After all the drama that surrounded the Red Sox' acquisition of Adrian Gonzalez, it's easy to forget that the slugger, who underwent shoulder surgery in October, has been rehabbing all winter. While the team hopes Gonzalez will be good to go on Opening Day, "it seems silly to rush him if he isn’t ready," writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. According to Cafardo, Boston's contingency plan could involve playing Lars Anderson for a couple weeks or even pursuing a free agent first baseman. Let's check out the other items of interest from the Globe's Sunday Baseball Notes….
- There's a belief that Pedro Martinez could pitch the final months of the season if, as one American League GM says, he finds "the right fit." Cafardo speculates that the Phillies could be an interesting option if they end up trading Joe Blanton.
- A National League scout says he liked the way Jeremy Bonderman was pitching toward the end of 2010. "I’m really surprised a team hasn’t jumped at him," said the scout. "But some of that is up to the player and the agent, too. If he’s asking for too much, nobody’s going to do it no matter how desperate teams are for pitching."
- There's still a chance that Jarrod Washburn, who sat out the 2010 season, could sign somewhere. However, GMs who spoke to Cafardo are under the impression that the lefty wouldn't return unless he could land a "fairly sizable" Major League contract, which seems unlikely.
Like it says, if AGon isn’t ready, don’t rush him. We’ll be okay without him for a couple weeks if need be.
Wow I actually did forget that about A-Gon
Lowrie 3b, youk 1b.
Problem solved.
Except not really. Youk is preparing primarily as a third baseman. I’m sure the transition would be smooth but he’s going to be holding down third full time now. It would be best to leave him at third full time and never switch him. As it mentions, Lars Anderson could fill in for a couple weeks. It’s no big deal. Or Lowrie could play first. Then again, Lowrie might end up beating out Scutaro for the starting SS job, which I hope doesn’t happen.
Yeah, but then you’d have to use another one of Anderson’s options to bring him up and send him back down.
Ah, I forgot about that. Hm, free agent wise it’s just really Russel Branyan and Willy Aybar that might make sense. Gonna be a tough call, but regardless we can’t rush a superstar like Gonzo back.
Gonzo is already ahead of schedule. How many times does he have to say “I’ll be ready by opening day”?
He still hasn’t even swung a bat. He needs to be cleared medically. He can say he’ll be ready, but ultimately it’s up to the doctors.
He’s been cleared to start swinging on 3/1 and is going to speak to the surgeon about potentially starting earlier. I see no need for a discussion about Gonzo not being ready on Opening day. If we’re going to have a discussion about him, we may as well talk about Pedey and Youk as well, because they’ve gone through offseason surgery and have claimed to be feeling great as well.
Fair enough, but they’re doing everything. Gonzo isn’t. It’s a shoulder surgery that’s not something that’s easily overcome. Pedey and Youk can swing whenever, Gonzo can’t. You’re acting foolish to not even see the possibility he won’t be ready. I’m a die hard Sox fan and I want him to be ready as much as you do but that surgery isn’t the easiest to come back from.
“All I know is I’ll be ready for Opening Day.”
That’s a quote from Adrian Gonzalez. Listen, I know there’s a possibility that something goes wrong during ST or something and he has a minor set back, but right now, all indications are that he will be ready by Opening Day. I mean honestly – when you come to a new team, you don’t commit to being ready on Opening Day unless you’re 110% sure you’re going to be ready. You say “I should be ready” or “I think I’ll be good to go”, but not “I will be ready”. That’s all I’m saying.
If you’re a die-hard Sox fan, you might already know that most reports have Gonzalez more likely to start opening day than Pedroia. Gonzalez was scheduled to make the opener and is reportedly ahead of schedule. Likewise, both Youkilis and Ellsbury are allegedly already cleared for full activity. Pedroia’s had a few question marks and while he appears to be doing okay, he’s the only one with significant questions about his ability to make opening day.
Make your decision Pedro!
The right decision: Pedro and the Red Sox reunited!
(Seriously, I figure he’ll go back to the Phils, but I do so miss Pedro)
I really hate this new trend of sitting out a season, or half a season and then coming back. Or thinking they can come back. I like the good old days when a guy would retire and that was that. Or like what Pettite did. Jerk your team around until there’s nothing left to replace him with but the bottom of the barrel.
Just retire already!
Gotta make that last buck.
A.Gon will be ready for opening day. He showed up early for spring training and has been working hard ever since. Even Epstein said he is looking good and should be more than ready.
If Gonzo isn’t ready Youk will play first and Lowrie will play third. Somebody above came up with with the nonsense that Youk should never be moved back and fourth and should stay at third only from now on. I think that is absurd and I think it’s a huge asset to the team that Youk can spell relief at first base when we need him to. He’s gold glove at 1b for petes sake why would we not want him there when AGON is out? Youk has proven he can play both positions without it being an issue and I’m certain we will see him get some playing time at 1b in the future.