Red Sox Spring Training Blog: Reporting Day
FORT MYERS, Fla. (CBS) - Day 3 of Spring Training is underway. Today is technically reporting day for position players, but all of the team has already arrived.
Minus Jason Varitek, of course.
Here are a few of today's notes so far:
3:04pm
- Spoke with both Bard and Buchholz after they threw off the mound. They felt pretty gassed after taking part in some PFP (pitching drills) and said it felt like the 5th or 6th inning as they were on the hill.
"It was good. It felt like the first day," Bard said in the locker room after his day was over. "I don't think anyone is quite as sharp as they want to be, but that's what we're doing this for; work out the kinks and get that rhythm back."
- Daisuke Matsuzaka had another bullpen session, and Bobby V said he was surprised with the velocity Matsuzaka showed coming off Tommy John surgery. Some great news on the Dice-K front early on, as he has not suffered any setbacks.
Rochie's Thursday Video Blog
12:23pm
- Just watched Lester throw and he looked good. He got ticked off a few times with his location, which is expected this early on.
- Daniel Bard looked his free-and-easy self. He made a hitter look bad with his nasty fastball-then-slider combo.
- Bobby Valentine is bouncing around, again, today. He was trying to see everyone on the field, and at times was shouting out words of encouragement to his pitchers.
10:15am
- Players are beginning to take live batting practice, with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz a couple of the names throwing.
- Bobby Jenks spoke this morning and talked about his ordeal over the last several months. He had a blood clot removed at the end of last season. Then on December 12 had a back procedure done to remove two bone spurs, which did not go well. There was a fear he had an infection, and the way he made it sound, it could have been life or death. They did the surgery again on December 30, and he hopes that it takes this time. With that said, he is hoping to pitch maybe by June, but he is just hoping it heals properly.
Red Sox Thursday Workout
- I spoke with Ryan Lavarnway, who is currently the third catcher on the depth chart. He said he lost 25 pounds in the off-season, twice. He got sick in Venezuela and lost the weight. He put it back on and then lost it again. Larvarnway had a two-homer game on September 25 in Baltimore that nearly saved the Red Sox season. He is one of the guys to watch who will likely start his season in Pawtucket, but could be up in Boston sooner rather than later.
- We are hoping Jacoby Ellsbury or Adrian Gonzalez take the "stage" (or picnic table) down here today. We'll have plenty of updates and coverage throughout the day on CBSBoston.com, WBZ-TV, 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ NewsRadio 1030.
Follow WBZ-TV's Dan Roche on twitter @RochieWBZ
