelled out “Awwww, that is so cute!”. Since Maddon is such a great guy to listen to, I’ll just let his words speak for themselves.
When asked about what he’s learned about Manny this spring:
“He’s really easy to talk to. He’s very animate in regards to his season and how he wanted to play and where he wanted to take it to and how excited he was and all those things. Getting to know him and looking in his eyes he seemed to be very sincere.
“As a player, really definitely a student of hitting and a bright student, actually maybe a teacher at this point. One of the better workers in camp, gets there earlier than everybody else, I mean, he’s already volunteered for service that I haven’t even asked him to do. So he’s a guy that I think really understands that it’s important to go out this year and re-establish himself in some areas. I think he’s bright enough to know that, too.
“I think he probably has some personal goals he wants to attain in the next couple of years and I like to think that the Rays can benefit from that motivation. As of right now I find him very interesting. Our conversations are very easy. I’ve enjoyed him.”
On whether Ramirez having a clean slate is a good thing:
“Everyone comes with a clean slate. To me, I honestly hear things and talk to people about things and I understand that it’s difficult for people to change at a certain time in their life. I understand that, too. But, who knows how the urban legend builds or what was the motivation behind it. For me, I’m just more concerned about getting to know someone first.
“I’m not saying I’m better than anyone, I’m just saying that I have to go about it my way before I draw my own conclusions. I’ve always been that way. As a minor league evaluator it was very important because too many times people judge people’s ability based on their likes or dislikes as a person, which is a really bad way to go about your business. I learned a lot of lessons back then. You have to separate how you feel about somebody personally.
“With Manny, I’m just trying to get to know him better and get to know him personally, just understand where he’s at in his career physically. It’s been really interesting and I enjoy it and I want to believe it’s going to remain the way it is now. I’m sure there will be moments throughout the year like there are with everybody, but it’s up to us and to me personally to draw our own conclusions about him.”
Good stuff.
5:47 p.m.: Just heard from Joe Maddon, who spent about eight minutes on baseball and several more on wines from Walla Walla, Washington. Always fun when he pays a visit.
Maddon shared a few interesting tidbits on Manny Ramirez, which I’ll share with you in a bit.
You may see some news on Adrian Gonzalez and his agent, John Boggs, who is in town to meet with Red Sox brass.
Yours truly was dealing with an issue on the homefront when Boggs met with reporters in the stands at City of Palms Park, but for a reference to the impending extension, view a note from The Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo.
Have seen two Manny Red Sox T-shirts and just spoke with a woman who grew up near Terry Francona in Pennsylvania and wanted me to get her on the field for autographs. Yeah, I’ll get right on that.
3:48 p.m.: A few housekeeping items to pass on here.
Wednesday is the one and only off-day in the schedule for the Red Sox in Florida. They have another March 31 before the opener, but that is after they’ve already played an exhibition game in Houston, so for all intents and purposes tomorrow is a unique day down here.
We are about 99 percent sure Adrian Gonzalez will head to the minor league camp and get in a game as a DH down there on Wednesday. Certainly, if he feels anything after tonight’s game that could change, but as Terry Francona said this afternoon, “They’re all set for him.”
Gonzalez is making the short trek in order to get his first set of back-to-back days all spring, or at least some semblance of it. Francona doesn’t want to take him on the long trip to Jupiter for a Thursday afternoon meeting with Florida, so this 1B-DH combo at the two camps is the best way to get him consecutive days until there are two straight night games at home Friday and Saturday.
Darnell McDonald, who left Tuesday’s game in Clearwater early when he felt something in his surgically repaired right thumb, is just fine, according to Francona:
“He’s much improved. He’s not going to play tonight, he’ll have the day off tomorrow…he’s fine. He can play. He could’ve played yesterday just don’t think it made a lot of sense.”
As for that trip to Jupiter on Thursday, Clay Buchholz is getting the start. He will be stretched out to his spring training high in terms of pitches, so the available innings for relievers are scarce. That will be the case in most games this week. In order to ensure that the boys in the bullpen get their work in, the minor league camp will come into play a bit more.
Andrew Miller, Rich Hill and Scott Atchison are expected to make the trip to Jupiter. Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima are slated to throw Thursday in a minor league game.
Some of this could change, but that’s the tentative plan as we get near the end here.
As for where he stands on those final bullpen spots, Francona insists it is still up in the air, but a rough plan will be laid out as early as Tuesday night as to how to proceed going forward.
“After the game, Curt and I, Theo and the guys from the front office will sit and kinda talk, not just talk about how we feel about things, but maybe map out the last few days,” Francona said. “We’re getting to a point where innings are at a premium so certainly there are going to have to be innings down at the minor league complex, innings in big league games. Just sit and map it out a little bit.”
Francona stressed that there is no set date for the 25-man roster to be established. It could come before the team travels to Houston for that exhibition game, or the day after, an off-day before the opener April 1 at Texas. As it stands, several extra guys will travel to Houston since there will not be any need to play (pitch) too many regulars. Expect to see about seven different pitchers in that one, some of whom may still be fighting for a roster spot.
Lastly, Felix Doubront will probably pitch in a simulated game soon. He threw 30 pitches in two innings of simulation Monday afternoon as he works his way back from some elbow issues.
3:40 p.m.: As we watch the Red Sox take a rare infield/outfield practice, we await the arrival of Manny Ramirez and the still-dangerous (I contend) Tampa Bay Rays.
Here is their lineup against John Lackey tonight:
Ben Zobrist, 1B
Matt Joyce, RF
Evan Longoria, 3B
Manny Ramirez, LF
Dan Johnson, DH
B.J. Upton, CF
Reid Brignac, SS
Sean Rodriguez, 2B
Jose Lobaton, C
Will have a few news and notes for you in just a few minutes.
2:39 p.m.: Greetings from City of Palms Park, which is winding down its history with the Red Sox. Only four games left here before the club moves on — it will play at a new facility next spring.
This one should offer up some interesting sights. For one, Manny Ramirez is expected to make the trip for the Tampa Bay Rays. Obviously, he has spent plenty of time in this park.
Also, David Price is on the mound for the Rays. Here is the lineup that will face him:
Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Carl Crawford, LF
Kevin Youkilis, 3B
Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
David Ortiz, DH
J.D. Drew, RF
Jason Varitek, C
Marco Scutaro, SS
8 a.m.: The Red Sox will get their first look this spring at Tampa Bay Rays ace David Price when they host their American League East rivals on Tuesday night at City of Palms Park.
Price was the runner-up in the AL Cy Young Award voting after going 19-6 with a 2.72 ERA in 2010. He was 2-1 with a 2.61 mark in three starts vs. Boston. The lefty has given up six runs on nine hits and six walks in 12 innings this spring.
He will be opposed by John Lackey. The veteran has been perhaps the team’s best starter in camp, yielding just three runs and walking only one batter in 15 2/3 innings.
First pitch is 7:05 p.m.
