Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Ted's Army Season Preview Part Three

Baseball is finally here. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. We look forward to the brutal grind of the baseball season. The braintrust behind Ted's Army came together and put out expectations for our beloved Boston Red Sox and how they would fair in the 2013 campaign. Without further ado... I give you  the third and final part of the Ted's Army season preview.

Who will be the “10th-man” of the year?

Tucker Silva: Brock Holt. He will most likely not begin the year with the club, but Holt will make is way to the majors in June (I base that on absolutely nothing). In 24 games with the Pirates, Holt made a little noise batting .292. He won’t have glaring stats with the Red Sox, but he’ll develop to be a bench guy Farrell can rely on.

Nick Karalis: Daniel Nava. If he sticks around the entire season, he will be a valuable asset with his newly acquired versatility to play the OF and 1B. He gives 110% every game and has the potential to put up some good offensive numbers.

Aaron Gettings: CIRIACO(!!!)  Not only was he one of the only Sox players worth watching as last season was winding down, he had a knack for coming through in big spots.  While the organization was crumbling around him, Ciraco showed heart, hustle, energy, and just a general sense of fun.  Even in a reduced role, I see no reason Ciraco can't have a major impact on this Sox squad.

Ben Fountain: I have to agree with Aaron and say Pedro Ciriaco. He can play anywhere on the left side of the infield, and if we're desperate in the outfield. Busts his ass and became one of the more likable players last season. If he continues to play the way he did last year, he'll be incredibly valuble to this team.

Scott Priest: I'm contractually obligated to say Jose Iglesias, who should be the starting shortstop anyway. If Drew's concussions linger (and given how unpredictable concussions can be, I think we should assume they will), or if Pedroia gets hurt (as he seems to every year), I think we'll see Iglesias contribute positively to this team.

Or Pedro Martinez, if Rubby is tearing up the minors.

Who will be the team’s HR leader by season’s end?

Tucker: Will Middlebrooks. A wrist injury halted Middlebrooks tremendous rookie season, blasting 15 HR in 75 games. By hopefully avoiding the feared “sophomore slump”, Middlebrooks and the Green Monster will be BFF’s. Prediction: 32 HRs

Nick: Jarrod Saltalamacchia. We can’t count on the health of Ellsbury, Ortiz, or Napoli, so the next guy in line would be Salty.  He will probably lead the team in homers and strikeouts…if he doesn’t get traded first. 

Aaron: It feels weird saying it could be anyone other than David Ortiz, but I just don't trust those wheels.  Have to give the nod to Mike Napoli.  He should be fun to watch.

Ben: I'm taking David Ortiz. Even with the Achilles injury limiting him to 90 games last year, he nearly the led the team with 23 homers. He'll be on the DL starting the season but in three of the past four seasons, he got off to a slow start. I'll be optimistic and project that he'll be in the lineup by the end of April and not have any setbacks, which could be asking a bit much from the 37 year old. If all that does come to fruition, he'll be in the 28-34 home run range.

Scott: Mike Napoli. I don't think Ortiz will play enough, and I don't think Ellsbury will ever hit more than 15 again.

Your Morning Dump... Where we look for this year's Ciriaco

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Jose Iglesias, SS

His chances of being the Opening Day shortstop were erased when the Sox signed free agent Stephen Drew. And for the first time in three years, Iglesias won’t even be the most talked-about shortstop prospect in camp.

Xander Bogaerts, come on down.

Nevertheless, it’s an important spring for Iglesias, whose struggle at the plate (.313 on-base percentage in the minors) has outweighed even his defensive brilliance. And although he’s only 23, the time is near to either show improvement or fade away.

Herald - These Sox could surprise

The premise of this article by the Herald's Scott Lauber is a simple one:  Last year Ciriaco, a player that nobody knew of, or expected anything from, had a fabulous Spring which had him pushing for a spot on the Opening Day roster.  He throws five names into the ring to determine who this year's surprise will be.

Here are his five:  Rubby De La Rosa, Steven Wright, Jackie Bradley Jr., Brock Holt, and Jose Iglesias.

I highlight Iglesias above because, well, this is Ted's Army and if Jose Iglesias is mentioned in a column somewhere (anywhere) and we don't highlight it we get suspended from the site, without pay, for a month.  I've got kids to feed, so Jose it is!

