Red Sox Spring Training Delight – 3/26

Members of the media are reflected in the sunglasses of Boston Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard as he speaks during a news conference following a baseball spring training workout Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012, in Fort Myers, Fla.

I’m not sure whether or not we know anything more or not about how the 2012 Boston Red Sox rotation will look after Daniel Bard‘s outing on Sunday where he gave up five runs.

Three of the four pitchers, Bard, Alfredo Aceves and Felix Doubront, all pitched in games over the weekend. Only Doubront had the best numbers of the trio.

Aceves outing on Saturday was more than likely an aberration as he’s rarely had a bad outing in a Red Sox uniform whether it be spring training or the regular season. Doubront has been consistently good all of this spring.

So with Bard giving up five runs and both he and Valentine being happy with his outing, I’m not sure if any questions were answered this weekend.

“And he looked like [a starter],” Valentine said. “And I liked him in between innings. I liked how he was responding to things. I thought it was a really good look today. He worked runners when they were on base. He got ground balls when he needed to. He got some swings and misses when he needed to, too. I just like what I see. That’s good stuff.”

I honestly don’t think Bard really pitched all that badly. There were some fluke things that happened. But if you’re going by the numbers, this is the second bad outing in a row for him.

With just eight games remaining in the spring for the Red Sox, it’s likely that each of the four in the competition will get one more start. Odds are Aaron Cook probably won’t be ready so this could be a three horse race.

We all know how valuable Bard and Aceves have been in the Red Sox bullpen in the past. And I just don’t see both of them making the rotation. So it’ll be interesting to see how this all pans out.

I’d have to think that any final decisions won’t be made until after each of them gets a chance to make one more start before Valentine has to put together his 25-man roster. And with just eight games remaining, they’ll like only get the one chance.

Another decision we’ll have to watch is who will be the Red Sox starting shortstop, Jose Iglesias or Mike Aviles.

If we’re going by defense, it’s Iglesias hands down. If we’re going by offense, it’s Aviles.

Iglesias is hitting .174 this spring with four RBIs while Aviles is hitting .333 with four RBIs. Aviles had three hits yesterday, including two doubles.

If the Red Sox offense is as potent as it was last year, they could conceivably get away with using Iglesias. But is that a chance Valentine is willing to make.

I’d have to think we’ll know how the 25-man roster is going to shape up by the weekend. But then again with Carl Crawford starting the season on the DL, the roster may not be what they want.

One thing’s for certain. It’ll be very interesting to see how these final 10 days of spring training play out.

The Red Sox are off to Clearwater today for a matchup with the Philadelphia Phillies. So please click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page to see today’s lineups as well as the links from the media.

After falling 6-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin yesterday, the Red Sox make another trip up north to take on the Phillies.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. There is no radio coverage for the game.

Here are today’s lineups:


1. Nick Punto	3B	1. Jimmy Rollins	SS
2. Dustin Pedroia	2B	2. Placido Polanco	3B
3. David Ortiz	DH	3. Shane Victorino	CF
4. Cody Ross	LF	4. Ty Wigginton	1B
5. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C	5. John Mayberry	LF
6. Ryan Sweeney	RF	6. Carlos Ruiz	C
7. Jose Iglesias	SS	7. Lou Montanez	RF
8. Jason Repko	CF	8. Freddy Galvis	2B
9. Lars Anderson	1B	9. Joe Blanton	P
Jon Lester	SP	Joe Blanton	SP