Governor Patrick

Governor Deval Patrick is scheduled to appear on the Morning Blend with Scott and Ben. The governor will talk about the new insurance rates that take effect on April 1st. Tune in for Governor Patrick Tuesday morning 4/1/2008

A Future Star?

Craig Hansen was drafted in the 1st rd of the 2005 draft straight from St. Johns. Scouting reports read that this kid pitches in the high 90's consistently. Many teams were interested in trading for Hansen back in 05' and 06' but the Red Sox were very reluctant to give him up. The Red Sox could have pulled the trigger and got center fielder superstar Andrew Jones from the Braves back in 06' but the Braves needed Hansen in the deal and the Sox Wouldn't do it. Since Hansen has been in Boston he has been a bust. The organization rushed him to the big leagues and he has never performed the way scouts have expected. Today in Ft. Myers Hansen had a 1-2-3 inning and recorded 2 K's. He pitched well for the first time this spring. Speaking with him after the game he was really encouraged with the way he pitched. He told me that both Varitek and pitching coach John Farrell have worked with him and it seems to be paying off. Hopefully he can get back on track!

Lester/ Lugo

Lester says he is feeling confident about his abilities right now. He says he located his pitches very well. When asked if Francona told him whether or not he would pitch in Japan next week Jon said "I dont know yet, you guys will probably find out before me." (You Guys meaning the Media)


A joyful Julio Lugo entered the press room howling "Hola Amigos" as he walked in after. Lugo said he felt no pain in his back. Julio informed me that he would DH in tomorrow's game against the Pirates. Julio said David Ortiz must be nervous!!! He also said he will be on the plane when it takes off for Japan. This will be Lugo's second time playing in Japan. Back in 2004 when Lugo played for the Devil Rays, the team took on the Yankees in the regular season opener. He was asked if the trip messed him up after he got back because the Yankees complained about having a tough time recovering from the long flight. Lugo jokingly replied "No not really, I felt good I catched up right away. But it screwed the team up the whole year." Lugo was obviously referencing to the horrible season the Devil Rays had that year.

Francona's Morning Briefing

Francona pre game wrapup

Francona told the media today that Beckett is well on his way to a full recovery, however he says he doubts Beckett will make the Japan trip.

Lugo will DH tomorrow against the Pirates. Lugo has been battling a back injury this spring.

Crisp has been participating in more and more drills however he still isnt ready to come back from his groin injury. I watched his batting practice today and he hit pretty well. Francona said that if everything goes right he would like to see Crisp get some in game action on Wednesday before they head to Japan.

WALLY the Green Monster

Wally is running around the City of Palms Park with a water gun!!! Its Ok tho because its blistering hot down here...84 degrees!

Lugo's first AB

Julio Lugo made the most of his first AB coming back from his injury. Lugo lined a pitch to Right Center field and stood up with a double.

Dice K

Dice K's wife gave birth to a baby boy earlier today. This slots him in to pitch in Japan next week.

Regular Season Time Change

The Red Sox and A's were oringinally scheduled to start their April 2nd game at the Coliseum at 7:05 p.m. PST but the game time has been changed to 12:35 p.m. PST. The reason for the change is apparently because the Red Sox need time to adjust to eastern time when they play @ Toronto two days later on the 4th.

Tomorrow's game

The Red Sox take on Cincinnatti tomorrow at the City of Palms Park.

Jon Lester gets the start for the Sox. Recently acquired reliever David Aardsma will also see some action as well as reliever Bryan Corey.

Also Julio Lugo will play tomorrow, coming back from his injury!

GAME CANCELLED

This afternoon's game has been cancelled due to rain. The Red Sox get the W by a score of 7-4. The game went to the top of the 7th.

___________________________
Notes from after the game.

After the game Francona said he will not speculate on whether Dice K will pitch in Japan or not. Francona said "when we're ready to announce what we're doin, we'll announce it. We're not going to speculate, we're not going to go centimeters on his wife." In addressing Dice K's performance, Francona liked the way Dice K pitched. "I think he is progressing the way he is supposed too at this point in the spring."

Francona on Colon: Colon will pitch again Monday against the Yankees.

Manny Delcarmen's injury was in his right knee. He said he slipped when he turned and threw the ball to 2nd base and he aggravated a tendenitis injury he suffered from a few months ago. Delcarmen had a bandage wrapped around his knee. When I spoke to Delcarmen in the clubhouse Manny said he would "'be fine and the injury is not serious."

RAIN DELAY

The rain stopped for a little bit, then 10 minutes it started to downpour again. So, after the Delcarmen injury the teams and umps have decided to put the tarp on the field and have a Rain Delay.

