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NESN Announces Spring TV Schedule

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Spring Training is nearly upon us. As the Red Sox gear up for a new-look 2020 campaign, the New England Sports Network (NESN) announced its coverage plans for Grapefruit League Action.

The first broadcast will come Friday, February 21 at 1:00 ET when the Red Sox take on Northeastern University in the unofficial start to the spring set. This year’s game will mark the 18th year Boston will open with a game against the Huskies.

The next day NESN will likewise televise the real start to Florida action as the Sox welcome the Tampa Bay Rays to Fenway South at 1:00 ET.

In addition to the NESN slate, ESPN will cover two Sox spring games: March 3 at Yankees and March 6 at Braves. Both games are at 1:00 ET.

Here’s the full NESN schedule (all times Eastern):

February

  • 21st: Northeastern University, 1:00 pm
  • 22nd Tampa Bay Rays, 1:00 pm
  • 23rd: at Baltimore Orioles, 1:00 pm
  • 29th: New York Yankees, 1:00 pm (on NESN+)

March

  • 1st: Atlanta Braves, 1:00 pm
  • 7th: Toronto Blue Jays, 1:00 pm
  • 8th: Minnesota Twins, 1:00 pm
  • 9th: at Atlanta Braves, 6:00 pm
  • 11th: at Tampa Bay Rays, 6:30 pm
  • 14th: at Houston Astros, 1:00 pm
  • 15th: at St.Louis Cardinals, 1:00 pm
  • 20th: at Baltimore Orioles, 6:00 pm
  • 21st: Baltimore Orioles, 6:00 pm
  • 22nd: Minnesota Twins, 1:00 pm


Red Sox open Florida ticket counter for Spring Training

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It’s still early in the off-season, but so far the Red Sox have been mostly quiet as the rest of the teams around baseball are making deals. It seems unlikely Red Sox Nation won’t be jolted by a big move some time soon, though, as new baseball chief Chaim Bloom looks to make his mark on a team that needs more than a tweak.

And though the hot stove is only lukewarm right now, the Red Sox ticket office is ready for those sunny, warm spring days of Lee County, Florida. Spring training tickets for 2020 go on sale Saturday, December 7, at JetBlue Park at Fenway South and also online at the team web site. It will be the ninth season for the club at JetBlue Park, which kicks off with an Open House there on Saturday, February 15th that’s free and open to the public.

In all, the Red Sox will play 18 home games in Florida next year, 17 of which will be part of Grapefruit League action, along with the traditional spring opener against the Northeastern University Huskies. Refer to the full spring training schedule to plot your getaway from the winter cold.

Key dates leading up to the start of the season are always counting down in the margins here at the RSNStats.com web site.

Now, a couple odds-n-ends of interest to Red Sox Nation:

  • Sandy León posted a heartfelt thank you to his former team and Red Sox Nation on Friday. “You guys are the best!” León said of the fans, “Thank you for every encouraging word during each game. Thank you for showing what true passion for a club is.” The Sox traded León to the Indians for a minor leaguer earlier this week.
  • The world champion Washington Nationals split a pool of more than $29.1 million this season, while the Houston Astros divvied up $19.4 million. After the pool was cut into equal-sized shares by the players, the Nationals awarded 61 full shares, a handful of partial shares, and some cash awards making each full share worth a cool $382,358.18. The Astros split their pool 57 ways and likewise issued some partial shares and cash awards making each full share worth $256,030.16. By comparison, full shares last season were worth $416,837.72 and $262,027.49 for the Red Sox and Dodgers, respectively.

    Overall, the pool of proceeds derives from formula that rakes the combined gate receipts from specific postseason games and apportions them depending on how far a team progresses past the regular season. With each progression, the team’s pool gets larger, culminating in the largest pool for the teams that make it all the way to the Fall Classic. At the lowest rungs this season were the Athletics and Brewers, who were eliminated after their Wild Card game. They split pools of about $1.2 million each.
  • The Red Sox have been awarded the 2019 “Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence” from Major League Baseball in recognition of the club’s Home Base program. Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner and the Red Sox Foundation led the creation of Home Base in 2007, which supports service men and women in making a successful transition post-military service. Boston is the only team to have won the award more than once since its inception in 2010, when the Red Sox were honored for developing the Red Sox Scholars program.
  • Sox Vice President of Pitching Development (and assistant pitching coach) Brian Bannister is the new director of pitching for the Giants. Bannister confirmed the move himself with a thank you message to Sox ownership that he posted to Twitter. Bannister’s family lives in the Bay Area, so the move will afford him far greater time being closer to home.
  • The Red Sox are actively promoting the idea of another All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Team CEO Sam Kennedy says, “We need to work and figure out a time that would work for the convention centers, but we’ve told MLB that we would like to host,” according to this report. The last All-Star Game at Fenway was the memorable 1999 affair that starred Ted Williams. Two National League parks, Dodger Stadium and Atlanta’s SunTrust Park, will be the venues for the 2020 and 2021 Mid-Summer Classics, respectively.


