Red Sox 16, Reds 5

This was my final day in Ft. Myers, before having to return home to New England. The Red Sox played another doubleheader, beating Northeastern University 14-0 in the afternoon (with Ino Guerrero getting another at-bat), and taking on the Cincinnati Reds at night. We had tickets to the night game, but arrived early while the Sox were still taking batting practice. We went down by the Red Sox dugout, where we ended up getting infielder Nick Green’s autograph, which was appropriate, since he was in every game we saw.

Clay Buchholz made the start, and he was very good in his two innings of work. He threw 35 pitches, including a 10-pitch battle with Joey Votto that resulted in an inning-ending groundout. His only baserunner came on a second-inning single. (Newly-acquired Red Jonny Gomes got booed each time up, because of the punches he threw at Coco Crisp in a brawl while with the Rays last season.)

Clay Buchholz allowed only one baserunner in two solid innings of work.

Clay’s teammates made quick work of the Reds’ starter, Nick Masset. They batted around in the first inning and scored four runs, on J.D. Drew’s fielder’s choice, Jason Bay’s single, and Jason Varitek’s two-run double. In the second, they batted around again, this time sending 11 men to the plate and scoring six more runs. Brad Wilkerson drove a home run deep to right-center, and Nick Green and Gil Velazquez both had RBI hits. Even the outs were productive, as Tek and Julio Lugo both knocked in runs with sacrifice flies. Tek knocked in another run with a groundout in the third. All of his plate appearances came left-handed, which is the side he really struggled from last year and is attempting to improve this spring, so it was nice to see him have a big day at the plate.

Jason Varitek and his teammates had a good night at the plate.

When Buchholz was done, we got our first look at Ramon Ramirez, who was acquired in a trade for Coco Crisp in the off-season. He had a quick 1-2-3 inning. He was followed by Javier Lopez, who struggled a little and ended up walking three. Manny Delcarmen needed only nine pitches to dispose of the Reds in the fifth on a grounder to second, a grounder to short, and a grounder to third. Billy Traber and Daniel Bard also pitched scoreless innings.

The Red Sox take on the Reds at City of Palms Park.

It was fun to finally see the Red Sox regulars (or at least semi-regulars) put up some runs, and the pitching by anyone slated to be on (or near) the major league staff was again impressive. Spring Training games don’t usually go 3 1/2 hours, but we got our money’s worth with that game. When the win went final, the loudspeakers blared “Dirty Water”: Love that dirty water… oh, Boston, you’re my home. And with the Sox’ first Grapefruit League win of the year, it was time for me to head home.

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Sunday update: It was snowing when my plane landed, and we’re expecting a foot tomorrow. It’s time to put away my shorts and sandals and dig out the longjohns. After all, it’s only a little over a month till Opening Day.

Rays 12, Red Sox 4

It started off as another beautiful Florida day. The sun was out, with hardly a cloud in the sky, as we made the trip to the Rays’ new ballpark in Port Charlotte, just up the road from Ft. Myers. Several years ago the Rangers were here, but they have since departed for Arizona. The Rays used to train in St. Pete, and after completely renovating the Rangers’ old stadium, today they played just their second game in their new home.

A beautiful day in Port Charlotte... until the game started, that is.

We went in when the gates opened. As we came out toward the field, we saw the Red Sox position players long-tossing in left field. We went down to the front row of seats in that area, which was really close to the field. The guys right in front of me all had numbers in the 70’s and 80’s, but after being here all week, I pretty much have them memorized. As they finished the tossing and prepared to head toward the dugout, I was very close to #74, and am probably the only one besides my mother who knew that he was Carlos Maldonado, the catcher we had seen in yesterday’s game. (Considering one of the Red Sox “fans” standing near us asked me later if the guy fielding grounders at shortstop – Argenis Diaz, #76 – was Coco Crisp, I’m fairly confident we were the only ones who knew who he was.) So I yelled out, “Carlos!” He turned to look, and I asked if he’d sign, so he came over and autographed for me and my mother and the few others who were in the area. I also successfully called Lars Anderson over. I had been close to getting his autograph a couple of times this week, but hadn’t managed to until today. Later, Terry Francona came over, and I was able to get his, too. (Though I was cringing when one guy kept calling him “coach.” I know how much he hates that, and rightfully so. It’s called a manager, people! This isn’t football!)

