March 18, 2008

30-Man Japan Roster Almost Set

The Red Sox are allowed to take 30 players to Japan, but only 25 can be active at any time. The team announced today that Coco Crisp and Bobby Kielty will be going (as will Curt Schilling, though he won't be playing).
01 Ortiz
02 Varitek
03 Youkilis
04 Pedroia
05 Lowell
06 Lugo
07 Ramirez
08 Ellsbury
09 Drew

10 Cash
11 Casey
12 Cora
13 Crisp
14 Kielty
15 Brown
16 Lowrie
17 Moss

18 Matsuzaka
19 Lester
20 Wakefield
21 Buchholz
22 Snyder

23 Tavarez
24 Timlin
25 Delcarmen
26 Okajima
27 Papelbon

28 Aardsma
29 Lopez
30 Corey
31 Breslow
One of the final four (or final two?) will be left behind. ... Moss, Lowrie and Brown will be back in Pawtucket for the AAA opener on April 3.

Jon Lester will not travel with his teammates. He'll pitch in a minor league game Thursday, leave Florida that night, and arrive in Tokyo on Saturday.

Clay Buchholz threw 53 pitches in four hitless innings for Pawtucket against Indianapolis (Pirates) yesterday (4-0-0-1-3). Using his two-seam fastball, he threw first-pitch strikes to 9-of-15 batters. The PawSox lost 5-2.

Josh Beckett threw from 120 feet. Francona: "He hasn't been down long enough where he's lost any arm strength. We don't want to do anything crazy, but he had another really good day."

Beckett will throw a bullpen session on Thursday and pitch in a minor league game (35 pitches) Saturday or Sunday. His next outing -- 50-55 pitches -- will be five days later.

Optioned to Pawtucket: Ps Craig Hansen and Lincoln Holdzkom, C George Kottaras and 1B/OF Chris Carter.

Daisuke Matsuzaka says his wife wanted him to go to Japan, but he wanted to be present for the birth of his second child.
I talked to Tito and he suggested I head up to Boston [Friday night] and speak to my wife in person. I just happened to be home for that, and my son came along [Saturday]. So he's a very good boy. ... If I could pitch well for him, that would be great.
Johnny Damon, on the CF battle between Coco Crisp and Jacoby Ellsbury: "I still think I'm a pretty tough person to replace."

16 comments:

Pokerwolf said...

"I still think I'm a pretty tough person to replace."

Has anyone actually thought, "We'd be a lot better if Damon was playing for us" since he's been gone?

Anyone?

allan said...

You remember what Damon's father (or was it his brother?) said when Noodle Arm signed with the Yankees?

He said that for Boston, it would be like losing Babe Ruth all over again!

Seriously.

He said that.

Babe Ruth Redux.

...

Though he didn't actually say "redux".

Because that entire family are morons.

Jack Marshall said...

Actually, Johnny, we could replace you as a centerfielder pretty well with a noodle-armed cinderblock. And the cinderblock could take you in Scrabble....

Patrick said...

The guy is a total stooge. Last year he hit a HR in a sox-yankees game at the toilet bowl. It was a 286ft home run. But he didn't let that get him down, when asked about it after the game he said "I'm Johnny F*&$ing Damon"

Fantastic

allan said...

Here's another Q for everyone:

There are many bits of info in this post. Is this good or would it be better if it was broken up into several smaller posts -- roster in one, Josh in another, Clay in another, Noodle silliness in another, etc. -- a la Baseball Musings?

I don't have tags/labels -- so maybe it doesn't matter.

allan said...

Baseball Musings.

Zenslinger said...

The only reason something in a post like this should be broken out is if it seems like it might be very important later on. Otherwise, it's just a daily news digest which I'm glad to be able to browse through.

laura k said...

I agree with Zen.

Benjamin said...

As long as you don't start hiding content behind a cut, I'm happy.

Amy said...

Me, too (agree with Zen). Plus it's easier than clicking on multiple posts....

Patrick said...

The format is fine, except when you end it with a Johnny Damon quote, and then I forget everything I just read.

andy said...

There should be one post per season and it just grows and grows.

laura k said...

There should be one post per season and it just grows and grows.

This cracked me up.

Unknown said...

damon needs to just shut up.

fyi...came across a pretty great preview of the 08 team. good read.

http://mlbfleecefactor.com/2008/03/18/the-2008-boston-red-sox-dynasty/

9casey said...

Wasn't Johnny just bein Johnny???

Trying to be funny.....
I don't think he meant any disrespect to red sox fans everywhere....

SoSock said...

Man, what is it?
Does becoming a member of the Skankies just automatically turn you into a blowhard?
They say tems will develop the persona of their leadership (my LLers are doomed!), I guess this just proves it.