Jon Lester

After the sharp sting of the 2011 season, the number of major changes made to the organization in the offseason and all the eager hours of anticipation, the Red Sox will take back to the field as they kick off their 2012 season Thursday against the Tigers in Detroit. Both teams will look to get their respective seasons started on a winning note by wheeling out their premier starting pitchers, as the Red Sox will throw Jon Lester against the Tigers’ Justin Verlander.

Lester will be making his second consecutive Opening Day start, as he got the nod last year when the Red Sox lost 9-5 to the Rangers. In that start, Lester went 5 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs on six hits, three of which were home runs.

Even with a less-than-ideal start to open the season, Lester emerged as perhaps the team’s most reliable starting pitcher. In 31 starts in 2011, Lester went 15-9 with a 3.47 ERA, 182 strikeouts and 75 walks. His 15 wins were the most of any Red Sox pitcher and his ERA was bested by only one Red Sox starter (Josh Beckett). In spring training, Lester has shown no signs that his production will deteriorate, as he threw 18 innings and went 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA.

With the game scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, Lester will be pitching in two situations in which he thrived last season. Despite just a 5-5 record in 13 starts at Fenway Park last season, Lester went 10-4 on the road with a 3.47 ERA. In day games, he was 7-3 with a 3.25 ERA.

None of Lester’s 18 road starts last year took place at Comerica Park and Lester has not pitched there, or against the Tigers at all, since the 2010 season. In two starts against the Tigers that year, Lester struggled mightily, going 0-1 with a 5.54 ERA. One of those starts was at Comerica, a game in which Lester pitched seven innings and gave up four earned runs in what turned out to be a no-decision. Lester owns a 5.89 career ERA against the Tigers, his highest mark against any American League team.

The Tigers lineup that Lester will face Thursday is expected to be one of, if not the best in Major League Baseball this season. Last season, the Tigers, as a team, batted .277, which ranked them third among MLB teams, trailing only the Rangers and Red Sox. Additionally, Detroit was fourth in hits, RBIs and runs, making it one of the most accomplished offenses in the league. The Tigers were only 11th among MLB teams in home runs, but that can be attributed to playing half of their games at cavernous Comerica Park.

What was already a potent Tigers offense was upgraded immensely in the offseason with the addition of prized free agent Prince Fielder. Last season playing for the Brewers, Fielder was among the leading candidates for the National League MVP, batting .299 with 38 home runs and 120 RBIs. He ranked second in the National League in home runs and RBIs, trailing Matt Kemp of the Dodgers in both categories. Detroit, however, will be without catcher Victor Martinez for the entire season due to injury.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here and there with the Red Sox:

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* – Dustin Pedroia leads the majors with a .386 average against left-handed pitchers. He has a chance to be the first Red Sox player to lead the majors in that category since, well, Victor Martinez did it LAST SEASON with a .400 average against portsiders. In the 38 seasons since they began tracking the stat in 1974, the MLB leader in batting vs. lefties has never come from the same team two seasons in a row.

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* – David Ortiz is gunning for his 9th consecutive season with 54+ RBI at home (he has 45 so far). No AL player since 1950 has had more than eight such seasons in a row (Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada). Ortiz would also join Rodriguez (12), Frank Thomas (9) and Rafael Palmeiro (9) as the only AL players with nine or more such seasons in their career (since 1950).

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* – The Red Sox are 9-for-9 on steals of third base this season. They would be only the 4th AL team since 1950 to steal third 9+ times without being caught, joining the 1994 Orioles (13-for-13), 1980 Royals (11-for-11) and 2003 Athletics (9-for-9).

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* – Josh Beckett has allowed at least one home run in seven straight starts, the longest such streak of his career. Since 2000, two Red Sox pitchers have endured longer streaks: Tim Wakefield (9) last year and David Cone (8) in 2001. No Red Sox starter has had a 10-game streak since Roger Clemens in 1986; amazingly, he went 9-0 with a 2.64 ERA during the 10-game streak despite the home runs.

