FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox held their first formal workout inside the brand new jetBlue Park Tuesday morning as manager Bobby Valentine threw and batted balls off the left and right field walls to simulate cutoff plays and throwing in the park that has the identical outfield dimensions as the club’s Fenway Park home.

Valentine said he is making a point this year of improving outfield defense and throwing strength, trying to improve the throwing arms of all of his outfielders.

“Part of the program today was cutoffs and positioning with our relays,” Valentine said. “This is our ballpark and we’re going to play at least 81 games in it and it’s great to have it and practice in. So, because there are a couple of nooks and crannies that are particular to ours, I think, obviously, our cutoffs and relays are a little different at times so, it’s good.”

Eight-time Gold Glover Dwight Evans paid a visit to Red Sox camp on Tuesday.

“I’d love to talk to Dwight about that,” Valentine said. “He’s one of the good men. And, I hear [Carl Yastrzemski] comes to camp, too. I hope I can get him over. There hasn’t been an invite out only because I didn’t know he’d be down here.”

While Valentine was poking fun at Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez for fighting the now-retired Jason Varitek, Valentine took a shot at another Yankee, Derek Jeter, and his famous cutoff play near the plate that resulted in a crucial put out of Jeremy Giambi in Game 4 of the 2001 ALDS.

“We’ll never practice that. We’ll never practice that. I think the ball gets him out if he doesn’t touch it, personally. But the Jeter-like simulation today is the idea what the first baseman and third baseman do as the ball is coming in.”

Outfield prospect Che-Hsuan Lin has already impressed with his arm in the outfield in workouts.

“I know we have one outstanding thrower according to [outfield instructor/first base coach]Alex Ochoa, and it’s not Alex and he was an outstanding thrower. Lin is in a different place. From reports, a couple of the arms are a little lower on the rating scale, and we’re going to try to adjust for that.” Read the rest of this entry »

After months of speculation as to where free agent Albert Pujols would sign, the destination now semms clear. Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that Pujols will sign a 10-year deal with the Angels, tweeting, “Source: Pujols will sign with Angels for 10 years for between $250 and $260 million. Full no-trade. Pujols decided Thursday morning.” ESPN writer Buster Olney confirmed the report.

A $250 million contract would make Pujols the second-highest paid player in baseball to Alex Rodriguez. The move also means Pujols will play in the American League for the first time in his career. Pujols had spent his entire 11-year MLB tenure with the Cardinals, with a career .328 batting average and 445 home runs. The three-time National League MVP will be 32 years old at the start of the 2012 MLB season and  42 when his contract expires.

New York Post writer Joel Sherman joined the Dennis & Callahan show with Dale Arnold and Tom Caron filling in Monday morning to discuss the Red Sox-Yankees series, Alex Rodriguez and other baseball news. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

A-Rod has been under investigation by Major League Baseball for his alleged participation in illegal poker games. Sherman said he does not think Rodriguez should be suspended, but he questioned the choices the player continues to make.

“Alex Rodriguez is a terrible, terrible decision-maker who constantly puts himself in trouble and titillates us and makes us want to figure out how he finally has his ‘gotcha’ moments,” Sherman said. “I don’t think it is going to be playing poker in California.”

The Red Sox took 2-of-3 against the Yankees over the weekend and are 10-2 against them on the year. Sherman said a lot of it has to do with the difference in the team’s starting pitching.

“I don’t think it is a fluke,” he said. “I think that the Red Sox lineup in particular hits the Yankee rotation very well, and I think the Yankees just hit the Red Sox rotation just OK. I think you can see there is a big difference and how the big starters on each team have pitched against the other. [Josh] Beckett pitched another good game last night, I know he didn’t get the win, but he only gave up two runs.”

CC Sabathia has struggled against the Red Sox this year. He is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA. On Saturday he gave up seven runs in six innings in his team’s 10-4 loss.

“Sabathia is 0-4, the first time a Yankee starter has been 0-4 against the Red Sox since 1975,” Sherman said. “I think the Red Sox lineup poses very specific problems for Sabathia, which is they really grind out at-bats and force him to throw a lot of pitches. Sabathia is a very smart pitcher and knows how to find outs in the lineup, which is often the left-handed hitters in the lineup. Well, the Red Sox left-handed hitters are very good against left-handers.

“You could just see it. CC Sabathia has given up two home runs to left-handed hitters all year, and those were to Adrian Gonzalez and Jacoby Ellsbury. He hadn’t given up a three-hit game to a left-handed hitter since July of last year, Carl Crawford did it on Saturday. It’s a tough one for Sabathia to get through. … It is going to be very difficult for the Yankees to win four times in seven games if CC Sabathia cannot beat the Red Sox.”

The Rockies are in talks with the Yankees to trade Ty Wigginton to New York, SI.com’s Jon Heyman tweeted Sunday. Heyman added that Wigginton, a third baseman with 13 home runs, might provide some power while Alex Rodgriguez recovers from surgery.

Wigginton’s versatility may add to his appeal to the Yankees. Wigginton has played all four infield positions (granted, only two games at shortstop), both left and right field, and DH. He is also a .295 pinch hitter.

ESPN columnist Ian O’Connor, author of “The Captain,” a book about Derek Jeter, joined the Dennis & Callahan show Wednesday morning with guest hosts Bob Ryan and Kathryn Tappen to discuss the book and Jeter’s future with the Yankees. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

O’Connor went all the way back to Jeter’s childhood and spoke with grade school teachers, high school coaches and summer league coaches to get a better idea of what Jeter is like as a human being.

