Ask Nick: Feeling their pain
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Lots of questions about the Red Sox’ mounting injuries this week, as well as queries about Carl Crawford, Alfredo Aceves, and many more, so let’s go to ’em . . .
Do you think that the Red Sox should start having Saltalamacchia catch Bedard? I think this is necessary because I do not want to see Varitek start more than Beckett’s starts in the playoffs. He is a liability at the plate and behind it (throwing out runners at least). I was just wondering what the Sox were considering about the situation. Thank you.
— Scott R, Biloxi, Mississippi
You always want your best catcher catching the new guy. I do believe, however, that at some point Salty gets a shot at him. I don’t think the Red Sox are married to having Salty catch all playoffs games. They’ll mix it up as they do now. The system has worked well and I doubt there’ll be any severe change unless Salty goes on a tear at the plate.
Nick, if the Red Sox find that David Ortiz will be out for the rest of year, do you think that that they might try to trade for Jim Thome?
— Bruce, Sterling, Virginia
Ortiz should be back this week. In the boot through Monday and then will begin normal activities. If the Sox need anything, it’s a righthanded bat who can play the outfield.
Alfredo Aceves has been so good. If the Sox want to keep him, what is his status? Is he arbitration eligible or a free agent? Also, all year everyone has waited for the Yankees pitchers (except CC) to turn into pumpkins but they have not. Their pitching has been better than expected and the offense is as good as expected. While the Sox have handled the Yanks, are the Yanks feasting on bad teams or are they just that good? How do they do against the other first and second place teams?
— Jeff B., Short Hills, New Jersey
Aceves is arbitration eligible. I would think the Sox might offer a two-year deal in the offseason. On the Yanks, they’re good. No way around it. They’ve pieced together a pitching staff and while we can’t be sure who falls in line after CC Sabathia, it hasn’t really hurt them. Phil Hughes is pitching well again. Ivan Nova has been very solid and the old guys – Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia (currently on DL) – have been very good. The only blemish has been A.J. Burnett.
I love the name of the old spring training complex City of Palms Park. What sort of name does/will the new place in Ft. Myers have? Any nicknames or official names brewing?
— Bob, Tallahassee, Florida
Looks like the stadium will be named after Jet Blue, which bought the naming rights. Jet Blue Stadium?
Is this finally the end for Drew, Wakefield, Papi, Dice K and, unfortunately, Papelbon? That’s a lot of money coming off the table and realistically the Sox minor leagues don’t look that bad. They could really reload for a long run. Look at that outfield. I live in Tampa and believe me Crawford is the real deal — he can dictate the pace of a game. Better than Manny in left. Thanks for your time. Enjoy your work.
— Steven Z, Zephyrhills, Florida
End for Drew, and Dice-K will miss most of the 2012 season with Tommy John surgery and likely be done for good. But may not be end for Papi or Papelbon. It appears they are two players the Sox must re-sign given their 2011 performance. As for Wake, he will be allowed to break the Sox all-time record for wins which will likely take him into next season.
Warning, this is a nerdy question. I recently heard an appallingly low number for the major leaguers who have a university degree (though I don’t recall the figure). It seems to me that MLB does less, ironically, than say the NFL to promote the education of its players. Eyeballing the 25-man roster i count 6-7 players who might have degrees based on when they were drafted. What is the actual number and how does this compare with other teams? In your time around the league are you aware of discussions about MLB/ MLBPA doing more to promote the education of its players? Keep up the Sunday Notes.
— Matt, Singapore
When drafted, most players have education expense clauses where the team will pay for their education. Not sure how many take advantage of this. The college grads on the Sox that I’m aware of are Jed Lowrie (Stanford) and Ryan Lavarnway (Yale). Don’t think there are many others.
Nick, two related questions dealing w/ the OF. With Jacoby Ellsbury now out but not DL’d, how about sending down a pitcher to get another position player? Related, when will the Red Sox get someone other than Darnell McDonald to play the OF?
— Mike R., Madison, Alabama
I’ve felt for a long time they needed a righthanded-hitting OF. I think they do as well, but anyone they’ve been interested in has been claimed on waivers and then pulled back so they haven’t been able to get to anyone to make a deal for someone. They expect Ellsbury to return Monday or Tuesday anyway. One thing I’ve learned about Francona over the years is he’d rather have more pitchers than positional players. That’s the way they operate.
The Sox have a lot of back issues this year. Is this just a freaky thing or can something be done to correct this problem.
