Ryan Westmoreland Update

"The Providence Journal reports that Red Sox OF prospect Ryan Westmoreland could begin facing live pitching soon. “They know I’m ready, and I know I’m ready,” he said. “I’m physically and mentally ready — whether I hit the ball or not — to get in the batter’s box again. To see a pitcher throw a ball at me from 60 feet away is going to be pretty special.” As soon as the Red Sox staff gives him the go-ahead, based on his health and the way he’s handling batting practice, he’ll hit real pitches from a real pitcher for the first time since his surgery (CBS Sports)."

It will be shocking if Westmoreland every plays in a minor league game, let alone an MLB game, but these steps are impressive. He has basically had to learn how to walk, talk, and so on since the surgery. Now he is swinging a bat well enough that he will be able to go against live pitching. I really hope somehow this kid does pull off a miracle and makes it all the way back. What an incredible story it would be. You do have to remember he was the Sox #1 prospect not too long again, and although it is unlikely he will ever make it, it's great to hear these kinds of updates.

Surgery Goes Well For Westmoreland

A complete prognosis will not be known for a few days, a team source said, adding that the surgery "went well" for the 19-year-old Rhode Island native, who had a cavernous malformation, or angioma, removed from his brain stem. ESPN

Theo had this to say, "Due to the complexity of this surgery, Ryan will face a difficult period initially before beginning his recovery"

None of this sounds to good for the playing career of Ryan Westmoreland. But hopefully he can bounce back from this and continue to kill it in the minors and eventually take over for that douche JD Drew. They really haven't been saying much about recovery time, but Theo and doctors comments don't sound too confident.

Daily Red Sox Spring Training Updates

Lots of news going around the Sox camp. Here is the latest.

- Westmoreland is undergoing brain surgery today. That's really all we know, but we wish him the best.

Orioles 4 Red Sox 8


- Mike Lowell got his first start a 1st base yesterday. Overall it went well. He can move side to side fast enough to field the position, but a lot of scouts did note that he looked very slow on the base path. Lowell showed no effects from surgery to his thumb. He singled to right in his 1st at-bat, flew out in his second, and left after 3 innings. He also made two putouts at first. Teams will be interested in Lowell if he can stay healthy, so it'll be interesting to see what the Sox do.

- Ortiz finally showed some power hitting his 1st HR of the spring. It has been a terrible spring for the big guy batting .143, so hopefully this will get the ball rolling.

- Wakefield did not have a strong game he let up 5 runs on 9 hits in just 3 2/3 innings, but with Dice-K likely out the first week or two he should be in the starting rotation to start the season.

- Papelbon looked good again throwing another scoreless inning (he has yet to give up a run) Okajima and Ramirez didn't go as well. Okie let up 1 run in his inning of work, and Ramirez let up 2. The good news is Bard pitched 1 scoreless inning striking out all 3 batters he faced.


The Sox actually play two games today. The first game is at 1:05pm against Houston, and the 2nd game is at 7:05pm against the Rays. Here is the lineup for the Houston game (the Rays one hasn't come out yet.

Ellsbury CF
Pedroia 2B
Varitek C
Youkilis 1B
Hermida LF
Reddick RF
Hulett DH
Sanchez SS
Valazquez 3B

Lester LHP

Daily Red Sox Spring Training Update

Some injury news for the Sox.

- If you haven't heard yet Westmoreland, one of the Sox best prospects is having brain surgery. We wish him the best. As of right now there is no word as to whether (or when) he might be able to return.

- Dice-K was supposed to throw batting practice, but it has been pushed back to Weds, because of a sore neck. He did pitch in the bullpen a little bit. I am be shocked if he plays in the first couple weeks of the season, because he hasn't put any work in and the Sox have extra pitchers, so they can afford to take their time.

- Beckett was scratched from his last start due to illness. Doesn't sound like a big deal.

- Mike Lowell might be playing his game as 1st base today, but he refuses to talk to the media about it. Hopefully the Sox can deal him soon before this becomes a big problem.

- Jed Lowrie has not been with the team since Thursday because of an illness that has left him fatigued. Can we just cut him? I am really sick of all the excuses why he isn't playing.

Sox play the Orioles today at 1:05pm. The game isn't televised, but I will have an update tomorrow on the happening of the game. Here is a look at the lineup and pitching schedule...

