| 23 February 2009
Sunday was picture day for the Red Sox and Kevin Youkilis decided to mix things up with some new facial hair. He told the Boston Globe that he was "bored" and figured he try and set a new trend for 2009...
A few bloggers have already chimed in about Youk's new Fu Man Chu 'stache... and the guys at Surviving Grady (lovers of the "Beard That Scares Small Children") will not be pleased.
Sox & Dawgs has a number of the "up close and personal" head shots... Jason Varitek looks very angry... hopefully that just means he's pissed about missing time in the cage.
You can also watch video from Photo Day - HERE.
Youk was sporting his new stache while taking grounders at third base this weekedn. With Mike Lowell still working his way back from hip surgery, Youkilis has been spending more time at third base than usual, but he says it helps him with his defense at first base, so don't worry about that Gold Glove getting rusty:
"It's all about the footwork," Youkilis said. "Working out at third actually helps me to play first base because it helps me to move my feet, use my hands more. It helps me a lot to play first base. Where first base sometimes you get a little lackadaisical because you've got a bigger glove to knock it down... it actually helps me more when I'm at third, helps my fielding."
Nick Cafardo has a nice piece with Takashi Saito. Saito says he's pain free (considering "there isn't much left in the [elbow] joint") and ready to make the adjustment from closer to set-up man:
"Of course I understand the situations that I come in will be different and I know I will have to adjust to it mentally and physically, but right now is the time to start making those adjustments," he said. "It's an area where I can't spare any effort, giving my all to get prepared for my new role so that I can contribute to the Red Sox."
The Red Sox announced the starters for this week's games:
Josh Beckett will get the first start, against Boston College in a split-squad doubleheader Wednesday. The nightcap at the Twins' Hammond Stadium will be pitched by Tim Wakefield. Jon Lester gets the start Thursday against Pittsburgh, followed by Michael Bowden at Tampa Bay Friday. There's another split doubleheader Saturday, with minor leaguer Kris Johnson starting against Northeastern and Clay Buchholz getting Cincinnati that evening.
So Beckett gets the first start of the spring. Many of us are hoping Wednesday will be the start of a bounce back season for Beckett... Brad Wilkerson and JD Drew stepped in for BP against Beckett this weekend and said he's already looking sharp:
"He looked sharp," Wilkerson said. "A guy coming out, first live BP, he's pumping the strike zone, hitting his spots. That's what you want to see. When he gets on the mound, he's just a different bird, I'd probably say. He's hitting his spots, fastball, he's getting the inside corners on the lefthanders. Just really pumping the strike zone. That's what you want to see this early."
"It's early," Drew said. "He looked good. It seemed like his location [was good]. He might have thrown a few balls where he didn't want to. Changeup looked like it was sinking. The ball had a good run on it. He looked strong from the beginning to the end."
Some other quick notes from camp: George Kottaras will NOT be playing in the WBC for Canada. With no options left, the Red Sox want him in camp so that they can make an informed decision on who the back-up catcher should be ... Pitching Coach Jon Farrell has Jon Lester working on his changeup and throwing less cut fastballs. Lester was nasty in 2008 and he'll need to mix things up if he wants to keep hitters honest in 2009, so I like this idea ... and Terry Francona had this tid-bit about the flame-throwing Daniel Bard, who threw BP on Saturday:
"He's got a power arm that not too many guys in this camp or in the league possess," Francona said. "So he's going to be a fun guy to watch. Good breaking ball. Real solid year last year, kind of came into his own. What the guys in player development said is that he'll come into games and the guys on the opposing team that are [monitoring the radar] gun will all kind of do a double-take because he looks like he's throwing about 89, 90 [miles per hour], then they see it 97, 98, because it is fluid."
The Red Sox bullpen is stacked, so Bard will struggle to find a spot on the big league roster. But if he can prove that he can control that 100-mph fastball, he'll likely be the first guy called up should a reliever get hurt or struggle during the season.
That's all for now... peace.
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