Boston Red Sox

Reading list

By Chad Finn

2 minutes to read

No sunshine today. But we do have links, which is nice . . .

  • The Herald has a well-done, tug-at-the-heartstrings pre-Father’s Day piece on the close relationship between David Ortiz and his father, Enrique.

    Enrique Ortiz, 55, has had serious health problems since last fall, and the Red Sox slugger talks at length about his bond with his father and how his illness weighs on him, especially when they first received the news:

    “It was devastating,” said Ortiz. “I lost my Mom [Angela] eight years ago and she was the love of my life; still is. They couldn’t do anything. She died in a car accident and that was it. That hurt. [When I learned about my father] I was in shock. I felt exactly the same way I felt when my Mom passed away — that cold feeling, where you don’t know what to do? I had exactly the same feeling. It hit me pretty bad.”

    Ortiz also talks about how important baseball is to his father, a player of some accomplishment in the Dominican Republic, and his pride in his son’s professional success.

    “With my Dad,” Ortiz says, “I have an unbelievable relationship. When I struggle — not only in my career, but with anything — he’s there. It’s like any other father-and-son relationship. As a father, you never want to see your kids struggle. It doesn’t matter how old you are. You never stop being a father.

    “Remember — your father is the one person who, it doesn’t matter how old you are, he’s got more experience than you. He was here before you were. In some situations, you know it’s the voice of experience talking to you.”

  • LoHud.com’s Peter Abraham reports on his outstanding Yankees blog that the Red Sox and Yankees have an interesting plan in place to get a look at some of the top prep ballplayers in country this summer at Fenway Park — including one you might have seen on a magazine cover recently.

    The Yankees and their scouts are assembling a team of high school stars (rising juniors and seniors) to play a team assembled by Red Sox scouts. Most of the players will be from the Northeast, but a handful will be from different places around the country.

    The Yankees will have Bryce Harper on their roster. Harper is the 16-year-old super prospect who was a Sports Illustrated cover story earlier this month. Damon has developed a good relationship with the Harper family.

    The game will be played August 16 at Fenway Park. We’ll keep you updated with rosters, ticket availability and so on as information becomes available.

  • Newsday reports that the Yankees rewarded the fans who sat through last night’s 5-hour 26-minute rain delay at Yankee Stadium with tickets to another game. Rarely do we suggest that the Red Sox should copy the Yankees’ policies, but given the complaints about the way the scenario played out at Fenway Park last night — fans had to wait nearly 2 1/2 hours for the Sox’ 2-1 loss to Florida to be called — the Yankees’ approach seems worth emulating.
  • CNNSI’s Jon Heyman — whose Twitter feed is an entertaining resource of info and opinions — puts the Yankees as the sixth-most-likely team to sign Pedro Martinez, who was scheduled to throw for scouts in the Dominican Republic today. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Buster Olney (insider access required) writes that “some talent evaluators who have been tracking Pedro Martinez say flatly that they wouldn’t invest any big dollars in the veteran pitcher because his stuff is just not the same.”

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