Category: MLB

Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka will be sidelined early in spring training by a sore back, according to an ESPN report.

However, Matsuzaka should be ready for the start of the regular season.

It isn’t known how Dice-K suffered the injury, but the Boston Herald speculated that it could have happened while he was working out to be ready for the 2010 season. He might have pushed himself extra hard in hopes of avoiding a repeat of last spring.

In 2009, Matsuzaka reported to camp with shoulder and thigh injuries, missed much of the regular season and finished with a 5.76 ERA in 12 starts. He was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA in 29 starts in 2008.

The Boston Globe reported Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell will play some first base this season. With the arrival of third baseman Adrian Beltre, Lowell will serve in a reserve role as long as he remains with the team.

The Red Sox had a deal in place to trade Lowell to the Rangers in December, but that fell through when it was discovered that Lowell would need surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb. As a result of that procedure, Lowell will be a few weeks behind in spring training.

Mets third baseman David Wright told the New York Daily News that hitting more long balls won’t be the focus of his spring. His home run total dropped from a career-high 33 in 2008 to a career-low 10 in 2009, the first season of Citi Field.

Wright admitted to the newspaper that trying to hit to the opposite field was a part of the problem last season. Right-center field is difficult for right-handed hitters such as Wright; the fence is 415 feet from home plate at its deepest.

Wright also said that left fielder Jason Bay, signed as a free agent in the offseason, should provide plenty of protection in the lineup this season.

In other Mets news, the Daily News speculated right-hander Kelvin Escobar is the favorite to handle the eighth-inning relief duties this season. Also in the mix are right-handers Ryota Igarashi, Bobby Parnell and Sean Green.

MLB: Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn’t worried about losing Jarrod Washburn as of today. He’s worried about that smoking ban Michigan is enacting. "Is it banned all over?" Leyland asked a Detroit Free Press reporter. "Really … then I’ve got a problem," he laughed. "Houston, we’ve got a problem."

Speakin’ of guys who are pretty focused on spring training this time of year, former Indians Triple-A coach Steve Smith is taking some time away from the diamond to appear on "The Amazing Race" with his daughter. Smith has a Class AAA World Series championship to his credit, leading the Indianapolis Indians to the title in 2000.

Olympics: Talk about family values. Fly was already diggin’ on curling because it’s a sport in which guys who look like Cartman (John Shuster) can have wild success. But Canada’s curling team alternate Kristie Moore is 5 1/2 months pregnant. Fly hearts curling. (Oh, and Germany has its own curler-celeb lookalike: Andreas "Andy" Kapp looks like Bob Saget.)

NBA: As the professional hoopsters retake their respective courts tonight after the All-Star break, Fly offers this piece of water cooler debate fodder: We know LeBron James is the best Cavs player of all time, but who’s No. 2?

Tiger Watch: If you’re still keeping score on the Tiger Woods scandal, we have two tidbits for you today: RadarOnline.com reports that Elin has refused to move back home — at least yet. And according to the National Enquirer, the world’s No. 1 golfer is the world’s worst group therapy participant.

The remixed Red Sox will feature new starters at five of the eight defensive positions, as compared to opening day 2009. And they could look even more different in 2011, as David Ortiz, Josh Beckett, Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell all are in the final years of their contracts. In addition to the new faces this season, there is a new approach. Actually, it is a return to an old approach: defense and pitching.

The Red Sox won the John Lackey pursuit, and Daisuke Matsuzaka could wind up in the bullpen.

Three questions

1. Do they have enough offense?
The same question was asked when Boston traded Manny Ramirez in July 2008. But Jason Bay filled in admirably, outproducing Manny from that point through the 2009 season. Bay is gone now, and the team didn’t sign a run producer to replace him. Instead, the Red Sox put an emphasis on run prevention with the acquisitions of center fielder Mike Cameron, third baseman Adrian Beltre and righthander John Lackey. It would help if the move to hitter-friendly Fenway Park revived Beltre’s bat and if Cameron chipped in with 20-plus homers.

