Red Sox manager Terry Francona implied this afternoon that the Red Sox will carry just two catchers in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim but that George Kottaras will accompany the team on the road and Dusty Brown will be assigned to Fort Myers, Fla., just to keep him sharp.
"That gives us a guy that's been with us all year with us," Francona said, "and a guy that we think is a good defensive catcher continuing to catch so if we run into a problem with all these crazy start times, we have one guy with us and one guy preparing to be with us.
"Hopefully, we can make a choice, but sometimes with all these schedules are and with everything on the West coast, we have everything covered there."
A reporter asked Francona if Kottaras would be allowed to catch in the bullpen if he's not on the roster, and Francona gave no indication that Kottaras was a consideration to be on the roster.
"It's like a gentleman's agreement -- and the league is OK with it -- that you have (inactive) guys on the bench," Francona said. "You're allowed to have them there. I need to check about (the bullpen). That, actually, I don't know. If he is, we'd like him to do it. I don't know if they're allowed or not. It's not really a competitive advantage, but sometimes they have rules in play. (If they're on) the DL, you can't. We'll check."
The key phrase there is the one in the middle: "If he is (allowed to catch in the bullpen), we'd like him to do it."
That certainly makes it sound as if Kottaras will not be active as a third catcher.
That leaves only Victor Martinez and Jason Varitek as active catchers on the Red Sox roster for that series. The Red Sox carried three catchers against the Angels a year ago but seem to have settled on two catchers for this series. Could that mean new life for Manny Delcarmen? It certainly could.
***
Junichi Tazawa will accompany the team to California for Games 1 and 2 but go home to Japan from there. Tazawa, on the 60-day disabled list, isn't eligible for the roster, but the team wanted him to experience the postseason just a little bit before going home for the winter.
Brian Anderson and Joey Gathright both will accompany the team to Los Angeles. One of the two likely will make the roster, but it's hard to believe both will. Josh Reddick will join the team if J.D. Drew's shoulder is still an issue; if not, he'll go to Fort Myers to stay sharp just in case.
Pitchers Fernando Cabrera, Hunter Jones and Dustin Richardson all will head home at the conclusion of the season, but Michael Bowden will throw in Fort Myers in case the Red Sox need him.
Showing posts with label brown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label brown. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Red Sox might have a postseason utility guy
You don't have to wonder how badly Jed Lowrie wants to be part of the Red Sox roster in the postseason.
"That's why I'm here," he said. "That's why I've done everything I have up to this point. I want to be part of this. From everything I've been told, the only way my wrist is going to get better is with rest. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't."
The way Lowrie played on Wednesday -- assuming he still feels OK in the morning -- might be the most significant result from an otherwise totally meaningless blowout, a blowout so meaningless Rocco Baldelli played third base and Dusty Brown pitched.
(Sidebar: Brown felt right at home in the ninth inning: He was a closer at Yavapai Community College, his repertoire featuring a fastball in the low 90s and a slider, and he even blew a fastball past Randy Ruiz for his first career major-league strikeout.)
(Sidebar: Baldelli, on the other hand, was so out of place at third base he had to borrow a glove from Kevin Youkilis and a cup from Mike Lowell. But his technique wasn't awful: "On a foul ball into the stands, he had a quick jab step," Lowell said by way of critique. "His reactions looked good. I was actually hoping for him to get an easy, two-hop ground ball, but I think it's better that he didn't get anything.")
Lowrie, though, hit lefthanded in a major-league game for the first time since early August -- and he seemed to come through OK. Nothing else seemed to be an issue. He could hit righthanded. He could field. He could throw. He even could get dirty going to his left and to his right and come up making strong throws.
All he hadn't done, though, was hit lefthanded. It was a lefthanded checked swing that caused his first setback on Aug. 6, and it was another lefthanded checked swing that sidelined him for a week during his rehab stint at Triple-A Pawtucket.
