The Red Sox acquired outfielder Marlon Byrd from the Cubs on Saturday. (AP)

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said that the Red Sox approached his team about the possibility of acquiring outfielder Marlon Byrd once Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury went down with injury. With the Cubs featuring some interesting outfield prospects (notably including Brett Jackson as well as Tony Campana) in their farm system who are knocking on the door to the majors, Chicago embraced the opportunity to deal Byrd to the Red Sox in exchange for reliever Michael Bowden and a player to be named later. Hoyer said that the player to be named would be a pitcher whom the Cubs will choose from a list by the end of May.

Byrd, 34, is off to a terrible start this year. In 47 plate appearances, he is hitting .070 with a .149 OBP, .070 slugging mark and .219 OPS. However, Hoyer said both that the slow start did not create the team’s willingness to deal Byrd and that, in fact, he expects the center fielder to rebound in Boston.

“Our feeling was we’ve been trying to acquire relief pitching since the end of the winter. We felt like an area we have some surplus with young players we want to play is in the outfield so that was a big part of it,” Hoyer told reporters in Chicago after the trade. “The slow start, a lot of guys have a bad 45, 50 plate appearance stretch. We wouldn’t be doing our job well if we let that play into it. This is something we talked about going back to spring training. We felt we had some guys who can be a big part of our future. Realistically, Marlon was in the last year of his deal and we felt we wanted to give some plate appearances to other guys.”

Hoyer thinks that Byrd will benefit from the change of scenery, including the fact that he’ll get a do-over with his batting average.

“I think he’s excited to have the opportunity in Boston, knowing they’ve had some injuries and some playing time. You’re on a big stage in Chicago and he’s going to be on a big stage in Boston and I think he relishes that. I think he’s excited about going to Boston. I think he’ll be successful there for sure,” Hoyer told reporters. “His slow start is really uncharacteristic for him. I think he’ll heat up here. Maybe it helps him. Obviously, he’s been in a little bit of a funk and sort of having the batting average reset and going to the American League might be a good thing for him.” Read the rest of this entry »

ESPN MLB analyst Buster Olney joined Mut & Merloni to discuss Ozzie Guillen, the dynamics inside the Red Sox clubhouse and the relationship that exists between the Red Sox and Terry Francona, among other things.

Having worked with Francona throughout spring training and the early juncture of the 2012 regular season, Olney said that he has developed a relationship with Francona, and that the former Red Sox manager is still hurt by the way that his successful tenure in Boston came to an abrupt end at the end of last season. For that reason alone, Olney said he is not surprised that Francona does not intend to go back to Fenway Park to be part of any celebrations surrounding the park’s 100th anniversary.

“There’s no question — the feelings of hurt are fresh,” Olney said. “There’s probably some question in his mind about who exactly was the source of the information, who should I believe in this situation. To be honest with you, I don’t know many managers who, after they’ve been fired, can immediately go back to their old place.”

Building on the way that the 2011 season came to a crashing end for the Red Sox, Olney said that there is still some tension in the team’s clubhouse surrounding who or what could have possibly been the source for a story that detailed the team’s late-season collapse, most notably with players drinking beer and eating fried chicken in the clubhouse during games.

“It’s not like 25 guys are sitting there playing a game of Clue on this,” Olney said. “It’s a small group of players. But it absolutely has been an issue in spring training — accusations going across the clubhouse, and it will be interesting to see if they can turn the page on it.

“From what I understand, it wasn’t like ‘OK, let’s turn the page, full steam ahead,’ it was, ‘Oh yeah? Well the heck with you, the heck with you.’ The thing is still festering.”

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Alfredo Aceves will be closing for the first time in his career. (AP)

DETROIT — When the Red Sox acquired Mark Melancon from the Astros, some skepticism existed about whether he was ready to close in Boston. After all, Melancon had spent less than a full year as the closer of a last-place team in Houston. While he had an impressive year, with a 2.78 ERA, how much — some opined — could be expected of a pitcher who had just 20 saves in the big leagues?

