The Wednesday, April 5, 2017

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Red Sox’ Mitch Moreland now over the flu

Peter Abraham

Mitch Moreland was 0 for 4 with two in his debut with the Red Sox on Monday. But the had a pretty good excuse.

It was the first time in six days he faced live pitching, hardly an ideal way to prepare for the season and Pirates ace Gerrit Cole.

Moreland played a game March 27 in Sarasota, Fla., going 2 for 3 with two RBIs. A day later, he tested positive for the flu and was told to stay away from his teammates.

“It was pretty bad,” Moreland said. “I’m a lot better now, but still feeling it a little.”

When the team left Florida for Washington on March 29, Moreland stayed in Fort Myers then flew directly to Boston. It wasn’t until Sunday that he was cleared to play.

The lefthanded-hitting Moreland batted fifth in the lineup, high for a player who .233 with a .720 OPS for Texas last season. But manager didn’t want to bunch together too many righthanded hitters.

“Like his all-field approach. I think what he showed in spring training is a pretty clear understanding of how he was going to manage and handle his at-bats,” Farrell said. “Was willing to work a count; wasn’t overaggressive in certain situations.”

With Moreland batting fifth, that dropped All-Star to sixth. He was 2 for 4.

Outside of two games, Bogaerts hit second or third last season. He hit .294 with 21 home runs, 89 RBIs, and an .802 OPS.

For now, Farrell values lineup balance more than getting one his best players more at-bats.

“You have a two-time Silver Slugger winner that’s dropping down in the order. That’s more a product of the depth of the group that we have. We’ve got probably four or five guys that are capable of hitting [second or third] on this team,” Farrell said.

“But to keep some balance, some left-right balance, throughout and potentially not allow some obvious matchups by opposing bullpens, Bogey going to the sixth hole is the choice made. I’m sure we’re going to have many different looks throughout the course of the year in the lineup. But this is where we start.”

In spring training, Bogaerts indicated he was displeased to be batting lower in the order but would see how it played out.

Thornburg checkup Righthanded reliever Tyler Thornburg, who is on the disabled list with a shoulder impingement, will be evaluated Wednesday, according to Farrell.

Thornburg was shut down March 29 after what was a rocky performance in spring training.

Farrell told MLB Network Radio that Thornburg would have the strength of his shoulder checked and that will determine his next step.

Counting a minor league game, Thornburg threw only 2⅓ innings in spring training, his last outing coming March 24. Once he is cleared to start throwing again, it could take as long as month for him to get ready for a major league game.

Rotation jumble? Because of rain, the Red Sox rotation may be a bit, well, fluid.

Rain is forecast for Thursday, when the Sox have a 1:35 p.m. game against Pittsburgh. Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to start.

If that game is postponed, the Sox could push their starters back one day and not need a fifth starter until next Tuesday against Baltimore. If that game does get played, they would need a fifth starter Sunday in Detroit.

The Sox are carrying four starters on their roster. Drew Pomeranz, who is on the disabled with a forearm strain, is eligible to be activated Sunday.

Pomeranz pitched in a minor league intrasquad game in Fort Myers, Fla., and came through well, according to Farrell.

Assignments made Triple A Pawtucket will open its season Thursday at Lehigh Valley with 31-year-old former Harvard Shawn Haviland on the mound. He was signed as a minor league free agent in January. Brian Johnson and Henry Owens would follow. Kyle Kendrick is on Pawtucket’s roster and would pitch the fourth game unless needed by the major league team . . . A Portland’s roster will feature , first baseman Nick Longhi, righthander Jamie Callahan and infielder Mike Olt, a former big leaguer . . . Lefthander Jay Groome, the team’s first-round draft pick last June, was assigned to Single A Greenville to open the season. He will be joined there by third baseman Bobby Dalbec, the fourth- round pick, and fifth-round pick Mike Shawaryn, a righthander . . . The Red Sox released Carlos Quentin at the end of minor league spring training. The 34-year-old former All-Star was attempting a comeback after two years out of the majors.

Shortstop suspended Single A Salem shortstop Jeremy Rivera was suspended for 50 games for an unspecified violation of ’s drug program. Rivera, 22, was a 17th-round draft pick in 2014 who has been a bench player . . . The eighth annual Run to Home Base will be July 15 at Fenway Park. Former Secretary of State and US senator John Kerry, a Navy veteran, was at the park on Tuesday for the announcement. This year’s event will focus on honoring veterans of the Vietnam War. The 9k run and 5k walk or run raises funds for Home Base, a program that aids veterans with traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress and other disorders.

It’s time for Chris Sale to step into the Boston spotlight

Peter Abraham

Chris Sale is scheduled to pitch his first game for the Red Sox on Wednesday night. He’s already one of the most overqualified No. 2 starters in franchise history given his status in the game.

The lefthander is less a rival to such as Clayton Kershaw, , and and more a member of the club.

That Sale has not won a Award is far more matter of happenstance and timing than talent. His December from the White Sox to the Red Sox was historically significant, the Red Sox sending their two top prospects to to get an ace at the height of his powers.

“I’m really excited to watch him on the same team. He’s as good as it gets,” said , who started Opening Day as a reward for winning the last season. “Don’t think there’s another lefthander in the game as nasty as he is.”

In five seasons as a starter for the White Sox, Sale averaged 203 innings, 227 strikeouts, and 14 wins for a team that never made the playoffs. His -to-walk ratio of 4.78 is the best since 1920 for pitchers with at least 1,000 innings.

Sale’s average of 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings is the third best in history. Only and Kerry Wood are higher.

“When you look at what he’s been able to do over the course of a career, the strikeout-to-walk ratio just tells you that there’s such above-average strike-throwing ability with premium stuff. Three quality pitches,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said on Monday.

“There’s a competitive spirit that’s, I think, very evident. We’re seeing it in other ways, not just when he walks between the lines. From the first phone call with Chris when we acquired him, the way he spoke about the opportunity here, I know [Wednesday] is a day he’s looking forward to as well.”

That part we’ll have to assume for now. On Monday, Sale turned down at least three requests from reporters to discuss his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sale last spoke to reporters at length after pitching a game in spring training on March 26. Sale’s final start of spring training, scheduled for last Friday in Washington, was rained out.

None of this is a surprise because it is what has worked for Sale over the years. Unlike many players of his generation, the 28-year-old Sale has no presence on social media and does not court endorsements or media attention. During his time in Chicago, Sale usually made himself available only after he pitched.

The White Sox were 26th in the majors in attendance last season and have long been a distant second in popularity within their own city to the Cubs. Whatever interest there was in Sale was muted and he thrived in that environment.

Outside of five selections to the All-Star Game, his excellent career has been largely out of the spotlight. Sale is the rare superstar with a low profile.

That all ends Wednesday, and how Sale handles new expectations will go far in determining the course of the season for the Red Sox.

Wednesday’s will be Sale’s fourth career start at Fenway, the first since last June 21 when he allowed one run over seven innings and struck out nine to beat Clay Buchholz. Sale had a 2.29 in 10 career games against the Red Sox.

When Sale was introduced on Monday as part of the pregame ceremonies, he received an extended ovation from the crowd.

Farrell is curious to see how that excitement carries over to the players.

“Even when you went against the White Sox, a team . . . can take on the mentality of the pitcher on a given day. In this case, Chris’s competitiveness can rub off on others,” Farrell said.

“Any time you can send Chris Sale to the mound, you’re feeling pretty good about your chances.”

Sale will be pitching against the Pirates for the first time in his career. Only three players on their roster — Francisco Cervelli, , and Chris Stewart — have faced the lefty before. They are 1 for 7.

* The Boston Herald

Chili Davis, Red Sox happy with ’s approach to 2017

Jason Mastrodonato

Chili Davis tells Pablo Sandoval not to look at the numbers.

If a casual observer was to take the same advice, ignoring the numbers and just looking at Sandoval’s swing from Monday compared to that same swing on Opening Day two years ago, the difference would jump off the screen.

For one, Sandoval hung onto the bat this time.

Don’t remember his first official at-bat in a Red Sox uniform after signing that five-year, $95 million deal?

Not to worry.

It was forgettable.

Sandoval’s second official swing in the 2015 opener was so wild the bat flew out of his hands and almost hit shortstop Freddy Galvis, who walked in from his position to hand back the lumber. On his third swing, Sandoval was bent so far over his plump upper half he nearly formed a 90-degree angle with his legs, which were crooked and unbalanced. The ball he hit rolled weakly to second base for an out.

This type of lunging hack was the norm for Sandoval, who was 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on April 5, 2015, then continued to use a wild approach and tornado-like swing for the rest of the season. It’s type of swing Davis, the Sox hitting , has asked Sandoval to stop taking in his return from a 2016 season lost to shoulder surgery, after he lost his starting job.

Play back the tape from this year’s Opening Day and Sandoval didn’t do anything remarkable with the bat in a 1-for-4 effort in Monday’s 5-3 win against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park. But his legs were straight with his body. His upper half stayed back rather than lunging. He was calm. This is what the the Red Sox want to see from the third baseman.