Jed Lowrie blows a bubble during batting practice. He went 0-for-2 with an RBI in the game.

As we stood near the field to watch batting practice, we heard some people talking about trying to catch a raccoon. It turns out one had found its way into the park. My father was walking around the stadium and saw it strolling along in the front row behind home plate. Later, he watched as it made its way to the back row of stands, then climbed over a fence and into a luxury box, all the while being pursued by ballpark staff. Finally, an animal control guy captured it in the back row of the grandstand and escorted it out of the park.

A raccoon tried to sneak into the park without a ticket, and was given an early exit.

Everything was going well. The weather was beautiful, and I had gotten some autographs…. and then the game started.

Michael Bowden wasn’t sharp. He gave up one run in the first and was charged with three more in the second. When he reached the 40-pitch mark, he got the hook. Enrique Gonzalez came in with two outs and a guy on second, and promptly gave up a home run to Evan Longoria. Gonzalez was back out for the third, and fared even worse. The Rays sent ten men to the plate, and six of them scored. According to soxprospects.com, Gonzalez is projected to be in the PawSox bullpen. He’s also going to play for Venezuela in the WBC, which I’m sure is why they’re trying to get him some game action now. (Same goes for Angel Chavez, who’s started at third in two games so far and will be representing Panama.)

Devern Hansack was a welcome relief with his two perfect innings of work. Unfortunately by then the Sox were already down 10-0. Charlie Zink, whose knuckleballs were handled well by Mark Wagner, pitched the next two innings, and surrendered a long two-run homer, plus a walk and a hit batter. Steve Green, #97, who also projects to be in the Pawtucket pen, pitched a 1-2-3 eighth.

Devern Hansack earned his spot in the PawSox rotation this afternoon. The rest of the guys who pitched may want to start checking out the bus schedules to Portland.

The Sox did get a rally going in the fifth, and ended up scoring four runs. Dusty Brown hit a double, and the RBIs came from Nick Green’s single, Jed Lowrie’s sac fly, and Rocco Baldelli’s single. Rocco got a chance to play against his former team, but we didn’t get to see Sox-turned-Rays Carlos Pena or Gabe Kapler. (I was looking forward to seeing Kapler because he’s one of my former favorites, not to mention the former Single A manager of some of the Red Sox prospects who were in the game, but no such luck.)

Rocco Baldelli bats against his former team. He went 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

It’s pretty sad that the highlight of the whole day was the raccoon! But at least these games don’t count for anything, and they’ll try again tomorrow with the other half of the team.

Pirates 3, Red Sox 2

Today marked the first home game of the Grapefruit League season for the Red Sox. They hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates on a warm, sunny afternoon for an official nine-inning major league exhibition. We got to the game early, while the Red Sox were still taking batting practice. (I noticed Ino Guerrero was throwing B.P., so he appears to have recovered nicely from his appearance in yesterday’s Boston College game.) I went down to the area next to the dugout in the hopes of getting a few last autographs, but no one signed when they came off the field from B.P. I had a good spot though, and there would be one more chance when the players came back out to stretch right before the game. We saw Brad Penny and Big Papi signing in that area yesterday, so I thought it was worth a shot. I waited for over an hour in that spot, but didn’t wind up with anything. Lars Anderson, the power-hitting first base prospect, signed a few, but it was further down than where I was standing. Jon Lester handed a baseball to a kid, but since he was starting he didn’t stop to sign. The only one who came close to me was minor leaguer Zach Daeges, but I already had his autograph from one of the workout days.

Johnny Pesky brought out the lineup card for the Red Sox.

Jon Lester started, and he was good in his two innings of work. He gave up a two-out single to Andy LaRoche in the first, but he got Eric Hinske to ground out to end the inning. Hinske and fellow ‘07 Sox alum Brandon Moss got cheers from the crowd each time they batted. Moss led off the second with a single. But Lester got a fly ball to right for the first out, and then a liner right back to him that he was able to snare and flip to first in time to double off Moss to end the inning.

Jon Lester throws a pitch in the second inning.

Speaking of players returning to face their old teams, it was too bad Jason Bay wasn’t in the game today to face his old mates. Most of the Red Sox starters – Bay included – had played in the night game at Minnesota yesterday, so they weren’t in this afternoon game. We did get to see Julio Lugo, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew, all of whom had been in the afternoon game yesterday, plus Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek.

