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Hill and Miller to rehab in Greenville

Rich Hill (Tommy John Surgery) and Andrew Miller (Hamstring) will begin their rehab tonight in Greenville, SC for single-A Greenville Drive.

It makes a lot of sense to send those guys there and not Pawtucket because of the 51 degree forcast tonight. I mean, 36 in Pawtucket is nice and toasty, but I think they perfer South Carolina.

We'll have the results of their first rehab assignment in tomorrow's installment of Beat Farming.

Bobby V makes Aceves the closer.

Dan Roche just tweeted the news out a few minutes ago that Alfredo Aceves will be the closer. It's a little bit surprising that Melancon isn't getting the spot since he has closing exprience but given how he fared in the AL East when he was with the Yankees (4.87 ERA in 15 career appearences), they may want to try and ease him in as the set-up guy.

This also hurts the bullpen as they lose out on Aceves' versatility.  This means that Andrew Miller will be used as the spot starter and that's a tad bit shaky. When he's good, he'll give you 6 innings of 2 run ball, but when he's bad.. oy vey.

Aceves will do well but he's not going to dominate and be like good ol' Papelbon. This will be the biggest challenge in his young career. If it's anything like he's shown us last season, it'll be a nice surprise and calm all of our nerves down.

2012 season preview: The bullpen

The Ted's Army crew has created a series of collectors items to write home about. To preview the 2012 Red Sox season, we have created player cards that you can collect and trade with your friends over a nice tall glass of iced tea. Sit back and enjoy part 2 of 4 of our season preview, the bullpen.

Alfredo Aceves will likely see time as a starter, set-up man, closer, and possibly a long-reliever. We were all on the same page and have a lot of confidence in Aceves in any role he takes on.

Andrew Miller can't get a break

Last night was supposed to be a trial run for Miller, where he would work from the stretch for his entire outing. It didn't last long.

Miller threw only 3 pitches before he suffered a hamstring strain. I'm not saying the hamstring injury is related to his change in pitching style, but it is another bad break for a guy that is doing anything to make the team.

Miller said that he didn't have any signs of a hamstring issue leading up to the incident and doesn't know what could have caused it.

WEEI:

I can’t explain it,” said Miller, who was walking with a noticeable limp. “It’s not like I drank a big old pot of coffee before I went out and pitched. I don’t know. Maybe I just did something a little bit differently and it was a matter of time. I have no idea.

“I didn’t do anything differently as I have always done. If you told me that would have happened, that would have been the last thing. It happened, so I have to deal with.”

[...]

“I can’t seem to get going,” Miller later added. “I feel good on the mound but it’s frustrating because now I know there will be a few days where I won’t throw and have to get back to where I was. I felt pretty locked in last night in the bullpen and going out there. I felt like I was in a good position and all I want to do is get out there and throw a few innings. It is what it is and I’ve got to get it better sooner than later.

“I’m frustrated, but I have no idea what’s going to happen. Hopefully I just miss a couple of days, but we’ll see.”

I feel bad for the guy. Valentine pretty much tells him he sucks from the windup so he tries a something new and gets injured shortly into it. This is his third injury this year (ankle, elbow) for Miller and he still is not sure what his role will be.

Maybe he can contact J.D. Drew for some advice on how to deal with a hamstring injury. On second thought, maybe not.

Andrew Miller is going to change his game

We recently posted that Andrew Miller will take any role as long as he can stay with the big-league club. Valentine noticed his pitching from the windup was not as good as his pitching out of the stretch. Tonight, Miller is going to pitch out of the stretch for his entire outing no matter if there are runners on base or not.

“It’s something Bobby believes in. I’m certainly find to go along with it,” Miller said. “Philosophically, I’m not against it. Why do we have the windup. I think my stuff is plenty good out of the stretch, and I’ve had success out of the stretch.

“We talked it after my bullpen the other day. Mac and I did, and then Bobby came in. It’s something they were watching and they felt was something that could help me. … I certainly never started a game and used only the stretch. It makes sense. I can see why it makes sense. It’s one of those things everybody does, so it’s going against the grain a little bit.”

If it works, Bobby is a genius. If not, Miller will be in the same position he was in before and should go back to the windup when the bases are empty. Simple.

Andrew Miller just wants to make the team

Andrew Miller had his ups and downs last season and his fate on this team was unknown when 2011 came to a close. The Sox decided to keep him around, then his role with the team would become an unknown. At this point, Miller just wants to make the damn team, no matter what his role is.

“The goal for me is more to be with the club than anything,” he said, “but if starting is going to be in the equation, it’s going to have to happen pretty fast. I think I threw 26 pitches the first time out and today around 15, so I’ve got a ways to go if I’m expected to throw seven innings.”

He said he’d cherish a regular starting role, feeling his varying roles have not been the best recipe for success.

“My ultimate goal is consistency, and that’s been my downfall historically,” he said. “Even if I have one start, two starts in a month, that’s good. The goal for a starter is someone who consistently gives you a chance every time, not five out of six or four out of five.”

Do you think he doesn't want to go back to AAA?  Valentine followed with comments that Miller didn't look comfortable from the wind-up, but looked much better pitching out of the stretch. Valentine thought he looked like two different pitchers when he switched between the two motions.