He didn't check his swing against Halladay on Tuesday.
"The checked swing is something that aggravates it instantly," he said, "and the repetitive motion is something that builds up over time."
He couldn't deny a dull pain still lingers.
"It's more than just pain, too," he said. "It's that inflammation that comes into my wrist, and it's the same thing. But I am stronger. I'm able to take better swings. It's just a matter of fighting that inflammation. ...
"I can't say if there's more inflammation or less, but I know that it's there and I can feel it after I (have) three or four at-bats from the left side. Whether it's more than what was happening before, I can't tell you that, but it's there."
But it's something it seems he can play through -- and that gives him a leg up on Nick Green for a roster spot when the playoffs begin next week. He didn't get any hits but made a couple of athletic defensive plays at third base -- including a diving stop to rob catcher Rob Barajas of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning.
That actually was his third diving stop of the game. He didn't get enough strength or accuracy on his first two throws, though, to get outs.
"I felt pretty comfortable at third," he said. "The first throw got away from me just a touch, and I didn't quite get through it. The one that Vernon (Wells) hit down the line, I don't think I had a chance, anyway. That was fun. It was an opportunity to go out there and make some good plays."
His ability to play third base only increases his possible value to the Red Sox in the postseason. Should his wrist feel good in the morning, though, and should Nick Green not regain the lost strength in his leg, Lowrie might just sneak onto the 25-man playoff roster.
And by next season, knock on wood, he might just be 100 percent.
"Going into the offseason, if I do what I did last offseason, I think I'm going to feel like I did during spring training -- but have a structurally sound wrist as opposed to having a broken wrist," he said.
***
If you're interested in seeing your local Red Sox/Patriots reporter in action -- or, at least, sort of in action -- click here. Just to avoid any confusion, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and squirer of supermodels is the one on the left.
"That's why I'm here," he said. "That's why I've done everything I have up to this point. I want to be part of this. From everything I've been told, the only way my wrist is going to get better is with rest. If I didn't want to be here, I wouldn't."
The way Lowrie played on Wednesday -- assuming he still feels OK in the morning -- might be the most significant result from an otherwise totally meaningless blowout, a blowout so meaningless Rocco Baldelli played third base and Dusty Brown pitched.
(Sidebar: Brown felt right at home in the ninth inning: He was a closer at Yavapai Community College, his repertoire featuring a fastball in the low 90s and a slider, and he even blew a fastball past Randy Ruiz for his first career major-league strikeout.)
(Sidebar: Baldelli, on the other hand, was so out of place at third base he had to borrow a glove from Kevin Youkilis and a cup from Mike Lowell. But his technique wasn't awful: "On a foul ball into the stands, he had a quick jab step," Lowell said by way of critique. "His reactions looked good. I was actually hoping for him to get an easy, two-hop ground ball, but I think it's better that he didn't get anything.")
Lowrie, though, hit lefthanded in a major-league game for the first time since early August -- and he seemed to come through OK. Nothing else seemed to be an issue. He could hit righthanded. He could field. He could throw. He even could get dirty going to his left and to his right and come up making strong throws.
All he hadn't done, though, was hit lefthanded. It was a lefthanded checked swing that caused his first setback on Aug. 6, and it was another lefthanded checked swing that sidelined him for a week during his rehab stint at Triple-A Pawtucket.
He didn't check his swing against Halladay on Tuesday.
"The checked swing is something that aggravates it instantly," he said, "and the repetitive motion is something that builds up over time."
He couldn't deny a dull pain still lingers.
"It's more than just pain, too," he said. "It's that inflammation that comes into my wrist, and it's the same thing. But I am stronger. I'm able to take better swings. It's just a matter of fighting that inflammation. ...
"I can't say if there's more inflammation or less, but I know that it's there and I can feel it after I (have) three or four at-bats from the left side. Whether it's more than what was happening before, I can't tell you that, but it's there."