But I also think that Jose and Jackie Bradley Jr. don't quite fit the Ciriaco mold of anonymity.  Bradley Jr. is 'the next big thing'.  The Sox have a plan for when they want him up.  Good play in Spring probably won't force the organization's hand here.  And Iglesias?  Everybody has known who Jose has been for a long time.  In fact, we've been patiently waiting for him to finally make an Opening Day roster.  The only way he does this Spring is if Stephen Drew is injured.  So, in conclusion, Jose Iglesias is a near lock to make the Opening Day roster.

The other three: De La Rosa, Wright, and Holt would be a bit surprising to see come Opening Day.  We'll wait and see how these guys play this Spring before we start getting excited about their chances to help this season.  Besides, I'm happy with the Ciriaco we have.  I don't need another one.

Rest of the links:

Herald - Winter’s tale a telling one | WEEI - The man who will be in charge of making Mike Napoli a full-time first baseman | Globe - Report claims Alex Rodriguez was injected with performance-enhancing drugs by owner of Florida clinic

At least some guys are having fun in the clubhouse

h/t KWAPT

That lovely photo came through David Ortiz's twitter page yesterday. I'm not sure what brought this on or if it is a part of an on-going joke, but it gets a chuckle.

We now know that Jose Iglesias, Pedro Ciriaco, and Mauro Gomez will make awful women. We also know that Mauro Gomez needs to do some crunches.

I guess it is good to dress up like cheerleaders and have a good time when the team is displaying the worst baseball we have seen in 46 years.

Ciriaco lifts Sox to secure back-to-back wins

Pedro Ciriaco drove in the winning run in the 9th inning of a 3-2 win in Toronto. 

Ciriaco doubled off something called Steve Delabar to drive in Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Pedro stole a base to get to third, but couldn't get home after Jacoby Ellsbury walked and Daniel Nava struck out. No matter: Andrew Bailey came on to get the save and the Sox escaped with a win.

The game was a pretty boring one. Clay Buchholz didn't allow a lot of runs -- just two -- or hits -- only four -- but walked five Jays. Not a dominant performance. Meanwhile, the Sox scraped together just six hits collectively, off of Carlos Villanueva, including two each by Salty and James Loney.

Dustin Pedroia was hitless in his first game back since the birth of his son, Cole.

The Sox play tomorrow at 1 before heading down to Tampa to play spoiler against the Rays.

Box score

Image via Brookline TAB Blog, idea via @TMacinHere

Recap: We don't need no stinkin' Gonzalez...

 

...just kidding.  Please come back.  ADRIAN!  ADRIAN! ADRIAAAAN!!

Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding the Gonzalez/Crawford/Beckett trade to the Dodgers the Sox played a pretty solid game of baseball, beating the Royals 4-3.

Lester won his third straight game, and dropped his ERA below 5 in the process.  So, hooray for that.  It was another night where he wasn't in total control, but did enough to get through the Kansas City lineup.  He left the game in the 8th with what I'm assuming is a hamstring injury.  He grabbed the back of his leg after throwing a pretty poor pitch, so it doesn't look good.  At least we don't have to worry about him being out for any time of playoff push.  He ended the night with 6 K's, 4 walks and surrendered the 3 Royals runs.

Once Lester was pulled, Valentine wanted to make sure he didn't leave any reliever in too long so Padilla, Miller and Bailey were each responsible for an out in the 8th.  Bailey stayed in and finished off the 9th, getting his first save as a member of the Boston Red Sox. And if you squint just right as he's on the mound, he almost looks like Papelbon.

Sox batters left a bunch of guys on base, but you probably already guessed that would happen.  The big story of the night - other than, you know, the Sox trading away the best player to come to Boston in quite some time just so they could dump some salaries - was the return of David Ortiz.  Papi didn't disappoint, hitting a two-run single in the first, and following that up with a double in the third.  Ciriaco had himself a two-hit, two RBI night as well, with the two RBI's coming on a nifty little double where he popped a ball well out of the strike zone right over 3rd base.  He then stole third just because he's Pedro Ciriaco and he can seemingly steal bases at will.  Ellsbury also had a two-hit night, but struck out instead of driving Ciriaco home.  Ryan Lavarnway even got a hit!

Regardless of everything else swirling around Fenway right now, winning ballgames is fun.  Let's do that more often.