“He’s been under control all spring,” Davis said. “And the times that he got out of control or felt like he was getting out of control, he got back in control. You knew when he was out of control. His key is to keep his shoulders out of the swing. He thinks too much with his body. I see too much shoulders, when his shoulders start to swing. When he’s swinging with his arms and his hands, he’s fluid. He has a beautiful swing, especially lefty. He drives the ball the other way without trying to. He stays on pitches well. His load, he’s got a good package going.

“That’s going to be the key for him this year, to stay under control, let the results be what they are.”

During an impressive Grapefruit League showing in which Sandoval hit .338 with a team-leading five homers and 20 RBI, the switch hitter routinely drove the ball to left field when batting left-handed.

“He’s always had that ability,” Davis said. “He loses that ability when you try to force the action and the shoulders get involved. If he stays fluid with the arms, flowing through the ball, the hand-eye coordination is incredible. He’s always had bat speed, but he’s more balanced now. He covers the really well. And I’ve known Pablo since he was with the Giants. I got a chance to see him when he was going well in San Francisco.

“You know it’s there. He’s got it. It’s just maintaining it day in and day out.”

Even right-handed, which is his weak side, Sandoval showed improvements during spring training.

“Yeah, his right-handed swing has calmed down,” Davis said. “Same thing, using arms and swinging with the hands, using the hands more and not trying to create. In spring training this year, it looks 100 percent different than the guy I saw two years ago right-handed. Ball is jumping off his bat. He’s back-spinning the ball. It looks good.”

Sandoval probably won’t be in the lineup against every lefty starter, but the Red Sox never signed a right- handed-hitting third baseman. With utility infielder (hamstring) hurt, there is nobody on the roster to platoon with Sandoval, making it likely that he gets a chance against lefties.

Nobody on the staff is ready to make any bold predictions about Sandoval’s 2017 season.

“Just a consistent year,” Davis said. “The numbers are going to be whatever they’re going to be at the end of the year. Just a consistent approach every day is all I ask from him. A consistent approach and consistent focus. We’ll take it from there.”

Red Sox notebook: Chris Sale a welcome sight at Fenway Park

Jason Mastrodonato

The Fenway Park crowd roared at the sight of Chris Sale for the first time Monday, and he wasn’t even pitching on Opening Day.

“A good ovation,” third baseman Pablo Sandoval said of his new teammate’s reception from Red Sox fans during pregame introductions.

Sale should expect an even warmer welcome tonight, when he makes his Sox debut in a 7:05 start against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

“Looking forward to that,” Sandoval said. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the big leagues, so we’ll see what’s going on (today). I’m going to be there in the first row watching that big man throwing.”

Opening Day starter Rick Porcello said: “I’ve seen him pitch enough on the other side that I’m really excited to watch him pitch and be on the same team. He’s as good as it gets. I don’t think there’s a left- handed pitcher in the game that’s nastier than he is.”

How Sale responds to the noise at Fenway is another question. Porcello had a miserable first year with the Sox in 2015, as did , who rebounded to finish 2016 with a respectable 3.99 ERA but said he didn’t have much fun on the mound.

“From the first phone call with Chris when we acquired him (in an offseason trade with the ), the way he spoke about the opportunity here, I know (today) is a day he’s certainly looking forward to,” manager John Farrell said. “I think certainly there are a lot of expectations that can be attached to an acquisition, particularly a big contract acquisition. Human nature has it that you know you come into a new environment, you want to impress.

“For the same reasons you acquire those individuals, they might try to do a little bit more at times and not what necessarily works for them. But Chris has blended in very well in our clubhouse. It’s just a matter of going out and continuing to do the things that he does so well as a pitcher, and that starts with throwing strikes.”

Sale has been in the shadows in the days leading up to his first start. He declined several interview requests Monday.

“For me, it’s like a horse running a race,” Sale said back in February. “The horse has his blinders on, and he runs until he’s told not to run or the race is over, whatever it is. That’s my goal this year, to just focus on baseball things. Anything outside of that, put the blinders up. A lot of distraction can go on throughout the season and in the clubhouse, whatever it is, and I’m going to do my best to kind of keep those separated and keep my focus on baseball-related things.”

At Fenway, Sale he has a career 3.36 ERA with 23 strikeouts and four walks in 221⁄3 innings.

Farrell thinks Sale’s competitiveness will help him handle the pressure.

“I think even in some of the functions we had in spring training, he’s not looking to do things to kill time,” Farrell said. “There’s a purpose to everything he does. And it has shown up and reared its head in other ways.”

Pomeranz improves

After throwing 90 pitches Monday in a minor league game at the spring training site in Fort Myers, Drew Pomeranz is on track to make his season debut on Sunday in Detroit against the Tigers. Pomeranz (left forearm flexor strain) is on the 10-day disabled list, and a roster spot would need to be opened ahead of his activation.

The Red Sox haven’t officially made a decision yet, but Farrell said on MLB Network Radio yesterday that Pomeranz’ outing was encouraging and “things are pointing in the right direction for Drew.”

Pomeranz’ velocity was in the high 80s during spring training, but Farrell said it was in the low 90s in this week’s work. He averaged 92 mph in a 2016 split between the San Diego Padres and the Sox, but late- season elbow issues prompted him to receive a stem-cell shot in his arm in the offseason.

Barnes re-acclimates

Matt Barnes shed some light on his difficult first outing, in which he allowed both inherited runners to score before barely escaping the seventh inning. Andrew Benintendi bailed him out with a running catch in left.

“It’s funny, but you take the first outing or two, and it takes you the one, two, three outings to get re- acclimated to everything,” Barnes said. “It’s a little different pitching up here in front of these fans in front of big leaguers for an entire game in a game that matters to the standings as opposed to when you’re pitching down in spring training, it’s a completely different setting. A lot of times later in the (spring) games, you’re not facing big league guys, so it takes, from what I’ve seen, an outing or two to get re- acclimated to the setting, to the scene and to everything, and then we’ll be ready to roll.” . . .

Shortstop Jeremy Rivera, who is with Single-A Salem (Va.), was suspended for 50 games following an unspecified violation of the minors’ drug program.

Buckley: Jackie Bradley Jr. grabs our attention on Opening Day

Steve Buckley

According to official information supplied by , yesterday’s 2017 season opener between the Red Sox and Pittsburgh Pirates began at 2:06 p.m., with a game time temperature of 48 degrees and winds blowing from the east at 13 mph.

But that’s all just nerdy bookkeeping stuff, because this is when baseball season really begins: It begins as soon as you see a play — a hit, a catch, a throw — that you’ll talk about all the way home and into the night.

In that spirit, let the record show that the Sox’ 2017 season began with two out in the top of the fourth inning yesterday at festive Fenway Park when Jackie Bradley Jr., raced to the triangle in center field to rob the Buccos’ Francisco Cervelli of extra bases.

As Jackie Gems go, this one might not even crack the Top 10. But that’s more a reflection of the many great grabs Bradley has made, not a putdown of the grab he made yesterday. And the brilliance wasn’t so much the catch but the race to make the catch. After the right-handed-hitting Cervelli reached for a Rick Porcello pitch on the outside part of the plate and whacked it to right-center, Bradley, playing straight away, had to do some serious sprinting just to get to the ball. He made the catch just as he was connecting with the side wall.

It was, then, a stupendous read leading to a stupendous route leading to what, in the end, was a routine catch. Put it all together, and you have awesome. And you have the start of a new ball season.

The rest of the game?

Porcello, the Sox’ incumbent Cy Young Award winner, pitched shutout ball until the seventh. The Pirates put together a three-run rally off Porcello and reliever . But the Sox had built a 5-0 lead by then, largely on the strength of a three-run homer by Rookie of the Year contender Andrew Benintendi. There was a scare with two out in the ninth when Craig Kimbrel plunked Adam Frazier with an 0-2 pitch and suddenly the Pirates had the go-ahead run at the plate in the person of .

But Marte hit a foul pop to the right side that new first baseman Mitch Moreland put in his back pocket, and everyone went home happy. Red Sox 5, Pirates 3.

As for the snack, crackle and pomp of Opening Day . . . sure, it was swell. The big pregame moment took place when a contingent of Patriots — owner Robert Kraft, quarterback Tom Brady, tight end Rob Gronkowski, and running backs James White and Dion Lewis — made that time-honored walk from left field to the pitcher’s mound. This time they were toting five Super Bowl trophies, and Brady was introduced as the “greatest quarterback of all time.” (Inspiring a Pirates public relations official to ask, “Oh, is Terry Bradshaw here?”)

Brady had the good sense to wear the infamous game jersey that had been pilfered from the locker room following the Pats’ historic 34-28 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI. Brady removed the uniform top and held it high, and that’s when Gronk did a re-enactment of Jerseygate by grabbing the shirt and making off toward shallow right field. Brady chased him down. There was a tackle. The jersey was recovered.

