Here is your update about the happenings on Thursday from Red Sox spring training in Ft. Myers.

Let me start out that I am not sure which is the bigger story from Thursday, Manny Ramirez or Curt Schilling. So I’ll be honest, I flipped a coin and Schilling won.

Schilling announced on Thursday that he will exercise his right to be a free agent at the end of the 2007 season. The Red Sox brass has decided that they do not want to negotiate an extension with him at the current time. A big change from yesterday when Theo Epstein said that Schill will be a member of the Red Sox in 2008. Here are Curt’s thoughts:

“It’s disappointing, but things don’t always work out the way you want them to work out. This is a business decision, and like it or not, that’s what they decided, and you’ve got to live with it.”

Schilling made the decision public on Thursday morning on WEEI’s Dennis and Callahan show. Schilling also stated that the contract issue will not be a distraction during the upcoming season.

I understand why the Red Sox don’t want to give him the contract extension because they want to make sure he is healthy at the end of the season. But come on, does the “Bloody Sock” game ring a bell for the brass. The man goes out everyday and gives his heart and soul to the Red Sox and this is how they repay him. Baseball is a very funny business and that showed at Red Sox camp today.

If you would like to listen to Schilling on Dennis & Callahan listen below. Also I have included, Larry Lucchino’s reaction that also aired on the show.[coolplayer width=”200″ height=”50″ autoplay=”0″ loop=”0″ charset=”GBK” download=”1″ mediatype=””]
Dennis & Callahan with Schilling[/coolplayer][coolplayer width=”200″ height=”50″ autoplay=”0″ loop=”0″ charset=”GBK” download=”1″ mediatype=””]
Dennis & Callahan with Lucchino
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It has been reported in the media that Manny would be attending an antique car auction in Atlantic City on Saturday while the rest of his teammates are working out. Well this is not the case anymore according to Theo:

“We talked to his agent and he said he’s not going to be there, so that’s fine,” said Epstein. “He’s dealing with a family issue, and we’re not going to document his exact whereabouts on an hour-to-hour basis. He told us he’s not going to be there and he’s tending to his mother, and we believe him.”

The big question is will he really not go. I guess the only way to find out is to wait til Saturday. To me, he would stupid to go because there’s the possibility that it alienates his teammates from him. More than one person has said his mom is sick and I believe that. But I’d like to raise this issue. If Manny’s mom was healthy and Manny was at camp, how would he have worked the car auction into his schedule. Would he have asked for the day off? Maybe his mom is sick but he was going to go there for the day thinking he could slip one by the Red Sox. The Red Sox really have no recourse in the matter. They can fine him but when your making about $18 million a year, thats like pocket change to him.

Boston Globe reporter Amalie Benjamin had an online chat on the Boston.com website today. One of my questions was lucky enough to get thru:

Ian: Where do you see Hansen and Delcarmen fitting in with the Red Sox this season? Is only one of them going to make the team?

Amalie_Benjamin: There seems to be extra space for only one pitcher to make the team, with Hideki Okajima seemingly assured of a spot in the bullpen. My guess, from what Terry Francona has said, is that Craig Hansen could start the season in Triple A to give him some innings, maybe build up his confidence. I would think that Delcarmen has a better chance, but that depends on what they see out of those two (and some other relievers) in the spring.

Besides the closer role not being determined, what I can gather from this statement is that those are the only two fighting for a roster spot when the Red Sox break camp. So that means if you’re a position player that was invited to camp as a non-roster invitee, odds are your not going to make the team. The same could be true for the younger members of the 40 man roster. To my eyes looking at the roster, this is how it pans outs.

  • Catchers: Jason Varitek, Doug Mirabelli
  • First Base: Kevin Youkilis
  • Second Base: Dustin Pedroia
  • Shortstop: Julio Lugo
  • Third Base: Mike Lowell
  • Outfielders: Manny Ramirez, Coco Crisp, J.D. Drew
  • DH: David Ortiz
  • Bench: Alex Cora, Eric Hinske, Wily Mo Peña
  • Starting Pitchers: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Tim Wakefield, Jonathan Papelbon
  • Bullpen: Joel Piñero, Mike Timlin, Hideki Okajima, JC Romero, Brendan Donnelly and either Manny Declarmen or Craig Hansen

This is barring any injuries of course. Naturally, we don’t want any of those to occur.

Read more of the spring training update after the jump.

Matsuzaka’s workout regimen was different on Thursday then any other pitcher. He throw 103 pitches in his bullpen. The norm at this point for the other pitchers is around 70-80. Epstein had this to say after the Matsuzaka’s bullpen:

“The thing that caught my attention most (was) he’s out there, 80 or 90 pitches, and he’s still going from the stretch and still checking runners and treating it like a real game situation,” Epstein said. “Every single pitch had a purpose. You almost wanted to videotape it and show it to our young guys in the minor league camp for how to get the most out of your practice.”

Varitek said that he throw all of his pitches during the session and Varitek caught the whole thing. To me, that is pretty impressive. If this is what he did while he was in Japan, more power to him. The one thing that he will have to take into account though that he is no longer pitching in a 6 man rotation and he will have only 4-5 days to recover. It will be interesting to see what how many pitches they let him throw during the games. I don’t think we will see any 250 pitch games like the one he throw in high school in Japan.

As most people know, Ichiro will be a free agent after this season. With one Japanese star already on the team, could Matsuzaka help lure Ichiro to the Sox. This is what he had to say:

“I had the opportunity to play on the same team with Ichiro for the first time ever during the World Baseball Classic,” said Matsuzaka. “By being on the same team with Ichiro-san, I felt his greatness and his ability and also his reliability. I felt his greatness directly through that experience. If I could be on the same team with him, there would be nobody I could count on more.”

Very strong words from Matsuzka. It shows the respect he has for Ichiro as a ballplayer and as a human being. There is the possibility of another center fielder being on the market at the end of the season. That is Andruw Jones from the Atlanta Braves, who the Red Sox were rumored to be trading for at the trading deadline last season.

Honestly, I’d prefer Ichiro if given the choice. His ability to hit for power or base hits is very intriguing. Imagine a whole season of Ichiro playing at Fenway. With his speed, he would have the range to cover centerfield with ease. With his swing, he would probably pepper the Green Monster to death.

Something I forgot to add to yesterday’s update was an interview that Papelbon did with Dennis & Callahan. You can listen to this below.

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Dennis & Callahan with Papelbon
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That is all for your update for now. I’d like to point out that I used information from the Boston Globe, Boston Herald and redsox.com in the making of this blog post. No brain cells were hurt in the process of writing. Til we meet again….Same time, same bat channel.

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