Former PawSox - and Red Sox - teammates Jeff Bailey and Brandon Moss.

In the first inning, Pedroia and Drew walked. Varitek came up with two outs and tried to end the inning with a grounder to short, but the Pirate shortstop bobbled it long enough for Tek to reach and keep the inning alive. Jeff Bailey capitalized, driving a single to right to knock in two runs.

The Little MVP Who Could takes a big swing.

Thanks to some really good pitching, the Sox held that 2-0 lead through eight innings. Takashi Saito gave up a single but recorded two strikeouts in his inning. Hideki Okajima and Wes Littleton set their batters down 1-2-3. Fernando Cabrera gave up a walk and a hit, but escaped with a scoreless inning. Hunter Jones pitched a perfect seventh.

And then after the supply of major league and Triple A pitchers ran out, they raided the Double A roster. Adam Mills did a good job with a 1-2-3 eighth. Richie Lentz came on for the ninth, trying to protect a 2-0 lead. He struck out the first batter, but then hit a batter and walked a guy, before giving up a run-scoring single. That brought John Farrell out to the mound for a chat, but Lentz plunked the next guy to load the bases. That brought Tito out for the pitching change. It seemed like a longer wait than usual to see who’d be coming in from the pen. We envisioned whoever was left out there saying, “I’m not going out there. You go.” “No, you.” (Either that or they were getting Ino Guerrero warmed up.) Finally, #96, Mike James, emerged. “This #96 guy had better get out of this mess,” I said, “or we’ll have to find a triple-digit number to replace him.” James got a ground ball for the second out, but the tying run came in on the play. The next batter hit a grounder to short, but Argenis Diaz booted it, and the go-ahead run came in.

The Red Sox and Pirates met in a matinee at City of Palms Park.

In the ninth, the Sox got one last chance to tie it. Chris Carter and Josh Reddick flied out, but Carlos Maldonado, the catcher who had come in for Tek earlier, walked. George Kottaras – another catcher – came in to pinch-run. (”Wow, how slow is Maldonado?” we wondered.) That brought up 21-year-old Lars Anderson, the best power-hitting prospect in the organization. But he struck out looking, ending the game.

Tomorrow it’s on to Port Charlotte, where we check out the Rays’ new stadium and attempt to exact some revenge for last year’s ALCS.

Red Sox 7, BC Eagles 1

Today marked the start of Spring Training games in Ft. Myers. The Red Sox played a matinee at home against Boston College, followed by a night game across town at the Minnesota Twins’ park. We went to the BC game. It was great thinking that it’s the middle of winter, and here I am at a baseball game… or at least something vaguely resembling a baseball game.

With the two games scheduled, the majority of the starters were going to be in the night game. That left Julio Lugo, Rocco Baldelli, David Ortiz, and J.D. Drew for the afternoon game. Josh Beckett started, and he looked good. He blew through the college lineup in his two innings of work, racking up two strikeouts and leaping to snare a line drive back to the mound. I counted a total of 21 pitches over the two innings.

A beautiful afternoon at City of Palms Park... except for those trying to keep score.

My mother and I keep score at games, but the Spring Training ones are so hard with all the substitutions, and the college games are next to impossible. Not all the substitutions are announced when they happen, and we’ve experienced in the past that they’ve put the wrong batter’s name up on the scoreboard, or mispronounced the names of Red Sox players, so we don’t even know how badly they might be butchering the names of the opponents we’ve never heard of. It takes a lot of concentration to keep track of what’s going on in Spring Training, and I joked that we needed a real nine-inning major league game first to get warmed up before scoring these confusing exhibition games.

The only player we did know of on BC was their left fielder, Sam Shaughnessy, son of the Globe columnist. He was announced as number 42, batting cleanup. But when the second inning started, the announcer read, “Now batting, the right fielder, number 16, Barry Butera.” Butera was the fifth batter. Did we miss something? No, it was clearly #42, Sam Shaughnessy, standing at the plate. We joked that Dan must have written a negative piece about the P.A. announcer once, which is why he was skipping his kid. Sam struck out, and then Barry Butera came up. Once again the announcer read, “Now batting, the right fielder, number 16, Barry Butera.” We shook our heads and laughed, “It’s Spring Training. Everyone’s still working out the kinks.”