That perspective makes the fact that the Sox bypassed Melancon to tab Alfredo Aceves as their closer so intriguing. Melancon has years of closing experience as an amateur (he was a late first round or sandwich pick talent at the University of Arizona before an arm injury dropped him to the Yankees in the ninth round of the 2006 draft), in the minors and, yes, to a lesser degree, with the Astros.

As for Aceves? Scan the records of his major league, minor league and Mexican League experience over the last decade and you’ll see just four saves, his career-high of two saves having been recorded a year ago.

To Aceves, this is not a significant consideration.

“I closed last year,” Aceves shrugged. “It doesn’t make a difference. For me, no. You can say, ‘Oh, he was never a closer. It’s going to be blah blah blah.’ No, it’s not like that. Here it’s not like that.”

To a degree, where Aceves has done his work is less important than the kind of work he’s done. Last year, he was 10-2 with a 2.61 ERA, including a 2.03 ERA in 91 relief innings. He had a 2.37 ERA against American League opponents, and, perhaps most impressively, a 2.04 ERA against AL East foes, the best mark by any pitcher to record at least 50 innings while pitching against baseball’s most unforgiving division. Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Cherington gave the latest on injuries to Andrew Bailey and Josh Beckett Tuesday. (AP)

Talking to reporters prior to the Red Sox’ final exhibition game in Washington, D.C., general manager Ben Cherington spoke to the media regarding updates on both Andrew Bailey and Josh Beckett, whom both were being examined for thumb ailments in Cleveland on Tuesday.

On Bailey: “We’re proceeding as if he’s not going to be on the roster for Opening Day. Until we get a little more information I don’t want to speculate on what may or may not happen. It’s clear he has an injury, we’re still trying to figure out the best way to deal with it.’’

“Bailey’s injury is different (than Beckett’s) in that we believe it is more of an acute injury we think he suffered when he was in a collision at Bradenton when he covered first and collided with Alex Presley and he fell. At the time he didn’t think anything of it but then started to experience some soreness shortly after that and then went back and looked at the video and he definitely landed on his thumb so he’s never had any thumb soreness before that so we don’t know for sure but it seems possible that’s what did it. Anytime you have more of an acute injury, we have to get to the bottom of how bad it is and whether it can be managed conservatively or not.”

Regarding surgery: “Don’t think it would happen today. If the procedure’s necessary, I think it would happen soon but we’re not at that point yet.’’

On potential closer candidates: “We’ve got a number of guys who have done it a little bit and think they can and are capable of doing it. Ultimately that’s up to Bobby [Valentine] who he brings in in the ninth inning. there are a number of guys out there who have some saves, have pitched late in games and maybe it’s more than one guy, that’s something that Bobby will decide and the game will dictate.

“We’re never comfortable with the depth we have, this is an opportunity for some guys to step up and maybe pitch in a different role than they would have before. I think when you lose one guy to the bullpen no matter who it is, no matter what the role is, there is a little bit of a ripple effect on other guys’ role. This is an opportunity for guys to step, maybe do a little more than in the past and then we’ve got to continue to look for protection just as we would in any season. As you guys know, we’re going to use 20,. 25 pitchers, not 12, we’ll keep doing that. Then we’ve got guys who are hopefully can be factors at some point early in the season – Andrew Miller and Rich Hill – both in Fort Myers and who both should go out on rehab assignments pretty soon. We’ve just got to keep looking and give the guys here every chance to prove they can do it.”

On Daniel Bard’s role: “No, the decision was made and he’s going to pitch Game 5 in Toronto and we’re committed to him as a starter right now.”

On Beckett: “Josh has had some soreness off and on this spring that he’s pitched through. We took the opportunity, the time between his last outing to the extended side he threw, the 100 pitch side in Fort Myers to let him gather as much information as possible so that we could help him manage it the best possible. He’s not that concerned about it, we expect him to pitch Game 2. It’s mostly information gathering at this point.