— Bill M., Nova Scotia
They’re blaming it on a lot of late night flights and bad hotel beds. They don’t play on turf, so it can’t be that. “Freaky” seems to sum it up.
Carl Crawford came to the Sox with a reputation for playing hard all the time. But that’s not what my wife and I saw at Safeco Field last Sunday. He lost a fly ball that had no business getting past him and generally looked like he just doesn’t care. Has this guy mailed it in?
— Wayne R., Troy, New York
I don’t think so. Sometimes when things aren’t going well the player looks so bad that everything he does looks off, or like he doesn’t care. Believe me, Carl Crawford cares and nobody wants to come out of his season-long slump more than he does. I’ve had a few conversations with him and it’s eating him up. He’s pressing, really pressing. More than anything he needs to relax but I don’t think he knows how.
Very disappointed that Ortiz decides to sit against one of our main rivals because of a sore heel. He can’t tough it out until the K.C. series. Typical prima donna upset about his contract situation.
— Jim L, Spencer.
Hmmm. He’s hurt. He’s in a boot. Nothing to do with a contract issue.
One-hundred-game winners in same division — aren’t you forgetting 1993 — the Braves (104 wins) and Giants (103 wins)? That was a classic race!
— Bob B., Santa Cruz, California
Yes, you’re right. I was just going by the divisional races since the three-divisions per league were formed.
What is the story with Hideki Okijama? His stats at Pawtucket seem great especially walks to strikeouts ratio. Why do you not hear anything about him being called up to the Red Sox?
— Larry L, Peabody
The Red Sox are considering the possibility of Okajima as a September call-up, but only considering. Nothing definite.
Is the Sox’ seemingly yearly rash of injuries anything unusual or is it typical for any team in your opinion? Is it time for someone to re-evaluate their strength and conditioning approach? Once again, it’s almost September and we’re fielding a minor league team.
— Jim D., New York City
Not unusual. Look down most rosters and you see a lot of injuries. Some teams are better than others. The Chicago White Sox are normally the healthiest, but even they’ve had a few. The other issue is that players tend to take their time coming back these days because their agents insist they’re 100 percent before they step on the field. If they’re not 100 percent, the fear is the performance won’t be there and thus the money won’t either. In the old days, players played hurt. There are still some warriors like Jason Varitek who has played hurt for years. Marco Scutaro and Kevin Youkilis play hurt. But you hear players say now that they’re not getting on the field until they’re 100 percent. Recently heard that from Jed Lowrie.
Why did Tito have Bard pitch the eighth inning in Sunday’s game against the Royals with a 6-1 lead? I cannot understand why. I know Tito is an excellent manager and does a good job with pitchers but this move, or lack thereof, baffled me.
— Dick, Bonita Springs, Florida
They have a good idea of when a guy is rested, or when he needs an inning of work. That was likely the case. It’s based on who’s available and who isn’t and who he feels comfortable with out there. They have handled the bullpen very well. You never hear complaints from the relievers, which tells me the system works well.
Grew up in Boston, saw my first Sox game in 1946. My question is: has anyone ever done a study on the increased number of injuries/disabled list when comparing the 50s/60s and the 90s/2000s. It seems there are many more injuries and ones that were unheard of back then such as obliques, quads and hamstrings.
— Tony, Santa Clara, California
Weight training is the big thing. Didn’t have much of it back in that era. The old-timers will tell you weight training is bad for baseball players and they may have a point given the rash of injuries. Oblique injuries were unheard of. If someone’s “side” hurt, oh, well, you just played through it until it got better. With all the science, it’s amazing to me the rash of shoulder, elbow injuries for pitchers and oblique and hamstrings for positional players. Something isn’t working.
I agree with Jerry Reinsdorf that coaches, like specialists; pitching and hitting coaches especially, should be elected into baseball’s Hall of Fame. Examples: Charlie Lau and Walt Hriniak. How would one go about nominating such revolutionaries of the great game? I know you wrote about this topic before and I tried to reach you showing my agreement. Baseball coach at Newburyport H.S., just retired after 40 years.
— Bill P., Newbury
Yes, Mr. Reinsdorf is an advocate for it and that’s no surprise. Anyone who works for him will tell you, there’s nobody who takes care of employees better than Reinsdorf. He’s the most loyal owner in the business and I’m told that there have been employees who have passed on and he still gives the spouse a paycheck. That’s amazing. He’s way ahead of his time on the coaches. He’s been trying to get the veteran’s committee to consider this. Tony La Russa is also a big advocate for coaches in the Hall.
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