The club record is 12 straight, held by Earl Wilson in 1964-65. Here are the three longest such streaks in major league history: Read the rest of this entry »

Jarrod Saltalamacchia is an example of how the Red Sox use the trade deadline to address future needs (AP)

The trade deadline is most commonly used to reinforce a club for the stretch run, but if one merely tries to read the trade tea leaves by looking at the shape of the 2011 Red Sox, it would fail to provide a complete picture of how the team approaches the buildup to July 31. After all, the Sox have made a habit of using the deadline not just to position themselves for the season at hand but also for the following campaign.

A year ago, the team addressed a potential offseason vacancy at the catching position (with Victor Martinez seen as likely to leave as a free agent) by trading for Jarrod Saltalamacchia in the middle of the year. It was a deal that reflected some foresight on the part of the club as well as serendipity to make a long-coveted player available at a low price. (For more on that, click here.) But the deal also underscored an important point: For the Sox, the trade deadline represents one of the few times during the year when you can make deals to address future needs, for a couple of reasons.

First, the deadline stimulates dialogue. Virtually every team is in contact with every other team as July 31 approaches. The result is a fairly complete inventory of available players. Secondly, late-July is a time when teams are engaged in a thorough process of critical self-evaluation, and so important assessments are made by teams about what they will need not just for the duration of an individual season but also beyond it.

Saltalamacchia is perhaps the best example of the Sox making a deadline deal motivated by the future (in no small part because the decision to acquire him was motivated almost solely by concerns for 2011 and beyond, and not by the 2010 campaign in which the trade occurred), but the deal to bring him to Boston from the Rangers is not the only one that the team has made with the future in mind. For instance, the deal to acquire Martinez from the Indians at the 2009 trade deadline reflected the Sox’ need to improve its catching in 2009 and the fact that there was no in-house solution at the position beyond that season; with Martinez, the team was able to acquire an everyday catcher who was under contract through 2010. Read the rest of this entry »

The Red Sox tabbed catcher Blake Swihart with their second pick of the first round (No. 26 overall) on Monday, and were elated to be able to select a switch-hitting catcher whose bat suggests the possibility of an impact player in the majors, at a position (catcher) where offense is at a premium. Yet while Swihart suggested that he was “excited” to be taken by an organization like the Sox, whom he referred to as “awesome” and “great,” he made clear that there’s no guarantee that he will be starting his pro career this summer.

Swihart, the top prep player from New Mexico, has a scholarship commitment to the University of Texas. And for now, his first choice remains playing for the Longhorns.

“Texas has always been my dream school. I’ve always wanted to go there,” said Swihart. “That’s Plan A right now. But I’m going to keep an open mind and everything.”

In recent weeks, Swihart said, he became aware of the degree of the Sox’ interest when area scout Matt Mahoney was calling on a near-daily basis. That alerted him to Boston’s interest in selecting him, but he was unsure whether the Sox would proceed with the pick based on his commitment to playing in college.

“I expected the Red Sox to be one of the picks for me,” said Swihart. “I kind of saw it coming, but I wasn’t sure at the same time. Just because of my commitment to Texas I wasn’t sure it was going to happen.”

The 19-year-old has been told that Texas would have him catch 75 percent of the time, and move around the field for the rest of the time in order to keep his bat in the lineup. He is hoping that Texas will advance past the Super Regionals to the College World Series; if they do so, he plans to meet with the Longhorns during the tournament. Given his interest in being with the Longhorns, Swihart acknowledged that he wouldn’t sign before the end of the summer.

“I’m still dedicated to Texas. I’m probably going to head out to Omaha after they beat [Arizona State] hopefully this weekend, go hang out with the team. I love the atmosphere out there,” said Swihart. “If I do end up signing, it will probably be at the end, just because I’m really dedicated to Texas.”