“You know that was one of those things that is common with pitchers, they might feel a little something, guys feel stuff all the time and he didn’t report it right away. I think he felt like it was just one of those things you get in spring training, you’re just a little sore and it goes away and you keep pitching through it. Over a period of days it kept nagging at him and it wasn’t getting better – I can’t remember the exact date he reported it. We took him out of his last outing and kind of stepped up our efforts to get it checked out and get to the bottom of it. It is what it is. We’ll know more by the end of the day.’’

“He’s had it off and on this spring. There may have been a time or two in the past where it’s been bugging him. This isn’t atypical for a pitcher or any player, you have something that crops up from time to time and has to be managed, and he’s managing it.

“It’s not tendinitis. You can kind of make a comparison to a pitcher’s shoulder or elbow, most major-league pitchers have changes in their shoulder or elbow that they pitch through. He’s got some changes in his thumb but it’s something he’s been able to pitch through and he’s planning to pitch through and pitching with, not that concerned with.

On if that impacts his grip: “You’d have to ask him. Josh has evolved as a pitcher. He was a different pitcher in 2011 than he was in 2007, we all saw that. He’s always making adjustments out there. He threw his curveball plenty this spring, threw it effectively, I don’t think there’s any one pitch he’s not going to use. He’s evolved as a pitcher but he’s not eliminating anything.’’

ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian joined The Big Show Monday to discuss a series of issues and topics currently surrounding the Red Sox, including the team’s pitching staff, the potential for a bounce-back season for Carl Crawford and whether the team will be able to make it back to the playoffs for the first time since 2009.

However, nothing surrounding the Red Sox was a bigger story than a report stating that manager Bobby Valentine and general manager Ben Cherington, both in their first year with the club, are at odds with each other.

It was a claim that Valentine dismissed today, noting the report as nothing more than “lazy journalism,” but Kurkjian said that there is certainly the potential for prolonged tension between the two.

“We have to understand that there’s going to be some issues here where there’s a manager in his 60s who has done the things that he has done, not just in this country but in Japan, and you pair him with a first-time general manager who’s trying to feel his way,” Kurkjian said. “There’s going to be some issues along the way, whether it’s who’s our shortstop and is this guy going to pitch the eighth inning or is he our fourth starter? Those are big questions that have to be answered.

“Sometimes, the manager wins those battles. Sometimes, the GM wins. In the end, Bobby is going to insist on doing what is right and in his heart, he thinks he’s going to be right 99 percent of the time and I can tell you, hopelessly biased, he’s right an awful lot.”

Along with the new personnel, another major question that will face the Red Sox this season will be whether Crawford can rebound from a disappointing 2011 season in which the high-priced free agent acquisition batted a career-worst .255. Kurkjian said that there may be some major internal problems plaguing Crawford, but that Valentine should be able to find a way to fix what went wrong last season.

“I checked very closely last year with the Rays when Crawford was struggling thinking nobody knows him better than the Rays, and I was assured that he will be fine as long as he has two things going for him – comfort and trust,” Kurkjian said. “He has to be comfortable in where he is and he has to trust the people who are making the decisions around him.

“I don’t know if he didn’t trust or wasn’t comfortable or whatever, but that was a really down season for him and I worry that they’re going to find that level of trust and comfort that’s going to make him play like he did with the Rays.”

Kurkjian said that, for now, he has the Red Sox making the playoffs as a wild card and that a big reason for that decision will be the positive effect that Valentine will have on the team.

“I think a smarter, wiser, older Bobby Valentine from, say, the Ranger days in ’85 is going to take a look and say, ‘Look, I’m going to do my part, but in the end, we’re going to win with those guys,” Valentine said. “If Carl Crawford is more comfortable hitting second and he’s going to be a better player hitting second, then I’m going to hit him second.’ That’s how smart Bobby is – ‘What button do I have to push to get this guy to play?’ He always finds the right buttons.”

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington (AP)

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington joined the WEEI broadcast of Saturday’s game at JetBlue Park between the Sox and Orioles to discuss a number of topics. Among them, he touched on the state of the competition for the spots at the back of the Red Sox rotation; the outlook for a number of players returning from injury, including Carl Crawford, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Rich Hill; and his evolving relationship with manager Bobby Valentine.