A little contrived, sure, but what Opening Day pregame ceremony isn’t?

Yet it was all a lounge act to the baseball.

And it all began with Bradley’s great play in center field.

“I don’t care about the wall, I’m gonna catch the ball,” said Bradley, who’s a poet and doesn’t even know it. “The toughest part was, I knew the sun was gonna be in my eyes. (The ball) was momentarily in the sun for the last second, but I kind of knew the spot where I needed to be.

“I took off, took my first three or four steps, not looking, and then I picked up the spot.”

Sox manager John Farrell observed that Bradley’s catch “gave us a little bit of momentum,” and there’s statistical evidence to back that up.

Bradley laced a triple down the right field line with two out in the fifth, and scored when Pablo Sandoval hit a grounder to short and bounded up the line and beat out an infield single. It’s interesting to note that Sox fans had more or less announced they were going to give the Panda a clean slate by cheering him loudly during the pregame introductions.

Moving forward, it won’t always be this crisp and easy. There will be injuries, errors, managerial lapses of judgment, too-fat pitches from struggling relievers and a whole lot more. But that’s all later on; this is today, and it’s baseball season, and the Red Sox are undefeated.

* The Providence Journal

Sam Travis aims to make it all the way back from knee injury with PawSox

Bill Koch

PAWTUCKET — Sam Travis carries a few distinctive footnotes with him as the prepare to open their season.

The 23-year-old is the youngest player on the 25-man roster and entering his third full campaign in . He’s also considered the top prospect in the group according to MLB.com, ranked No. 4 in the Boston organization and No. 9 out of all minor-league first basemen.

But it’s a third characteristic that bears the most monitoring regarding Travis in the early going, as he attempts to complete his comeback from a torn ACL in his left knee that brought a premature end to his 2016 season.

“You just try to pick up where you left off,” Travis said. “You just continue trying to get better on a daily basis. Never be satisfied.”

Travis was caught in a rundown on May 29 in an 8-2 loss against Indianapolis when his knee buckled, an injury that finished his year after 47 games. He totaled 16 extra-base hits and batted .272, an incomplete showing for the 2014 second-round pick out of Indiana University.

Rehabilitation followed, a 10-month process in which Travis was mostly isolated from his teammates. His quick progress mirrored that of former Hoosiers’ teammate Kyle Schwarber, who overcame his own knee injury to help the break their 108-year championship drought in the last season. Travis arrived in Fort Myers this spring ready to go, and it showed.

“If you watched how he played and how he was moving around, he logged some innings,” PawSox manager Kevin Boles said. “He got a lot of at-bats at major-league camp. We just want to make sure we do right by him.”

Travis said the most significant hurdle he cleared in his recovery came at about the three-month mark. He was cleared to resume running at full speed and his body responded quickly, driving Travis into the offseason with a purpose.

“That’s when things really take off,” Travis said. “It starts to feel really good when you’re constantly moving on it. When you’re sitting still for a while or when you just wake up in the morning, that’s when it’s kind of stiff.”

As Chris Sale prepares for the Boston crucible, offers survival tips

Tim Britton

BOSTON — It gets real for Chris Sale on Wednesday.

Sale has enjoyed his piecemeal introduction to Boston thus far — being feted at Winter Weekend back in January, cheered throughout his spring training appearances in Fort Myers and receiving the longest ovation from the Fenway crowd on Opening Day.

Honeymoons are nice, right? Brief, though.

Sale’s honeymoon with Boston ends when he makes his Fenway Park debut on Wednesday night against the Pirates, and he hopes his goes better than teammate David Price’s a year ago. Price allowed six runs in the Sox home opener against Baltimore — a disappointing 9-7 loss. It set the tone for a rough April for the left-hander, and it seemed to color the discourse surrounding him all season.

Price is far from alone in enduring a rocky first season with the Red Sox. There was Rick Porcello in 2015, John Lackey in 2010-2011, in 2006 and even Pedro Martinez in 1998, when he pitched like a mortal instead of a deity.

Pitching in Boston is starting to feel like climbing Mount Everest: It requires a lengthy period of acclimation.

But there is perhaps one pitcher in recent Red Sox history who has the blueprint for what Sale is about to go through, a former Cy Young winner who came to Boston and immediately pitched as well and for stretches better than he had previously, even as a left-hander at Fenway Park.

Frank Viola had won the Cy Young for the Twins in 1988 and finished third in 1990 with the Mets. He had made consecutive All-Star teams with New York before signing a ballyhooed three-year deal with Boston in January 1992. In Viola’s first two years, he made 64 starts and posted an ERA+ of 133 with the Sox — levels close to ’s best seasons in Boston. He even overcame a rocky Fenway debut — six runs to the Orioles in the home opener, just like Price — to do so.

A big-name pitcher living up to expectations upon arrival in Boston is a rare thing indeed. So what was the key for Viola?

“What I learned is, if you stay true to who you are, if you’re upfront and honest with the media about the performance on the field, what are they going to say about that?” said Viola, now the pitching coach for the Mets’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas, this spring. “If you pitched well, you pitched well; if you pitched poorly, then you sure as hell better say you pitched poorly.”

Viola felt prepared for Boston because of his time with the Mets. His transition from Minnesota to New York was more jarring than the one from Shea Stadium to Fenway.

“Growing up in New York and knowing the media [there] as a fan, it was still mind-boggling to go that first day,” he said. “In Minnesota my first seven years, I had two or three beat writers and two or three cameramen. My first day as a Met, we had to go to a conference room. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is playoff baseball on an everyday basis.’ It was a wakeup call.”

Sale is perhaps getting used to the barrage of media this week; the lefty declined interview requests on Opening Day. Even spring training doesn’t prepare a player for the claustrophobic confines of Fenway’s home clubhouse when occupied by a dozen-plus TV cameras.

And the challenge has no doubt become amplified in the last quarter-century. Talk radio is more pervasive now and social media allows fans the chance to critique players around the clock, rather than just at the park.

For his sake, Sale said he isn’t on Twitter and he’s shown a little Viola streak already, not shying away from self-criticism even during relatively meaningless outings in the Grapefruit League. He has said all the right things about pitching in Boston, and manager John Farrell has consistently lauded Sale’s “competitive spirit.”

“You can just feel what this team is about coming in,” Sale said at the start of spring. “With just the intensity, not only of the players but of the staff, holding a very high standard, I’m looking forward to getting into the process.”

“We’re seeing [his competitiveness] in other ways, not just when he steps between the lines,” Farrell said Monday. “From the first phone call with Chris when we acquired him, the way he spoke about the opportunity here, I know [Wednesday] is a day he’s certainly looking forward to.”

But Viola knows, like Price and Porcello and Beckett and Sir Edmund Hillary, that prepping for Everest isn’t quite the same as climbing it.

“There’s nobody like the Boston fan,” Viola said. “They’re going to tell you like it is. If you pitched like crap the night before, you’re going to hear it coming into the park the next day, ‘Hey Viola, you pitched like crap yesterday.’

“You’ve got to respect the fan that knows the game, and that’s what I loved about Boston. We weren’t very good as a team back then, but it was fun coming to the ballpark because you always knew the fans would have something to say — usually spot-on.”

Kevin McNamara: Good start for Sox but red flags remain

Kevin McNamara

BOSTON — There was much to be thankful for on a beautiful Opening Day Monday at Fenway Park.

There was also much to be concerned about as the Boston Red Sox kicked off a much-anticipated 2017 season.

Sox fans enjoyed a little bit of everything in a 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In pre-game festivities, they whooped it up as four members of the Super Bowl champion Patriots walked to the pitcher’s mound sporting the franchise’s five Lombardi Trophies. Rob Gronkowski playfully stole a jersey from Tom Brady, but the franchise quarterback chased his pal down and then threw a high strike in the season’s first ceremonial pitch.

Once the game began, reigning Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Rick Porcello kept the Pirates in check long enough for his team’s bats to come alive. Playing for the first time in 15 years without ’s booming bat in the lineup, the Sox scored in just one inning but made the most of it. Flashy rookie Andrew Benintendi struck the key blow with a three-run blast that led the fifth inning outburst.

Both Benintendi and center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. made sparkling running catches on sharply hit fly balls. Benintendi’s was the biggest as it helped quell a three-run seventh-inning uprising by the Bucs.

Yet despite the positives — and most importantly the win — the day’s events did little to alleviate any of the concerns fans have about this version of the Olde Towne Team.

The Red Sox may be the consensus favorite to win a second straight East title, but this is a team that’s enjoyed success in the playoffs only one time (2013, World Series champs) in the previous eight seasons.

The Sox have a few large hurdles to clear over the course of the 162-game season if they hope to morph into a winner.

No barometer of baseball success rings truer than a healthy starting pitching staff. Before the start of spring training the Red Sox appeared to be brimming with high-priced arms, but by the time the team hit the Back Bay there was more talk of sore joints and rotator cuffs than sliders and cutters.