But it's something it seems he can play through -- and that gives him a leg up on Nick Green for a roster spot when the playoffs begin next week. He didn't get any hits but made a couple of athletic defensive plays at third base -- including a diving stop to rob catcher Rob Barajas of an extra-base hit in the fourth inning.
That actually was his third diving stop of the game. He didn't get enough strength or accuracy on his first two throws, though, to get outs.
"I felt pretty comfortable at third," he said. "The first throw got away from me just a touch, and I didn't quite get through it. The one that Vernon (Wells) hit down the line, I don't think I had a chance, anyway. That was fun. It was an opportunity to go out there and make some good plays."
His ability to play third base only increases his possible value to the Red Sox in the postseason. Should his wrist feel good in the morning, though, and should Nick Green not regain the lost strength in his leg, Lowrie might just sneak onto the 25-man playoff roster.
And by next season, knock on wood, he might just be 100 percent.
"Going into the offseason, if I do what I did last offseason, I think I'm going to feel like I did during spring training -- but have a structurally sound wrist as opposed to having a broken wrist," he said.
***
If you're interested in seeing your local Red Sox/Patriots reporter in action -- or, at least, sort of in action -- click here. Just to avoid any confusion, the Super Bowl-winning quarterback and squirer of supermodels is the one on the left.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Highlights of hazing
Because the Red Sox are departing on their final road trip, that means the team's group of rookies are enduring the indignity of dressing up in costumes for the trip to Baltimore. It's immature and it's juvenile, sure, but it's still relatively tame.
This year's theme? "The Wizard of Oz." The cast:
Dorothy: Junichi Tazawa, in a blue and white dress with knee socks. Daisuke Matsuzaka helped him zip up the dress in the back, a true example of a teammate helping a teammate look totally ridiculous.
Scarecrow: Dusty Brown, who put his costume on first and thus was probably the best sport about it. The outfit came with a tiny green hat, but there was no way he was going to get it to stay on.
Tin man: Michael Bowden, whose costume was more ridiculous -- and more revealing in the, shall we say, low-cut department -- than any of the others. He even had a little silver hat with a heart imprinted on it.
Lion: Daniel Bard, who even wore a little headband with ears.
Glinda, the Good Witch: Josh Reddick, who wore a fluffy blue dress and who was given a wand that had three -- that's right, three! -- light-up settings. Hours of entertainment for the plane right.
This year's theme? "The Wizard of Oz." The cast:
Dorothy: Junichi Tazawa, in a blue and white dress with knee socks. Daisuke Matsuzaka helped him zip up the dress in the back, a true example of a teammate helping a teammate look totally ridiculous.
Scarecrow: Dusty Brown, who put his costume on first and thus was probably the best sport about it. The outfit came with a tiny green hat, but there was no way he was going to get it to stay on.
Tin man: Michael Bowden, whose costume was more ridiculous -- and more revealing in the, shall we say, low-cut department -- than any of the others. He even had a little silver hat with a heart imprinted on it.
Lion: Daniel Bard, who even wore a little headband with ears.
Glinda, the Good Witch: Josh Reddick, who wore a fluffy blue dress and who was given a wand that had three -- that's right, three! -- light-up settings. Hours of entertainment for the plane right.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Green's highlight reel keeps growing
The last time Dusty Brown saw Nick Green, the catcher and shortstop both were longshots to make the Red Sox roster. Green had come to spring training as a nonroster invitee well behind Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo on the depth chart at shortstop. Brown had come to spring training with the big-league club for the third straight year -- and for the third straight year, he had virtually no shot to be anywhere on April 1 but Triple-A Pawtucket.
Green, as has been well-documented, ended up making the 25-man roster thanks to Lugo's knee surgery, and he stuck on the roster thanks to Lowrie's wrist surgery. Brown got his first call to the major leagues late Saturday night when Terry Francona and Theo Epstein realized they had a chance to add an extra catcher once Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list.
