Spring Game 18 Recap/Spring Game 19 Preview

The Sox fell to defeat on Sunday 6-3 against Pittsburgh. While the result was not ideal the game itself featured many positives that are worth noting.

- Julio Lugo delivered two more hits and seems like he lost minimal timing during his absence to the injury. I really feel good about Julio Lugo in the 2008 season and I like seeing him succeed when he plays. I’ve discussed it in the past but if he can be the player he was from the start of July (.282/.331/.412) the Sox will be A-OK with it.

- Kyle Snyder turned in three strong innings. In his start he allowed one hit and fanned two as he continued in his bed to be the guy Terry Francona turns to when a spot start is needed.

- Bobby Kielty got off the mat delivering his first hit of the Spring. I frequently advocate not making too much of Spring results and I am not suggesting to do so here but I wonder if the Red Sox are looking at his efforts in relation to the performance of Chris Carter. Remember, in 2007 while Kielty had some big hits in the post-season his regular season performance was extremely poor (OPS+ of 52).

The Sox won’t overreact to the struggles of Kielty in the Spring but if they feel Carter can handle left field defensively I wonder if his offensive prowess will enable him to steal a job. To be honest I don’t particularly like the idea. Carter is a fine player who deserves an MLB job but the Sox are overloaded with lefty bats off the bench. As much as I like Casey I would not mind seeing Carter take his spot though.

Casey and Carter are similar players who have most of their value wrapped up in their offense. Casey has an PECOTA projection for an OPS of .737. I think Carter is a good bet to at least equal that if not beat it substantially (no PECOTA for Carter on their website). With Carter’s apparent versatility that would allow him to play left as well as first the Sox might be better off with the big, young lefty instead of the big, old lefty.

Important Number – 50% - The number of base runners the Pirates scored. The Sox only brought home 23% of their runners.

Fragile Freddy Tip O’ The Cap – Julio Lugo – Lugo has bounced back nicely from his injury.
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Spring Game 19

Opponent: New York Yankees

Park: Legends Field

Pitchers: Bartolo Colon (0-0, 4.50) vs. Andy Pettitte (0-0, 3.86)

Stat of the Day: Get ready to hear this a LOT if Colon makes the team; Alex Rodriguez has a 1.515 OPS with 8 homers in 51 AB against Colon in his career.

Randomness: Truck Day for Freddy on Monday as Freddy returns from his Spring Training scouting trip (think Jimmy Fallon in “Fever Pitch” but not quite so suave). Barring significant events you probably won’t see anything new from me until Wednesday.