Opening Day Sox Lineup

As expected, the Red Sox Opening Day line-up (against 'tough' left-hander C.J. Wilson) has J.D. Drew sitting, Mike Cameron in right, Kevin Youkilis hitting clean-up and David Ortiz bating sixth.

REVIEW—MLB11: The Show

OK, let's start with a disclaimer. I'm over 50 and remember when "Pong" was the hot video game. So, my assessment of MLB11: The Show is purely based on the extent to which I'm having fun playing it—and very little to do with the geeky technical aspects. I left that part to my 15-year old son, who contributed his evaluation of the game to this review. Not that he's a geek or anything—you know what I mean!

Bottom line? MLB11: The Show is really fun to play. Some of the most impressive things to me are the little details that add so much to the realism of the experience—something SONY has always been good at. For example, if you look closely, you'll see that some players have clumps of mud on their cleats. Nice. I also noticed that in this year's version the pitcher can balk if he's not careful—excellent. And, while I hate the fact that hitters can call endless timeouts during real MLB at-bats, the fact that you can do it in this game lends even greater credibility to the experience.

OK, now the semi-geeky stuff. My son tells me that he likes the 'pure analog controls'. OK. He also likes something called the '2 versus 2 multi-player mode'. I'm down with that. And the 'Road To The Show' minor league mode is even better than before.

So, all in all, if you like baseball and you like playing a very realistic virtual version of it, go out and get MLB11: The Show. There's still none better.

You can find out more about MLB11: The Show HERE.

Tune-Up In Texas

Josh Beckett may have silenced a few of his doubters (your humble scribe included) by tossing 5 crisp innings in the Sox final Spring Training game in Houston. Beckett gave up just one hit (a squibber that got through A-Gon and Pedroia) to the Anemic Astros—and that might just be enough to get him out of his pre-season funk.

FN Predictions On ESPN Boston

FenwayNation's predictions for the 2011 Red Sox appear today in the Gordon Edes column on the ESPN Boston website. You can read the entire article HERE.

Sox Trade For Back-Up Catcher

Despite passionate denials from Red Sox brass earlier today, Boston did, in fact, trade for back-up catcher Mike McKenry from the Rockies.

JetBlue Park In Your Future!

According to a tweet by Eric Fisher of Sports Business Journal, the Red Sox have extended a sponsorship deal that will result in their new Spring Training ballpark being called (are you ready?) JetBlue Park. Let's hope they don't hire the concession workers from the same pool as certain of their flight attendants.

Sister-Kissing In Palm's Finale

The last game the Red Sox will every play (as the home team anyway) at City of Palms Park ended in a 1-1 tie. Oddly, what seemed like a sure thing game-winning HR by Jarrod ('Am I having a hot Spring, or what?') Saltalamacchia was blown back into the field of play for an out. Apparently, the Baseball Gods (by the way, shouldn't baseball be mono-theistic?) did not want this one to end in a Red Sox victory. City of Palms, we hardly knew ye!

NESN Touts Robotic Cameras

It's a good thing Adrian Beltre has moved on. God knows what he would have done to one of the new NESN robotic cameras in the Red Sox dugout. If they ever came too close to his head—look out! You remember NESN, don't you? It's the same network that saw fit to televise a paltry number of Spring Training games this year (e.g., you can't see today's final game ever at City of Palms). They do, however, cram replays of Liverpool and Camelot Hotspur soccer games down our throats. (Hint for John Henry: Americans don't care about sports where the use of hands is illegal.)

So, that's nice that we have more robots in the dugout and more 'miced up' players. Maybe next year you can try out all that fancy technology on an acceptable slate of Spring Training games. Just a thought.

Hazelbaker The Mighty!

Now that's a deep farm system! A guy hardly anyone has heard of—2009 fourth round pick Jeremy Hazelbaker*—smacked a 2-run home run to provide the margin of victory today for the Red Sox, 3-2. This prevented an historic 11-game losing streak in the Grapefruit League. Oh, the game was also shortened by thunderstorms.