While he has dreamed of playing for the Longhorns, Swihart also praised the Sox. He did describe being selected by them as a thrill.

“It’s amazing. It’s awesome. They have a great organization. I’m just excited. It’s pretty cool,” said Swihart. “I was pretty anxious sitting there watching the TV, but it’s a great organization. It’s an honor to be drafted by them.”

Whether his next career step is in college or as a professional (should he sign with the Sox), Swihart said that he had made the decision as a sophomore to become a catcher in hopes of advancing his career on the advice of an academy coach, Ryan Kellner.

“My sophomore year he came up to me and said, ‘Hey, to get to that next step, that next career path, either college or professional baseball, you’ve got to become a catcher.’ He said I could get there at another position, but he thinks that would put me over the top if I started catching,” said Swihart. “A switch-hitting catcher sounded pretty good. It was his idea. Ever since then, I trusted his word, and it’s working out so far.”

Indeed, Swihart put up huge numbers for both Cleveland High School as well as for Team USA last summer (for whom he was the best hitter) while developing his defense. Swihart continued to play in the field as well, and suggests that he is comfortable at any position on the diamond, but that catching now feels like a vocation.

“Every position feels natural. But catcher I actually feel pretty good at right now,” said Swihart. “I worked a lot on my arm slot, a lot on the quickness of my feet. If I keep working, I think I can develop a lot more there.”

Both Texas and the Sox — who would have him start his pro career as a catcher — agree. Other clubs considered him for a position in the field.

“A lot of scouts talked about me playing a corner outfield position, or third base, second base position, but I’m happy to keep catching. I think Boston is looking at me as a catcher. And at Texas, I’ll definitely catch there 75 percent of the time they said,” said Swihart. “I can play any position. Wherever I need to play, I’ll play. If it’s at catcher, I’ll work my butt off and succeed there to get where I need to be.”

For more on Swihart and his prospect status, click here.

The Red Sox have four of the first 40 picks in Monday nights first round of the Major League Baseball draft. In the first round they pick at No. 19 and No. 26. In the sandwich round they have overall picks No. 36 and No. 40.

General manager Theo Epstein knows how hard it is to evaluate talent for the draft. “You are looking at 17-18 year old kids in high school who are off playing against very poor competition and trying to predict what they are going to look like, pitch like, and what they are going to be as people 10 years later when they are 27 years old,” he said.

“It’s just a fascinating process just getting to know the kids and getting a feel for projection of what you are looking for in high school and college kids and for what works and doesn’t work in the draft. Again, nine out of 10 of these kids don’t make it.”

Below is a look at who some of the top experts and websites are predicting the Red Sox will select on Monday night.

No. 19 (for Victor Martinez)- Baseball America: Josh Bell (OF, Dallas Jesuit HS, Texas), MLB.com: Blake Swihart ( C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Sox Prospects: Alex Meyer (RHP, Kentucky), Prospect Junkies: Alex Meyer (RHP, Kentucky), Mymlbdraft.com: Jed Bradley (LHP, Georgia Tech), Minorleagueball.com: Daniel Norris (LHP, Science Hill, Tennessee).

No. 26 (for Adrian Beltre)- Baseball America: Austin Hedges (C, JSerra HS), MLB.com: Andrew Susac (C, Oregon State), Sox Prospects: Josh Bell (OF, Dallas Jesuit HS, Texas), Prospect Junkies: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Mymlbdraft.com: Tyler Beede (RHP, Lawrence Academy, Massachusetts), Minorleagueball.com: Tyler Beede (RHP, Lawrence Academy, Massachusetts).

No. 36 (for Martinez)- Sox Prospects: Dillon Maples (RHP, Pinecrest HS, North Carolina), Mymlbdraft.com: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Minorleagueball.com: Austin Hedges (C, JSerra HS, California).

