A Final Farewell to "My Red Sox"

 by Joseph Kuykendall

Being new to the area in 2003 I hadn't quite had a favorite Red Sox player yet as I was a newly converted Orioles fan and before that, converted Yankees (shhh....don't tell anyone).  To celebrate my birthday in 2003, I took a clan of friends up to Portland to see the Sea Dogs. Later that year, my dad and uncle escorted me to my first PawSox game. I am 95% sure that I saw Kevin Youkilis play both of those places (couldn't find game results that go back that far to confirm this) so it helped me gain a liking towards him. 

I still remember sitting in the parking lot at a Home Depot and turning on the radio to hear that Youk homered for his first MLB hit in is his first MLB game. This in conjunction with witnessing him in his minor league days played a huge role in Youk being my Red Sox hero. The point of all of the above is to explain the obvious, for as long as I can remember, Youk has been my favorite Red Sox and the only one that I termed "my favorite". I'm always a sucker for new, young guys and rooting for them to be successful. To see Youkilis start his career the way he did only strengthened my attraction towards him as a player.

Although my love for him got lesser and lesser as his career went on, I still called him my favorite Red Sox when asked. His extreme drive and competitiveness parallels mine almost exactly.  Whether  it was his dripping beard or funky batting stance, something about watching him play was special for me. Hearing about his final stand at Fenway Park on the radio Sunday afternoon, brought on tons of nostalgia. All the trade rumors and clubhouse issues involving Youk didn't really make me upset, mad, or aggravated. But when Dave O'Obrien of WEEI was recollecting on what happened in the eighth inning at Fenway Park Sunday afternoon, it nearly brought me to tears remembering my once great love for my boy.

Despite the terms he left on, all of Red Sox Nation knows that Youk gave his hardest day in and day out. His sweatiness which he was infamously known for is great proof of that . He wore it all on his sleeve. So on behalf of Red Sox Nation and especially myself, thanks Kevin and best of luck with the other Sox in the Midwest. Thanks for your determination and most importantly bringing the Red Sox back to glory with the '04 and '07 seasons. Thank You.



 (Earlier in Youkilis' career when the Red Sx had converted him to a first baseman, if the All-Star game was in an NL park, Ortiz would be the Sox 1B nomination since there was no DH. I would faithfully vote for Youk in the write-in section because I thought he thoroughly deserved it.)

A “New” Manager and New Players Look to Turn Spinners Around (2012 Season Preview)

by Joseph Kuykendall

Mike Augliera (above) looks to provide a new spark to Lowell in hopes of returning the franchise to the NYPL playoffs.

You wouldn’t think the phrase “Monkey see, Monkey do” would be paralled with a professional baseball organization but that seems the case with Lowell in comparison to their parent club, the Boston Red Sox. After some growing pains that saw the Spinners not make the playoffs in their first 13 years as a franchise, the baby Sox, managed by Gary DiSarcina, the former Sox himself, won two straight Stedler Division titles in 2008 and 2009 to make the New York-Penn League playoffs. But much like the Red Sox, the Spinners have yet to make a playoff appearance since 2009 following in the footsteps of their big league partner.

Based on how they played their last two seasons, the Spinners will have to lose nearly every game to do worse than their performances in the two seasons prior. Last years edition of the Lowell Spinners played to a 29-45 record and the year before, the Spinners posted a lackluster 24-50 record which included a stretch where the Spinners lost 28-of-33 games.

The man in charge of returning the Spinners to glory is a veteran to the Red Sox organization, Bruce Crabbe. This upcoming season will be the eighth for Crabbe as a part of the Red Sox organization. This isn’t his first go-around with the Spinners as he also managed them in 2006 and 2010. Crabbe will bring 9 years of professional playing experience and 8 years of professional managerial experience to the table. Despite a combined record of just 63-86 at the helm of the Spinners in his two seasons, Crabbe has proven he has the capability of success with prior first place finishes and manager of the year honors.

Although there will be a plethora of new faces taking the field in the always beautiful confines of LeLacheur Park this season, there are still some known names on this year’s roster. Last year’s MiLB Moniker Madness victor Seth Schwindenhammer returns to Lowell for his third consecutive season. “It’s gonna be fun [to be back in Lowell]. I had fun last year. We got a good team coming in here and it’s a great place to play,” said the free-swinging outfielder who led the Spinners in home runs (9) last season, “We got a good fan base, it’ll be fun to play the game with the guys.”