*Hazelbaker has been ranked as the 26th best prospect in the Red Sox system by SoxProspects.com

Buck To Theo: 'Sorry'

Orioles Manager Buck Showalter has apologized to Red Sox GM Theo Epstein for his comments last week.

In case you missed it, here are the results of the Buck Nickname POLL here on FN:

Uncle 'F'n' Buck 45.3%; 'F.' Buck Showalter 30.9%; Buckminster 'Full-Of-It' 15.1%; Buck 'F.' Showalter 8.6%.

Sox Roster Being Finalized

The Red Sox 25-man roster is just about set. General Manager Theo Epstein confirmed on Monday morning that Matt Albers and Dennys Reyes had both made the team in the bullpen. Hideki Okajima and Alfredo Aceves—who both have options—were sent to AAA Pawtucket. Both Albers and Reyes had strong Springs.

The New Dice-K

Ever since new Sox pitching coach Curt Young persuaded Daisuke Matsuzaka to use two days, not one, to do his long-toss and side-session work, the right-hander has turned in three outstanding performances—notching a 1.62 ERA over that span. Yesterday, he went six full, yielding just one earned run (in the first inning), and continued to challenge hitters in the zone with his fastball. Thanks to Bobby Jenks blowing a 5-run 9th inning lead, he did not get a win. Could Dice-K be becoming a "pitch-to-contact" hurler? If that's the case, line-up the Noble Prize for Preventative Hiterature to Mr. Young.

Yeah, That's The Ticket!

Start saving now. A ticket for Opening Day at Fenway will set you back—on average—almost $250.00. That's the highest in baseball. That doesn't count a greasy new Fenway Frank or two, endless watered-down beers, and that cool Liverpool jersey you've had your eyes on. Oh, forgot about $35 parking. I'm thinking a grand total of $2,000 for a family of four—all to see a game that will probably be played in 20 degree wind chills and light sleet. Have fun!

Feet Of Clay!

Is it possible to panic seven days before the start of a season? As a certain politician from the Frozen North might say, "You betcha!".

Clay Buchholz was eviscerated by the Florida Marlins today—giving up 11 runs ("only" 6 earned) on 11 hits. Scarily, Clay gave up four home runs—two to Mike Stanton, one to John Buck and one to the immortal Logan Morrison.

Two bad starts in a row for the righty as we approach the flight north is not a good thing.

FN Poll: New Showalter Nickname

Vote in the latest FenwayNation POLL and pick a new nickname for Buck Showalter. Cast your vote HERE.

AL West Preview—Texas Again

by Laird Harris, Seattle-Based FenwayNation Columnist

Seattle, WA—March 23, 2011—As the 2010 season began, virtually no one saw Texas winning the AL West, much less the AL crown. This year, the question is, “Can the Rangers be beaten?” The simple answer is not in the West.

Texas has a top shelf line-up with quality depth at every position. Pitching proved itself last year even before Cliff Lee appeared. Skeptics are wondering if a Lee-less staff can repeat its 2010 success. C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis were studs last year. Tommy Hunter and Scott Feldman had promising, if inconsistent, seasons. Nefti Feliz has a great power arm but it remains to be seen how he will perform as a starter. This is the stuff of much hope, but the Rangers have had good rotations fall apart in the past. The Ranger bullpen was solid last year, especially as Feliz showed he could own the ninth inning. In the absence of a trade, it is unclear if a reliable closer will emerge. There are a lot of power arms and great veteran presence with Arthur Rhodes and Darren Oliver tossing from the port side.

Despite these questions, the Rangers have fewer missing parts than the other AL West teams. Some expect Oakland to challenge and point to the addition of Hidecki Matsui and David DeJesus who are expected to bring some pop to an anemic offense. The young A’s pitching staff has incredible talent that will keep them in games throughout the year. Of course, there is always the specter of injury hovering over young pitchers but even if they stay healthy, the lineup does not have depth needed for a championship. It is also hard to imagine the team getting full seasons out of aging players like Matsui and Mark Ellis or injury-prone outfielders like Coco Crisp and DeJesus.

