Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Your Morning Dump... where Rich Hill is healthy but will he be with the Sox?

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.

“There’s a lot of interest circulating all offseason,” he said. “But it’s just finding the right situation, really.”

 

But his communication with the Sox this offseason has been limited.

 

“A little bit,” he said. “I talked to [new manager John] Farrell a couple times. Haven’t heard back yet. But I talked to him over the phone and saw him at a pitching talk in Falmouth. But then haven’t really talked to him.”

 

Hill last talked to Farrell at a fundraiser for the Falmouth Commodores of the Cape Cod League earlier this month. 

“Any time you can talk about pitching in January, it’s always fun,” he said.

 

His elbow is completely healthy now, he said, and he has no restrictions on throwing. He is on a normal program, with no restrictions.

CSNNE: Rich Hill: "I am 100% Healthy"

It was a great sight to see Rich Hill last season after seeing his season end two years in a row when he was starting to cement himself as the 7th inning guy. Plus it's that much more better to root for a local guy that makes it on the hometown club (which is part of the reason we dealt with Mark Bellhorn striking out 200 times). 

Even with this bullpen being stacked on paper, we all know that there isn't such a thing as having too many pitchers. The Sox declined to give him arbitration, but he should be considered to make this bullpen that much better. Usually a year removed from Tommy John surgery a pitcher comes back better than ever. So here's hoping that the Sox bring him back and that this time Hill gives us more than the 31 2/3 innings pitched over the past three seasons. And again, with him being in hometown colors, his comeback would be that much sweeter. 

Globe: Ranking the Red Sox | Kalish expected to be out at least six months | Herald: Varitek doesn't want in on bullpen  | WEEI: Salty, Red Sox deal with loss of Tuck | Precedent suggests five-month surgery for Kalish

Your Morning Dump...where Rich Hill visits Dr. Andrews.

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.

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine said prior to Sunday's game that reliever Rich Hill, who was placed on the disabled list, has been dealing with tightness in his left elbow. Hill will see Dr. James Andrews, who performed his Tommy John surgery last June, to determine the cause of the pain. 

Valentine said the tightness in the elbow began approximately three weeks ago, but that it went away before coming back recently. He added that Hill "just didn't feel great" throwing curveballs, especially in an at-bat against Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper on Friday night. 

WEEI:Hill to see Dr. James Andrews

This was news yesterday but there hasn't been anything else about the severity of the injury. While Dr. James Andrews is the one who performed Hill's Tommy John surgery, it's never a good sign to hear that a pitcher is going to talk to him. More times than not, a meeting with Dr. Andrews means your season is done.

Hill has been a great story to watch over the past two seasons. The kid from Milton wins a roster spot to and gets to play for the Sox. He started out strong and appeared that he carved out a spot for him in the bullpen as the go to lefty, until he blew out his elbow. The Sox never found his replacement and could've used him down the stretch. Seeing him come back this season was great to see and while Franklin Morales has emerged as the lefty, Hill is still an important piece of the puzzle.

I'm hoping that this is just a big overreaction about the Hill\Andrews meeting and that all he needs is some rest. If he needs another surgery on that elbow, it could be the end for him.

Rest of the Links: Globe: Red Sox swept | Sox place hill on DL, Melancon recalled | Ortiz one of few bright spots for Red Sox | Herald:Losers lamenting  | Lester's losing patience | Sox swept to finish dreadful homestand | CSNNE: Groundhog day | Nava scratched from Sunday's game | Questionable umpiring leaves Sox with bad taste in mouth | WEEI: Washington sweeps Sox |  A tale of two rotations

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.

Dice-K could be back sooner than expected

I never thought I would say this, but this could be a good thing for the Red Sox. Dice-K is ahead of schedule in his rehab process and could be back as soon as June 1st.

Daisuke Matsuzaka continued his rapid road to recovery looking impressive in a controlled intrasquad game vs. Sox minor leaguers this afternoon.

Matsuzaka, who threw most of two innings and allowed a single, appears to be well ahead of schedule and the Sox have indicated a June 1 return to the major league team is not out of the realm of possibility. It may even be sooner than that given the way Matsuzaka is throwing, which is very hard.

... and he is throwing well too!  Pop the champagne bottles and celebrate because Dice-K is going take Boston by storm, again. Well, I may be overzealous.

Doesn't Matsuzaka sound so much better than Dubront right now? Sure he has been a disappointment since 2008, but how confident are you in Dubront? Hell, Matsuzaka even sounds better than Bard right now.

In addition to Dice-K, Rich Hill is doing better than expected in his rehab process and is working his way back to being the left specialist we knew.

Rich Hill will undergo Tommy John surgery

via Boston Globe

Red Sox reliever Rich Hill will undergo Tommy John surgery tomorrow in Pensacola, Fla. Dr. James Andrews will handle the procedure.

The Boston native did not give up a run in his time with the Red Sox this season. Hill pitched a total of 8 innings over 9 games, giving up only 3 hits, and struck out 12. It's tough to lose a solid arm for the season.