Big Papi Misses Papa Jack

David Ortiz isn’t exactly lighting things up during spring training this year. Yes, I know what your thinking. Ian, its only spring training. But when you had a great hitting coach teaching you things, and he is let go from the organization, you might struggle too.

Ortiz credits Ron “Papa Jack” Jackson with getting him out of his funk towards the end of last season. He helped him get out of a 1 for 12 slump that included the Red Sox record breaking 51st and 52nd homers of the season last year for Ortiz.

“Of course I miss Papa Jack. He was my man. He helped me out a whole lot,” Ortiz said. “But you know how it is. It’s a business. They choose whoever they think has to go at the time.”

But don’t fret Sox fans, we all know what Big Papi is capable of. He will respond to the slow spring training. He will succeed. He will still be the man in the 9th inning to hit the walk-off homeruns to win games. And yes, he will be the one with the big smile in the clubhouse.

Wednesday’s Half Marathon Around the NL

Here is your look at the news making headlines out of National League camps during spring training.

The Astros pared their roster down by 5 on Tuesday.

Blaine Boyer’s mid 90’s fastball has him competing for a spot in the Braves bullpen.

Sooze over at Babes Love Baseball tells us why Ken Griffey, Jr. will be playing right field for the Reds to start the season.

The Brewers players all had different conditioning programs that are paying dividends for them at their camp in Phoenix.

The Cardinals have a strong trio of middle infielders to help out on defense this year.

Ted Lilly is taking his first spring training with the Cubs seriously.

Some dude on the Diamondbacks, whose name I can’t spell, is making a serious impact during spring training.

The Dodgers’ billionaire will start the season in Triple-A.

The Giants still have some unanswered questions about their bullpen as spring training winds down.

The Florida Marlins are still in interested in trading for Jorge Julio or Armando Benitez to fill their vacant closer’s spot.

David Newhan will be adapting to a new role with the Mets. Pinch hitter.

Pedro Astacio has a new home in Washington as he signs a minor league deal with the Nats.

Padres catcher Josh Bard isn’t exactly comfortable as a switch-hitter but doesn’t mind it at all.

Unlike Gary Sheffield, Bobby Abreu had nothing but good things to say about his former team the Phillies.

Andrew McCutchen won’t be starting the season in Pittsburgh like he had hoped.

The Rockies still haven’t decided who is going to be their shortstop this season.

Blindsided in the 5th Inning

Well your pitching a hell of a game through 4 2/3 innings. Your thinking you will go out and have a beer or two after the game and maybe hook up with a spring break babe. Your pitching line looks something like this. 4 2/3 innings pitched, 1 hit, 7 strikeouts and no runs. Then all of the sudden the next 5 batters go double, double, single, single, single and you’ve given up 4 runs.

Well if your name is Josh Beckett, that’s exactly what happened to you against the Twins on Tuesday night. He was dealing with his curveball and fastball but once he got in that trouble, he again relied on his fastball which was the root of his problems last season. Varitek would pick a spot, he would hit it.

“We kind of went away from my curveball,” said Beckett. “Some balls fell in that maybe sometimes are caught. All in all, it was good. [Jason Varitek] and I worked unbelievable together through the first 4 2/3.”

Beckett did say that the day off on Monday may have had something to do with the unraveling in the 5th inning. Entering the 5th inning, he had thrown an economical 50 pitches.

“I didn’t feel real strong coming in because I didn’t do anything yesterday, no long toss,” said Beckett. Maybe it was one of those deals, fatigue or something from not doing the stuff that I usually do the day before I pitch. But I definitely needed that day off. One day off during Spring Training, you’re going to take it and do something that you want to do.”

Hopefully this is not a sign of things to come from Beckett. He has been pitching well as of late and a great outing on Tuesday night would have been icing on the cake. Instead his troubles made his line look like he had struggled the whole night even though that was not the case.

Red Sox Spring Training News

Well the Red Sox made a few more roster cuts on Tuesday. They sent down Kason Gabbard to Triple-A Pawtucket and they also told Joe McEwing and Bobby Scales that they will not make the big league team. However they were told that they will stay on the spring training roster until after the Red Sox head north to play in the exhibition games against the Phillies on March 30 and 31st.