While Porcello looked good in picking up the win and every Sox fan can’t wait to see newly acquired Chris Sale pitch Wednesday night, the fly in the ointment is the health of talented lefty David Price.

A year ago, Price was the team’s Opening Day starter and went on to earn his team-high $30-million salary by winning 17 games and becoming Boston’s first starter in six years to make 35 or more starts. Now he’s hurt.

Price developed elbow soreness in spring training and has already seen two noted orthopedic surgeons. No major surgery is needed, but the mystery on his condition has the franchise on edge. Put a healthy Price alongside Porcello and Sale come October and the Red Sox can win the World Series. If we don’t see Price until July, the Sox pitching staff becomes rather ordinary.

Another source of anxiety is the bullpen.

While closer Craig Kimbrel looked dominant throwing 98-mile-an-hour heaters in the ninth inning, the array of hurlers between him and the starters appears shaky. The fact that recent pickups Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith currently join Price on the disabled list isn’t helping the cause.

Finally come concerns over filling Ortiz’s Hall of Fame shadow.

Baseball boss Dave Dombrowski chose not to add any high-priced bats in the offseason, so it’s hard to fathom who can replace Big Papi’s 38 home runs and 127 runs batted in. A return to health from overweight third baseman Pablo Sandoval would be good, and the Sox feel Benintendi can quickly blossom into a star.

He looked the part on this day. The 22-year old from Cincinnati said he began the day by joining hundreds of other major leaguers who’ve scribbled their names inside the Green Monster wall in left field. Then he went out and belted a 2-2 pitch into the right-field bullpen for the game’s biggest hit.

“His swing is so effortless and smooth,” said manager John Farrell, “that he creates easy power. That was the case with that one.”

It’s hard to read much into this season-opening, three-game series against a foe from the .

If anything, the matchup emphasizes how uneven the deck is stacked in favor of the Red Sox and other teams that can afford to charge $180 for primo Opening Day tickets. Revenue like that helps the Sox pay five players — Price, Porcello, Sandoval, Hanley Ramirez and Dustin Pedroia — more ($105 million) than the entire Pirates roster ($92 million).

Recent baseball history tells us that throwing money at big-league stars doesn’t guarantee a World Series, but it’s certainly a great place to start.

So is a perfectly healthy pitching staff on Opening Day.

*The Springfield Republican

Rafael Devers, Nick Longhi among Boston Red Sox top prospects to start year at Double-A Portland

Christopher Smith

Boston Red Sox top prospect Rafael Devers and first base/outfield prospect Nick Longhi both will begin the 2017 season at Double-A Portland.

Starting pitcher Trey Ball, the seventh-overall pick in the 2013 draft, as well as relievers Jake Cosart, Luis Ysla and Jamie Callahan also will begin the regular season there.

Devers, Ball, Cosart, Callahan and Longhi all must be added to the 40-man roster by next November or else be left unprotected in the December 2017 Rule 5 Draft. Ysla already is on the 40-man roster.

Devers, a 20-year-old third baseman from the Dominican Republic, finished 2016 with a .282/.335/.443/.779 line, 11 homers, 32 doubles, eight triples and 71 RBIs in 128 games for High-A Salem after a slow start.

Baseball America ranked the 6-foot, 234-pound right-handed slugger the No. 18 MLB prospect on its pre- 2017 top 100 list.

We ranked the 21-year-old Longhi the No. 8 Red Sox prospect on our pre-2017 MassLive.com top 10 list.

Longhi posted a .282/.349/.393/.742 line with two homers, 40 doubles, three triples, 77 RBIs and 50 walks in 124 games for Salem during 2016.

The 22-year-old Ball went 8-6 with a 3.84 ERA and 1.61 WHIP in 23 starts (117 1/3 innings) for Salem last year.

The 23-year-old Cosart, the brother of Padres righty Jarred Cosart, posted a 1.78 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 37 outings (70 2/3 innings) during 2016 between Low-A Greenville and Salem. He held opponents to a .172 batting average.

The Red Sox added Ysla, a lefty, to the 40-man roster in November. He's a hard thrower but he still has improvements to make. He posted a 3.99 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 40 relief outings (56 1/3 innings) between Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket last year (he pitched just one inning for Pawtucket).

The 22-year-old Callahan allowed just one run, eight hits and two walks while striking out 11 in 11 innings during spring training.

The righty posted a 3.29 ERA and 63 strikeouts in 36 outings (65 2/3 innings) for Salem last year. He held opponents to a .218 average.

Jason Groome, Bobby Dalbec, Boston Red Sox elite prospects, to begin 2017 at Greenville

Christopher Smith

Top Boston Red Sox pitching prospect Jason Groome will begin his first full professional season in 2017 at Low-A Greenville.

Boston drafted him 12th overall in 2016 out of Barnegat (N.J.) High and the lefty then signed a $3.65 million bonus.

The 18-year-old allowed two runs and three hits in his first 6 2/3 innings of pro ball between the Gulf Coast League and Short Season Lowell during 2016. He struck out 10 and walked four.

Baseball America ranked the 6-foot-6, 220-pounder the No. 43 MLB prospect on its pre-2017 top 100 list.

Bobby Dalbec, who ranked No. 4 on MassLive.com's 2017 preseason top 10 Red Sox prospect list, also will begin at Greenville along with 2016 third-round pick Shaun Anderson, 2016 fifth-rounder Mike Shawaryn and 2016 sixth-rounder Steve Nogosek. Anderson, Shawaryn and Nogosek all are right-handed pitchers.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound right-handed hitting Dalbec, who the Red Sox drafted out of Arizona, batted .386 with a .427 on-base percentage, .674 slugging percentage, 1.101 OPS, seven homers, 13 doubles, two triples and 33 RBIs in 34 games (134 plate appearances) for Lowell last year.

*The Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Bill Ballou: Door could open for Worcester if Pawtucket and PawSox can’t agree on stadium

Bill Ballou

PAWTUCKET -- The clock has been ticking for McCoy Stadium and the Pawtucket Red Sox ever since the team’s proposal to build a fancy new ballpark in downtown Providence fell apart.

That clock is still ticking but for the first time, an alarm has been set.

When does the buzzer go off? Perhaps in just a few weeks, probably by the end of this baseball season. The PawSox are not staying here in McCoy Stadium indefinitely, at least not under current ownership, and just about everybody involved wants to know soon what the baseball world down here is going to look like in five years.

After all, if that future involves a brand-new ballpark the digging is going to have to commence awfully soon.

Pawtucket Mayor Donald Grebien has said he would like to know what will happen by the end of this year. PawSox general manager Dan Rea has said he thinks Grebien’s position is a fair one. PawSox owner Larry Lucchino said Monday that the team has a very strong preference to remain in Pawtucket, but wants his team to play in a publicly owned stadium.

At first glance for the fans of Worcester, those who have held out hope that the Pawtucket Red Sox will wind up there, Lucchino’s words might have seemed like a door closing when in fact those squeaky hinges might mean just the opposite.

In this game of ballpark poker, the PawSox have put their cards on the table. It is now up to Pawtucket and presumably the state of Rhode Island to see if they can cobble together a plan that will meet the Triple A team’s needs.

But what if they can’t?

Ever since the Providence stadium plan disintegrated, Worcester has sat rather quietly in the background watching events unfold in Rhode Island. Lucchino has never officially said he is considering Worcester. Worcester has never officially said it is considering a proposal to attract the PawSox.

The public silence on either side does not necessarily indicate a lack of interest, though.

There have, in fact, been unofficial contacts. The PawSox would be crazy not to have a Plan B — it would leave them no options and no leverage in negotiations — and Worcester would be crazy not to at least talk to the team about the possibilities.

A Red Sox Triple A affiliate in Worcester projects to be a game-changing affair on both sides. It would revitalize what has become a tired franchise in Pawtucket and energize a Red Sox-crazed city that is, after all, the second most populous one in all of New England but has been frozen out of Organized Baseball because it is in PawSox territory.

The Pawtucket Red Sox would prefer to remain the Pawtucket Red Sox even if staying there does not increase the value of the franchise as much as moving to Worcester would. The team owes the city a lot. Some 40 years ago it provided a home when nobody else — Worcester included — was willing to, and any divorce would be messy and unpleasant.

But as anyone who has heard of the reserve clause, the Players League, the Federal League, Peter Seitz and Andy Messersmith knows, baseball is a high-stakes business and loyalty has its limits.

Just ask about that.

The PawSox could know by as early as this summer if the city and state are willing to fund a new ballpark, and there are reasonable doubts about that happening with the 38 Studios wounds still unhealed. If not, then the team can say it gave Rhode Island every chance but is left with no alternative than to look elsewhere.

That elsewhere should start in Worcester, which has the potentially ideal Wyman-Gordon site near downtown, just off the breakdown lane for I-290 west, and right at the end of Route 146. Perhaps the numbers won’t work in Worcester, either. It is the birthplace of bring-your-own-bag shopping, after all, and there are intelligent voices that speak against spending public money for private gain.