"He played so well in spring training, you hoped he would get a shot," Brown said, "and he did."
Brown, wearing an I'm-only-here-until-Thursday No. 59 on his back, was out in the bullpen warming up Manny Delcarmen when he heard a sharp crack of the bat on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning.
"I didn't even get a very good look at it," he said. "I heard it and the crowd started cheering, ... and the next thing I know, it gets louder and he's rounding the bases. It was cool."
That it was. In the Hollywood story that is the Red Sox career of Nick Green, it might not ever get any better than this.
Green himself, though, wasn't totally aware of what was going on. All he knew was that he'd seen a fastball he liked, and he'd taken his best whack at it. He knew he'd hit it pretty well, but a fierce wind blowing in all afternoon already had knocked down a couple of would-be home runs -- including a bullet to center field by Atlanta's Nate McLouth in the fifth inning and Casey Kotchman in the seventh.
"McLouth couldn't hit it any harder to right, and that's Casey Kotchman's best shot," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He crushed that ball."
Said Green, "The last thing I wanted to do was hit the ball in the air right there. The wind was so bad. I thought I hit it decent to right field, but I thought it was going to be caught."
Green actually helped himself by hitting it down the right-field line -- the wind wasn't quite as fierce there as it was in the alleys. He didn't know it was gone until he saw it settle into the bleachers behind the Pesky Pole.
But it wasn't until he looked back at home plate, where a mob of white jerseys were in a Father's Day frenzy, that it dawned on him what he'd really done.
"For some reason, I didn't comprehend it was the bottom of the ninth until I hit second base," said Green, who hit a walk-off home run for the Braves against the Red Sox five years ago. "Once I hit second, I saw everybody at home plate and realized what was going on."
He didn't even get his helmet off in time. David Ortiz -- who hit a home run himself, his sixth of the season -- has perfected the art of the helmet toss in the home stretch of his trot to the plate. Green, though, hasn't done it enough to know better -- and he got himself pummeled. He had his helmet on when he disappeared into the mob, but it was long gone by the time he emerged.
"I was hoping not to get hit, but I did," Green said. "I'm sure a couple of people enjoyed it -- Josh Beckett, for one."
Green had to have enjoyed it, too, even if he'll wake up with a couple of bruises on Monday morning. He hasn't just turned shortstop from a position of weakness for the Red Sox almost into a position of strength. He's made some very real contributions to a team that's as well-positioned to win the World Series as any in the game.
"We've talked a lot about the evolution of this from non-roster in spring training," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "It's gotten to the point where he's just been a really good player -- not just a really good non-roster player., but a really good major-league player, hopefully, on a winning team."
Walk-off or no walk-off, though, he still sees himself as that same guy who was fighting for everything he could get back in spring training. Heck, he still owns a "Rescue Squad" T-shirt.
"I still feel like I'm still filling a hole," he said. "It's one of those things where, if I get overconfident, I'm probably going to not do well. I still feel like I'm a utility guy at the moment. Except that I'm a shortstop, per se, I'm just going to do whatever job they want me to do."
Green, as has been well-documented, ended up making the 25-man roster thanks to Lugo's knee surgery, and he stuck on the roster thanks to Lowrie's wrist surgery. Brown got his first call to the major leagues late Saturday night when Terry Francona and Theo Epstein realized they had a chance to add an extra catcher once Daisuke Matsuzaka was placed on the disabled list.
"He played so well in spring training, you hoped he would get a shot," Brown said, "and he did."
Brown, wearing an I'm-only-here-until-Thursday No. 59 on his back, was out in the bullpen warming up Manny Delcarmen when he heard a sharp crack of the bat on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth inning.
"I didn't even get a very good look at it," he said. "I heard it and the crowd started cheering, ... and the next thing I know, it gets louder and he's rounding the bases. It was cool."
That it was. In the Hollywood story that is the Red Sox career of Nick Green, it might not ever get any better than this.
