Saying Goodbye To WBC Players...White Monday...Beckett Sharp

The Boston Red Sox bid adieu to Jason Bay (Canada), Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis (USA), Javy Lopez (PR), and Big Papi David Ortiz (DR). Daisuke Matsuzaka has spent all of spring training in his native Japan. They will all play for their respective countries in the World Baseball Classic. Terry Francona discussed the effect of the temporary loss of six players, all key guys...

"We're trying to put a team together for the next two road trips, and we've got half our position players here," he said. "Our concern, especially when we make road trips, is to feel like fans aren't getting cheated. That's going to be hard."

They'll be missed but they'll also be playing baseball, getting ready for the 2009 season by playing for their countries. Pedey Pedroia commented on the spring training process itself, and its length...

"Spring training is tough," Pedroia said. "I'm the type of player that, I only care about winning. That's what makes me play better. Sometimes, playing spring training games can get a little too relaxed. That's why you definitely want the season to start and get on with everything. You can play 10 spring training games and get ready for the season. So spring training is too long."

I know of many players who would agree with him, but, on the other hand, the pitchers need the time to fine tune their craft and the hitters need the time to regain their timing and put their bats on the ball. Yesterday, Josh Beckett and Jonathon Papelbon pitched well and looked great, just what this team needs. Here is the complete box score, with the Sox pitcher who surrendered runs starred...

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AL Boxscore Boston vs. Minnesota


Final 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Boston « 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 7 1
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 5 0

Boston AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI W K AVG

Julio Lugo SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300
Argenis Diaz PR-SS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Dustin Pedroia 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.333
Ivan Ochoa 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
David Ortiz DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
Jeff Bailey PH-DH 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .571
Kevin Youkilis 1B 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 .250
Lars Anderson 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Rocco Baldelli RF 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
Josh Reddick RF 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Paul McAnulty LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .200
Zach Daeges LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Josh Bard C 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250
Carlos Maldonado C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Mark Wagner C 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
Angel Chavez 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .444
Ignacio Suarez PR-3B 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Jonathan Van Every CF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .286
Chip Ambres PH-CF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .250
Totals 28 2 7 0 0 1 2 3 5


Minnesota AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI W K AVG

Denard Span LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .111
Luis Matos LF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .125
Alexi Casilla 2B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .167
Deibinson Romero 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .667
Michael Cuddyer RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143
David Winfree RF 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
Justin Morneau 1B 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429
Toby Gardenhire PR-2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000
Joe Crede DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Brock Peterson PH-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .200
Trevor Plouffe PR-DH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Brian Buscher 3B 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .600
Brendan Harris 3B-2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400
Matt Macri PR-1B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
Mike Redmond C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
Jose Morales C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200
Nick Punto SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100
Matt Tolbert SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167
Carlos Gomez CF 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222
Dustin Martin CF 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .667
Totals 32 1 5 0 1 0 1 4 0


E_A.Diaz. LOB_Boston 3, Minnesota 8. 3B_, D.Martin. HR_K.Youkilis (1) off C.Breslow. SF_D.Pedroia. SB_T.Plouffe (1), C.Gomez (1). CS_J.Reddick. GIDP_D.Ortiz, J.Reddick, J.Bard, A.Chavez, J.Crede. DP_Boston 1 ; Minnesota 4 .

Boston IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Josh Beckett 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Tim Wakefield 2.0 1 0 0 1 0 4.50
Jonathan Papelbon (W 1-0) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Hideki Okajima 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
Takashi Saito 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Marcus McBeth 1.0 3 1 1 0 0 9.00 **
Hunter Jones (S 1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Minnesota IP H R ER BB SO ERA
Kevin Slowey 2.0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00
Glen Perkins 3.0 3 0 0 0 2 0.00
Matt Guerrier (L 1-1) 1.0 1 1 1 2 0 4.50
Craig Breslow 1.0 2 1 1 0 1 4.50
Jose Mijares 1.0 0 0 0 1 1 0.00
Philip Humber 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 18.00

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No injuries is good news...let's hope it stays that way. Well, that's it for this very white and windy Monday. A Nor'easter is barreling up the eastern seaboard and in its wake will be an 8-12 inch layer of white fluffiness covering everything. When the sun rises, I'll be able to look outside and watch the unique flakes flutter to the ground. They're not really fluttering, though...the wind gust are 40 MPH plus, so it's more like a sideways whiteness. But that's OK, as long as we do not lose power. You can click on this post's title for more Sox stuff from SI dot com. As always, BE WELL. I wish a safe trip to our players on the go. See ya.