He also noted in the book four flaws that he sees Jeter having: being overly sensitive to criticism, carrying a grudge for a long time, not being a better captain when Alex Rodriguez joined the Yankees, and not speaking out more against steroid use. O’Connor said he wanted to speak with Jeter in more detail about them, but Jeter refused a lengthy sit-down interview.

O’Connor said part of the reason for Jeter’s 2010 struggles had to do with contract talks.

“He was very uncomfortable,” O’Connor said. “It bothered him. I think last year when he had his worst year the contract thing bothered him. He would never admit that, clearly, as he struggled he realized he was digging himself a bigger hole at the negotiating table, tens of millions of dollars. Now, that the contract thing is behind him, it’s bothering him that he isn’t performing better.”

O’Connor also touched on the 3,000 hit milestone Jeter is about to achieve and how it might affect the remainder of his career.

“Once he gets past 3,000 hits [some people think] a burden will be lifted from his shoulders and he will return close to the 2009 Derek Jeter,” O’Connor said. “I don’t think that is going to happen. I think unfortunately, age and unseen forces of gravity and time have caught up to him and he is going to be this kind of player.”

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Adrian Gonzalez and the Red Sox agreed to one of the richest contracts in baseball history. (AP)

It is entirely possible that Adrian Gonzalez is leaving money on the table. If he had a monster season in 2011 and then hit the free-agent market as a 29-year-old, there is an excellent chance he could have seen a payday in the vicinity of the one conferred upon Mark Teixeira (eight years, $180 million). Perhaps, with Albert Pujols potentially pushing the bar higher for salaries, Gonzalez could have seen even more than that.

But maximizing his worth on the open market was not his goal. Gonzalez (hitting .268 with a .362 OBP, .439 slugging mark, .801 OPS and one homer in 11 games this year) and his agent, John Boggs, said consistently that he just wanted to be paid fairly in the context of some of the elite position players in the game. This is what Boggs had to say on the subject during spring training:

“Adrian in his mind, he knew what it was going to take, bottom line. He wasn’t concerned with chasing after or breaking records. He just wants to be fairly compensated,” Boggs said. “Yes, you think that you’re giving away something that might or might not happen. In the end, I think he’s said it the clearest, you can be very wealthy and play for a team that you don’t want to play for or you can be very wealthy and play for a team that you want to play for and is in competition every year.

“That’s really what his goal was,” Boggs added. “To be treated fairly and be compensated fairly and be on a ballclub that is year after year competitive. I think that was his goal and after that, if he feels that it’s fair financially, he’s good to go.”

Clearly, Gonzalez had no qualms with a seven-year, $154 million deal with the Sox — the parameters of which were established in December, during the window granted by Major League Baseball for the Sox and the first baseman to negotiate prior to the completion of the deal with the Padres.

Gonzalez will receive the largest contract (by average annual value) in Red Sox history, surpassing the $20.29 million that teammate Carl Crawford is making. His deal will also carry the seventh-highest average annual value in major league history (see chart).

Among first basemen, Gonzalez will receive more years but a lower annual salary than Ryan Howard, and he will receive one less year than did Mark Teixeira while making a very similar annual salary ($22 million per year for Gonzalez; $22.5 million per year for Teixeira).

The Sox will now become just the second team in baseball to feature two position players who will make $20 million or more per season, as both Gonzalez and Crawford will occupy that select club. The Yankees with Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez are the only other club to feature two players who making an average annual value of $20 million or more. Read the rest of this entry »

Orel Hershiser

ESPN baseball analyst Orel Hershiser joined the Dennis & Callahan show Monday morning to talk about the Red Sox following Sunday night’s 4-0 shutout of the Yankees. To hear the interview, go to the Dennis & Callahan audio on demand page.

Josh Beckett had his most impressive outing a long time in Sunday’s victory. Hershiser, the former Dodgers star who himself battled injuries during his career, said he thinks Beckett is learning how to become a different pitcher.

“Back problems, arm problems, they can get into your mechanics,” Hershiser said. “They can also get into your confidence. They can also get into your aggressiveness. … That creeps into where you are as a person and competing. And I think the fact that he was home, that the Red Sox needed a win, that they were playing the Yankees, that the adrenaline was so great, that you forget that you are hurt. You get to that fight-or-flight mentality, and he decided to fight.

“And his mechanics were much better. He wasn’t tilting back toward first base on his leg kick. He was driving toward home plate. He was confident out over his front leg and having the finish on his pitches. And you could see that, especially on his curveball. The depth on his curveball — even when he hung it — it was sharp.”

Added Hershiser: “For Josh, he’s not going to reinvent himself, but he’s smart enough to know how to adapt. And if he’s not going to throw 96, 97 [mph] and he’s not going to be able to pitch up in the strike zone because he’s going to be more around 92-94, I think he’s going to be fine. I think he’s going to learn.”

Hershiser picked the Red Sox to win the World Series and insisted he still has confidence in them. “I think it’s a great team,” he said. “I think they have holes. Of course, they have question marks. But you know what? Everybody has holes and question marks. On paper, when you look at them, the resume tells you this team is going to score a ton of runs. This team is going to pitch well over the long term. This team has a great 7-8-9 bullpen. And this team has kind of the intangibles with Terry Francona at the helm and some of the things that [Dustin] Pedroia and [Kevin] Youkilis bring to the table. This team could have chemistry. I still think they’re going to turn it around.”

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