Green himself, though, wasn't totally aware of what was going on. All he knew was that he'd seen a fastball he liked, and he'd taken his best whack at it. He knew he'd hit it pretty well, but a fierce wind blowing in all afternoon already had knocked down a couple of would-be home runs -- including a bullet to center field by Atlanta's Nate McLouth in the fifth inning and Casey Kotchman in the seventh.
"McLouth couldn't hit it any harder to right, and that's Casey Kotchman's best shot," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "He crushed that ball."
Said Green, "The last thing I wanted to do was hit the ball in the air right there. The wind was so bad. I thought I hit it decent to right field, but I thought it was going to be caught."
Green actually helped himself by hitting it down the right-field line -- the wind wasn't quite as fierce there as it was in the alleys. He didn't know it was gone until he saw it settle into the bleachers behind the Pesky Pole.
But it wasn't until he looked back at home plate, where a mob of white jerseys were in a Father's Day frenzy, that it dawned on him what he'd really done.
"For some reason, I didn't comprehend it was the bottom of the ninth until I hit second base," said Green, who hit a walk-off home run for the Braves against the Red Sox five years ago. "Once I hit second, I saw everybody at home plate and realized what was going on."
He didn't even get his helmet off in time. David Ortiz -- who hit a home run himself, his sixth of the season -- has perfected the art of the helmet toss in the home stretch of his trot to the plate. Green, though, hasn't done it enough to know better -- and he got himself pummeled. He had his helmet on when he disappeared into the mob, but it was long gone by the time he emerged.
"I was hoping not to get hit, but I did," Green said. "I'm sure a couple of people enjoyed it -- Josh Beckett, for one."
Green had to have enjoyed it, too, even if he'll wake up with a couple of bruises on Monday morning. He hasn't just turned shortstop from a position of weakness for the Red Sox almost into a position of strength. He's made some very real contributions to a team that's as well-positioned to win the World Series as any in the game.
"We've talked a lot about the evolution of this from non-roster in spring training," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "It's gotten to the point where he's just been a really good player -- not just a really good non-roster player., but a really good major-league player, hopefully, on a winning team."
Walk-off or no walk-off, though, he still sees himself as that same guy who was fighting for everything he could get back in spring training. Heck, he still owns a "Rescue Squad" T-shirt.
"I still feel like I'm still filling a hole," he said. "It's one of those things where, if I get overconfident, I'm probably going to not do well. I still feel like I'm a utility guy at the moment. Except that I'm a shortstop, per se, I'm just going to do whatever job they want me to do."
Matsuzaka on DL, so Brown gets first call-up
Having waited until the horde of reporters cleared out of the way, Dusty Brown wandered over toward the office of Red Sox manager Terry Francona. He walked over slowly, not sure whether he should knock on the half-open door or wait for someone to come out and say something to him.
It was like being called to the principal's office -- only the exact opposite.
The Red Sox today placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list with weakness in his throwing shoulder, weakness that Francona maintains stems from his inability to ease into his throwing this spring the way the team's other pitchers did. Instead of throwing two innings and taking it easy the first time he faced hitters, Matsuzaka "pitched in earnest before he was ready to," Francona said. "There's no getting around that. I don't know how you can. You just hope it doesn't affect your guys."
There was no reason to activate John Smoltz until Thurday, though, which meant the Red Sox essentially would have been wasting a roster spot for most of the week. Brown was recalled hastily from Triple-A Pawtucket -- he flew in this morning from Durham, N.C. -- to provide a little depth at catcher and ensure Jason Varitek wouldn't have to play today even if something were to happen to George Kottaras.
"When I came down and talked to Theo (Epstein), I was like, 'You know, we've got a day off Monday, and it's almost like a free roster spot until Smoltz comes back on,'" Francona said. "I said, 'You know what? We always try to stay away from 'Tek on a day game, and Dusty is almost on the roster.' He was like, 'Let's get him here.'"