Mike Cameron CF
Mike Lowell 1B
Victor Martinez C
David Ortiz DH
J.D. Drew RF
Adrian Beltre 3B
Bill Hall SS
Jeremy Hermida LF
Tug Hulett 2B

Pitching: RHP Tim Wakefield followed by LHP Brian Shouse, RHP Jonathan Papelbon and LHP Hideki Okajima.

A Look At The Red Sox Farm System

It has been a slow news day, so I thought why not take a look at what the Sox have coming up over the next couple of years. Theo has come out and said the the are in kind of a gap between young guys who are currently up (Buchholz, Lester, Pedroia, Youk, ect) and the next round of prospect. Here's a look at who those players might be.

Ryan Westmoreland (OF) - 5 tool player, that some scouts say could be the next Grady Sizemore. His biggest problem is staying healthy. If he is able to do that, and add the power a lot of scouts think is coming, then this guy could be something special. This could be the reason the Sox seemed to be shopping around Ellsbury earlier in the offseason.

Casey Kelly (P) - This guys name got a lot of press this offseason. The Sox were completely unwilling to trade him. He was once a SS prospect too, but has decided that pitching is his future. Has a plus arm, and locates the ball well for someone who hasn't spent a full season just pitching yet. You'll be hearing his name a lot, but don't expect him in the Sox uniform for another 2-3 years.

Lars Anderson (1B) - We heard so much of this guy last offseason. He was supposed to be the next Red Sox first baseman, and take over Ortiz's spot in the lineup, but after an injury plague, very forgetting 2009 season a lot of people are giving up on him. He still has tons of power potential, but this is a make or break year for him.

Michael Bowden (P) - At best this soft throwing pitcher will be the next Jeff Suppan. I don't believe it, I have been saying for over a year now that this guy will never make it. I don't trust soft throwing guys at Fenway. The Sox really should have traded him when his stock was much higher (before the start of last season).

Junichi Tazawa (P) - Should never have been in the majors last year. He had a couple of decent starts, but also got rocked. I really hope the Sox haven't fucked this kid up by bringing him up too fast. He locates well, doesn't overpower anyone, but could be a nice 5th starter down the road. I am really interested to see how he progress this season.

Josh Reddick (OF) - Another guy that should have never had to be on the Sox last year. He is solid all around, but he is projected to be a corner outfielder, and I am just not sold that he will have the power to be an every day starter. If nothing else he is great depth to have.

Ryan Kalish (OF) - A lot of people like this guy more then Reddick, but to me they are the same player, but Reddick has a little more power. He can play the field, and runs the bases well, once again I think of him more as organizational depth, then a possible future star.

Jose Iglesias (SS) - He's Cuban, DP will love him. Right now he is not much of a hitter, but that could come in time, as he is at least 2-3 years from making a push for the MLB. Iglesias is one of the best defensive prospects in all of baseball, and since the Sox go through SS like hotcakes you might actually see him get a chance at that starting job one day (think Omar Vizquel).

There are obviously a lot more, but these are the names you will heart thrown around if the Sox get into trading rumors, plus it is always good to know what is coming through the system.

Roy Halladay To Red Sox???

I have said it from the beginning that I think there is no way he is coming here, but there are some rumors out there saying it might happen...

"Old friend Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports this afternoon reported that the Red Sox offered at least three players -- pitchers Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden and outfielder Ryan Westmoreland -- to the Blue Jays for Halladay, according to an unnamed source. Edes speculates that because the Blue Jays are looking for a shortstop, the Red Sox might be trying to bring a third team into the negotiations to satisfy that need. Toronto general manager J.P. Ricciardi has set a personal deadline of today to deal Halladay, though he recently said that was not set in stone (Boston.com)."

Would I be happy if the Sox did this? Yes, I would have to listen to endless shit talking from DP, but it would be worth it to have him on the team. Do I think it is going to happen? No. I still think the media loves putting the Sox and Yankees into every rumor mill. Don't get me wrong I think the Sox have kicked the tired here, but I would be shocked if the Jays traded Halladay within their own division, but who knows? I never thought the Sox would put together an off like that (if it is true). We'll keep ya posted...

Also, if the Sox were to do this I hope they could get Scutaro too. I mean if the Jays are doing this deal then they have given up on this year, and Scutaro is in the last year of his contract so why not??

So the perfect in my eyes for the Sox would be...

Buchholz, Bowden, Nick Green (or Lowrie), and Westmoreland for Roy Halladay, and Marco Scutaro.