But if it gets this far, the city at least owes any proposal a serious look, and with Lucchino now having established parameters as to what his team needs to stay in Pawtucket, it is time for Worcester to prepare a response if it is truly interested.

If that window opens this year, it may not open again in any Worcester baseball fan’s lifetime.

*The New Hampshire Union Leader

Mike Shalin's Working Press: Bullpen might be a worry

Mike Shalin

Opening Day is in the books. The Red Sox are well on their way to the 173-0 it will take to bring home another World Series title.

It’s clear this team isn’t going to lose a game.

OK, OK, we’re kidding, but let’s take a look at what happened Monday after Patriots fans held their collective breath while Tom Brady was chasing Rob Gronkowski — the latter just back from his Wrestlemania nonsense.

Here’s where we get back to reality.

The Red Sox won. Rick Porcello pitched very well. Pablo Sandoval hustled his team into a five-run inning and Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run homer to cap that inning. Jackie Bradley Jr. had a triple in that inning and made a typical Jackie Bradley Jr. catch, later saying it was no big deal.

But there were a couple of things that had to bother you. The one that stood out to these eyes the way John Farrell handled the bullpen.

Eighth inning. Tyler Thornburg and Carson Smith are on the disabled list, so Joe Kelly is the eighth-inning guy, right? Not so fast.

Kelly warmed up, but lefty specialist Robby Scott and righty Heath Hembree got the call and Kelly sat down.

It worked, but did you really need a lefty specialist with a two-run lead leading off the eighth inning? Isn’t that what Kelly is supposed to do while all this gets straightened out?

“Without a lockdown eighth inning guy, we’re going to have mix and match,” Farrell said. “The guys that have been throwing the ball (well) of late coming out of spring training were the three that were on the mound before (Craig) Kimbrel today.”

In other words, Kelly is not the eighth inning guy? Or maybe he is.

Another potential worry out of the opener was the Red Sox debut of Mitch Moreland. He went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, but also failed to come up with two throws in the dirt, one producing a Sandoval and the other ruled — by yours truly — a hit. This is a Gold Glove first baseman.

Moreland in the fifth spot in the batting order is something to keep an eye on. He’s there now as Farrell wanted to break up the righty bats. But there are alternatives. Bradley, who tends to be very streaky, could force his way from seven to five. Sandoval could move from eight to five. Somehow, it’s easy to imagine Moreland batting eighth.

The kid impresses

Benintendi is everyone’s favorite to be the AL Rookie of the Year. But what a way for him to start: a three- run shot and smooth fielding in the outfield. This kid is really good.

“It was awesome,” he said of his first Opening Day. “The atmosphere was really good, we’re all excited to start playing games that actually matter … it was a fun experience.”

Dustin Pedroia was the last Sox Rookie of the Year.

“I don’t think about it at all,” Benintendi said in Florida. “I think that’s all for other people to look at. That’s all talk. I’ve just got to go out and play well. That’s what it comes down to. I don’t pay attention to that and don’t let it get to me.”

Bradley on his catch in right-center: “I don’t care about the wall, I’m going to catch the ball.”

NHL says no

For now at least, the NHL will not be sending its players to South Korea for the Olympics. That’s the latest. But Alex Ovechkin said he’s going, ready to finally lead Russia to a gold medal against whatever the Canadian and American teams look like.

Being out front here, I want to tell you I don’t want them to go. I don’t like interrupting the season and the jammed schedule created by the interruption. I don’t like the fear of my favorite players getting hurt. But I do understand the excitement created by a hockey gold medal game to close the Games. I do understand spreading the game around the word.

Anyone who thinks Gary Bettman is bluffing isn’t aware of the season he canceled and the other he shortened. He doesn’t care at all about public sentiment.

One of the interesting side stories here is what happens to players, like Ovechkin, who ignore the edict and go anyway. He has the blessing of his owner but not of his league, and does Bettman bring the hammer down with suspensions? What if Sidney Crosby goes? Or Auston Matthews? Could the NHL bring us an inferior product during the Olympics and then suspend its best players?

Tweeted Henrik Lundqvist: “Disappointing news, @NHL won’t be part of the Olympics 2018. A huge opportunity to market the game at the biggest stage is wasted.”

I asked Andy Brickley yesterday if he thought the players would go and he said no. But I just have this hunch …

Big game tonight

The Cavaliers are in town.

Not much else needs to be said about tonight’s game at TD Garden. The Cavs have won two of the three games between the teams this season and you just get the feeling they can turn it on when they really want to. It’s up to the Celtics to play their best game of the season and show them they can’t.

Still, even if Boston wins this game, it seems there’s as much of a chance the Celtics could lose to one of the lower seeds before they get to Cleveland than there is of the Celts actually beating these guys four times in a seven-game series.

Romo, Simms all done

Tony Romo is apparently tired of all the pain and suffering he’s had to endure in recent years, so he’s done as a player and slides right into the No. 1 analyst job in place of Phil Simms before he’s ever done a game! Strange. Very strange.

Speaking of strange, if you didn’t see the shootout in the Senators-Red Wings game Monday night, you missed two kids both playing in their first NHL games being matched up in the seventh round of what had been a scoreless competition. First, Detroit’s Evgeny Svechnikov scored before Boston College’s Colin White failed to keep the game going.

This and that

The Red Wings have missed the playoffs for the first time in 26 years, but they improved to 9-0 in shootouts. … The Flyers are the first team in NHL history to have a winning streak of at least 10 games and not make the playoffs. … The NCAA title game Monday night was a mess, and while everyone is all over the officials. To me it was just another rock fight created by playing these games in stadiums and not arenas, the background killing the shooting percentages. … The people complaining about Bradley Jr. wearing ’s number? Shut up!!! …An “Impeach Trump #Resist” banner was unfurled at the opener. …

Finally, because of a bet with , selected stores in the Chicago area will be selling “Rizzo Wrap” instead of Reynolds Wrap. “A bet’s a bet, and we’re happy to uphold our side of the deal,” said Mike Mazza, brand director for foil at Reynolds Consumer Products. “It turns out Anthony loves cooking as much as we do, and we’re excited to be releasing a foil that both he and his fans can enjoy using for their summer grilling.”

*The Portland Press Herald

Tom Caron: Sale looks to build upon Opening Day

Tom Caron

Call this Opening Night.

Chris Sale takes the mound Wednesday for the first time as a member of the Red Sox. He was acquired this offseason for four top prospects, a major acquisition that immediately made Boston the favorite to win the American League pennant.

Opening Day has come and gone, with plenty of good vibes to be found in a 5-3 win over the Pirates. Rick Porcello followed up his Cy Young season with a win, Rookie of the Year favorite Andrew Benintendi hit a three-run home run, and the bullpen held on for the victory.

It was a great start to the season, but a precursor of things to come. Sale takes the mound in Boston’s first prime-time performance of the year. He’s averaged 226 strikeouts a season over the last five years, and finished in the top six in Cy Young voting each of those seasons.

His competitive nature makes him an intimidating presence on the mound. It also led him to take a pair of scissors to a room full of Chicago throwback jerseys he didn’t like. Sale thought the jerseys reflected poorly on the team, that it was more interested in marketing than winning.

Sale might not like throwback jerseys, but he’s a throwback to a time when pitchers kept hitters uncomfortable at the plate. He hit 17 batters last season, the second straight year he led the league in hit batters. He commands the inside of the plate, something pitchers don’t do much in this era.

“He likes to come inside,” said Red Sox Sandy Leon. “Pitchers have to come inside without being afraid of hitting someone. He’s not afraid.”

Throughout spring training, Sale impressed everyone with his desire. On his first day, he told pitching coach Carl Willis that he would do whatever it takes to win. That sounds like a cliche, but for a guy who has never been to the postseason it’s the truth.

“The will to win is evident,” said Manager John Farrell. “Whether it’s a team function, or playing ping pong, you see it. There’s a purpose to everything he does.”

Sale’s sole purpose in Boston is to help take a defending AL East championship team to the next level. There is still a bitter taste left behind from a three-game sweep at the hands of the . The Sox want to be better than that, and bringing in a guy who struck out 233 batters in 2262/3 innings last season should help them achieve that goal.

What the Sox never expected is a February injury to David Price that would put last year’s Opening Day starter on the shelf. Price won’t be available for a month or more. Losing a pitcher like that would derail most team’s hopes of contending. With Sale and Porcello, the Sox think they have a Big Two that can keep them in the hunt until the Big Three is reunited.

They say hope springs eternal on Opening Day. And there was plenty of optimism in the air Monday as the Patriots dropped by with five Super Bowl trophies and the Sox got the ‘W’ on a sun-splashed day at Fenway Park. It was a great start.

On Wednesday night, under the lights, the Sox hope to get a glimpse of a pitcher expected to make all the difference this season. They’re hoping Sale’s starts are appointment viewing, and that the big lefty helps them keep an appointment with October.