Speaking of anemic offenses, the Mariners hope to attract fans by showcasing some young talent throughout the year but have little else to offer. As usual, the pitching will be good to great with three strong starters at the top of the rotation and an exciting rookie power are in Michael Pineda who will be asked to finish his development in the majors. This team cannot be as bad as last year’s but it is almost certain to finish at the bottom of the division.

That leaves the Angels. I would never bet against Mike Scioscia but he will earn a place in Cooperstown if he can bring a championship with the pieces he has been given this year. The Angels still have some top quality pitching and a better than average lineup. They have, however, done little to improve an unreliable bullpen and starters Haren, Pinero and Kazmir have simply not shown they can maintain high levels of performance for an entire season. Starting the season without a health Kendrys Morales adds another level of difficulty for Scioscia to manage.

So Texas should win the division and then the question will be how they stack up against the Central and East division winners and the Wild Card that will almost certainly emerge from one of these divisions. If their pitching holds up, the Rangers will once again prove to be a handful in the post season.

Uncle Buck Un-Hinged

When you manage a crappy team in the toughest division in baseball, you need some motivational material. Just such a situation faced Orioles manager Buck "F." Showalter as his AAAA minions prepared to wing north to Camden Yards. What to do?

How about ripping into two icons in the division: Red Sox GM Theo Epstein (he of two rings in the last seven years) and Derek Jeter (he of 5 rings since 1996)? Now, Buck did manage to make the once proud Baltimore franchise respectable in the last half of 2010.

But, please, don't cry poor mouth, when your owner is the tightest wad in baseball. Here is Buck's rant on Theo:

"I'd like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay Rays payroll. You got Carl Crawford 'cause you paid more than anyone else, and that's what makes you smarter? That's why I like whipping their butt. It's great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, 'how the hell are they beating us?'"

Chances are there won't be a lot of that questioning by the Red Sox in 2011. Sorry, Buck.

Agent—Cue The AFLAC Duck!

Whenever sports agents start talking, I get the same reaction the AFLAC duck gets to Yogi Berra. From Scott Boras on down, they are masters of obfuscation. John Boggs, the agent for Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, is no exception. You get more information from a Bill Belichick news conference than this guy. When asked about progress on a contract extension for his client, he stated:

"We sat down and discussed where basically Adrian's at. I think it's just going to move very positively."

OK, so, when might we get the good news that Adrian will be wearing Carmine Hose longer than Jason Bay or Adrian Beltre?

"I would anticipate something in April."

Maybe around Opening Day—so the Red Sox can avoid luxury tax hell, right?

"When in April? I don't know. It could be the beginning, middle, end. That's really the parameters. If something drags it on past that, then yeah, we'd probably have to revisit a lot of things, but I don't anticipate that at all."

Cue the duck.

Return Of The NESN Blackout!

Last night, you could have watched NESN's version of Monday Night "Football" (Liverpool vs. Bad Teeth United). Tonight, however, you can't watch the Rays play the Red Sox. Apparently, NESN doesn't think there's enough interest in the match-up of David Price and John Lackey. Not to mention Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon and Carl Crawford. Nah! Too boring I guess. They think we'd rather watch exciting things like re-runs of soccer. Which "pitch" do you prefer? I know what my response is: Nil-Nil this.

Cabalitto Line Helps Charity

Dustin Pedroia has teamed up with New Balance to offer a line of Dustin-themed merchandise that benefits the Red Sox Foundation. We particularly like the "Lazer Show" t-shirt.

You can check it out HERE.

Dice-K Has Another Good Start

This Curt Young is a genius! The new Red Sox pitching coach has made two changes to Daisuke Matsuzaka's routine: he throws long-toss and side sessions on consecutive days (not the same day as before) and he is encouraged to 'pound the strike zone'. Wow, is that all John Farrell had to do?

