Eagle-Tribune Blogs: Burt Talks Sports

For the last time this year I am posting an entry from the 239 area code. As I sit in the airport with three hours to kill (note to self: Always double-check departure time on ticket) I can reminisce about days gone by in the Fort. Some might think that my memories begin and end with such things as albino raccoons, venomous snakes, or rental cars with levers. But when I allow Fort Myers to enter my psyche this season there is one realization that trumps all others: For some inexplicable reason there is no Snapple lemon iced tea in this state. It is a wonder I was able to function at all.

And here is the final cross-promotion alert of the spring. It a story in The Eagle-Tribune today breaking down why some guys can play in Boston where others can’t. Here it is.

Before I get to the subject of this entry, some had asked about Clay Buchholz, who acquitted himself quite well yesterday. It was a strange sight seeing the youngster sit by himself in the corner of the clubhouse in full uniform hours before the game while the veterans were preoccupied with boxing up whatever locker belongings were left to be shipped out. He had woken up at 7:30 in the morning after sleeping for 12 hours.

These are the things that we learned about Buchholz from his 4 2/3 innings, 7-hit, 3-run outing against the Devil Rays:

- His fastball sat at around 93 mph, but it was that Papelbon-like heater that has a little jump to the end of it. A few members of the Tampa Bay regular lineup were tardy on the pitch. “He was able to get quite a few swings and misses with his fastball,” said Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell. “When pitchers can get that that it is telling you they not only have life in the zone but deception in their delivery, hitters aren’t tracking the ball regularly, and he also has four pitches … he has a very bright future.”

- For someone who just learned the change-up at the end of last season, Buchholz seems to have quite a bit of confidence in it. It wasn’t a stretch to say that the change was at times his second-most effective pitch.

- He’s fast. He has run a 4.32 40-yard dash and claims to be able to keep up with Sox prospect Jacoby Ellsbury in a foot race.

Now to get down to business. It’s time to announce my MVP for the spring (Most Valuable Person). To me it’s Farrell.

Think about the task Farrell was presented with heading into the spring. Between serving as a pitching coach for the first time, while integrating himself into the culture of the two Japanese pitchers (he made one trip to the mound with Daisuke Matsuzaka and spoke to him in English), to getting to know the particulars of an eclectic staff of pitchers. His award for such an honor: Having to answer some more questions following the Red Sox’s final Florida spring training game regarding which pitchers have made some of the biggest strides throughout the preseason:

“You look at the secondary stuff of (Josh) Beckett, which has been consistent. He has used his curveball and changeup with a greater percentage of overall pitch distribution, which has allowed him to relax and not rely solely on velocity. That has been very encouraging. You see the development of (Curt Schilling’s) change-up. Clearly it is a pitch that will allow his fastball to be that much more effective. Him and Tek have been very good in their usage. He’s thrown it first pitch, he’s thrown it 3-2, ahead in the count, behind in the count. I think his change-up is really going to add some life to a 92-93 mph fastball. Occasionally he will telegraph it a bit with his body, but for the most part it’s a solid average major league pitch and times a little bit above. It will definitely be a weapon for him.

“The consistency of J.C. Romero has been very good, particularly with his fastball command. Fastball command and first-pitch strikes with his fastball have been a major goal of his and ours and for the most part he has been able to do that. He’s an integral part to our bullpen.

“I think most importantly there has been specifics laid out with pitchers, and for the most part they have been open. The interaction has been great and they have trusted the feedback. We are very fortunate to have a group of pitchers who don’t shy away from work. Their self-awareness is good, and they are honest with themselves.”

It was easy to wonder about the challenge facing Farrell when watching him approach Tim Wakefield after the first inning of the pitcher’s final spring training outing. Speaking Japanese is one thing, but to fine-tune a knuckleballer is quite another.

“The length of his arm swing was too long in the first inning, and one of the checkpoints in his delivery is to be a little bit shorter in his takeaway than you would see in a typical pitcher. When he’s short on the back-side and short out front the knuckleball will have greater action,” Farrell said.

But how can someone from outside the world of a knuckleballer advise one of the preeminent experts on the subject, Wakefield?

“Talking to him and watching in bullpens, seeing what makes him deliver a pitch more crisply than others. He and I spoke and he gave me some things to look for. But as we got out into bullpen sessions and I got to know him, talking, and him giving me feedback, we can identify some things.”

Check out this story from Everett native, and prolific spring training reporter for the Naples News, Dana Oppedisano with Twins closer Joe Nathan weighing in on the Jonathan Papelbon saga.

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