Theo Esptein is very happy about how the 2007 Red Sox have come together so far. He’s not totally pleased with the makeup of the bullpen and has some concerns about the bench not having enough hitters or a defensive specialist.
“I think the thing I liked best about the club is there were no real egos on display.”
“As much as any camp I’ve been around, this had a real team feel from Day 1 and put winning as the real top priority,” continued Epstein. “Everyone got their work in and it seems like it was as cohesive a unit as you can have when there’s 55 guys around. That should bode really well for the chances of us coming together as a 25-man unit quickly in April.”
When he was asked about the starting rotation, Theo responded with this answer:
“I don’t like assessing teams on paper,” Epstein said. “On paper, it’s got as high a ceiling as any team we’ve had. We got it going pretty good towards the end of 2004. Those guys made all their starts. That’s an important thing.
Often times, you look at the end of the year, the team that won the pennant is the team that had a rotation that made the most starts and stayed the healthiest, the top five guys. They can take the ball and not miss starts, that’s a good sign. That’s a pretty important factor for us and for all of our competitors as well.”
When asked about the bullpen, this was his response:
“It’s always wait-and-see [approach] for every team,” Epstein said. “I think we have some veteran talent in the big leagues right now. I think we have the best depth we’ve had in Triple-A in a long time. That’s a pretty good Triple-A bullpen that we have right now, and starting rotation. Considering that we usually use at least 20 pitchers to get through the season, I think we’re built better for the long haul.”
Theo isn’t concerned with Jason Varitek’s struggles at the plate during spring training:
“If you look back at his history, ’03, ’04, ’05, he hit over .250 maybe once in those springs” Epstein said. “In 2003, he hit [.190] or something like that and had a pretty feeble spring from an offensive standpoint. First game of the year in Tampa Bay, it might have been his first at-bat, he took a great swing on a pitch from Joe Kennedy and lined it off the wall and get locked in right after that. His history is as a guy who doesn’t hit much in Spring Training.”
He gives his thoughts on rookie 2B Dustin Pedroia:
“I think, for him, the light is going to go on one day where he can just relax and be himself,” Epstein said. “I think what you saw last year was a guy pressing and trying to do too much. That’s pretty typical of young players and can sometimes carry over into the second year a little bit. Usually there’s a moment, whether it’s a big hit or a good defensive play or just a deep breath, that helps a guy relax and be himself.
“I think we’ve seen some signs of that this spring. As Tito [manager Terry Francona] said, it hasn’t been a great spring for him. I think that moment will come and where he kind of clicks in and is able to be himself at the big-league level. He could become a real asset for us.”
Theo is also happy with the transition to America so far by Japanese pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Hideki “Darkman” Okajima (I’m doing my best to spread the word Peter.)
“I’m very happy with the transition process,” Epstein said. “I think both pitchers deserve a lot of credit for their great attitudes towards integrating themselves into the clubhouse and into the Major Leagues, and I think the rest of our players deserve a great deal of credit for turning something that could be a distraction and turning it into a positive. And there are a lot of people in the organization who went out of their way to make this work as well, including the specific support staff for these players.”
With the expected return of Mike Timlin on opening day at Fenway on April 10th (I will be there for that), Theo talked with Kyle Snyder and Javier Lopez about what might happen to them when Timlin returns:
“We could be set, but I think we told the last couple of guys that this is baseball, there’s always the possibility … but I expect we’re all set,” said Epstein. “There’s always the possibility of some sort of roster maneuvering. Other teams are trying to sneak guys through waivers this time of year and we have that one almost free spot with Timlin out for a week.”
Theo did speak about plans for maybe having a defensive specialist later on in the season:
“We’ll have that guy when we need him, later in the year,” Epstein said. “We have multiple candidates at Pawtucket. Right now, we need to carry 12 pitchers just to keep guys rested and in a good rhythm early in the season. Our bench right now, even with just four guys, takes care of every concern except outfield defense. If we ever go back to 11 pitchers, that 25th spot would be a pinch-runner/defensive-specialist type.”
As for me, I am pretty happy about the makeup of the Red Sox team this year. My only concern is the back end of the pitching rotation with Julian Tavarez starting. But with Jon Lester returning from cancer, hopefully he get his full strength back and be pitching in Boston by the end of May or early June.