*The Pawtucket Times

PawSox keeping it simple

Brendan McGair

PAWTUCKET – A time-honored Triple-A ritual was discussed during the manager’s first McCoy Stadium gathering of the 2017 season.

No matter what goes on around you, the Pawtucket Red Sox must focus on controlling what they can control.

“Don’t play mini-general manager. Don’t fall into the traps,” skipper Kevin Boles said during Tuesday’s media day event at McCoy. “With this group, I think we’re going to be okay in that regard.”

When taking a long and hard look around the home clubhouse, you can’t help but get a strong sense that a number of players have a very good shot to play in Boston this season.

There’s plenty of worthy candidates, which from the depth perspective of a major-league club is what you want.

The trick is to not get caught up in superfluous minutiae that clouds the mind to the point where the on-the- field performance suffers. There’s a lot of factors that need to fall a player’s way before the coveted call-up becomes reality. To become engrossed with negative thoughts of why Player X was chosen over Player Y is an avenue that’s best avoided.

If and/or when the time comes, Boles or someone in the Red Sox front office will pass along the good news. Until then, it’s best to focus on the task at hand, which for the PawSox players is showing up to the ballpark every day and putting forth an honest day’s effort.

“If you perform well, people are going to have eyes on you,” Boles said. “All you’re trying to do is build up your résumé. If the work is there and it translates to performance on the field, you’re able to put yourself on the map. It’s that simple.

“There’s talent in that other room, but we also have to deal with reality … right here and right now,” Boles added, sitting behind the desk in his office. “Just focus on your game and hopefully that opportunity will arise.”

Quite a few PawSox players have already taken a ride on the highs-and-lows roller coaster, the one that comes when a great spring training results in a ticket to Triple-A.

Of all the players on Pawtucket’s current roster, Marco Hernandez has the biggest gripe when it comes to starting the season in the minors. The 24-year-old slashed .377/.433/.672 with eight doubles and five triples this spring. He can also play second base, third base, and shortstop. Alas, the Red Sox awarded their final roster spot to Steve Selsky.

“I don’t take it personally,” Hernandez said. “I’m coming (to Pawtucket) trying to pick up where I left off during spring training. I’ll do my work and they’ll do their work.”

Blake Swihart also enjoyed a strong stint in Grapefruit League action, hitting .325 in 14 games. Since he plays a premium position, Swihart’s name has been mentioned as a candidate in the event the Red Sox aren’t satisfied with the current catching arrangement of Sandy Leon and Christian Vazquez.

Much like Hernandez, Swihart is all about controlling the situation rather than the situation controlling him.

“It’s up to me to give them a hard decision to make, but that’s about it. I can only do that by playing well,” Swihart said. “All I can do is play the game I’ve been playing my whole life and just go out there and have fun.”

Sam Travis dominated his 21 spring-training games, hitting .318 with a .991 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging). For the second straight year, the 23-year-old earns the distinction as the youngest player on Pawtucket’s Opening Day roster. If he can stay healthy and Boston has a need at first base, it wouldn’t come a shock to see Travis get the nod.

For now, Travis is taking the approach of a veteran who’s been around the block several times. That means not getting caught up in potential roster shuffling.

“It’s something we’re not even talking about. We’re just trying to focus on our game that’s being played that day,” Travis said. “It’s about one pitch at a time.”

For a veteran like Allen Craig, it must be frustrating knowing that all roads leading to the Red Sox are essentially blocked. He might be off Boston’s radar because of his salary ($11 million this year) and the team’s desire to remain under the competitive threshold tax, but Craig isn’t letting those factors sway his attitude.

“Mentally I’m fine. I’m just focused on playing good and seeing what happens,” Craig said. “All I can control is how I play and that’s what I’m focused on right now.”

If you’re a PawSox relief pitcher, there’s a great example to model your approach after. A year ago at this time, Robby Scott was completely buried on the club’s relief pitching depth chart. He didn’t let his situation get the better of him and look what eventually happened. Scott became the most indispensable pitcher on Pawtucket’s staff and earned himself a big-league role coming out of this year’s spring training.

Scott was successful when it came to controlling what he could control. That’s exactly what Chandler Shepherd and Kyle Martin – two current members of Pawtucket’s bullpen brigade – are seeking to emulate.

“Everyone who’s in this locker room has the talent and the ability to play in the major leagues,” Shepherd said. “For now, it’s about coming to the field and fine-tuning your craft.”

Added Martin, “Winning the day and staying in the moment. That’s the approach you have to go with.”

***

EXTRA BASES: The PawSox will go with Shawn Haviland for Thursday’s season opener in Lehigh Valley followed by Brian Johnson on Friday and Henry Owens on Saturday. … The PawSox roster won’t be officially set until Thursday morning.

* RedSox.com

Inbox: Taking inventory of all things Sale

Ian Browne

With Chris Sale making his much-anticipated first start for the Red Sox on Wednesday night at Fenway Park, we decided to do something different and dedicate an entire Inbox to one player. Here is a Sale- centric Inbox.

Is Sale susceptible to the first-year pitfalls that free-agent additions (especially pitchers) seem to encounter in Boston? -- @ReverendMitton

It's a fair question. However, I feel that Sale is better equipped to handle the challenge of pitching in Boston than any prized new pitching acquisition the team has had since . Sale has the same intensity and competitive fire that Schilling had. And he has the added motivation of trying to play postseason baseball for the first time.

This will be the first time in Sale's career he has pitched in front of a packed house for basically every home start. And the Red Sox draw a ton of fans on the road, too. I think that adrenaline might help him reach even a higher level than he's already reached.

What would classify as a "successful" first season for Sale? -- @BigDoubleD86

I would say 15-20 wins, 210 innings or more, an ERA of 3.30 or lower, 9-10 strikeouts per nine innings and 215 strikeouts or so would be good enough to satisfy everyone. Also, the Red Sox need to win at least one postseason series, because that would signify progress over last year, when they didn't have Sale.

What are your predictions for the number of games he starts and the team's win-loss record in those games? -- @evankpease

Looking into my crystal ball, I have Sale making 34 starts this season, with the Red Sox going 25-9 in those games. You didn't ask, but I'll project a 20-6 record for Sale.

How could he not like the movie "Airplane"? -- @scottmerkin

I've heard from various sources that a certain White Sox beat reporter from MLB.com was lacking in giving the staff ace solid pop culture recommendations. That said, I thought "Airplane" was hilarious. But could you have given him a better option or two, or was that the best you could come up with?

How do you think Sale will fare against the American League East bats? I know he has a good track record against the Yankees -- @MikeLavML

In his career against the AL East, Sale is 16-10 with a 2.54 ERA over 226 1/3 innings. He has held AL East opponents to a .205 batting average. While that type of success has to make you excited, here is the rub: AL East teams are going to see Sale a lot more now, so they'll be able to get more familiar with him and probably have a little more success against him.

How many questions did you get expressing concerns about Throwback Jersey Nights at Fenway? I set the line at seven. -- @RedSoxRedShoes

You are right on the money. There were several inquiries about this. To Sale's credit, he disarmed the media when asked about that subject back in Spring Training by saying, "I don't think the Red Sox have throwback jerseys." Sale realizes he made a big mistake in the way he handled that situation last July, and I think he learned from it.

Who has Sale become best bros with since joining the Red Sox? Who has helped him to adjust a new clubhouse? -- @W_Ashworth

According to well-placed sources within the clubhouse, the role of Sale's Red Sox BFF is still up for grabs. That said, Sale has already formed strong relationships with David Price, Rick Porcello and Joe Kelly, but he has also formed a good bond with position players like Dustin Pedroia and . It seems like he has adapted seamlessly to the group.

What is Sale's favorite thing in Boston? -- @RedSox_Taiwan

I'll take a wild guess and say it's not the media. All kidding aside, Sale just arrived a couple of days ago, so I think it will take him some time to find favorite spots and all that. I'm guessing that the passion for the Red Sox will be near the top of his list of favorite things about the city by midseason, if not sooner.

Whose bright idea was it to have a day off between Opening Day and Sale's first start? -- @Elty_McMillan

This way you get a whole day in between to rest up for it! Also, by the pouring rain I'm seeing out my window right now, you should be thrilled that Sale is pitching Wednesday instead of Tuesday. The forecast calls for cool temperatures, but no rain. I'm sure it will be a lot nicer than many of the early-season games Sale pitched in Chicago.

* ESPNBoston.com

John Farrell 'confident' Chris Sale ready to deal with Boston pressure

Scott Lauber

BOSTON -- It took one phone call to sell Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell on Chris Sale.

Farrell is well aware of the history of accomplished pitchers struggling in their first season in Boston. It happened to Josh Beckett (5.01 ERA in 2006), John Lackey (4.40 ERA in 2010) and Rick Porcello (15 losses, 4.92 ERA in 2015). Even former Cy Young Award winner David Price was more inconsistent than ever last season.