No 40 (for Beltre)- Sox Prospects: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Mymlbdraft.com: Grayson Garvin (LHP, Vanderbilt), Minorleagueball.com: Anthony Meo (RHP, Coastal Carolina).

On a night when ex-Sox catcher Victor Martinez was in Boston, Jarrod Saltalamacchia won the game for the Red Sox. (AP)

The return of former Red Sox catcher Victor Martinez to Fenway Park after an offseason departure to the Tigers had many playing the “What if?” game heading into Wednesday night’s matchup between the two clubs.

After all, Boston management had chosen to divert free-agent funds away from a potential Martinez signing – they offered him either three years/$36 million or four years/$42 million if he wanted to re-sign, far short of the four years, $50 million the Tigers paid – in favor of signing big fish Carl Crawford, trading and signing Adrian Gonzalez and making captain Jason Varitek and relative newcomer Jarrod Saltalamacchia their catching tandem for the 2011 season.

That decision has come under plenty of scrutiny in the early stages of 2011. Saltalamacchia went through a period of defensive struggles, especially with his throwing from behind the plate. Meanwhile, while Martinez entered the night hitting .317, the Sox’ backstop duo was hitting just .204 entering Wednesday’s game, bad enough to be 11th among AL teams for catchers’ batting average. What’s more, their one home run combined would be last in the AL if it weren’t for the Joe Mauer-less Twins.

But on Wednesday, the Sox were left with no reason to lament the absence of Martinez. With two outs in the eighth inning of a scoreless tie, Saltalamacchia drove a pitch from Detroit reliever Daniel Schlereth to deep left-center to score Crawford from first for the game’s only run.

The RBI was Saltalamacchia’s first game-winner as a member of the Red Sox, and all of a sudden the story went from the prowess of catchers past to the potential of catchers present.

Saltalamacchia’s RBI double has only been the latest in what has been a notable turnaround for both him and Varitek at the plate. Since April 28, the tandem is hitting a much more solid .276 (19-for-69), beating out the averages of the Red Sox players at second base, shortstop, left field and right field over that time. By comparison, their .145 combined average from April 1-27 ranked dead last by position on the team. Read the rest of this entry »

If the Tigers’ May 18-19 spots on the Red Sox schedule weren’t enough of a sign that former Boston catcher Victor Martinez was making his return as an opponent, the scene on the Fenway Park field before Wednesday’s game certainly was enough. Martinez’s son Victor Jose, who was an institution in or around the Red Sox clubhouse during his father’s year-and-a-half with the team, was playing catch with D’Angelo Ortiz, the son of David Ortiz, just outside the infield tarp. Both were clad in miniature versions of their respective fathers’ uniforms: a gray Detroit 41 for Victor and a white Boston 34 for D’Angelo.

If both members of the Martinez clan had it their way, perhaps that game of toss would be played much more frequently and with similar attire between the two young hurlers. But for now, all the senior Martinez has are the memories of his time in the Hub.

“I don’t have any words to describe it,” he said from the Detroit dugout. “By far, it’s been the best time of my career.

“My wife, my kids, my family and myself, we did everything we could to come back. But that’s just part of the game. It is what it is. We’ve got to move on.”

Part of that moving on process was signing a four-year/$50 million contract with the Tigers in the offseason. (By comparison, the Red Sox were offering three years/$36 million or four years/$42 million.) Martinez, who hit .313 and had 28 home runs in 183 games over the length of his time in Boston, has to adjust to more than just a change of location in Detroit. His switch also calls for the player who has always considered himself a catcher to get more starts at designated hitter than ever before in his career. As has been well-documented by the Jorge Posada situation in New York, the transition from catcher to designated hitter can be difficult on a player.

“It’s definitely a different scenario,” Martinez said. “It’s a challenge. It’s not easy. It looks easy to just go out there and have four at-bats, five at-bats. But you have to do a lot of stuff to keep yourself warm. That’s the hard part of being a DH.” Read the rest of this entry »