Red Sox Photo Day Outtakes

As Mike Aviles says to open the video, "I love this part of the year:"



From Youkilis making fun of Pedroia's Alma mater (Arizona State), to Jon Lester proclaiming that he's not an English major, to Darnell McDonald claiming he can't read, this video is sure to have you laughing. And, in case you were wondering, Clay Buchholz is not a morning person.

Pedroia pondering a Twitter debut

Pedroia's Twitter would be as awesome as this photo. 

This could be the greatest thing to hit Red Sox Nation in months.

Pedroia has indicated that he's tired of the Laser Show and Muddy Chicken nicknames, so while most suggestions were along those lines, I think Pedey will shy away from them.  Destroyah15, perhaps? Or TitoIsMyBitch?

Whatever the name ends up being, I think we can rely on Pedroia's Twitter presence to be just as entertaining at his interviews  -and perhaps even more so. After all, he'll have a direct line to the fans, which could potentially remove any filter he has with the press.

I've always assumed that the Pedey quotes that trickle down to the fans are the tamest of them all, and I would love to see Pedroia's wit uncensored. Of course, the Red Sox would frown upon anything TOO extreme, but I think we depend on some quality laughs if Pedroia ends up live online.

This could be the greatest news of my life. Hopefully Darnell McDonald proves very persuasive.

2012 Bill James Projections - Red Sox Outfielders

[A continuation of this post which I began with the Bill James projections for infielders.]


Left field, Carl Crawford:
2011 projection: 149 games, .300 BA, .350 OBP, .453 SLG, 14 HR, 93 RBI
2011: 130 games, .255 BA, .289 OBP, .405 SLG, 11 HR, 56 RBI
2012 projection: 155 games, .286 BA, .332 OBP, .436 SLG, 15 HR, 73 RBI

It's no secret that Crawford performed rather less well than we had hoped he would last season, and James' expectations seem to have been lowered in keeping with 2011.  The good news is that though Crawford only managed to steal 18 bases last year, James thinks he'll steal 34 next season.


Center field, Jacoby Ellsbury:
2011 projection: 157 games, .300 BA, .355 OBP, .409 SLG, 8 HR, 58 RBI
2011: 158 games, .321 BA, .376 OBP, .552 SLG, 32 HR, 105 RBI
2012 projection: 158 games, .304 BA, .362 OBP, .476 SLG, 19 HR, 72 RBI

I think it's safe to say that Ellsbury proved himself last year, but apparently James is expecting a backslide. Here's hoping Goldenboy proves him wrong.


[Possible] Right fielder, Ryan Sweeney:
2011: 108 games, .265 BA, .346 OBP, .341 SLG, 1 HR, 25 RBI
2012 projection: 105 games, .285 BA, .353 OBP, .392 SLG, 4 HR, 36 RBI

Both last years numbers and the projections were for Oakland - and Sweeney's playing time is up in the air.  These numbers are solid enough for a fourth outfielder, but I'd like to see more power out of a permanent corner guy.

[Possible] Right fielder, Darnell McDonald:
2011: 79 games, .236 BA, .303 OBP, .401 SLG, 6 HR, 24 RBI

2012 projection: 113 games, .268 BA, .325 OBP, .320 SLG, 9 HR, 40 RBI


McDonald has been more than serviceable in the last few years - the right fielder job is still up in the air, and it stands to reason he'll get a shot at it.


Other possibilities for the outfield include Ryan Kalish and Che-Hsuan Lin, both of whom spent last year in the minors, so they don't have projections in the 2012 Handbook.

Memorable Moments of 2010: Part 1

During what are historically the slowest days of the year for baseball there's not too much to write about. Instead of waiting for news, I decided to look back on some of the spectacular plays from 2010 - there were more than I thought.

Today, we'll reexamine the heroics of Darnell McDonald:


I'm sure you guys remember it... McDonald had just been called up from Triple-A - for what was supposed to be a short stay. He prompty hit a game-tying 2-run home run in the late innings, and went on to win the game with a walk-off single.

At the time, I think we were all pretty confident that McDonald would be a passing blip on our radar, but he managed to stick around and be a solid contributor all summer. He was consistent in the field and at the plate, and while he was fall from an all-star, he certainly earned his pay.

The thirty-two year old outfielder has been bouncing around the minor and major leagues since 2004, when he made his debut with the Orioles, but the most games he's played for a major league club in a season was this year with the Sox, and it wasn't close. It was nice to see McDonald get a real shot in 2010 - he certainly made himself memorable.

Sunny side up

I know it's tempting to look at last night's loss and focus on the negative: Papelbon blew a save, and in the most painful way possible, by giving up two home runs, including the game winner to former Yankee Jason Giambi.

I (for once) am choosing to look at the positive... the bats came back with a vengeance last night, and against one of the best young pitchers in the game. Before last night, Ubaldo Jimenez had a 1.15 ERA. The Sox singlehandedly raised that to 1.6o. They scored six runs off of the right hander, more than any other team this season, and they were just the second team to score more than three runs off him.


Darnell McDonald had a two-run homerun of Colorado's ace, while Daniel Nava notched three RBIs. Not bad for two guys that weren't supposed to see any big league action this season.

Google search "daniel nava red sox" and this is the best you get... Sad but true.

So I'm pretty optimistic about tonight: the Sox have Daisuke Matsuzaka back on the hill after a brief absence, and the red-hot bats get to try their stuff against Jason Hammel, a righthander with a 5-3 record, 4.03 ERA.

Love is in the air...

I love this man. You might say it's just Spring Fever, that I'm quick to latch on to anyone who puts runs up on that big green scoreboard. And you'd be right. But when you're young, lust can feel amazing enough to be mistaken for love, and this infatuation is powerful.

Second in my affections? This guy:
Rookie Reddick started in center field, and contributed a double and two RBIs to the cause.

It's love.

Let's just hope McDonald can play tomorrow, because after his game-winning hit, "they beat me up pretty good. When I seen [Jonathan] Papelbon running out there, I tried to run away. Somebody got a hold of me.’’


Honestly? I'd run away, too, if he looked like that.