Yesterday, Dice-K went 5 2/3 giving up only two runs—and walking only two! As the innings ticked by, it was notable that he was logging a pitch count through 5 that was more reminiscent of a total through 1 and 2/3. This is his second consecutive positive performance.

If this is the real 2011 Dice-K, our rotation (1-5) could potentially be the best in baseball.

(Photo by Boston Herald)

Papelbon To Texas Back On?

With the Rangers contemplating moving phenom Neftali Feliz from closer to starter, the Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo raises the question of whether the Papelbon to Texas trade might be resurrected. Clearly, Pap has not wowed the powers that be this Spring (an over 12 ERA) and he will likely be gone after this season anyway. The key is how confident the Sox brass are in Daniel Bard (backed up by Bobby Jenks). Also, with Papelbon's value at a pretty low ebb, the Red Sox would have to get back more than just prospects for what Papelbon still possesses in potential.

(Photo by J. Meric/Getty Images)

Sox Drop to .500 On Spring

Not that it matters much at all, but the Red Sox dropped their 12th game of the Spring, giving them a .500 mark in the Grapefruit League. Josh Beckett again had 4 good innings and melted down in the 5th—although he was victimized by bad defense. He gave up five runs on seven hits, only one earned. The Red Sox fell to the Bucs (yes, that awful team from Pittsburgh), 7-5.

Tito: Jacoby Will Lead-Off

According to a tweet by Nick Cafardo (is it just me, or should the words "tweet" and "Nick Cafardo" never appear in the same sentence?), Jaocby Ellsbury will be the Red Sox lead-off hitter in 2011. The word comes from none other than Manager Terry Francona. Now, can the advocates of J.D. Drew leading off please crawl back under your rocks?

(Photo by Kelly O'Connor at www.SittingStill.Smugmug.com)

GQ Hates Sox Fans (Yawn)

Rarely does a week end on such a positive note. Gentlemen's Quarterly (better known to the hoi polloi as GQ) has designated the fans of the Red Sox as sixth worst in all of sports—ahead of Yankee fans and followers of 'les habitants'. Yeah, right. But take heart, being castigated by effete media elites just flat-out makes our day. What next, the Huffington Post coming down on us? Bring it on, Arianna!

Papelbon: No Big Deal

Two of Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon's last three outings did not technically involve "closing". That is, he didn't finish the game. Nevertheless, the possibly erstwhile (in 2012 anyway) hurler says, "not to worry". After yesterday's ninth inning adventure (2/3 of an inning, 4 earned runs), he seemed to think it was no big deal. In fact, he still feels "very locked in". Let's hope he finds the "key".

(Photo by Kelly O'Connor at www.SittingStill.Smugmug.com)

Beckett Slotted As #4 Starter

In a surprising move, Terry Francona revealed that Josh Beckett has been moved to the #4 slot in the rotation—behind Lester, Lackey and Buchholz. Our guess would have been that the big Texan would fall behind Lester and Buchholz in the third spot. It will be interesting to see what Beckett's reaction is.

Three Prospects Sent To AAA

The Red Sox sent three of their most promising prospects to minor league camp today. Shortstop Jose Iglesias, third baseman Yamaico Navarro and catcher Luis Exposito were all optioned to AAA Pawtucket. All three did well this Spring, but Iglesias was so good (with bat and glove), it's hard not to envision him in Fenway starting in 2012 (if not sooner).

BoSox Club Unveils New Website

The BoSox Club, the official fan organization of Boston baseball, has launched a new website to serve its members and everyone in Red Sox Nation.

The new look site is state-of-the-art and offers users easy navigation to all the resources offered by the club—founded in 1967. The BoSox Club has grown to be one of the most active and well-respected fan organizations in all of baseball.

If you'd like to join the growing ranks of BoSox Club members, you can find out how HERE.

Lester Named Opening Day Starter

Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced (before the 4-3 loss to Atlanta today) that Jon Lester would be the Opening Day starter. Lester went 4 2/3 innings today, giving up eight hits and three earned runs.