BOX SCORE

Recap: Lester dominates, Sox beat the Yankees

Johnny Lester, Adrian Gonzelz, Pedro Ciriaco and Nick Punto quadruple-teamed the Yankees, as the Sox win 4-1.

Lester was the main story today, winning his second consecutive game.  The last, and only other time he's done that was back in May.  He threw 7 strong innings, giving up only 5 hits and 1  run while striking out 4 batters.  He wasn't overpowering, but he did pitch his ass off.  The key to this Sox team right now is building some momentum and confidence for next year.  If Lester can keep stringing some good starts together, that'll help.  The B-Squad, Bailey and Breslow took care of the 8th.  Aceves got the save. 

The offense wasn't great -- Sox batters left 16 men on base. Surprise! -- but they did plenty to get the win.  Gonzalez hit a two-run shot in the 1st.  Punto smacked a double to right that brought Ciriaco home from first (which should have been a triple, but Jones misplayed the ball).  The final run coming on a wild pitch that brought Podsednik home.  Gonzalez (2 hits) and Ciriaco (4-4) were the only Sox batters with a multi-hit game.  In addition to the RBI double (triple), Punto stole a base (as did Crawford and Ciriaco) and had a great game at 3rd as well.

On the negative side, Lavarnway went 0-4, bringing his average down to .107.  Someone should probably tell him that he's supposed to be the future catcher of this franchise.  And Ellsbury went 0-5, and wasn't able to bring Punto home from 3rd after his double (triple).  Oh, and Cody Ross went 0-4 and struck out 4 times.  Plus, Derek Lowe pitched and got the final out for the Yankees.  So that happened.

But beating New York always puts an extra hop in my step, even if they're 12 games up in the standings.

BOX SCORE  (Photo by Jason Szenes/Getty Images)

Recap: The Red Sox hate you and wish you were never born

Breaking news: This team is absolute garbage. 

They wasted a solid start from Buchholz, and lost to the lowely Minnesota Twins.  Again.  In heartbreaking fashion.  Again.

Buchholz scattered 7 hits through 7 innings, allowing 1 unearned run.  He did his job.  Andrew Miller and Alfredo Aceves?  They did the opposite of their job.  They did the Twins' job. 

Miller came in in the 8th, with the Sox up 2-1 and proceeded to take a gigantic dump on the mound.  He faced three batters, one got a hit, the other two were walked.  Aceves relieved him, and while he gave up a sacrafice to Morneau that tied the game, he got the final two outs with no problems.

Bottom of the 8th starts off with a Ciriaco (CIRIACO!!!) pinch-hit home run into the monster seats.  The first of his career.  Sox up 3-2.  The Sox got another run off the bat off Ross, who drove Pedroia home.  4-2 heading into the 9th against the terrible, terrible Twins.  Ballgame, no?

No.  No it was not. 

Lots of bad things happened in the 9th, including an RBI single by Jamey F'n Carroll.  But the worst thing to happen was a 3-run home run by Joe Mauer that put the Twins up 6-4.  And, well, that was that.

The Boston Red Sox do not want you to enjoy watching baseball.  And, unfortunately for you, they've mastered the art of making you not enjoy watching baseball. 

Recap: Sox beat Verlander in rain-shortened win

The Red Sox benefited from Mother Nature tonight as the umpires finally called a game that was interrupted by rain in the 6th inning. 

The Sox won 4-1, though were on the verge of blowing the lead. With Franklin Morales on the mound and two outs, Jhonny Peralta walked to load the bases. But the rain had become too much, with standing puddles starting to form in the infield. It'll be interesting to see if the Tigers have any issue with how the game was handled, given that the winning run was at the plate. The umpires tried to wait out the rain, with a delay closing in on two hours, but eventually gave in.

Clayton (or as I prefer to call him -- and wish you would too -- K-ton) Mortensen got the win after pulling some long-relief duties for Josh Beckett. Beckett was removed in the 3rd inning with back spasms, which is sure to fire up the anti-Beckett contingency (which is now about 98% of Red Sox fans anyway).

Pedro Ciriaco ignited a four-run 4th inning for the Sox with a run-scoring single, and a head's up play on which he scored from second on a Carl Crawford infield hit that was bobbled by the second baseman. Much like Daniel Nava, Pedro is really trying to show everything he can do with the time he's given.

Box score

Recap: Red Sox find a way to win

The Red Sox won a game!  The Red Sox won a game!