Bottom 7-4 Redsox

Manny Delcarmen Injury

Manny Delcarmen has left the game with unknown injury. He might have strained a muscle . Breslow has been brought in to pitch.

RAIN

Its starting to rain pretty hard here in Ft. Myers. Alot of the fans sitting down in the lower boxes have moved up to cover themselves. The groundscrew is on the scene and doing some work on the field, doesn't look like they are going to call the game but who knows, its Spring Training.

________________________________
Going into the top 7th Manny Delcarmen will be on the bump with a 7-3 lead.

Here is Timlin's line

1 IP
2 H
1 R
1 ER
1 K
0 BB

Dice K speaks

Through Dice K's translator, Matsuzaka said he felt good today throwing the ball. He's looking forward to the Japan trip if he's able to go. He said that his teammates have been asking him to teach them some Japanese phrases. Dice K will pitch in Japan if he is infact able to go, all depends on the status of his pregnant wife.

Changes in the 6th

Some defensive changes for the Sox...Manny, Lowell, Varitek, Pedroia, Youkalis all have left the game...

Notable players that have now entered the game are Kevin Cash and Brandon Moss. There is a possibility that Moss will start the season on the 25 man roster because both Bobby Kielty and Coco Crisp are injured and their status is unknown. Moss is hitting .290 this spring.

Pap/Timlin

Papelbon pitched one inning of scoreless, hitless ball. He had 2 K's and faced 3 batters!

Timlin is now pitching in the 6th

Red Sox 5
Orioles 2

Dice K

Here are Dice K's final numbers on the day

4 IP
4 H
2 R
2 ER
0 BB
2 K

Not a bad performance from Dice- K. He looked real good in the 4th, giving up no hits and having a 1-2-3 inning with a K.

DREW Homer

J.D. Drew just blasted one to left center. Drew launched one that probably went close to 400ft.

After two innings of Play Red Sox 3 Orioles 1

Manny Homer

Manny just blasted a two run homer to left field. That's his first of the spring. Manny seems to be swinging the bat pretty well. After one inning Redsox 2 Orioles 1.

The new SOX backup catcher

I spoke with Kevin Cash today in the clubhouse. Besides the Yankees I think the Red Sox are the only other team where the backup catcher gets so much attention. Anyways Kevin Cash said it was a bitter sweet feeling yesterday when he found out he would be Wakefield's catcher for the upcoming season. Mirabelli treated him real well last year when Dougie went down and Cash was called upon to catch Wakefield. Cash even went on to say that Dougie has helped him considerably well this spring.

_________________________________
Game coming up at 1:05!!!

Red Sox Lineup Vs. Orioles

2B Pedroia
IB Youkilis
DH Ortiz
LF Ramirez
3B Lowell
RF JD Drew
C Varitek
CF Ellsbury
SS Cora

P Matsuzaka.

(Lugo is the only regular starter not in the lineup. He will play tomorrow.)

Manny being Manny...Once Again

Manny Ramirez wasted no time this morning. Doug Mirabelli's old locker is now filled with all of Manny's gear. Manny switched his locker to Dougie's old, more spacious locker. Catchers have bigger lockers for the simple reason of just having more equipment. Now Manny has tons of room for all his stuff! Although Manny switched lockers he remains in the same corner as Alex Cora, Ortiz, and Lugo!

Kevin Cash

Terry Francona and Theo Epstein both have confirmed that Kevin Cash will take over the role as backup catcher. They both said they feel confident in Cash's ability to catch Tim Wakefield's knuckleball. Francona said these types of decisions are "never easy, but we try to do the best for the organization, I have a lot of respect of what Dougy has done."

TIE

No matter what the score spring training games do not go anymore than 10 innings. This one ends in a tie 3-3.

This one is going to EXTRAAAA INNINGS

The Red Sox had two on with no outs in the 9th but couldnt get the job done. This one is going to extra's!!! Theo and Tito interview coming up after the game!

Drama in Fort Myers

In dramatic fashion OF Brandon Moss hit a solo homerun in the 9th to tie the game at 2. Julian Tavarez let up an unearned run in the 8th which gave the Rays the lead.

6 Innings

After 6 innings of play the score remains 1-0 Rays. The loan run came from the solo home run given up by Bartolo Colon in the 2nd inning. Hideki Okajimi pitched a hitless inning. Manny, Ortiz, Ellsbury, Cora, Lowell, and Dusty Brown all have been replaced...Its offcially a "B Team" game!!!!

Julian Tavarez is pitching now for the sox.

More updates to come!

Kyle Snyder and other pitchers

Kyle Snyder replaced Colon in the 3rd inning and had a scoreless inning.

Okajima, Javier Lopez, Julian Tavarez, and Bryan Corey are also scheduled to pitch today.