Still, the Red Sox seem content. "Our goal is not to have the most prolific offense, although we wouldn’t complain if that turns out to be the case," Red Sox manager Terry Francona says. "Our goal is to try and win the most games possible in a very difficult division. We feel like we potentially have a very strong pitching staff, and if our defense plays up to its capabilities our staff should be even stronger."

2. Who will be left out of the rotation?
Clay Buchholz went 7-4 with a 4.21 ERA after replacing the injured Tim Wakefield in the rotation in the second half of 2009. His time has come. But it is easy to forget that Wakefield was 11-3 with a 4.31 ERA and was named to his first All-Star team before injuring his back. Francona has stated that he doesn’t want to use Wakefield in relief, and Wakefield doesn’t want to be a spot-starter. The key to the equation could be Daisuke Matsuzaka, who hid an injury at the start of last season and finished with a 5.76 ERA. If he struggles again, Dice-K could be bullpen-bound.

3. Will Big Papi homer before June?
Although Ortiz rebounded to finish with 28 homers and 99 RBIs, he didn’t homer until May 20 (in his 164th plate appearance of the season). While Ortiz’s final power numbers were respectable, his .238 batting average and .332 on-base percentage were his lowest for any season in which he played at least 90 games. There is little doubt that Varitek and Lowell, two other solid veteran leaders, are in decline. With the offense perhaps already a bat short, Ortiz must prove he can recapture some of the magic that once made him arguably the best clutch hitter in the majors. He will have extra incentive to do so in a contract year.

Projected lineup

1. LF Jacoby Ellsbury: Led MLB with 70 SBs, A.L. with 10 triples.
2. 2B Dustin Pedroia: 233 runs over past 2 years lead MLB.
3. C Victor Martinez: 41 RBIs, .912 OPS in 56 games with Red Sox.
4. 1B Kevin Youkilis: .413 OBP, .961 OPS were career highs.
5. DH David Ortiz: 27 HRs, 78 RBIs after June 6 led A.L.
6. RF J.D. Drew: 24 HRs were most since 2004 (31).
7. CF Mike Cameron: 20-plus HRs, 140-plus K’s past 4 seasons.
8. 3B Adrian Beltre: .179 AVG, 0 HRs in 56 career ABs at Fenway.
9. SS Marco Scutaro: Career-best .379 OBP with Jays ’09.

Projected rotation

1. RHP Josh Beckett: 10-1, 3.59 ERA at home last season.
2. LHP Jon Lester: 2.31 ERA after May 30 was 4th-best in MLB.
3. RHP John Lackey: 5.75 ERA in 9 regular season starts at Fenway.
4. RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka: 8.23 ERA before D.L. stint; 2.22 after.
5. RHP Clay Buchholz: 9 quality starts in final 12 starts.

Projected closerR

RHP Jonathan Papelbon: 24 BBs a concern, but 18 came before break.

Related Links

• Fantasy Source Red Sox preview
• Yankees season preview
• Red Sox team page
• Sporting News baseball yearbook

Grades

Offense: B. They are due for a drop-off, but there still is plenty to like. Dustin Pedroia was an MVP in 2008, Kevin Youkilis can hit for power and average and Victor Martinez will be around for a full season. In addition, Beltre’s bat could awaken at Fenway Park, Cameron should be good for 20 homers and Marco Scutaro is coming off a career year.

Pitching: A. With the addition of Lackey, the Red Sox have the best Nos. 1-3 starters in the majors. And depth behind them. Despite losing Billy Wagner and Takashi Saito, the bullpen still is loaded. And Jonathan Papelbon, while not as dominant in 2009, still ranks among the best closers in the majors.

Bench: C. There should be plenty of experience, even if third baseman Mike Lowell is traded before the season. Captain Jason Varitek, a 13-season veteran, now is in a backup role. The infield reserves include Bill Hall, who hit 35 homers in 2006 but has just 37 since, and Jed Lowrie, who has battled a troublesome wrist. In the outfield, Jeremy Hermida and Josh Reddick supply depth.