In typical Sox-Yankee fashion, this one was up and down the whole way through.  The Sox jumped on CC early, scoring 3 runs in the first thanks to doubled by Gonzalez and Middlebrooks.  That was the jump-start Lester needed.  He came out of the gates pitching very well.  Through the first 4 innings, the Yankees only tagged him for 2 hits (although one of those was a home run).  It was a complete 180 from his previous 3 starts.

After the first, CC settled down and was pitching fairly well himself.  But both he and Lester ran into some trouble in the 5th.  CC gave up a 3-run blast to Gonzalez, putting the Sox up 6-1.  Unfortunately, Lester surrendered 3 runs of his own in the bottom of the inning thanks to a 2-run homer from Nix and a stupid fielder's choice grounder from Jeter.  Leter took the Yankees down 1-2-3 in the 6th, before departing the game.  He finished the night with 6 IP 4 ER 4 hits 6 Ks and 2 walks.  I'll take those numbers every time out against this Yankee lineup.

Unfortunately the Sox bullpen, or more specifically, Vincente Padilla, wouldn't let that lead stands.  Albers had an easy 7th.  Padilla had a not-so-easy 8th, culminating in a 2-run home run served up to Teixeira.  Of course it had to be Teixeira.  Tied game.  Miller ended the 8th, and well, the Sox offense took it from there.

Soriano walked Ellsbury after getting Sweeney to pop out.  With Ciriaco at the plate, Ellsbury clearly wanted to steal second and was all up in Soriano's head.  Soriano eventually got Ciriaco to fly out to center, but Granderson played the ball about as poorly as he could have, lunged over his wrong shoulder and missed the ball.  Ellsbury easily ran home and Ciriaco made it to 3rd with a triple.  Pedroia hit a sac fly to drive him home.  Sox up 8-6. 

Aceves made easy work of the 9th, with one bizarre near meltdown over a call he didn't like.  But that was it.  The Red Sox won an honest-to-goodness baseball game.

BOX SCORE

Your Morning Dump... Where CIRIACO!!!!

(Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

As the Red Sox [team stats] muddled their way to a .500 record through the first half of the season, their every-other-day encounter with winning was due to heroes both likely and unlikely.

Last night, as they kicked off the second half with a 3-1 victory against the Rays, they got help from both kinds of heroes.

Pedro Ciriaco, a substitute for sidelined Dustin Pedroia [stats], continued his hot-hitting ways — .625 in four games — by going 3-for-3 with two RBI and a sacrifice bunt. And David Ortiz [stats], no stranger to timely hitting, knocked in the first run with a monstrous homer.

“It’s a good feeling, we got the win. Everything’s about that,” said Ciriaco, who has six RBI and three stolen bases in his last three games. “I’m happy to do a little bit to help the team. It’s huge for me. Every time I have a chance to wear the uniform it’s another opportunity for me to be a part of the Red Sox team.’’

Herald - Newest Sox plays hero

It's only been four games, but the Pedro Ciriaco experience has possibly been the most fun aspect of the entire Red Sox season; except maybe Papi's continued dominance.

Ciricao represents everything that this team has been lacking.  Heart, hustle, energy, and just a general sense of fun.  Not only has he been exciting to watch, he's been wildly productive.  He has 10 hits in his 16 at-bats (2 for doubles) with 6 RBIs and 3 stolen bases.  And that doesn't account for the nice leather he's been flashing in the field. 

The downside is that, like all "flash in the pan" call-ups, the other shoe is going to drop eventually.  That's not to say that Ciriaco isn't good enough to compete at the major league level -- if you look at his previous two call-ups with the Pirates, he was solid (no clue why he couldn't stick around in their organization) -- but he's not the greatest baseball player in the history of baseball as his last 4 games would suggest.  He will come down to Earth, and it will probably happen sooner rather than later.  Teams will eventually zero in on, and exploit, some weaknesses in his game.  That happens to everybody.  The good players counter that.  We'll see if Ciriaco is able to soon enough.

But we can worry about his hypothetical struggles another day.  For now, I'm thrilled to have a player not named "Ortiz" that gets my blood pumping when he steps up to the plate.  I'll take as many of those moments as he's willing to give.

It's Ciriaco's world right now.  Sit back and enjoy.

On Page 2, Westmoreland has more surgery