Beckett was followed by Clay Buchholz, who also looked good in a quick six-pitch inning. Kris Johnson pitched the fourth and ran into a little trouble. He gave up a walk and two singles, and BC actually took a 1-0 lead. Finally, in the bottom of the fifth, when the major leaguers departed, the Red Sox hitters went to work. (The college games are only seven innings, so it was a good time to get started.) Jonathan Van Every and Nick Green singled to open the inning. Angel Chavez, who had started the game at third base, drilled a two-run double, giving the Sox the lead. Yamaico Navarro, who had come in for Lugo at short the inning before, doubled Chavez home with the third Sox run.

My father said, “It’s a good thing the Red Sox finally took the lead. Could you imagine the stories in the Globe tomorrow if Shaughnessy’s team had beaten them?”

“Yeah,” I quipped. “‘The Curse of Barry Butera.’”

Baldelli struck out for the first out of the inning (his second K of the day). I saw #80 on deck, and from my back row seat, I assumed it was Dusty Brown, who had been wearing #80 all week (and in Spring Training last year too). But the announcer said, “Now pinch-hitting, number 80, Ino Guerrero.” What? Ino is the batting practice pitcher! He’s the one Papi brought with him to the All-Star Game a couple of years ago when he was in the home run hitting contest. We were just watching him serve ‘em up to Big Papi in B.P. yesterday. He was not going to be in a game! Someone must have written it as a joke, and the confused announcer actually read it! That was my rant… until I actually looked at the batter. It sure wasn’t Dusty Brown. In fact, it kind of looked like… Ino Guerrero. (This whole time the scoreboard said Jeff Corsaletti, who wasn’t even in the game.) He took ball four (on a 3-1 count) and jogged to first base. I zoomed in with my camera. It was Ino Guerrero! Corsaletti did come in to pinch-run for the 48-year-old coach, and Ino was greeted by laughs and high-fives from the whole team when he got back to the dugout.

Batting practice pitcher Ino Guerrero stands at first after his fifth inning walk.

It's all smiles and high-fives for Ino Guerrero as he returns to the dugout.

Later in the inning, Chris Carter’s bases-loaded double drove in three more runs, and Yamaico Navarro’s homer in the sixth made it 7-1. Junichi Tazawa, the young Japanese pitcher the Sox signed this off-season who projects to open the year in Double A, pitched a very nice four-pitch inning in the fifth (fly to right, grounder to short, strike one and then a bouncer back to the mound which he gloved and threw to first). We also got a look at lefty Felix Doubront in the sixth and flame-throwing Daniel Bard in the seventh. With that, the game was over, and mercifully so, for both the college team and the P.A. announcer… and for anyone scoring at home.

Flame-throwing pitching prospect Daniel Bard lets one loose.

It’s great to have baseball back again, and I can’t wait to go back tomorrow for some real Grapefruit League action.

Today was the final day of workouts for the Red Sox, before they start their Grapefruit League contests tomorrow. We knew they’d be ending practice a little earlier than usual so they could begin moving all their stuff up the street to City of Palms Park. We still arrived plenty early, and I managed to get John Smoltz to sign the photo I brought. (I also got Marcus McBeth, a non-roster invitee who was wearing #59, but who signed it as #57… which is really bullpen coach Gary Tuck’s number. It’s one thing when we don’t know the players’ numbers – although I’ve memorized almost all of them by now – but it’s another thing when they don’t even know their own!)

One autograph I was really hoping to get was Mike Lowell’s. I’d love to have it on the picture I brought of me with the World Series trophies, since he was the series MVP and he’s one of my favorite players, and since both my parents were able to get him earlier in the week. On my flight down, I was reading Deep Drive: A Long Journey to Finding the Champion Within, his autobiography, and it mentioned that his birthday is February 24. I realized that that would be while I was down here, and hoped to use that knowledge to get him to come over and sign. What I forgot was that because of his rehab, he’s on a slightly different Spring Training schedule. He doesn’t do the stretching with the rest of the team, and joins them on the fields when it’s time for fielding practice and BP. So I didn’t get to shout it to him in the morning, but still hoped I could catch him between fields at some point.

Tito and Smoltz chat as the rest of the team appears to prepare for the ballet.