Colon play by play- 2nd inning

Bartolo went two innings as planned. Here's the play by play of his 2nd inning.....Evan Longoria grounded to short on one pitch, Navarro grouned to short on two pitches, Weber launched a 400ft homerun to right on the first pitch (Weber's first HR of the spring). Iwamura then grounded to short.

Final LINE for Bartolo Colon

Bartolo hit 93 mph in the first inning.

2 Innings
26 pitches
18 strikes
1 bb
1 K
1 Earned Run
2hits
1 hr

Colon Play by Play- 1st Inning

Colon was in trouble early. He gave up a lead off single to Iwamura, Bartlett reached first on an error by Alex Cora, then Bartolo walked Carlos Pena to load the bases. Colon then managed to get three straight outs. BJ Upton batted 4th and struck out swinging at a ball in the dirt. Jonny Gomes poped up to the catcher and John Rodriguez grounded to first.

1ST Inning Wrapup

20 pitches
13 for strikes

Lineup Change

Due to the sudden release of Doug Mirabelli, Catcher Dusty Brown will now get the start. More to come about Doug Mirabelli after the game when I check in with GM Theo Epstein and Terry Francona.

Mirabelli Released

The Red Sox have released Doug Mirabelli, opening a spot for Kevin Cash.

Starting Lineups

Ellsbury cf
Pedroia 2b
Ortiz dh
Ramirez lf
Lowell 3b
JD Drew rf
Sean Casey 1b
Doug Mirabelli c
Alex Cora ss

#40 - Bartolo Colon P


(Rays)

Iwamura 2b
Bartlett ss
Pena 1b
Upton cf
Gomes dh
Rodriguez rf
Evan longoria 3b
Navarro c
Jon Weber lf

Matt Garza P

Johnny Pesky

Just sat down with Johnny Pesky while he was signing autographs. Johnny was admitedly "not in a good mood". As he was signing autographs a kid gave him a MLB ball to sign. Johnny looked at it and pointed out the name printed on the ball "Allan H Selig". He then looked up and said "this is the man that kicked me out of the dugout". Johnny is obviously still upset about not being allowed to sit in the dugout during games. Last year Selig's office ruled that only 6 coaches were to be in uniform during games. Here is the ESPN link from last year if you're interested in reading it. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2819077

"Socks"

Thursday at the City of Palms Pahhhhhk!

Former Cy Young award winner Bartolo Colon is starting today against the Tampa Bay "Rays" (no longer devil rays). Terry Francona says Colon will pitch just two innings. Colon has been anything but impressive over the past two years with a 7-13 record and a 5.90 ERA. However Red Sox nation have high hopes for him this season.

It is looking more and more like Coco Crisp will start the season with the Red Sox. WFAN reported that the Red Sox and Mets agreed on a deal for Crisp but GM Theo Epstein shot down the report and said it wasn't true. Epstein, Terry Francona and Crisp will meet today before the game and probably discuss his situation. Coco has suffered from a groin injury most of spring training and has had just 4 At Bats this spring.

Other Red Sox news...

Dustin Pedroia returns to the lineup today after suffering from the Flu.

Predictions...

If Dice K can't make the trip to Japan in two weeks look for 41 year old Tim Wakefield to get the nod. Its also looking more and more like Josh Beckett will not go to Japan. Jon Lester will fill in and start as well!!!

"Socks" Zarbano

Arrival

Hello AM1280 Listeners!!!

I have arrived in Fort Myers Florida... It is 81 degrees and sunny! Bartolo Colon is scheduled to make his highly anticipated first start of the Spring tomorrow afternoon at 1:05. I will be at the City of Palms ballpark to see him pitch and also give live updates of his performance and the game on the new AM1280 BLOG!!! Talk to ya soon!

Sincerely

Joe "Socks" Zarbano!

Spring Training Coverage with Socks Zarbano

Exciting News!!!
Former Intern JOE will be covering Spring Training for the Boston Red Sox. Joe "Socks" Zarbano famously was criticized by Josh Beckett last year for wearing dark socks with his shorts in Fort Meyers. Join the Morning Blend as Joe covers the action for us again and tries to avoid any fashion faux pas. Joe will be blogging here during his stay in Florida.

Welcome to the Blend Blog

Welcome to the Blend Blog. It is a work in progress and we will continue to update and work on the blog in the coming months.

AM 1280 and Mega 1280 are proud to serve the Heart of New England and strive to provide the best in hits and information PLUS Red Sox Baseball, New England Patriots football, local sports, news, traffic and weather.

Join us for the Morning Blend Monday-Friday 6am-9am
Classic Drive Monday-Friday 5pm
and so much more. See more on our website