Was a tad late thanks to the party today because of plane troubles, but eventually rolled into my rental car (sans window cranks, or “levers” as my son would call them) and made it to the Red Sox’s minor league training facility in time to see both Julian Tavarez and Jon Lester pitch in their minor league games.
Wasn’t able to get to Sarasota today to see Daisuke Matsuzaka, but understand he had an adventurous outing. According to Ian Browne of MLB.com, Matsuzaka threw 104 pitches in five innings (26 in the second) but didn’t give up a hit. He did, however, walk five, which is three more than his entire total for the spring.
Much to the dismay of the massive media horde which made the trip up I-75 for the outing, Matsuzaka left without talking to the press, instead issuing a brief statement through his translator: (Via Boston.com) “This time of the year, I think the content of my pitching is more important than the result on paper. Iâ??m not happy with the content of my pitching today. I threw a lot of walks and wasted balls and it was tough for my fielders to defend and to get into a good rhythm on offense. Itâ??s something I want to pay attention to in the regular sesason.”
Jonathan Papelbon followed Matsuzaka by retiring all three batters he faced, including a strike out.
Back down on Edison Ave …
Tavarez threw 75 pitches and will next start in the Red Sox’s exhibition game in Philadelphia Friday. He said after that he was working on incorporating his change-up and splitter in a bit more. He also reiterated that when the Sox let him know of the plan to put him in the fifth spot in the rotation he was very surprised, admitting that his focus had been solely on relieving to that point. The righty seems to have clearly embraced his new role, which, if you watched his month of starts last season, should come as no surprise.
Lester tossed 45 pitches (26 strikes). He had good life on his fastball and was cruising until a curveball got away from in the second inning and hit a batter. The next batter hit what should have been a double-play grounder to shortstop but it was mishandled. The next batter walked, bringing an end to a 22-pitch frame. He had thrown 11 in the first.
The lefty ran into some trouble in the third, giving up a double, triple, and then walk. But, despite the up and down results, Lester’s stuff looked solid. Oh, and offensively Wily Mo Pena hit an opposite field home run in the same game right down the right field line while Doug Mirabelli also knocked a double to the left field wall. Both came off of Minnesota minor leaguer 28-year-old lefty Dave Gassner, whose major league experience consists of two games with the Twins in 2005.
Somebody asked about minor league catching prospect Luis Exposito and his absence from camp. He isn’t currently present in Fort Myers due to personal issues, but is expected to arrive within the next few weeks.
Will get to questions tomorrow … thanks for your patience.