With the abbreviated workout, there was no PFP, so after the stretching, we headed to Field 3 for rundown/cutoff drills. All the infielders, pitchers, catchers, and outfielders were there, as well as a bunch of kids from minor league camp who served as baserunners. When the pitcher got to the mound, he’d pretend to throw the ball. A coach would hit one into the outfield, and everyone would have to get into the right positions to field it, serve as cutoff man, relay it to the right base, or back up the play.

Papelbon and Delcarmen walk between fields.

After that, they split up to take batting practice. We headed to Field 5, along with quite a large crowd, to watch the group that included Big Papi, Mike Lowell, Jason Bay, and Julio Lugo. While Bay took his swings, a woman in the crowd beat me to it by yelling out a happy birthday wish to Lowell. He acknowledged it, and then she coordinated the singing of an impromptu “Happy Birthday to You,” and everyone joined in. Big Papi (on the far side of the batting cage from me) waved his arms in the air like a conductor as we sang. At the end of the song, someone shouted out, “How old are you, 29 again?” and the 35-year-old Lowell answered, “In the Dominican, I’m 28!”

The video below shows our birthday serenade of the Red Sox third baseman:

Big Papi put on a show himself during BP, knocking several over the fence and into an area where a couple of cars were parked near the building which houses the batting cages. It was hard to tell from where my mother and I were standing, but it looked like a couple of the shots actually hit the cars parked there. I joked that that’s where they parked the rookies’ cars. But my father was standing at the outfield end of the field at the time, and filled us in on the rest of the story. Luis Tiant and a couple of coaches were shagging the fly balls hit out to right field during the practice. As homer after homer cleared the fence and landed near the cars, the coaches started to tease Tiant, “That one almost got your car!” He was the one who was parked there! And sure enough, one did bounce right off his car. There was another that hit the van next to his, too. When Papi passed his way after practice, Louie called over to him, “Hey, you’re gonna pay for my car!”

Ino Guerrero pitches BP. The blue building beyond the fence houses the batting cages. One of Big Papi's blasts hit the white van. Another hit Luis Tiant's black car, parked next to the white van, directly behind Ino.

When practice was over, we headed out for lunch, and then drove to Ft. Myers Beach. It’s a long, beautiful beach with Gulf water that’s warmer than we get all summer long in New England. But we did see the following sand sculpture, which made us feel at home:

"Hi from Florida" reads the inscription on this Ft. Myers Beach sand sculpture.

Tomorrow, let the games begin! I’ll be at the 1:05 home game against Boston College. The 7:05 game at Minnesota will be on NESN.

Another early morning wakeup call, and another trip to the Red Sox minor league complex for Spring Training workouts. It was chillier than yesterday as we waited for the players to take the field at 9 am. As they made their way out to practice, I managed to get Dustin Pedroia’s autograph as well as one from pitching prospect Daniel Bard. When they take the field, they all stretch together for a while on Field 2. I went up to the back of the grandstand of an adjacent field to get some pictures looking down on them. Here’s a panoramic shot of the complex. (Click the picture to enlarge.)

Panoramic view of the players hard at work stretching, and the fans hard at work watching them.

After stretching, they split up. On my way to see what was going on in the different fields, I saw Luis Tiant signing, and went over to get an autograph from the iconic Red Sox pitcher.

Luis Tiant autographs a baseball.

Later in the day, Johnny Pesky arrived in camp, set up a chair, and signed hundreds of autographs, all the while chatting and reminiscing with everyone, posing for pictures, shaking hands, kissing babies, and just generally being a Red Sox legend.

I made my way to Field 3, where I found out I had missed getting Mike Lowell’s autograph (which would have been perfect on my photo with the 2007 World Series trophy, since he was the series MVP) while I was taking photos from the grandstand. But both my parents got him, with my father even telling him how we stood in Copley Square for the Rolling Rally chanting “Re-sign Lowell” to everyone who passed.

On Field 3, the infielders were doing their drills. Two different coaches were hitting grounders to the different positions, with the fielders rotating who gloved each one. Big Papi (who is definitely ready for the 9 interleague road games by now) and Brad Wilkerson were at first. Dustin Pedroia and Nick Green shared duties at second. Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie battled it out at short. And it was nice to see Lowell back at third with Kevin Youkilis after a day off.

