| 06 March 2009
Spring Training always presents an opportunity for change. Jason Varitek is working an a new batting stance... Jonathan papelbon is adding pitches to his arsenal... Mike Lowell is getting healthy. Here's a more detailed look at some of the recent "changes" we've seen since the Red Sox arrived in Florida:
Jason Vartiek - Tek hit .201 from the left side and .220 overall in 2008... that prompted him to finally agree to a change. Dave Magadan was ready and they quickly worked on simplifying his approach at the plate... the results have been promising:
Varitek has spent the offseason and spring training dedicated to reshaping his stance, creating more consistency by eliminating his pre-swing ticks. His balance in the batter's box and vision of offspeed pitches already has increased, Magadan said. Even early in the spring - Varitek has a double (while batting lefthanded) in six at-bats - Magadan vouched for Varitek's progress.
"To me, this is the best he's really looked since I've been here," Magadan said. "If he continues to be patient with it and work as hard as he's been working, I think it could be a big year for him."
The toe tapping was "creating some inconsistencies when he was ready to hit," Magadan said. "When you're not ready to hit and your head is doing a lot of moving, and you're at an inconsistent spot every time your foot lands, it's not going to be real conducive to being consistent, putting the ball in play very hard."
Jonathan Papelbon & Jon Lester - Both Papelbon and Lester have been using spring training to perfect new pitches they plan to add to their arsenal in 2009. Papelbon used his inning of work against Puerto Rico yesterday to work on his slider - a pitch he used as a starter, but hasn't use much as a closer.
"It's another pitch I'm going to start to throw more as the spring goes on," said Papelbon. "For me, I feel like it's time to give those hitters something else to look at. Adding another pitch is only going to make me better."
"Today, I'm able to get a lot more depth on it, instead of getting it rotational and side-to-side," he said. "I'm able to have it, more or less, go hand-in-hand with my split. [The split is] down and sinks to the right, where this pitch is going to be down and sinks to the left. I'm going to be able to X-out both sides of the plate, which for me is going to be huge."
Evan from FBAL took a closer look at what Papelbon likes to throw in a post back on Jan 22. and concluded that Paps has become too reliant on his fastball. Throwing too many fastballs has proven to reduce velocity over time and if Paps doesn't start mixing in more pitches he may stay in the game long enough to earn that big contract he's been focused on.
Adding the slider is a start and a stronger bullpen should help keep Papelbon fresh in 2009, but keep an eye on that fastball as the season goes on...
Jon Lester has been focused on his change up this spring. After a stellar 2008, Lester and Terry Francona want to make sure the southpaw stays healthy and keeps hitters guessing:
"The idea is twofold," Francona said. "One is to incorporate the changeup more and give him another weapon. And in the meantime, staying away from the cutter early in camp helps with arm strength and saves some wear and tear. (The cutter) is a weapon and then all of sudden, it's a very effective weapon. You go to it, you go to it and all of a sudden, your fastball (loses velocity). It's been a very effective pitch for him, but he understands the need to have (other pitches).
Some would argue that JD Drew's back problems this spring are an example fo the same old same old... not change. But, Drew feels that the shot he was administered in Boston earlier this week has him feeling more agile already:
"Some of the stuff that was being written," Drew said, "I got kind of a kick out of it. More than anything, it's just -- we were talking about some of the residual stiffness I had throughout the offseason, and really wished I could get rid of it. So I worked with a chiropractor. We started talking about the facet tightness that I had. He thought that may be the main cause of that residual stifness, when I'm sitting around, riding on airplanes, sitting around the house. Really, the only way to know if it was going to work or not was to go ahead and try the injections. If it worked, it was great, we could maybe get that freed up. If he didn't, we could try something different. It's felt really good that last couple of days."
Doctors have told Drew that he may never need another shot... or he may need a handful throughout the season to keep the inflamation down:
"It can be years before I have to have another one," he said, "or it could be months down the road. I don't really know, but everything that I can see, it did have some benefit."
Drew is expected to DH in today's game. The Sox will need a healthy and productive JD if they want to stay ahead of the Yankees and Rays this year... lets all keep our fingers crossed.
Clay Buchholz is a changed man. In 2008, bad innings would "snowball" on him and the result was a 2-9 record and a 6.75 ERA with the Red Sox. Since then he has been refining his delivery, first in the Arizona Fall League and now in Florida. Take this tid bit from Bucky's start against PR yesterday, courtesy of Adam Kilgor:
That first inning, two guys on, nobody out, last year it would have snowballed," he said. "There would have been maybe three runs, at the least."
Instead, he faced a trio of elite hitters and retired them without the runners advancing. Buchholz struck out Carlos Beltran, induced a lazy fly to right from Carlos Delgado, and struck out Alex Rios.
"That first inning made me go in the dugout and just sit and take a deep breath and say, 'OK, I've been in that position. I knew how to deal with it,' " Buchholz said.
The experience helped minutes later. Ivan Rodriguez and Mike Aviles smacked singles to lead off the second, then Buchholz hit Yadier Molina with a pitch. Bases loaded, no outs. "From then on, my mind-set was, 'All right, minimize,' " he said. " 'Get a ground ball or get a fly ball. Let 'em score.' "
Ian Browne of MLB.com also talked with Buchholz back in February about his mental preperation this offseason:
"You live and learn, and I learned a lot from last year," Buchholz said. "It's definitely mental. Physically I worked pretty hard this offseason, throwing a lot more. I feel like I'm in better shape. The mental side of it, I've always heard, it's 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. I know have the athletic ability to do it but if you don't have the right frame of mind to go about it, I don't think you'll succeed so that was a big part of it this offseason."
To get a handle on the mental aspect, Buchholz met with former Major Leaguer Bob Tewksbury, who is the sports psychology coach for the Red Sox.
"I had a couple of meetings with Mr. Tewksbury, and he just helped me on some little things to go out there and think about," Buchholz said. "If you have negative thoughts going through your head when you're on the mound during a game, you sort of have to step off the mound, take a breath and try to make a pitch instead of worrying about the next batter the inning before. That was my deal last year."
John Smoltz is sitching for his scheduled return in June, but the Red Sox may need help in the rotation before then and Buchholz will likely be the guy that gets the call. Justin Masterson could also slide between the bullpen and the rotation, but if Bucky can prove that his mental toughness has improved and his delivery is sound... I don't see any reason to play "yo-yo" with Masterson.
Bottom Line: Change is good...
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