Mauer's locked up...where does that leave us?

Well there goes that potential drama. Joe Mauer's locked up for the rest of his relevant career, and the teams who were banking on the possibility of landing him (New York and Boston) are suddenly left with one less potential hall of fame option. This leaves the Red Sox organization. On one hand, Victor Martinez is a .299/.381/.480 lifetime hitter who belted 33 homers in 2009. On the other, he is already 31 years old, has a detailed injury history, is a liability on defense behind the plate and notoriously is less effective with a bat in his hands when he's playing catcher as opposed to first base or DH. So what is the right call?

My presumption is that the Red Sox will make a serious run at signing V-mart to a three or four year deal. I base this on a number of factors. Firstly, the free agent class for catchers projects to be incredibly week after 2010. Secondly, even though Mark Wagner has looked spectacular this spring and Luis Exposito and Tim Federowicz both project as solid players down the road, there are no minor leaguers that will figure into the major league equation in 2011. As such, the Red Sox have little choice but to re-sign Martinez. And at first I saw that as a bad thing, but as I am prone to do, I've been thinking since then.

It is true that V-Mart is a little less valuable behind the plate, but that isn't necessarily where he will end up. We all know that he also plays first base and can handle the DH spot. ON the first base note, Kevin Youkilis has a firm hold on the position at the moment, but when Beltre's contract expires there is nothing holding Boston back from swinging Youk to third and moving V-mart to first. As for the DH, according to John Tomase of the Boston Herald, David Ortiz has no plan to press the team about his $12.5m club option for 2011, which provides the front office and coaching staff a little time to evaluate his 2010 productivity before making that decision. If Papi repeats his 2009 collapse, it is also conceivable that V-mart would man the helm at DH next season. However, as always, only time will tell.

Things looking up in Papiland?

David Ortiz has not been doing good things for me. All he's really given me this Spring is indigestion and thoughts of who the Red Sox will be trading for Adrian Gonzalez at the break. However, maybe in response to media scrutiny, Big Papi seems to have found his stroke. In the last five spring outings, he has gone 7-12 with 2 homers and 4 RBI's. Who knows how this will translate come opening day, but it's certainly encouraging to see Mr. Clutch actually driving in some runs and getting hold of a pitch or two.

Reddick Making a Case

With the off-season loss of Rocco Baldelli the Red Sox were forced to find a new fourth outfielder and as such, gave Jeremy Hermida $2.5 million for one year of service. Based on the money, I'm assuming Hermida will be on the 25-man come April, but a Josh Reddick has emerged as a big-league talent this spring. This isn't' to say that Hermida has disappointed (he's hitting .364/.391/.455), but Reddick has been absolutely stellar. In a team-leading 26 AB's so far, he has posted a line of .423/.444/.769 with 4 doubles, a triple and a home run. Now obviously this is spring training and doesn't necessarily mean anything (or so we hope with Papi's performance thus far), but Reddick's progress has to have him in the back of Tito's mind. He'll undoubtedly start the season in Pawtucket because the organization wants him playing every day, but at 23, his progress makes me a lot more excited about a future outfield of Josh Reddick, Ryan Kalish and Jacoby Ellsbury.

Things are looking up, Lowrie, Dice-K

So I was just thinking last night, and I believe I uncovered the key difference from 2009 that will spell success in 2010: The starting rotation-bullpen ratio and its effect on Tim Wakefield. Early on in 2009, the Red Sox were in a nasty rut. Josh Beckett would start and throw 4-5 innings, then the next day Jon Lester would repeat those innings, and then the day after that Dice-K would come in and throw 2-3 innings. By the time the team got to Tim Wakefield's start in the rotation, the bullpen had already tossed somewhere around 16-18 innings the previous four days, necessitating a lengthy start from Tim Wakefield. By the second half of the 2009 season, the wear took its toll on Wakefield and the bullpen. Wake was injured and unable to be the rock of the rotation like he was throughout the first half. At the same time, our bullpen began giving up exponentially more home runs and struggled to close out games. I believe that with Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and a healthy John Lackey fronting the rotation, the innings disparity should be lessened dramatically from the abysmal start in 2009. As such, the bullpen will be used A LOT less in those games. Ultimately this means that Tim Wakefield's eating innings goes from a necessity to a luxury. Less pressure on Wakefield and less strain on the bullpen should result in more wins. Just a thought!

In other news, Jed Lowrie is suffering from an irregular heartbeat and fatigue and took a stress test today to try and figure out the cause. Dice-K Matsuzaka attempted another BP today but only threw 19 pitches and was done. Doesn't look like he has much of a shot of being ready for opening day.

12 Sent Down, Westmoreland

Today the cuts began as the Red Sox moved 12 players to minor league camp. Ryan Kalish, Lars Anderson, Jose Iglesias and Yamaico Navarro headlined the hitters who were reassigned or optioned. They were joined by Luis Exposito and Che-Suan Lin. Of the pitchers, Casey Kelly stands out as the most notable name. He is joined by Adam Mills, Kris Johnson, Randor Bierd, Robert Manuel and Kyle Weiland. Kelly and Iglesias were both optioned to AA Portland.

In other, more somber news, Ryan Westmoreland, popularly considered one of the two best prospects in the Red Sox system (along with Kelly) must take a medical leave as doctors have discovered a cavernous malformation in his brain. His family has asked for privacy throughout the ordeal. In a press release late yesterday, Theo Epstein said, "The entire Red Sox organization stands in support of Ryan as he courageously deals with this issue. Ryan is a remarkable kid and a talented player, and we understand that many will be concerned about his health. He is getting the best medical attention the world has to offer, and we will have more information soon." Here's hoping it's good news for Ryan and his family.

Here's your chance Clay

Things are looking up in the Clay Buchholz camp today. He started the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates going 3 innings and allowing 2 hits, a walk and striking out 2. This is a marked improvement from his first appearance this spring.

In the meantime, ESPN Boston reports that Daisuke Matsuzaka was taking what was supposed to be his first step towards being ready to go on opening day by tossing live BP, but only five pitches into warm-ups he experienced neck stiffness and had to stop. On top of that he apparently needs to return to Boston to deal with a personal matter.

It seems that after all of the hullabaloo as to who would be the five men in the starting rotation come April 4th, things have worked themselves out. I think this is Clay Buchholz's chance to go out there and make himself necessary to success. If Buchholz is good then the organization has no choice but to keep him in Boston if and when Dice-K returns. We shall see.

My National League playoff Predictions 2010:

I'm basing the seeding and match-ups on my previously posted National League projections for the 2010 season. Let me know what you think.

Division Series:

(1)Philadelphia Phillies vs. (3)St. Louis Cardinals:
Phillies win it in four games on the arm of Roy Halladay and the bats of the
best offense in the National League. Sorry Albert.

(2)Colorado Rockies vs. (4)Florida Marlins:
Colorado wins it in three. The perfect storm of playoff experience from Colorado
and a lack of it from the Marlins. A good step in the right direction for
Florida making the post-season, but Colorado is just too good.

Championship Series:

(1)Philadelphia Phillies vs. (2)Colorado Rockies
Phillies take it in five. Maybe you are beginning to see the theme. No team
in the NL can take the Phils. Halladay rolls and so does this offense again.
Another "close but no cigar" season for the Rockies.