Manager: B. In his seventh season with Boston, Francona will have to adapt to a new philosophy. But there is little reason to think that will be a problem. With two World Series titles on his resume, Francona has proven to be a solid tactician and great handler of talent (and egos).

Sporting News prediction: Few teams, if any, can match Boston’s pitching, which will result in a seventh trip to the postseason in the past eight years. As a wild card.

COMING WEDNESDAY: Rays preview.

Chris Bahr is a senior editor for Sporting News. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.

SI.com reports the Dodgers and Rockies are interested in inviting right-hander Eric Gagne to training camp.

The Web site reports both teams have watched Gagne throw and are willing to give him a look this spring.

Gagne, 34, is trying to return to the majors after a one-year absence. The onetime premier closer pitched as a starter in the independent Can-Am League last season.

Mark Mulder on Monday strongly denied reports out of Milwaukee and Oakland that said he had decided to retire from baseball.

The left-hander told the San Francisco Chronicle he is, in fact, backing off on his throwing program as he continues to recover from serious shoulder injuries. He said he still is working on a delivery that will allow him to be effective on the mound.

"I never said ‘retirement.’ That’s the wrong word," Mulder told the Chronicle. "The thing is, physically, I feel great, but my arm just doesn’t work the way I want to work, so I just shut it down from throwing. But I never really said I was going to retire; I’m 32 and I don’t feel like there’s anything physically wrong with me."

The retirement firestorm started Monday morning when Brewers pitching coach Rick Peterson, who worked with Mulder when the two were with the Athletics, told MLB.com that Mulder was quitting. That was after a Milwaukee television station had reported Mulder was finished. Later, A’s infielder Eric Chavez told Bay Area reporters that Mulder was indeed hanging up his cleats.

"He said he’s done," Chavez said. "But he didn’t really do a good job of convincing me. I said, ‘You’re not going to be the next Brett Favre, are you?’ "

Then came the denials, first by Mulder’s agent, Gregg Clifton, followed by Mulder himself.

"Whether or not I get it going again, I don’t know. I’m not ruling anything out. But retiring? No," Mulder told the Chronicle.

The Brewers had been interested in signing Mulder, who blossomed under Peterson’s tutelage in Oakland but hasn’t pitched in the majors since July 9, 2008, with the Cardinals.

Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez, who is entering the final year of his contract, told the Boston Herald he wants to remain with the Sox rather than explore the free-agent process.

"I don’t want to be jumping around, I don’t want to go somewhere else," Martinez told the paper. "First, I didn’t want to go out of the Indians organization. Then I’m out, and now I’m here. I came to the place where a lot of players dream to come and a lot of players wish to play here in Boston. So I’m here, I do really want to stay here and hopefully end my career in Boston."

Martinez, who hit .336 and drove in 41 runs in 56 games after being acquired at the trade deadline, is making $7.7 million in the final year of his contract.

"Like I said, I don’t really want to be a free agent," said Martinez, who added a warning: "As soon as the season starts, I don’t want to be talking about numbers or be talking about something that can distract me from the game and distract my teammates. … As soon as the season starts, I barely talk to my mom."

Like pitchers who fancy themselves as hitters, sometimes position players think they can pitch. Sometimes they even get to take the mound. Who cares if their team is losing big and they’re out there only so their manager can save his bullpen?

The experience remains memorable for six players who talked to the Sporting News about pitching in a big-league game.

How did you get the chance?

‘I’d always wanted to pitch in the big leagues,’ Cody Ross says.

Marlins outfielder Cody Ross: "I’d always wanted to pitch in the big leagues, just to get in an inning in. I started lobbying for it in 2006, when Joe Girardi was here. I told him if you ever need someone to come in and eat up an inning, I’ll be the guy. I told Fredi (Gonzalez) the same thing."

Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher: "I was standing there. They said, ‘Have you ever pitched?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’ I didn’t tell them it was in high school."