If Miller wants to be a starter, then Pawtucket is his answer. He is already getting paid as a big-leaguer, so why not work on your stuff for a little bit to prove he can do it. I know he said he will do anything to stay in the majors, but AAA isn't all that bad. At least they don't take the bus to all of their away games.

5th starter still undecided

While the odds on favorite to be named the Red Sox 5th starter to open the season is Felix Doubront (mostly due to his lack of options), Sox assistant GM Mike Hazen wants you to know that the race is "far from over". 

Scott Lauber from the Herald has the info:

For now, though, Daniel Bard has the No. 4 starter job in a vice grip. His reliever-to-starter transition is going about as smoothly as the Red Sox could have hoped, as he continues to get used to pitching out of the windup and to develop a between-starts routine that suits him.

That leaves four in-house options — right-handers Alfredo Aceves and Vicente Padilla, and lefties Felix Doubront and Andrew Miller — to duke it out for the fifth-starter spot, and it’s possible that Doubront has emerged as the favorite.

It will be interesting to see how these dominos fall, once the 5th starter is named.

Lauber writes that not only does Aceves prefer to start, but his agent, Tom O'Connell "expects" Aceves to be part of the Sox starting rotation.  Aceves is the ultimate team player, so if he's slotted in the pen (which is clearly where he holds the most value for the Sox) I can't see him making any waves over it.  And Aceves is probably the one player on that list that I feel could easily transition from the pen to the rotation without any hiccups.

Padilla, who's having a solid spring, should make the final big league roster in some capacity.  Valentine had some mild praise with a hint of caution for Vincente:

“He’s a strike-thrower. He’s probably the best strike-thrower we have,” Valentine said. “I’m not sure that we’re going to think of him of being a strikeout pitcher. We’re going to think about him as being a strike pitcher, and strikes usually get hit. The key is to not have them get hit real far. He keeps the ball in the park.”

And Andrew Miller simply gets his name added to the list by default.  He won't be the Sox 5th starter.  He'll more than likely find himself in Pawtucket, or somewhere else, to start the year.  Like Doubront, Miller is out of minor league options; except I doubt the Sox would care too much if he got plucked off of waivers.  He's still chock full of potential, and worth keeping in the minors if the Sox can get him through waivers.  But he simply can't be trusted with the ball during games that count.  Not yet.

We have four guys fighting for one spot.  Two of the losers will certainly stick with Boston, regardless of the winner.  Bobby Valentine promised some competition and drama in Spring Training.  I think we were oversold on that one.

Miller's triceps are a bit inflamed

We can all take a collective sigh of relief.  Andrew Miller's arm will be just fine.  The Red Sox 2012 season isn't over just yet!

Miller was supposed to pitch against the Cardinals today, but was scratched due to stiffness in his throwing arm.  Instead of having any type of injury to his elbow, it's been determined that he's dealing with a little bit of inflammation in his triceps.  Nothing a couple Tylenol and some rest shouldn't cure.

Via WEEI:

"Just being a little cautious," Miller said. "Better to take care of it now than later. Knock it out now and hopefully not have to do deal with anything later on."

The pitcher said he felt fine the day after his outing Sunday, as well as the following day. But upon waking up Tuesday he started feeling some discomfort, which still didn't prevent him from throwing a bullpen session that day.

After the bullpen session, however, Miller said there was "just a little more soreness than was ideal at this time," leading to the precautionary measures by the team.

Just how much "soreness" is ideal at the beginning of Spring Training? 

It would be nice to have Miller step up this season and become a reliable pitcher in any capacity.  He has the talent to do it.  He just can't seem to put it all together at once.  Missing any time during camp obviously isn't going to help his cause.

Let's hope the two innings of no-hit ball with three K's he threw last weekend was the start of something positive, and his arm holds up to the rigors of Spring.

Andrew Bailey is ready to go

Andrew Bailey is fully recovered from a sore lat muscle and is ready to help us forget about Papelbon. The minor muscle injury should be nothing to worry about and Bobby Valentine said he is throwing the ball just fine without complaints.

WEEI:

“Bailey is ready,” Valentine said. “He threw the bullpen. The next time might be to a hitter, but it might be batting practice. We’re going to see how he feels. He might want to jump right into a game. He’s pain-free and feels like he’s throwing the ball fine.”

The last thing this team needs is a looming injury with Bailey. He needs to be 100% and he has a lot to prove to Boston. It will be exciting to see what he can bring to the table in Boston.

Bobby Valentine also noted that Andrew Miller is suffering from soreness in his left elbow.

“The operative word here is, “little” and “stiffness” from what I heard, Valentine said.

Not sure how much of an impact that will have on him going forward. I am also not sure how much of an impact he will have this season and what role he will be playing. So, I am not too worried about his minor injury.

Sox re-sign Miller

Jon Morosi of Fox Sports reported via Twitter, that the Red Sox have re-signed Andrew Miller. No length of time or dollar amount has been released yet. This may be the least exciting signing of the off-season, but the Sox are finally making moves. Check back for details of the contract, if you care.