Continuing my series of photos of "Great Fu Manchus In Red Sox History", it's Kevin Youkilis, sporting his new look. He's joined by Mike Lowell (whose hip looked fine, by the way) taking ground balls at third.

They were later joined by the catchers, pitchers, and a bunch of kids called up from minor league camp to serve as baserunners. This drill involved everyone except for outfielders, and worked on covering bases and picking off runners. The pitchers took turns going to the mound and getting ready to throw, and then the baserunners would take off, and everyone would have to cover the right bases to get them out. A lot of the players just go through the motions, but Youk was operating at full throttle, chasing down the would-be basestealers as if it were the ninth inning of a playoff game – which is the way he goes about everything… with the possible exception of shaving, of course.

After that, the players split back up again. We stayed at Field 3 to watch Jonathan Papelbon throw his first live B.P. of the spring. Speaking of players who are at maximum intensity at all times, Paps was doing his usual intimidating closer stare, even standing behind the batting practice screen facing non-roster invitees Carlos Maldonado and Ivan Ochoa.

Shippin' up to Field 3 for some live B.P. with Paps.

Papelbon was followed by Brad Penny. Meanwhile, over on Field 2, Rocco Baldelli and some other players practiced bunting. A coach fed baseballs into a pitching machine, while the players practiced their bunts. David Ortiz, Mike Lowell, and Julio Lugo looked on in amusement. Here’s a quick video of Rocco taking a few practice bunts:

The position players finished up with some “real” B.P. – hitting against coaches’ soft lobs instead of their teammates’ best stuff. I watched Big Papi, Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo, and Jason Bay take some swings on Field 4.

We’ll be back again tomorrow for the final workout of the spring. (As much as I love going to the workouts, I guess it’s a good thing they’re coming to an end. This getting up early routine, along with a lot of standing around, has made me exhausted!)

Today was my chance to report to the Fort for Spring Training! I flew in last night, and got to the minor league complex with the first bus this morning. We had a great time, reinforcing my opinion that the Spring Training workouts are my favorite event of the year.

I set a new personal record with 11 autographs. I printed off an 8×10 of a photo I took of the team at last year’s workouts, and by the end of the day I had Jon Lester, Mark Kotsay, Julio Lugo, Justin Masterson, and Jed Lowrie. I also got an assortment of minor leaguers, from highly-rated prospect Michael Bowden to Adam Mills, #90, who was just called up to big league camp today. What’s fun is that we get the chance to talk to them as they sign. Although I usually freeze up when in the presence of Real Baseball Players, my mother told Bowden how she had seen him at a game with the Portland Sea Dogs in the rain last year, and he added, laughing, “It always rains in Portland.” Chris Carter saw my photo and said, “That’s from last year. I must be in there somewhere,” and I answered, “Yeah, you’re the one in the red jersey and the hat,” which of course didn’t narrow it down.

There are five fields at the minor league complex, and the players move around for different drills. Today I saw the outfielders catching fly balls on Field 1 and infielders fielding grounders and turning double plays on Field 3. Then they split up for live batting practice, with Justin Masterson, Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield, and Josh Beckett all throwing to various teammates.

Here are a few of the photos I took this morning:

Not content to settle for his eventual induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame, John Smoltz practices his football skills.

Now, any website can bring you pictures of batting practice, or PFP, or any number of other drills. But who else besides your humble webmaster brings you important behind-the-scenes footage like this:

NESN's Tom Caron applies an entire can of hairspray during every commercial break.

Jon Lester asks for my autograph.... or something like that...

And finally, my favorite scene of the day. Big Papi and Julio Lugo both had their young sons with them. And when the players ended the workout with some parachute runs, both kids joined in.

If Julio and D'Angelo's papis do as well as they did, it's going to be a fun season!

I know you folks reading this back home won’t want to hear it, but hey – my blog, my rules. The weather here is absolutely gorgeous. Mid-70’s – not too hot, not too cold, and sunny – enabling me to get started on that other summer ritual: my annual farmer’s tan.

I’m going to try to add a video to my report every day too. I was all set to show a clip of Tim Wakefield pitching to Josh Bard (who seemed like he was doing fine). But the parachute run was too cool, so I’ll end with Big Papi and his teammates preparing for takeoff:

Stay tuned tomorrow night for more from the Fort.