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the Yankees. He was the
first Red Sox player to
make the Opening Day
roster without Triple-A
experience since Shea
Hillenbrand in 2001.
The highlight of
the camp was the outstanding
pitching of
staff ace Lester. Lester,
who had slumped to
only nine wins and a
disappointing ERA of
4.82 in 2012, looked like
his old self in camp,
pitching nearly flawlessly
in six starts. His
excellent performance
earned him the Opening
Day start in Yankee
Stadium on April 1.
The biggest disappointment of the camp was leaving Ortiz
behind to continue rehabbing his injured Achilles. Big Papi was
critical to the offense, but there was no chance that he would
be rushed back. Farrell told the media, “We have a framework
in place for David and we will stick to it.”
By any standard, the Red Sox 2013 training camp had
been very productive. Farrell summed it up with, “I think we
have had a successful camp. We've been able to integrate
the number of new players that have been brought in successfully.
They've understood what we're trying to get done
as far as our approach every night. Our overall attitude has
been great, and the energy has been consistent. All in all, we
had a very focused effort."
IMPROBABLE DREAMS
An exhaustive search of the internet failed to turn
up a single “baseball expert” who predicted that the Red
Sox would win the AL East in 2013. In fact, fewer than 10%
thought they would even win the Wild Card. Gomes admits
he was puzzled why no one thought they had a chance. “I
remember standing in left field in an early spring game and
looking at John Lackey, a playoff veteran on the mound,
to my left were Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino, both
with experience on World Championship teams. Around
the infield we had Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia and Stephen
Drew, all playoff veterans. Behind the plate we had David
Ross, another postseason veteran, with Will Middlebrooks
our only youngster, at third. All I could think was, ‘how can
anyone see all this experienced talent and not realize we are
going to be a strong contender?’”
The 2013 Red Sox would go on to totally surprise the so-called
experts. More importantly, their performance on the field and off
the field would earn them a spot as one of the more iconic clubs
in the team’s history.
Sometimes improbable dreams do come true! ■
Left: Speedster Shane Victorino was
another newcomer hoping to make a
Photo by Michael Ivins.
Below: Looking to help anchor the
bullpen were Koji Uehara and Junichi
TazawaPhoto by Cindy Loo.
An exhaustive search of the internet failed
to turn up a single “baseball expert” who
predicted that the Red Sox would win the
AL East in 2013. In fact, fewer than 10%
thought they would even win the Wild Card.
Herb Crehan is in his 23rd season as a Contributing Writer and he has written more than 140 feature articles for RED SOX MAGAZINE. He is the author
of The Impossible Dream 1967 Red Sox: Birth of Red Sox Nation, which is available from Amazon or at www.bostonbaseballhistory.com
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