Brown had to be pulled out of the shower late Saturday night after the PawSox pulled out a come-from-behind victory over the Durham Bulls. Early this morning, he was on a quick flight from the Raleigh-Durham airport to Boston. His flight landed at 10:30 a.m., and he walked into the clubhouse right around 11.
He hadn't yet had a chance to greet many of the players when reporters surrounded him at his new locker in the corner. He was especially looking forward to finding Kottaras, with whom he split catching duties at Pawtucket last season.
"I haven't even seen Georgie yet," he said. "He hasn't been in the clubhouse since I've been in here. I'll definitely be in his ear all day."
Brown will stay with the team for the next three days or so -- including the off-day on Monday -- before being dispatched back to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday to make room for Smoltz.
"I'm looking forward to whatever I get when I'm here," he said. "I'm just excited to be here."
Brown is hitting .239 and OBP'ing .347 in 163 at-bats at Triple-A Pawtucket this season. The fact that Michael Bowden and Clay Buchholz have a 1.90 ERA and 3.26 ERA, respectively, and the PawSox have the third-best ERA (3.39) in the International League means he's doing that part of his job pretty well.
"It's been up and down," he said. "Defensively, it's been pretty good, and what our pitching staff has done has been pretty good. I've struggled offensively more than I would like to, but there's been some bright spots."
None of that matters now, though: He's in the big leagues.
It was like being called to the principal's office -- only the exact opposite.
The Red Sox today placed Daisuke Matsuzaka on the disabled list with weakness in his throwing shoulder, weakness that Francona maintains stems from his inability to ease into his throwing this spring the way the team's other pitchers did. Instead of throwing two innings and taking it easy the first time he faced hitters, Matsuzaka "pitched in earnest before he was ready to," Francona said. "There's no getting around that. I don't know how you can. You just hope it doesn't affect your guys."
There was no reason to activate John Smoltz until Thurday, though, which meant the Red Sox essentially would have been wasting a roster spot for most of the week. Brown was recalled hastily from Triple-A Pawtucket -- he flew in this morning from Durham, N.C. -- to provide a little depth at catcher and ensure Jason Varitek wouldn't have to play today even if something were to happen to George Kottaras.
"When I came down and talked to Theo (Epstein), I was like, 'You know, we've got a day off Monday, and it's almost like a free roster spot until Smoltz comes back on,'" Francona said. "I said, 'You know what? We always try to stay away from 'Tek on a day game, and Dusty is almost on the roster.' He was like, 'Let's get him here.'"
Brown had to be pulled out of the shower late Saturday night after the PawSox pulled out a come-from-behind victory over the Durham Bulls. Early this morning, he was on a quick flight from the Raleigh-Durham airport to Boston. His flight landed at 10:30 a.m., and he walked into the clubhouse right around 11.
He hadn't yet had a chance to greet many of the players when reporters surrounded him at his new locker in the corner. He was especially looking forward to finding Kottaras, with whom he split catching duties at Pawtucket last season.
"I haven't even seen Georgie yet," he said. "He hasn't been in the clubhouse since I've been in here. I'll definitely be in his ear all day."
Brown will stay with the team for the next three days or so -- including the off-day on Monday -- before being dispatched back to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday to make room for Smoltz.
"I'm looking forward to whatever I get when I'm here," he said. "I'm just excited to be here."
Brown is hitting .239 and OBP'ing .347 in 163 at-bats at Triple-A Pawtucket this season. The fact that Michael Bowden and Clay Buchholz have a 1.90 ERA and 3.26 ERA, respectively, and the PawSox have the third-best ERA (3.39) in the International League means he's doing that part of his job pretty well.
"It's been up and down," he said. "Defensively, it's been pretty good, and what our pitching staff has done has been pretty good. I've struggled offensively more than I would like to, but there's been some bright spots."
None of that matters now, though: He's in the big leagues.
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