E-Rod Ready for Spring

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Despite a mild winter here in the Northeast (at least so far), the calendar has a ways to go before it’s officially spring. All the same, your World Champion Boston Red Sox (and that has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?) are in camp at Fenway South in Florida.

If you can swing it, a late winter trip to JetBlue Park in Fort Myers is a lot of fun and well worth your time. I took in a few games there before the 2017 season and came away impressed with the park and the incredibly friendly staff, many of them ardent Sox fans who have retired to the Sunshine State.

The Red Sox will play 30 Spring Training games in Florida this season, 16 at JetBlue. Spring games aren’t your typical affair. Most feature only a handful of regulars. Given the short off-season following last year’s World Series campaign, this year’s Sox spring will likely feature even fewer regulars for these exhibition games. Still, it’s an excellent chance to see up and coming prospects like Bobby Dalbec, Tanner Houck and Durbin Feltman in what’s typically a beautiful summer-like atmosphere.

Though Spring has a carefree vibe overall, there are some interesting story lines to monitor, not the least of which is the return of 35-year-old Dustin Pedroia.

Now some news and notes of interest to Red Sox fans:

  • Manager Alex Cora at Fenway South says pitcher Eduardo Rodríguez is looking good. “Everybody is in the best shape of their life when they come to Spring Training, but he’s actually in the best shape of his life.” Cora says E-Rod was able to have a normal (as opposed to rehab) off-season “and you can see it in his body.”
  • Cora is the subject of an MLB Network documentary that airs for the first time on Tuesday, February 12th at 9 PM Eastern. You’ll find repeat performances in your local listings.
  • Where in the world will former Sox closer Craig Kimbrel land? With the start of spring he’s still unsigned. Despite a shaky postseason, Kimbrel gave Boston 62.1 IP of 2.74 ERA pitching over the last regular season, to say nothing of 65.2 IP from Joe Kelly, who is now with the Dodgers. Baseball president Dave Dombrowski hasn’t made a major move to recover that production and the bigger looming question is who on the current roster can cover the deficit?
  • You’ll see MLB 150 patches on the right sleeves of major leaguer uniforms in 2019. The patch commemorates the 150th anniversary of the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first all-salaried pro baseball team (that group, incidentally, went 57-0 that season). This year’s Reds will go the extra mile with 15 throwback uniforms worn throughout the year. “The MLB 150 patch will be a continuous reminder on the field of the link everyone involved in the game today has with the storied history of professional baseball,” said MLB commissioner Rob Manfred. Major League baseball honored the 100th anniversary of the milestone team in 1969 and later again in 1994 on the 125th anniversary.
  • One-time Red Sox reliever Junichi Tazawa has signed on to a minor league deal with the Cubs. Taz, now 32 years old, has seen decreasing major league action since leaving Boston in 2016. Though he signed a big $12 million contract with the Marlins in 2017, Tazawa made just 77 total appearances with them over parts of two seasons before heading to the Angels for nine games at the end of last season.
  • Forget the disabled list. Effective for 2019 MLB is renaming the DL as the “injured list.” The move, which was communicated to clubs in December, was made at the suggestion of advocacy groups for the disabled. The rules for using the injured list in 2019 remain the same with a 10-day version for short-term injuries and a 60-day version for longer-term set backs.

Winter Therapy: Spring Training

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When you were a kid, the start of December sure didn’t feel as though the holidays were just around the corner. It seemed like an awfully long time to wait for those presents. Now, at the cusp of a long winter, the start of the new baseball season seems just as far away. But Spring Training is really just around the corner. Just keep reminding yourself!