For Gabbard, it’s just a matter of competing for a spot in a rotation that consists of Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon, and Tim Wakefield. Plus with Jon Lester on the horizon for the Sox as well, this will be a tough rotation to crack barring injuries.

For you diehard Sox fans who follow them during spring training, you may have noticed one person absent from the lineup for the past week. His name. Coco Crisp. He has missed the past week due to a shoulder injury. He said he tweaked his shoulder on a bad swing. Plus with the Red Sox facing 3 lefties this week, manager Terry Francona decided it was best for Coco to rest. The reason. He is a switch-hitter and the shoulder bothers him right now when he bats from the right side. He says his finger is good. Hopefully this shoulder thing is no big deal because we need a healthy Coco roaming centerfield in Fenway this year.

Bad news Sox fans. We will be without one of our mainstays in the bullpen to start the season. Mike Timlin, who is sidelined with a strained oblique muscle, will start the season on the disabled list. The earliest he can come of the disabled list is April 10th, which also happens to be the Red Sox home opener against Seattle.

“We need him to be out (in) the bullpen the whole year,” Francona said. “I’d love to have him ready Opening Day, but I don’t think it’s a smart idea to rush him. To do it, I think we have a chance to lose a good pitcher, and we don’t want to do that.”

So what does this mean for the Sox to start the season. Well for one, that narrows the closer’s race even more. With Craig Hansen and Mike Timlin out of the mix now, that leaves the door open for Joel Piñero, Julian Tavarez and Brendan Donnelly as the candidates to close out games. Well because I have been saying this all spring training, I am going to add one more name, Jonathan Papelbon. Highly unlikely to happen but still. Peter over at Peter’s Red Sox Forever has a good story about how Papelbon may be the best closer on the team. Right now, Piñero to me is the front runner. He has pitched very well over his last few appearances and seems to be getting a better grasp on the role. He finished off Tuesday’s game against the Twins for his first save of spring training. He will probably need to remain perfect or almost perfect thru the rest of spring training. Does anyone sense a possible trade?

Hope You Have A Strong Stomach

If you really want to see something thats disgusting, take a look at Manny Ramirez’s contract.

Overall
Signing bonus: $16 million, paid from 2001-05

2001: $13 million, of which $3 million deferred
2002: $15.5 million, of which $4 million deferred
2003: $18 million, of which $4 million deferred
2004: $20.5 million, of which $4 million deferred
2005: $20 million, of which $4 million deferred
2006: $19 million, of which $4 million deferred
2007: $18 million, of which $4 million deferred
2008: $20 million, of which $4 million deferred
2009: $20 million (team option)
2010: $20 million (team option)

Signing bonus

$16 million to be paid over five years: $6 million in 2001, $3 million each in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and $1 million in 2005.

Award bonuses

All-Star selection: $75,000
Silver Slugger: $75,000
League championship series MVP: $150,000
World Series MVP: $150,000
Most Valuable Player: $200,000
MVP second place: $125,000
MVP third place: $100,000
MVP fourth place: $75,000
MVP fifth place: $50,000

Relocation bonus:
$1 million if traded.

No-trade protection:
None, but he gets a complete or limited no-trade clause matching any the Red Sox give to any other player.

Charity:
Ramirez will donate $1 million from his contract to Boston-area charities aiding Hispanic youth.

If anyone wants to give me a $1 million to relocate to another city, feel free to make the check out to me. I don’t accept plastic. Only the benjamins please. As Wanda, aka Metschick from Ladies… said to me “what? like his 20 mil salary isn’t enough???!!!”

Does he really need a relocation bonus? Isn’t the $20 million a year average salary enough to get by on? And besides, seeing how the bidding on “his grill” is at $99,999,999 million, I think he will have enough to get by.

UCONN Women Overcome The Phoenix

Tina Charles led five UCONN Huskies in double figures to help UCONN defeat the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix by the final score of 94-70 to advance to the Sweet 16 in Fresno, CA. Charles had 22 points and 7 rebounds while Mel Thomas added 21 points. Renee Montgomery, Charde Houston, and Kalana Greene rounded out the Huskies in double-figures with 16 points each. Natalie Berglin led all scorers and the Phoenix with 28 points on 6 of 9 shooting from 3 point land. Her teammate Nicole Soulis chipped in 14 points as well.