FN Baseball Quote Of The Day

Wake, Oki, Aceves Voters' Choice

So far, voters in our latest FenwayNation POLL choose Tim Wakefield, Alfredo Aceves and Hideki Okajima to fill out the last three spots on the Red Sox roster. You can still cast your vote HERE.

A-Gon Extension Close?

According to Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, Adrian Gonzalez's agent will meet with the Red Sox next week in Fort Myers. While both sides are poo-pooing any imminent contract extension, it's painfully obvious that it will happen. As has been intimated in earlier reports, the Red Sox want to wait until after Opening Day to formalize the deal—saving them millions on luxury tax penalties in 2011.

Sox Humiliate Empire, 2-1

The Red Sox edged out the Evil Ones last night at City of Palms, 2-1. Alfredo Aceves, who Boston rescued from the Bronx, was impressive in three solid innings. Watch out, Dice-K! Jarrod Saltalamacchia threw out a runner at second and knocked in a run, as he continues to lay waste to any significant worries at backstop. All in all, a good night.

POLL: Last Three Roster Spots?

Vote in our latest poll, which asks who (among 9 candidates) should fill the last three roster spots. VOTE HERE.

Dalton Jones Average: Optimism

The initial reading by FenwayNation's Dalton Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Panel suggests a lot of pre-season optimism. Panel members assigned an overall average score of 77.6—out of a possible 100. Going forward, the DJIA Index score will be based on this number—normalized as 100.0. Each month during the season, the Panel will assign another score and FN will report either an increase or a decrease from the 100.0 base.

The DJIA composite index is made up of confidence readings for four key metrics: starting pitching, relief pitching, overall offense and overall defense. You can see the scores for each of the metrics HERE.

For perspective, our initial pre-season reading in the 2007 Championship Year was 72.5—more than five points lower than the current reading.

A-Gon Sees First Action Today

Adrian Gonzalez will see his first action of the Spring (and as a Red Sox player) this afternoon at 1PM against the Marlins. This is must-see TV, and, amazingly, NESN is actually televising it!

NESN Responds To ST Critics

At least we know that the voices of FenwayNation readers are being heard. As you may recall, more than four in five readers responding to our poll felt NESN's feeble Spring Training game coverage was "an outrage" (81.8%). On Friday, NESN felt obliged to respond to what was clearly a mountain of criticism—certainly well beyond the pages of FN.

It's good that NESN is at least recognizing the problem. The substance of the response, however, would embarrass an undergraduate class in Public Relations 101. The NESN spokesperson actually claimed that their game coverage increased "by almost 50%" over last year. For those of you who still calculate in base ten, that means they went from 9 games in 2010 to 13 games in 2011—four extra broadcasts. Please.

But, let's at least give them credit for making the attempt. They also ask for more fan feedback—you can e-mail them at: sports@nesn.com.

Matsuzaka & Okajima On Quake

Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki Okajima both reacted this morning to the devastating earthquake that hit Japan overnight. Both of their immediate families are in the United States, but some relatives living in Japan are near the most heavily impacted areas.

FenwayNation Mobile!

FenwayNation has now gone mobile! Go HERE to get an app for your phone.

It's free and it has alerts so that you'll know whenever FenwayNation has anything new. What could be better?

Dice-K Hammered Again

Daisuke Matsuzaka needed a good outing. He didn't get one. Dice-K went 3.2 innings and coughed up 5 earned runs. He walked 2, struck out 2, and gave up a HR to light-hitting John Jaso. His Spring ERA is now 11.42. Can you say Aceves, Dubront or Wakefield?

Juan Carlos: 'King' Of Trade Talk?

NESN.com's Tony Lee points out that Sox prospect Juan Carlos Linares has opened some eyes at camp this Spring. Showing the ability to hit for average and power, Linares (while a tad longer in the tooth than the other prospects in Fort Myers) is actually stimulating possible trade talk.