Headlining not only the list of newcomers to the Spinners but also headlining the list of Red Sox 2012 draft picks in Lowell is right-handed pitcher Mike Augliera. The 6’0” hurler from Binghamton University was drafted in the fifth round (181^st overall) and then signed with the Red Sox for just $25,000 which is well below the slotted $218,100 for the 181^stpick in the draft. After signing, Augliera was assigned to Lowell. Augliera is no stranger to Lowell though as he previously played against the Lowell All-Americans (now non-existent) of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Therefore, the New Jersey native knows what it’s like to play in Lowell and has a general impression of what it is like to specifically play for the Spinners, “I know there’s great fan support and local support from the town. I look forward to playing on the beautiful field here in Lowell.”

The 2012 installment of the Lowell Spinners are locked and loaded and ready to fire out of the barrel and get out to a fast start and hopefully put past seasons in the rear view mirror.

To get things started this season, the Spinners hosted the Nashua Silver Knights of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League for a 6-inning scrimmage on Friday. The quick game saw the hometown competitors pull out a 4-2 victory. David Chester’s 2-run bomb in the bottom of the fourth proved to be the difference for the Spinners.

Also announced to the media at the scrimmage was the signing of Red Sox supplemental first round draft pick Pat Light and his subsequent assignment to Lowell. Adding Light to the roster makes him the highest picked Red Sox player in this year’s first-year player draft to be assigned to Lowell taking over this “role” from Augliera who before the Light signing held this title for a brief time.

Lowell has announced that its 1-2 punch in its rotation to start the season will be Francisco Taveras and Zach Good, respectively. Taveras will look to notch one in the left column for the Spinners on Opening Night at LeLacheur Park on Monday. The Spinners open up play against their division foe, Connecticut Tigers at 7 P.M. on Monday.

As always it wouldn’t be the Spinners without their always-popular Spinnertainment and their inconceivable promotions/bobbleheads. Highlighting this year’s list of promotions is “Bobby Valentine’s Day” and the “Will Middlebrooks bobble head giveaway”.

Cliché as it may be, Lowell has some great young talent and will welcome some great young talent too. It’s not a wasted time to head to LeLacheur and check out the “Stars of Tomorrow, Today” in a fun, family-friendly environment.

Kuykendall will be following the Lowell Spinners all season long, inside and out. He can be followed on Twitter @JoeKBSU18 and contacted at JKuykendall@BostonSportsU18.com.

Pedroia’s Mirror Image on the Diamond

Deven Marrero will hopefully one day solve the Red Sox
historically bad problems at shortstop.

by Joseph Kuykendall

It all looks familiar to Boston Red Sox fans; an Arizona State infielder with First-Team All-Pac 12 honors, Golden Spikes Award mention, and conference defensive honors to cap it all off. Although this may sound like Red Sox second basemen Dustin Pedroia, it’s not. It’s the Red Sox first pick (1^st Round, 24th pick) in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft, Deven Marrero. From the outside he reminds us a lot of Pedroia but we can only hope he progresses into the player Pedroia is now.

Like many people, Marrero has a few inches on Pedroia but that doesn’t prevent the Florida native from being more graceful on the infield. In fact, Marrero’s best asset may be his defense. He was named 2011 Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year for his prowess on the diamond. He’s listed by ASU as an infielder but mainly played shortstop this past season. Give him a few years of development in the minors and he could quickly be up with the “big boys”, especially because of the obvious issues the Red Sox organization has had with shortstops in the past. His defense is so impressive, his coach from the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape League, Mike Roberts, made a bold comparison according to ESPNBoston.com, “He’s the best amateur baseball player on the defensive side I’ve ever seen in 35 years of coaching…He’s Omar Vizquel at 20, 21, except he’ll be a better hitter and steal more bases. I’ve seen him do things defensively I’ve never seen another infielder do.”

Since 2005, a Red Sox shortstop has either committed the most or second most errors on the team (including this season). Marrero may be the solution to this problem if he can improve his bat as well as his mindset on the game to get up to Boston. Although defense has been a consistent bright spot in Marrero’s game, his average has gotten worse from each year to the next throughout his college playing days. He hit .397 his first year in Tempe and this past season he hit a bland .284. Scouts attribute this drop in batting numbers to his attitude. They say it’s “frustrating” because he seems to not care about it. He has an amazing arm and speed but chooses when to display those talents. This doesn’t sound like the Pedroia we know as we know the little “Laser Show” to hustle everything out and give 110% at whatever he is doing.

There is nothing a little Minor League Baseball can’t fix. That may be the answer to turning Marrero into a true professional ballplayer with discipline and one day putting on performances on the same area of the Fenway dirt once owned by Nomar Garciaparra.