The loss ended a 26 game winning streak for UW-Green Bay. Their last loss came to DePaul back on November 29, 2006.

It was a tale of two halves for the Huskies as they went into the break trailing 40-38. They outscored the Phoenix 56-30 in the second half. UCONN now moves onto Fresno, California to take on the NC State Wolfpack on March 24th. Since the NCAA just loves having the Huskies on late here, I’d assume their start time will be around 9:30. But don’t quote me on that. I will post the time once it becomes available.

Update: The game time for Saturday March 24 is approximately 9:00 ET on ESPN.

Is it Manny’s Grill?

I caught this over on Deadspin today. They had this link over to an Ebay ad that said Manny Ramirez was selling a grill. Well crack reporter Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe tells us that the grill is in fact not Manny’s but a neighbor of his, who is trying to sell his grill. The best part of Amalie’s article, Manny actually spoke to her. Is this the same Manny who doesn’t to speak to the media?

Though Ramirez indicated that he was not interested in baseball questions, he did speak to his personality, to his reasons for not speaking with the media, and his happiness just playing the game.

He said he’ll be happy to talk after his retirement, though he would not offer any guesses as to when that would be.

“I’m just here to play the game and enjoy it,” Ramirez said. “[I enjoy] my life. All the things that I do I enjoy. I’m not here to talk to [the media]. I’m here to play the game.

“That’s me, you know. The same. Everywhere I go is the same.”

She must obviously be trusted by Manny for him to speak to her. I know Curt Schilling is very high on her abilities as well. Kudos to Amalie for getting Manny to speak.

UCONN Now Has One Scholarship Available

The UCONN men’s team now has one scholarship available to give to a recruit now that Ben Eaves has decided to transfer. He hasn’t announced where he is planning to transfer too.

Eaves barely played this season and only scored 1 point.

“Ben and I met this week and he let me know that he has decided to continue his college career at another institution,” said Coach Calhoun. “While I am sad to see Ben leave, I completely understand his feelings and will do everything I can to help him transfer to a school where he can enjoy the best experience for him as a student and as a basketball player. I wish him nothing but good luck in the future.”

“I have really enjoyed my year here at Connecticut and this has been a tough decision for me and my family to make,” said Eaves. “I am excited about what is in store for me in the future and appreciate that the year here at UConn has made me a better player and person. I look forward to finding a school in the next several weeks that will help me continue my college experience, both as a student and as an athlete. Until then, I will continue to work hard here in the classroom and finish the semester strong.”

Tuesday’s Half Marathon Around AL Camps

Here is your look at the news from around the American League camps at spring training.

Meet Bryce Cox, Red Sox “Reliever of the future.”

Jeff Karstens has thrown himself into the mix for the Yankees 5th spot in the rotation.

The Blue Jays have 5 pitchers competing for one spot in the rotation.

Devil Rays manager Joe Maddon has been very outspoken on what he wants from his pitchers.

The Orioles bullpen is getting high marks this spring training.

Ozzie Guillen is happy with Adam Russell’s performance this spring training.

Carlos Silva needs to pitch better to make the Twins rotation.

Just because you have a big contract, that doesn’t mean you’re gonna make the Royals.

Throwing 14 scoreless innings doesn’t guarantee you will make the Indians roster. Just ask Adam Miller.

Joel Zumaya hit 102 MPH on the radar gun Monday.

Jered Weaver hasn’t lost any velocity after his injury.

Larry Stone of the Seattle Times thinks the Mariners can win the AL West.

Sooze over at Babes Love Baseball tells us why the Rangers renamed their ballpark again.

Dan Haren and not Rich Harden was named A’s opening day starter.

Red Sox Are Looking For Ways To Make $$$$

In an effort to bring yet more money to the organization, the Boston Red Sox will try to capitalize on the 1967 “Impossible Dream” Team that won the AL pennant and lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series.For just the low price of $5,000 to $15,000 (I guess it depends on the player), you can have a member of the ’67 team come visit your business or corporate event. One of the packages may include tickets for a game to sit in the team’s Legends Suite. To me it would be worth it just to meet Yaz, probably one of the greatest players ever to don a Sox uniform. And I don’t mean a White Sox uniform. I mean the one and only Sox, the Red ones.