Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Boycott averted, Red Sox headed to Japan

Red Sox going to Japan

The Red Sox threatened to boycott the trip to Japan this morning, after learning yesterday that the coaches were not going to receive the $40,000 compensation that was expected.

So far, members of the Red Sox have made it sound like MLB was either untruthful or deceptive, hinting that money was promised and then not paid.

I have a hard time believing this, and the Globe has a more feasible explanation.

According to the source, in the past, the coaches’ compensation has come from the players’ portion of the pool. This time around the coaches were eliminated from that pool. Did someone not tell the players? That’ll be the interesting question to Sox player reps after the game.

The source said that coaches, and managers as well as the training staff will all be compensated and the final amount is expected to exceed $40,000 per man.

The major league source was miffed that they are being portrayed as the ones who backed out of an agreement.

I’m thinking MLB promised they would throw a certain amount of money into the pot, the players thought it would be split up among everybody, but then found out that the coaches weren’t eligible to receive it and freaked out.

I know that MLB will take some hits for this, but kudos to them for making it right in the end. And kudos to the Red Sox for standing up for their coaches. The fluffing they’re getting on ESPN is reaching Jeter-like proportions.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

No Japan trip for Beckett, Dice-K will start opener

Josh Beckett

It’s official: Josh Beckett will not be making the season opening trip to Japan.

Said Terry Francona:

“It’s not the right thing to do [to send him to Japan]. Everything we say, we need to live by.”

Beckett threw off the mound yesterday for the first time since injuring his back, and by all accounts the exercise was a success.

Dice-K Matsuzaka, whose wife gave birth to a baby boy on Saturday, now has clearance to travel to Japan and will pitch in the opener vs. the Athletics.

Lester will start game 2.

It should be a pretty special day for Matsuzaka, as he’ll be throwing in front of his countrymen for the first time since defecting to the Major Leagues last year. 

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Saturday, March 15, 2008

Dice-Kid arrives, Matsuzaka looks clear for Japan trip

Dice-K Matsuzaka

Dice-K’s baby was born this morning, likely clearing the way for him to accompany the team to Japan next week.

Tomoyo, wife of the Red Sox righthander, gave birth to a boy Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m., the team said. The newborn, the couple’s second child, weighed 6 pounds 10 ounces. No name for the boy was released.

Hopefully the healthy birth of his baby marks the end of the bad luck plague that has swept through the Red Sox pitching staff over the last month.

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Sox choose Cash to replace Mirabelli

The Red Sox have announced that Kevin Cash will be Doug Mirabelli’s replacement.

According to team sources, the 37-year-old Mirabelli’s bat had slowed since last season, when he appeared in 48 games and hit just .202 with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs. His defense, particularly his throwing arm, has declined. In the end, the Red Sox decided Kevin Cash, as solid as there is defensively, was the better option.

I have a really hard time seeing Cash as a season-long solution.

I recognize that Cash is a good defensive catcher, but in his best offensive season (2004) he hit .193 with a .249 OBP.

If Tek goes down for any length of time, this is going to get painful.

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