But with Sale set to make his Red Sox debut Wednesday night at Fenway Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Farrell said he hasn't felt compelled to brace him for what he's about to experience. Their initial conversation after Sale was acquired from the Chicago White Sox in a Dec. 6 blockbuster trade left Farrell with the impression that the 28-year-old lefty might be uniquely suited to handle it.

"I haven't harped on it," Farrell said. "He's been in the big leagues quite a while. Even for those guys who haven't put on a Red Sox uniform, they're aware that certain markets, there's a tremendous amount of passion and expectation. I'm confident he embraces that.

"From the first phone call with Chris, the way he spoke about the opportunity here, he was very much looking forward to coming over here, [having] a legitimate chance to win, the chance to pitch in the postseason. I can't say it's different than other guys because we've had pitchers or players here that are very business-like, very routine-oriented and concentrated. But we've seen Chris' competitive spirit come out in other ways.

"Even for those guys who haven't put on a Red Sox uniform, they're aware that certain markets, there's a tremendous amount of passion and expectation. I'm confident he embraces that," John Farrell said of Chris Sale, above, handling the Boston scrutiny. Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images "Even in some of the functions we had in spring training, he's not looking to do things to kill time. There's a purpose to everything he does, and it has shown up and reared its head. I don't want to say it's different. (It's) refreshing."

For one thing, Sale isn't particularly interested in talking about adjusting to Boston. He declined several interview requests on Opening Day, perhaps in an attempt to avoid shining a brighter spotlight on a start that will receive plenty of attention, even from Sale's teammates.

"Looking forward to that," third baseman Pablo Sandoval said. "He's one of the best pitchers in the big leagues. I'm going to be there in the first row watching that big man throwing."

Said Porcello: "I've seen him pitch enough on the other side that I'm really excited to watch him pitch and be on the same team. He's as good as it gets. I don't think there's a left-handed pitcher in the game that's nastier than he is."

Since 2012, when he moved into Chicago's starting rotation, Sale ranks third in strikeouts (1,133) and adjusted ERA (133), sixth in OPS against (.635) and seventh in ERA (3.04) among pitchers with at least 500 innings. He throws a in the mid-90s and a bat-slowing , all out of a unique delivery that accentuates a ridiculous 82-inch wingspan.

Unlike Price, Sale isn't on Twitter. He doesn't do Facebook. He describes himself as "not a big media guy." If he reads something that is written about him, positive or negative, it's usually because family or friends bring it to his attention.

In spring training, Sale compared himself to a racehorse with "blinders." He vowed to learn from last year, when he wound up at the center of two controversies with the White Sox. That spring training, he lashed out at management for limiting the amount of time first baseman Adam LaRoche's son could spend around the team. In July, he cut up throwback jerseys the White Sox had planned to wear because he didn't find them comfortable.

But Red Sox officials weren't concerned about Sale fitting in, even in a city as obsessed with sports as Boston. If anything, Farrell believes Sale's intense desire to reach the postseason for the first time in his career will push him to overcome any adversity he encounters here.

That might be the biggest thing that separates Sale from the pitchers who have struggled before him. Beckett and Lackey had won the World Series before arriving in Boston. Porcello and Price had pitched in the postseason earlier in their careers.

"I think a team has a tendency to take on the mentality of a pitcher on a given day, and in this case, Chris' competitiveness can rub off on others," Farrell said. "Anytime you can send Chris Sale to the mound, you're feeling pretty good about your chances."

* WEEI.com

Ready or Not, Chris Sale Is About To Find Out What It Means To Pitch For Red Sox

John Tomase

It took a cold winter's day at Foxwoods for Chris Sale to finally realize what he was in for in Boston.

At the Red Sox winter carnival in January, Sale waited backstage before being introduced alongside his new teammates at a packed town hall. This was Sale's first exposure to Red Sox fans, and what he saw shocked him.

They were everywhere, clad head to toe in Sox gear, prowling the Connecticut casino just a couple of weeks before the Patriots would take on the Falcons in Super Bowl 51. As Sale heard his name called and stepped onto the stage, he could barely believe the electricity.

"My legs were shaking," he said. "I had butterflies."

Sale took the stage to thunderous applause that told him two things -- Boston really cares about baseball, and it was time to deliver.

The Red Sox can only hope he's up to the task.

"You're kind of blown away," Sale said. "This is my first time being able to interact with the new fans and this fanbase. For that to be my first impression, it's incredible. It's a moment I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'll hopefully hear that a few more times."

The Red Sox shocked baseball at the winter meetings by acquiring Sale from the White Sox for two of their top prospects -- Cuban strongman Yoan Moncada and flame-throwing right-hander Michael Kopech -- and two lesser pieces. They added him to a rotation that already included defending Cy Young Award winner Rick Porcello, former Cy Young Award winner David Price (before he hurt his elbow, anyway), and 2016 All-Stars Steven Wright and Drew Pomeranz.

They effectively obtained him to replace retired slugger David Ortiz, shifting their focus from run-scoring to run-prevention.

In the process, they added one of the most talented arms in baseball, a 6-foot-6 beanpole with an unorthodox delivery, five straight All-Star appearances, and dominating stuff.

On Wednesday when he makes his Red Sox debut against the Pirates, we'll get to see how he handles Boston.

"He will be great," said White Sox general manager Rick Hahn, who reluctantly traded him to jumpstart a rebuild. "He's got the front-end No. 1 ace mentality, which is going to play well in any market, and I think he's going to be invigorated by the chance to play meaningful games in October."

Of more immediate concern for Sale, 28, will be avoiding the fate to befall so many high-profile pitchers to debut here.

It's easy to forget that Josh Beckett compiled an unsightly 5.01 ERA in 2006 while allowing a staggering 36 homers. John Lackey posted a 5.26 ERA over his first two seasons before undergoing surgery and becoming a World Series hero. Porcello pitched like an $80 million bust in 2015 before experiencing his renaissance. Price struggled to find his mechanics last year.

Even the great Pedro Martinez faded down the stretch in 1998, losing three of his final four starts before embarking on perhaps the greatest run of dominance ever from 1999-2001.

"I haven't harped on it," manager John Farrell said. "He's been in the big leagues quite a while. Certain markets, there's a tremendous amount of passion and expectation. I'm confident he embraces that. I know he's excited to be here with the Red Sox, but he's going to experience some firsts here in Boston, and we're looking forward to that."

The good news is Sale feels uniquely suited to thriving here. He's not on Facebook, he doesn't use social media or share his cell number with reporters, and he rarely reads coverage.

"I'm not a big media guy," Sale said. "I don't have Twitter. I'm not going to be reading as much about everything as probably the next guy. I'm really more focused on the between-the-lines stuff. That's what I signed up for. That's what I look forward to. That's what I live for, playing the game of baseball. Everything else, it'll take care of itself, it'll shake out. The good outweighs the bad. You've got to roll with it."

Sale's resume speaks for itself. He reached the big leagues in 2010 at age 21 and made his first start two years later, finishing sixth in the Cy Young voting. He has finished no worse than fifth in the four years since.

He arrives in Boston with a lifetime record of 74-50 and an ERA of 3.00. He has averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings and led the league with 274 Ks in 2015. His strikeout-to-walk of 4.78 is the greatest in big league history, ahead of former Red Sox great Curt Schilling.

That's his resume. Sale likens himself to a racehorse.

"The horse has his blinders on and he runs until he's told not to run or the race is over, whatever it is," he said. "That's my goal this year, to just focus on baseball things. Anything outside of that, put the blinders up. A lot of distraction can go on throughout the season and in the clubhouse, whatever it is, and I'm going to do my best to kind of keep those separated and keep my focus on baseball-related things."

Of course, Sale is no stranger to controversy, as the White Sox discovered last year.

For a guy who generally avoids the limelight, Sale found himself on center stage twice in 2016. The first time came in spring training, when the White Sox told former Red Sox infielder Adam LaRoche that his 14-year-old son, Drake, was no longer welcome at the ballpark.

LaRoche decided to retire and it led to a clubhouse mutiny, with some anonymous players reportedly troubled by the younger LaRoche's ubiquity, and others, like Sale, vocally supportive of his presence. Sale focused his ire on team president Kenny Williams, who made the decision.

"We got bold-faced lied to by someone we were supposed to trust," Sale fumed to reporters. "This isn't us rebelling against the rules. This is us rebelling against B.S., plain and simple."

Fast-forward to late July. Sale is scratched from a start against the Tigers and sent home for a non-physical "clubhouse incident." Word soon leaks that Sale refused to wear the team's 1976 throwback jerseys because he didn't like the feel of the collar, so he took matters into his own hands by grabbing scissors and making like Freddy Krueger, cutting up not only his jersey, but those of his teammates as well.

When Sale reflects on those incidents, he admits some regret, but refuses to look back. The Red Sox, for their part, jokingly welcomed him to the club in spring training by presenting him with a sliced up jersey at a spring training team meeting, president Sam Kennedy told Kirk & Callahan.

"The only thing I'm going to really say on that is I'm a completely different person when I'm here and when I'm in between the painted lines," Sale said. "I can say that for sure. There's definitely a switch that goes on. The things on the field I don't do in my everyday life.