Former Dodgers infielder Mark Loretta: "We had used a lot of pitchers and one of our setup guys was up and getting loose. (Third-base coach) Larry Bowa and I looked at each other and said, hopefully he doesn’t have to come into a game like this. I said, ‘I’ll go out there if I have do.’ Larry goes, ‘Are you serious?’ Then he goes, ‘Joe (Torre), Loretta will go.’ So Albert Pujols walked and Joe said, ‘Let’s go.’"

Reds infielder Aaron Miles: "Tony La Russa initially asked So Taguchi if he wanted to pitch, as a courtesy to the veteran guy who might want the experience. So didn’t want to. The only other guy was me. Tony looked over at me, there was no asking. You’re going down to the bullpen to get warmed up. You’re pitching the eighth."

Reds shortstop Paul Janish: "I’m from Houston and I went to Rice. Dusty (Baker) is very good buddies with Ralph Garr, who is a scout in Houston who had seen me pitch a bunch in college. He brought that up in the clubhouse when we were in Houston, and Dusty and I talked about it. Not long after that, we had Milwaukee in town and our bullpen had been pushed. He asked me and I said OK."

What were you thinking?

Ross: "You don’t want to walk anyone. Your team has been out there all day, you’re losing and this was a day game in Florida."

‘The pitcher’s mound is a lot closer than right field,’ Nick Swisher says.

Swisher: "You’re scared somebody’s going to hit a line drive back at you. The pitcher’s mound is a lot closer than right field."

Loretta: "We didn’t take batting practice so literally the first ball I threw that day was my first warm-up pitch. I wanted to be careful. I wasn’t about to start breaking off curves. I was just hoping I wouldn’t get hit in the face by a line drive and I would not walk the whole world."

When was the last time you had pitched?

Phillies first baseman Ross Gload (who was with the Marlins): "The 1994 Long Island championship game. My big league pitching debut (one inning, no runs) was better than my high school pitching career ended. We lost."

Janish: "In college, about six years before."

Ross: "When I was drafted in ’99, a lot of teams wanted me to pitch. They were comparing me to a Mike Hampton type. I pitched in instructional league in 2000 and a little with the Tigers (system) in 2001. I quickly realized I wanted to play the outfield."

How hard did you throw?

Ross: "On my first pitch, I felt like it was 95 and I looked up, it said 79. I think I got it up to 84."

Gload: "When I was warming up, I thought I might be in the 80s. I got out there and had to peek. It said 78. I knew my pitching career was over."

Miles: "I saw 73. The guys in the bullpen told me to try to throw slower than what hitters are used to, and that wasn’t very hard for me. I tried to throw a couple max effort. I got one to 79, and I might have had a little more in the tank. I didn’t want to throw it so hard to where I might hit somebody."

Janish: "I was 88-92. At Rice, I was about 94."

Loretta: "They turned it off (inside the stadium), but someone who saw it on TV said 78 or something like that. I was over the speed limit."

How did you feel the next day?

‘I got one to 79, and I might have had a little more in the tank,’ Aaron Miles says.

Ross: "My whole left side of my back, my legs and my buttocks were sore. I felt it for the next couple of days."

Janish: "Sore for a week."

Gload: "My body hurt for four days."

How do you assess your performance?

Loretta: "The first pitch I threw hit Matt Holliday in the foot. I’m thinking, here we go. But it was all right after that. You get adrenaline. It’s exciting, kind of a fun thing but the circumstances aren’t too good when you get the chance."

Ross: "My claim to fame is I went through the heart of the lineup of the (then) defending World Champions and I mowed right through them. I had as much fun as you can have when you’re losing by 12 runs. When I ran out to the mound, everything was like I was making my major league debut. My heart was racing. Everything was going a million miles an hour. Then all of a sudden, I hear, "Now batting Ryan Howard." I think no way is he my first batter. Please don’t hit it right back at me. I got ahead 0-2 when he fouled a couple of pitches off. I threw him a curveball and he fouled it. That was the only curveball I threw. One of my closest friends is Jayson Werth and I wanted to strike him out so bad. He got the only hit off me. He rolled over to the shortstop and beat it out. A cheap hit."

