Bunch Of Small Red Sox News

All the big Red Sox stories for this offseason are basically over, but there are 3 small stories that are a little interesting...

1. "According to a source familiar with the situation, the Red Sox have withdrawn their request to the office of the Massachusetts Secretary of State to undergo construction that would bring in the right field fence at Fenway Park as much as nine feet. The move, which would have expanded the width of the Fenway bullpens fro 21 to 27 feet, had to approved by the Boston Landmarks Commission and the Massachusetts Historical Society. The proposal was met with some resistance from the Massachusetts Historical Society (WEEI)."

I have to say I am a little disappointed since we have so many left handers in this Red Sox lineup. Saying that, the idea was kind of stupid, since the field is already so short. When I walked by Fenway a couple weeks back they were doing construction, I am not sure what they are working on, but it seemed somewhat major. I have heard rumors they are getting a new "jumbotron", so maybe that is it.

2. "The Red Sox announced Wednesday that they have claimed catcher Max Ramirez from the Rangers and designated pitcher Matt Fox for assignment. Ramirez, 26, had nearly been acquired by the Red Sox last offseason in exchange for Mike Lowell, but concerns over Lowell’s hip led to deal’s collapse. MLB.com’s TR Sullivan was the first to report the Sox’ acquisition of Ramirez (WEEI)."

What happened to all these Rangers catchers? There was a time when the Rangers had 3 of the top catching prospects in all of baseball with Max Ramirez, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Taylor Teagarden. Now the Red Sox have 2 of them. I am not sure what to expect from Ramirez, but he was pretty damn good in the minors posting a line of .286/.373/.381 last year, and .298/.396/.476 in the minors over his seven-year career. I like what the Sox did here, because it really can't hurt them. Hopefully between Saltalamacchia and Ramirez, one of them turns out to be something decent.

3. Mike Nicotera, the agent for outfielder Mike Cameron, said that his client was excited about the Red Sox' acquisition of Carl Crawford and that, even though Cameron is likely to be a fourth outfielder (barring an injury to Crawford, J.D. Drew or Jacoby Ellsbury), he looks forward to competing for a World Series in Boston.

“Mike wants to be with this club and feels like he will have a significant role with this club,” said Nicotera. “Mike thinks that this can be a very good team and that he has a chance to be a big part of it and that they have a chance to win a championship.

“That’s No. 1 in his mind. No. 2 is that he feels like, ‘Look, I need to show the Red Sox that I’m healthy. I feel great, but I need to go in there and show everyone that I’m healthy [following season-ending surgery to repair an abdominal tear]. When I show that, everything will take care of itself.’ That’s how he’s approaching it. He’s very positive about it (WEEI).”

I wish this statement came directly from Cameron, but it sounds like he will be fine with being the 4th outfielder to start the season next year. It really shouldn't hurt his playing time too much, as JD Drew loves not playing (maybe platoon?), Ellsbury is coming off an injury plagued year, and Francona likes to get his guys rest. So, I feel there will be plenty of playing time for all 4 of these guys. The best part? Every one of the them is a hell of a defensive player, so there will be little to no drop off no matter who is playing.