In examining the composition of his club, Cherington suggested that while a great deal of attention will be placed on the team’s Opening Day roster, the more significant matter facing the Sox is how they are constructed to handle the longer haul of the season given the inevitability of frequent roster changes.

“So much is made of the Opening Day roster, for good reason,” said Cherington. “You certainly want to go into the season feeling good about the 25-man roster, but it changes so quickly once you get into April that what we’re looking to do mostly is put together the best team and best depth we can for six months and not get too narrowly focused on April 5th.”

Speaking specifically of the team’s pitching depth, Cherington suggested that the team has been pleased by the early signs from the six pitchers competing for two starting spots at the back of the rotation (Daniel Bard, Alfredo Aceves, Vicente Padilla, Felix Doubront, Andrew Miller, Aaron Cook) as well as the pitchers beyond that group. He cited right-handers Doug Mathis, Justin Germano and Clayton Mortensen, along with rehabbing pitchers Daisuke Matsuzaka and Rich Hill, in discussing how the team appears to be situated for the longer haul of the season.

“The pitching staff on Opening Day, it’s very unlikely to look the same two weeks later, three weeks later, six weeks later certainly,” said Cherington. “We feel like we have some good depth there, guys capable of getting major league hitters out.”

Highlights of the interview are below. To hear Cherington’s complete on-air segment, click here. Read the rest of this entry »

Larry Lucchino

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox CEO and President Larry Lucchino, in a visit with the Dennis & Callahan show, said that in retrospect his team would have handled the matter of compensation for the departure of former GM Theo Epstein differently.

When the Sox accepted Epstein’s resignation so that he could leave to become the president of baseball operations for the Cubs, they did manage to get a concession that Chicago would give them player compensation. However, the two sides did not agree on precisely which player or players would go back to the Sox. In the end, Lucchino said, the Sox were “a little disappointed” that their yield on the deal was right-handed relief prospect Chris Carpenter and a player to be named.

“[Carpenter is] a very strong-armed young pitcher who pitched in the major leagues last year, pitched quite well last year in relief, very low ERA in September when he pitched with the Cubs. He’s a guy who throws 95-100 mph,” said Lucchino. “The short answer to your question, and this is not meant to be a reflection on Chris Carpenter – we’re excited to have him and pleased to have him. Overall, are we disappointed in the process? I think the answer to that is yes. I think the Commissioner’s Office feels the Cubs are disappointed. They didn’t want to lose Chris Carpenter and another player who is going to be named later. They didn’t feel any player compensation was appropriate.

“They’re disappointed. We’re a little disappointed. The Commissioner’s Office probably says to themselves, ‘If both sides are a little disappointed, no one feels that this is a clear win, maybe we did our mediation job right.’”

While Major League Baseball might feel that the right outcome was achieved, Lucchino said that the Sox do wish that, with the benefit of hindsight, they’d brought the issue of compensation to greater resolution before agreeing to let Epstein go.

“We did at that point secure the fact that player compensation had to be provided. We did get something at that point,” said Lucchino. “Certainly, if we were doing it over, there would be greater clarity about the specifics of the compensation. That’s the way Major League Baseball would like to have it done.”

Still, while the Sox would have liked to have received a player with a different profile, Lucchino said that the Sox were satisfied with the outcome of Epstein’s departure. He believes that the Sox are well positioned to succeed in Epstein’s absence, which opened the door for Ben Cherington to become GM of the Sox.

“The net result is that we have a change,” said Lucchino. “Theo is where he wants to be. He didn’t want to be in Boston, he wanted to be in Chicago, so he’s out there. Ben Cherington could not be hungrier, happier, more prepared guy to take the reins of the baseball operations department. And through that process, we ended up with Bobby Valentine. So we don’t just look at the compensation of these two players. We look at the state of the franchise right now. Is it in good shape? Is it poised to have the kind of positive successful season that we want? I think the answer to that is yes. In that sense, the offseason was successful.”

Lucchino also touched on several additional topics during his appearance on the Dennis & Callahan show. Highlights are below. To listen to the complete interview, click here. Read the rest of this entry »