Boston Sports Then and Now

Baseball’s preseason got a nice mid-March news boost yesterday when the Twins and MVP catcher Joe Mauer agreed to a massive 8-year, $184 million contract.  Had Mauer hit free agency, he would have been one of the bigger names on the open market in years, and there is little doubt that the Red Sox and the Yankees would probably have been involved in the bidding (Rays’ manager Joe Madden today quipped, “On behalf of us, Toronto and Baltimore, we’d really like to thank the Twins for giving him a long-term deal.”).

Now Mauer’s off the market and the Sox have their own impending free agent at catcher in Victor Martinez, who was acquired last summer and added some serious punch to the club’s lineup down the stretch.  Between catcher and first base, Martinez hit .336/.405/.507 for Boston and was a mainstay batting third in the lineup.

Martinez provided a spark for Boston last summer. Now free agency looms.

But there’s been little word out of camp regarding talks of an extension with Martinez.  Last month, he spoke quite candidly to the press, saying that he wanted to stay in Boston, that the ball was in the Red Sox’ court, and that he understood that the club was probably interested in what would happen with Mauer.

We know Mauer’s fate.  As such, it seems pertinent that Boston take care of the catching position for their club going forward.

So what’s the issue?

There is speculation that the Sox’ front office wants to see how Martinez holds up catching over 100 games.  In 2009, he caught only 83, and defensive scouting reports have him as average at best.  All the same, he developed great chemistry with Jon Lester and especially Clay Buchholz, and he has caught full-time in the past.

Read the rest of this entry →

Dustin Pedroia

Dustin Pedroia has not been in the major leagues long, but he has certainly made a name for himself throughout the first four years of his career. This youngster seemed to come out of  nowhere and fit right in with the powerful Red Sox lineup.

His baseball career began in Woodland, California, where he played high school ball. During his senior year, Pedroia batted .445 and was the league’s MVP.

After high school, Pedroia went to Arizona State University, where he battled Ian Kinsler for the shortstop position. Kinsler eventually transferred to the University of Missouri, allowing Pedroia the opportunity to have shortstop all to himself.

In the three years he spend at Arizona State University, Pedroia never missed a game. In fact, he hit an average of .384. In order to help ASU recruit better pitchers, Pedroia relinquished the last two years of his athletic scholarship.

In 2004, Pedroia was drafted by the Red Sox with the 65th pick overall. While he was in the minors, Pedroia started to play second base as well. A couple of years later, he replaced second basemen Mark Loretta.

To start the 2007 season, Pedoria hit a dismal .172 through the first month of play. By the end of the season his average was .317 as he earned the AL Rookie of the Year Award. Pedroia then helped the Red Sox win their second World Series in four years. Read the rest of this entry →