Ahhh, spring training. Casey Kelly is the next Rogah! because he pitched a scoreless inning and Big Papi is back because he homered off some college kid who was probably on the verge of pissing himself facing Ortiz. As excited as I am for the return of baseball, I don’t get too jacked up about anything that really happens as far as stats or individual performances go. A lot of these guys are just getting into shape and trying new things with their batting stance or testing out new pitches, so it really doesn’t matter.
What I do like are the reports of the loose and relaxed atmosphere in the Red Sox training camp. This is a great example:
There was a sequence in this game you might never see again. Ino Guerrero, wearing No. 34, hit for the team’s other No. 34 — a guy named Big Papi.
Who is Ino Guerrero? His official title is “Major League staff”. Mainly, he is a batting practice pitcher. When Manny Ramirez played for the Red Sox, Ino threw just about all of his BP sessions. He still throws to David Ortiz all the time. The Red Sox had fun with his two at-bats, which resulted in two soft groundouts. Red Sox veterans heckled Guerrero from the top step of the dugout as he battled against Northeastern. Guerrero grounded out so weakly in his second at-bat, that he didn’t even bother running out of the box.
That’s good stuff, yes?
No TV coverage tonight but Beckett’s debut will be radiovised on WEEI.