"It wasn't exactly between the white lines, but yeah it all goes into the passion I have for playing the game and things are going to happen. Nobody's perfect, you're going to make mistakes. All I really want to say on that is you live and you learn. I have two sons now. A 6-year-old and a 2-month-old and I tell them, 'You're going to make mistakes, but if you learn from your mistakes that's the key.' Everybody here has made a mistake. If you learn from it, you become a better person. If you keep making the same mistakes, you're kind of spinning your tires."

Price's injury has put a damper on the enthusiasm the Red Sox carried into spring training, when they bragged about having three of the six pitchers who tossed over 220 innings last year on one staff. With Price expected to miss the first month -- if not a lot longer -- the Red Sox won't send their three aces to the mound, but at least they've still got Porcello and Sale.

"It's no coincidence that he's been one of the top left-handed pitchers in the game and it was the same when David [Price] came over and I first started playing with David," Porcello said. "Those guys are at the top of their game for a reason and it's how hard they work, how hard they prepare. That was the first thing I noticed."

Sale wants to impress his new fans, who impressed him over the winter, but he's got bigger goals. This is his eighth season, but he has yet to reach the playoffs.

"I'm as excited as anybody, honestly," he said. "I don't know how you couldn't be. You're in the annual running for making the playoffs and have a realistic chance for winning the World Series. I think the group of guys, I've always heard great things about the guys on this team, the front office. You have dedicated ownership and front office guys dedicated to winning annually. So it's exciting. I've always, always loved going to Boston, pitching in Boston. It's a trip my wife comes on every year as well. We both really like the city and the stadium. Obviously, it's a very special place.

"That's kind of the cherry on top. You look at the talent on this team as a whole – not only just the pitching staff but as a whole – you've got some young guys, you obviously have a veteran leader and one of the best in the game in [Dustin] Pedroia leading the charge, you can't ask for much more. You have guys in the bullpen who can lock it down. On paper, it looks good. I know we've still got to go out there and do it, but there's no reason not to be excited right now.

"You just walk in here and see all the banners. We've got a lot of banners here. I'd like to add to that. You can just feel what this team is about."

* CSNNE.com

Red Sox Don't Like Taking Insurance Policies On Players

Evan Drellich

If David Price’s elbow goes, it’s possible the Red Sox could recoup some of their investment via an insurance policy — if they indeed took one.

They don’t usually like to, as Red Sox president Sam Kennedy explained on the CSNNE Baseball Show podcast.

“The cost-benefit usually isn’t there. It’s incredibly expensive,” Kennedy said of insurance policies. “And there’s certain things that have to trigger the payment vis a vis the player when they get hurt. So, it typically doesn’t make sense.

“On some occasions it does, but it’s usually too costly and clubs don’t often insure big contracts because it’s hard to recoup based upon how many days the guys are on the DL so on and so forth. There’s a reason why the insurance business is a very profitable industry.”

Kennedy likened the insurance policies to gambling.

“It’s like walking into a casino, and saying, well, how did they build this place?” Kennedy said. “Well, they didn’t build it with your winnings. It’s something that we don’t have a policy either against it or for it, but we’ve looked about it in just about every case or occasion and most times we walk away and we’ve not done it.”

Red Sox Begin Multi-Phase Project To Revamp Complex In Dominican

Evan Drellich

Red Sox president Sam Kennedy says the team aims to bring the 15-year-old facilities up to modern standards.

The Red Sox are revamping their complex in the Dominican Republic, starting a three- or four-phase project to bring their training ground for international players up to speed.

Operations will continue at the current facility, which is why the project will be done in steps.

“Believe it or not, we built that facility new in 2001, 2002 offseason I believe,” Sox president of baseball operations Sam Kennedy said on the CSNNE Baseball Show podcast. “And in baseball, that’s a lifetime. Some of the facilities have really surpassed ours in terms of quality...just sort of bringing it up to 2017, '18 standards.”

Kennedy, executive vice president for business affairs Jon Gilula, chairman Tom Werner, David Ortiz and Pedro Martinez toured the facility this winter.

“All of our international players just about go through there,” Kennedy said. “And it was real eye opening to see, sort of the -- I hadn’t been down there in a long time -- to see the state of our facility vs. some of these other new modern facilities. So we’re making some investments right now.

“I would say the biggest feature is probably dormitory space for the players. We had one team down there [in the Dominican Summer League], then we went to two teams, we went back to one team, we’re going to go back to two teams. So we need more space.”

The Red Sox this year are carrying only one DSL team, after their international pipeline was cutoff because of an MLB-issued punishment for skirting international amateur signing rules in 2015.

Amenities for the players will be improved too: a better weight room and so on.

“When you go to JetBlue Park and you see the operation there, vs. Fenway or the Dominican, you realize that we have a ways to go,” Kennedy said.

Fenway, of course, has seen major upgrades, but is still very limited by space, where as JetBlue Park is just six years old.

Chris Sale's Unique Delivery Is The Essence Of Simplicity

Evan Drellich

BOSTON -- Much is made of Chris Sale's unique delivery. How he can bury the ball on left-handed hitters, how hard it is to pick up pitches, and how it perhaps isn't the best for the health of his arm.

None of this means that keeping mechanics in order is a taller task for him than others.

"At the same time, it's a pretty simple delivery as far as how he processes it," pitching coach Carl Willis said.

When Sale pitches at Fenway Park for the first time as a member of the Red Sox on Wednesday, he'll do so essentially unchanged.

Willis and Sale have had time to get to know each other a little bit now. But with a pitcher of Sale's caliber -- and more to the point, experience -- nothing came up in spring training that became any sort of focal point.

"When we talked in the winter I kind of explained to him, look I'm not that guy who's going to sit and watch you pitch and say you need to do this or do that, or get into his mechanics," Willis said. "What I wanted to know from him . . . what are the simple keys that you and [White Sox pitching coach Don Cooper] have in Chicago? Because those are the things that have made you successful.

"Sometimes when you acquire new pitchers, you may see something that actually you feel like ‘Oh, this is it,' and you go out and say, ‘No, this is not it, because I've been down that road. We tried that, we thought that was the problem that's not the problem, it's actually this.'

"So he has helped me to understand him and what to really look for."

Farrell On Price: 'Little By Little, Making His Way Back'

Evan Drellich

Red Sox manager John Farrell said on Tuesday on MLB Network Radio that David Price is “little by little making his way back.”

“[Price has come] out of each of his last half-dozen throwing sessions feeling good about himself,” Farrell told hosts Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette.

Farrell reiterated Price needs to throw from 120-150 feet before he can throw off a mound.

Tyler Thornburg, meanwhile, is about to have his throwing shoulder rechecked as he hits the one week mark without throwing.

“That seven days expires tomorrow. He’ll get rechecked,” Farrell said. “And what happens is, when they go through a recheck it’s more strength testing in the training room with our medical staff.”

Farrell explained that the shoulder program that was oft-talked about this spring was founded on a baseline of exercises set out by the late Dr. Frank Jobe.

“Over the course of about a 10-year period, our maintenance program with pitchers has evolved," Farrell said. “That’s the root.”

Visits with Dr. James Andrews have influenced the direction the program has gone.

With Thornburg, Farrell said, “the shoulder program probably identified some areas of weakness that needed to be addressed and that’s what we’re working through.”

Certainly, some level of blame has to fall to Thornburg himself.

Drew Pomeranz (forearm) is on track to pitch this weekend in Detroit after working in a game Monday in Fort Myers. No decision has been announced but Farrell said "things are pointing in the right direction for Drew."

“Velocity was in the low 90s, pretty consistently 91, 92,” Farrell said. “And I think the finish to his . . . that was much improved.”

Farrell said there were people with the organization that went down to Florida specifically to watch Pomeranz’s minor-league outing. He’s on the 10-day disabled list.

* NESN.com

Could Drew Pomeranz Make First Start This Week After ‘Encouraging’ Rehab Outing?

Sam Galanis

The Boston Red Sox’s rotation might not be in such bad shape after all.

Before Opening Day, the Red Sox announced Drew Pomeranz would start the season on the 10-day disabled list with a left forearm flexor strain, becoming the second starting pitcher to get injured after David Price was shut down with a similar injury in spring training.

But Pomeranz never stopped throwing, and the Red Sox were happy with what they saw from the left- hander in a minor league game in Fort Myers, Fla., on Monday during Boston’s 5-3 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pomeranz pitched six innings and threw 88 pitches.

“There was an uptick in overall stuff, so it was a very encouraging day for him,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said after Monday’s game at Fenway Park, per WEEI.com’s Ryan Hannable. “We have yet to discuss what the next step is. For what he set out to do work wise, he was able to accomplish that.”

The 28-year-old’s DL designation is retroactive to March 30, so he’ll be eligible to return to the team for what would be his first scheduled start April 9 against the . And based on Farrell’s comments, it sounds as though there’s a decent chance of that happening.