Pressure Builds On Dice-K

It's just Spring Training. However, as the other members of the Red Sox rotation continue to show that they deserve their spots, Daisuke Matsuzaka continues to disappoint. So far, he's pitched 5 innings and yielded 6 earned runs—and amassed an ERA approaching 11. He's given up 2 HRs and walked more than he's struck out. His WHIP is an atrocious 2.00.

Compare that to Alfredo Aceves. His 5 innings have produced a 0.00 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. For some reason, the Empire cut loose Aceves, and we can envision a scenario where Dice-K could lose his spot to the Mexican righty (or a healthy Felix Dubront, or as a reader points out, Wake). Today's start against the Rays is more than a meaningless exhibition. It might be the start of a re-evaluation of Dice-K's role on the 2011 Red Sox.

ClayMation Nation

Clay Buchholz seems intent on following up his 17-win season with another stellar campaign. The young righty has now hurled nine scoreless innings this Spring, after blanking the O's in four last night. It's his sense of command that also shines through—brimming with a confidence he did not exhibit last Spring (when it was unclear what his role would be on the team).

J. D. Drew continued to have a good start to his year by clubbing a HR to right-center field—then following it up with a laser shot single to right. If Drew can stay healthy, his "contract year" could be his best in Boston.

A-Gon Targets Next Week

After taking another round of live batting practice on Tuesday, Red Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is looking at next week for his first game action of the Spring.

A-Gon is clearly chomping at the bit to get going, and most of the concern is over the impact of his surgery on defense (specifically diving for balls) and not hitting.

Remembering Jackie Jensen

For those of us old enough and lucky enough to have seen Jackie Jensen play for the Red Sox, it's one of the few good memories of an era when not much went right for the Carmine Hose. Jensen—who broke into the big leagues as a Yankee—came to the Red Sox in a "Heathcliff Slocumb-like" deal in 1953. Jackie was shipped to Fenway from the Washington Senators for two immortals—Mickey McDermott and Tom Umphlett. McDemott had a decent .500 pitching career and Umphlett retired at age 25.

Jackie Jensen patrolled right field in Boston for seven years—hitting .282 with a .374 OPB. He was an All-Star twice and launched 170 home runs for the Sox. In 1958 he hit 35 home runs and knocked in 122—he was the American League MVP. Not a bad trade. Jackie died far too soon at age 55 in 1982. Had he lived, he would have been 84 years old today. We will always remember him as the dynamic right-handed counter-punch to Ted Williams on otherwise dismal Red Sox teams.

Winning!

The Red Sox split their squads and came away with two victories today—one against the Kissimmee Astros and the other in Jupiter against the Redbirds. Josh Beckett hurled 3 2/3 impressive innings in Boston's 3-2 win over Houston.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits and an RBI in the Sox 8-7 cliffhanger over the Cardinals (whose fans weren't all that upset about the loss). Ryan Lavarnway homered and drove in three runs in the win over St. Louis.

A-Fraud Rules!

In the most popular poll in FenwayNation history, Alex Rodriguez walked away with the honor of 'Most Annoying Yankee'. With almost two-thirds of the vote, 'Popcorn Boy' was the readers' clear choice as the Pinstripe Poser you'd least like to think about. Joba 'The Mutt' Chamberlain finished a strong second with almost one in five votes, but the other Bronx Embalmers were serious also-rans.

The Kids Are All Right

Even though it was only a Spring Training match-up, the prospect of facing the Empire's front line with AA and AAA kids was unappealing. Nevertheless, Iglesias (from here to forever to be known as "Iggy"), Tejada and Linares were the names that beat the Evil Ones last night 5-3.

Jose Iglesias made two outstanding plays at short (one a nifty step-back double play that flummoxed A-Fraud on the base paths), showing the Nation that his slick glove will not be absent from Fenway for very long. Moreover, Iggy seemed to be on base all night.

Ditto for Tejada and Linares—who each went 2-2. So, the Pinstriped Posers lost at home and all is right with the world.

POLL: Most Annoying Yankee

Vote in the latest FenwayNation POLL: 'Who is the most annoying 2011 Yankee of all?'. VOTE HERE