Swisher: "Zero point zero zero, baby."

What do you remember about the experience?

Ross: "I was 3 for 3 when I went in to pitch. After the inning, we had another at-bat. I was the second guy hitting and when I got up to the plate, I still was nervous from pitching. I took three straight pitches for strikes, came into the dugout and someone said, ‘Hey, you hit like a pitcher.’"

Janish: "I focus on the (two) strikeouts, not the (nine) hits."

Miles:: "I’ve got three innings. I know what it’s like to give up a homer. I know what it’s like to go 1-2-3. If the situation comes up again, I will be the guy to say yes, I’ll do it."

How they fared

Gload: One outing. One inning, no runs. Two walks, no hits, no strikeouts.

Janish: Two outings. Two innings, 11 earned runs allowed. Nine hits, two walks, three strikeouts.

Loretta: Two outings. One and ome-third innings, no runs. One hit, one walk, one hit batter, two strikeouts.

Miles: Three outings. Three innings, two runs allowed, one home run allowed. No strikeouts, no walks, one hit batter.

Ross: One outing. One inning, no runs. One hit, no walks, no strikeouts.

Swisher: One outing. One inning, no runs. One hit, one walk, one strikeout.

Stan McNeal is a writer for Sporting News. E-mail him at smcneal@sportingnews.com.

Sports Radio Interviews is a streaming independent sports blog which provides analysis on breaking sports news, upcoming games, and sporting events from a sports radio perspective. SRI articles frequently appear on SportingNews.com.

New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi has tough decisions ahead.

The New York Yankees are coming off their first championship season in a decade and with a reloaded roster that could be stronger than last year’s team. Curtis Granderson and Javier Vasquez are the biggest names to join the team, but they’ve also upgraded their depth with solid role players like Nick Johnson and Randy Winn.

But even with all that talent on hand, manager Joe Girardi still has some tough work ahead. He’ll have to balance egos, play the press, and choose a fifth starter, just to name a few issues on his plate.

Girardi joined WFAN in New York to talk about getting back to work, how he expects the center field position to sort itself out, and how his fifth starter situation will be resolved.

* * *

On what the big picture looks like as he approaches the season:
I think the big picture is you look at the health of your starting rotation, if you keep your starting rotation intact. I feel that we are going to have a good year, and we could have a very good year.

I think our rotation going into last year was really strong. We lost Chien-Ming Wang and didn’t really have him for most of the year. I think it’s strong this year as well, adding Javier Vasquez, who we know is not coming off of an injury and he is going to be a big part of our rotation.

How he expects the center field position to sort itself out:
We have a couple of different pieces. We have Granderson there, and leave him there every day, but we also have Gardner. Does he become an everyday player? Does he become a platoon player? What type of player does he become? He is another guy who can play center field. That is something that we have to iron out. I think about the things we have to iron out in spring training and that’s one of them…

We feel that our outfield has depth now, adding Randy Winn, so we feel good about the pieces. We just have to assemble them the best way.

On whether Jorge Posada is the leading candidate for the fifth spot in the lineup:
That is the guy that we are going to look at, definitely. The thing that you have to be careful is that you don’t stack your lefties. Posada being a switch hitter and Swisher being a switch hitter, that helps us in the second half of the lineup, and we need to be careful that we don’t make it easy for opposing managers just to bring in all of their left-handers against us.

On whether the fifth starter will be decided by a certain date or if it could be decided later in spring training:
I think you could carry it into March 25th. I would love to have it settled by then, so the other guy can get back to the role that they are going to do which would be in the bullpen or the later stages of the bullpen…

There is a scenario that maybe both [Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain] are in the bullpen, but I am not exactly sure. You expect one of those guys to probably emerge as a starter, but funnier things have happened.

Listen to Joe Girardi on WFAN in New York with Mike Francesca

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