Posts Tagged ‘Craig Hansen’
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Ramirez, Sox End Volatile Relationship: Latest “Manny Being Manny” Antics Swelled Into Selfish Discontent, Forcing Boston To Make A MoveAugust 4th, 2008
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And just like that, he’s gone.
After 1,083 regular season games played, 274 home runs launched into the ether, and 868 runs driven in, Manny Ramirez will no longer stand before the Monster in left field wearing home whites with red embroidery. No longer will he bat behind David Ortiz, forming one of the most prolific offensive combos in the history of the game. And no longer will he stir that fickle cauldron mixed with absolute indignation and pure jubilation.
Just like that. Like so many of the baseballs that effortlessly smacked off the barrel of his bat. Gone. Long gone, in fact.
With just minutes, if not seconds, to go before the clock struck four on Thursday afternoon, the Red Sox sent the disgruntled Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers via the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-way deal that landed All-Star outfielder Jason Bay—quite fittingly—in the Bay State.
In a move similar to the Nomar Garciaparra trade of 2004—and for largely the same reasons and under eerily equal circumstances—the player, teammates, manager, and front office all agreed: a point of no return had been reached, and Ramirez had to go; and what better place than Frank McCourt’s SoCal Red Sox Retirement Home. Read more
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Halfway Point Revisited: Making The GradeJuly 20th, 2008
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The mid-season report card, better known as the beat writer’s great crutch, remains one of the more pointless routines in baseball journalism. After all, a baboon could regurgiate what a player has already done and fling arbitrary grades around.
So, since we all know that assigning high and low marks to individual players is nothing but a sham, I decided to take a stab at it as well, though with, hopefully, some predictive acumen in certain cases. Read more
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Wrist & Relaxation: Big Papi Out At Least A MonthJune 7th, 2008
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He let loose his typical mighty swing—the type of violent hack meant to launch a baseball into an orbital rotation around the sun, or perhaps even beyond. A tick late on the incoming heater, he instead thundered a seemingly harmless foul ball off to the third base side.
But before the soon-to-be souvenir even found its way into the crowd, David Ortiz heard it: a disconcerting pop in his left hand followed by excruciating pain upon each subsequent movement of his wrist, which sounded off with a noticeable click.
An X-ray after the Monday night game against the Orioles in Baltimore revealed no damage, but an MRI the next day back in Boston would prove to be far more revealing. The extensor carpi ulnaris tendon in Ortiz’ left wrist had slipped from its sheath, which had suffered a partial tear, causing the connective tissue to grind and snap over the bone, hence the pesky clicking sound emanating from the area.
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May Farm Report: Promotions & Emotions - Part 1June 3rd, 2008
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It’s that time again. As the calendar flips to June—and as the 2008 amateur draft gets ready to kick off later this week—we first need to look back at the month that was down on the farm for the Red Sox organization.
But before highlighting the best from the month of May, a little upkeep on April’s minor league headliners tops the pecking order.
Soon after earning pitcher of the month honors in April in Triple-A Pawtucket, right-handed reliever Craig Hansen received another mark of distinction—only this one a bit more noteworthy for the imposing six-foot, six-inch fireballer with a hard slider. On May 6, the 24-year-old Hansen was promoted to the big league Red Sox in an effort to solidify a heavily Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon dependent bullpen.
While the results have been mixed, Hansen has shown some signs of being the potential dominating setup he was heralded to be when Boston selected him in the first round of the 2005 amateur draft. His high earned run average remains a bit deceiving given his lousy/unlucky strand rate of 42 percent; however, on the flipside, his command has been spotty and his .267 BABIP has worked to his benefit …
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Julio Lugo: Another Sunk Cost At Short?May 14th, 2008
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Ever since the eleventh-hour deadline deal that shipped Nomar Garciaparra off to the Cubbies as part of a three-way trade machination and, along with it, sent a Red Sox fandom into knee-jerk hysteria—then eventual baseball ecstasy three months later—general manager Theo Epstein has aggressively engaged in a seasonal pursuit for Boston’s next long-term shortstop.
But for the past four winters—each filled and followed by one fruitless search after another—Epstein’s hunt has seemingly mirrored the life and times of Elmer Fudd. Far too elusive to nab, that wascawly shortstop has evaded the grasp of the Sox GM at every turn—only self-inflicted gunshot wounds in the form of failed signings left in all the aftermath.
So, to say the shortstop position under the Epstein-era has seen more ups, downs and (public relations) spin than a merry-go-round wouldn’t be much of an understatement. In fact, by now, some Red Sox supporters might prefer a daintily handcrafted carousel horse to the club’s incumbent shortstop, one Julio Lugo.
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April Farm Report: A Master and His Bard - Part 1May 1st, 2008
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There’s a reason why many Red Sox followers remained hesitant when it came to the discussed but never-to-be trade for ace lefty and change-up king Johan Santana this past off-season.
Just call it prospect envy.
With the success of second baseman Dustin Pedroia, last year’s American League Rookie of the Year, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, a key cog in Boston’s World Series sweep of the Rockies, and right-hander Clay Buchholz, owner of a no-hitter in his second major league start, the fans of the Olde Towne Team are starting to expect similar results from each farmhand that makes his way up to the big club.
Add into the mix shortstop Jed Lowire, who has filled in admirably as a super-sub on the major league roster due to injuries in the Boston infield this season, and right-hander Justin Masterson’s impressive spot start against the Angels last week, and this phenomenon of lusting after the unknown—like the backup quarterback in football—only intensifies.
And fans aren’t alone when it comes to prospect envy.
Ultimately, the Red Sox front office, led by general manager Theo Epstein, felt the price for Santana—four top prospects … and a huge contract—was not one worth paying.