The Red Sox have announced some key Spring Training dates that we can all circle on the calendar:

  • As of Saturday, December 2 at 10 AM, fans can purchase tickets for all home 2018 Spring Training games at the Fenway South Complex and on redsox.com. Home games take place at JetBlue Park at Fenway South in Lee County, Florida.
  • Truck Day, when the team’s equipment leaves Fenway for Florida, is on February 5.
  • Pitchers and catchers will hold their first workout on February 14. The first full squad workout is February 19. Workouts are free and open to the public.
  • The team’s Open House at JetBlue Park will be on Saturday, February 17 from 11 AM to 3 PM. It, too, is free to the public.
  • The first game for the 2018 Red Sox will be on February 22 at 1:05 PM with a single-ticket double-header against the Northeastern University Huskies and the Boston College Eagles. These opening games are part of the 18 Spring Training games the Sox will play at home.
  • The Grapefruit League officially kicks off with a the home opener on February 23 against the Twins.
  • Some fun dates on the Spring Training calendar include hosting the Yankees on March 3 (and then facing them at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa on March 23), and hosting the World Champion Astros on March 24.

If you’re thinking of a pilgrimage to Fenway South, you’re sure to enjoy it. I experienced it for the first time last season and it was a lot of fun. JetBlue Park is small, the staff there are incredibly efficient and hospitable, there is plenty of ballpark food and free sunscreen, and the weather, well, it’s just great.


Swihart still a work in progress

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Red Sox Spring Training at home and on the road.

Red Sox JetBlue Park (left) and
Sox take on Yankees at their home, Steinbrenner Field.

Despite a long love affair with the game, this was my first experience with March baseball and it was certainly worth the trip. Under bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures, your correspondent took in Red Sox games at home at JetBlue Park, and in enemy territory at the Yankee’s springtime home.

JetBlue in Fort Myers, Florida, is just six seasons old this year and features dimensions similar to Fenway. It’s a beautiful park. But, to be fair, just as lovely is the much older George M. Steinbrenner field in Tampa, which is now in its 22nd season. The parks have similar official capacities, but Steinbrenner seems bigger, as do its wider more comfortable seats. Both parks are run by a veritable army of (mostly older and very friendly) staffers who do a magnificent job directing parking and managing concessions. 

The spring experience is a treat for baseball fans. While it’s fun to see Rick Porcello or Dustin Pedroia, there’s joy, too, in assessing the up and comers like Sam Travis and Marco Hernandez. Seats are relatively inexpensive and though you’ll need some patience getting in and out of the stadium, the $10 fee was money well spent for what turned out to be a well-oiled parking machine.

You can find additional pictures from the trip over on the RSNStats Instagram page. While you’re there, click the Follow Button for future updates.

Now, some more news and notes for Red Sox fans:

  • ESPN has an interesting look at the rags-to-riches life of former Sox top prospect Yoan Moncada, who is now with the White Sox following Boston’s trade for Chris Sale. There’s more the story, but it’s hard to bypass anecdotes like Moncada’s quest for Twinkies (he’s known to have gone through 85 a week) or his love of customized sportscars (he tried to order ten at once, complete with monogrammed logos). “New family, new language, new friends, new life, new rules,” Moncada says. “I knew I wanted to come here to play baseball, but I never thought about dealing with all of this.”
  • Despite solid offensive production at Spring Training, the Red Sox have optioned Blake Swihart back to Triple-A Pawtucket. The Boston Globe‘s Alex Speier talked with the club’s bullpen coach and catching instructor, Dana LeVangie, who says Swihart can benefit from the examples of Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek. They both came to the big leagues with stronger batting than defensive skills, but over time successfully shifted that balance.
  • Two catchers that were with the Red Sox in 2016 found their way to the Phillies in the off-season. Bryan Holaday and Ryan Hanigan won’t be with Philadelphia in 2017, however. Holaday exercised his opt-out clause after being told he won’t make the Opening Day roster according to ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick. MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki reports that Hanigan was released by the club.
  • Another one-time, short-time Red Sox player, James Loney, was let go by the Rangers on Monday. Texas had signed Loney in the off-season after he spent 2016 with the Mets. The Houston native was 23-for-100 (.230) with two home runs in 30 games with Boston in 2012.
  • And finally, a third Sox alum, reliever Matt Albers, got his walking papers this past week from the Nationals. Albers was 6-4, 3.81 ERA over 96 appearances in two Red Sox seasons of 2011-12. Since then Albers has appeared with the Diamondbacks, Indians, Astros, and White Sox.
  • Still no word on what off-field role, if any, David Ortiz will play with the Sox this season. His number retirement ceremony, however, is locked in for June 23rd.
  • Whereas once a simple dog and a beer sufficed, that time is no more. New to the Fenway menu in 2017 is a “Lobster Poutine Stak,” consisting of french fries covered in lobster meat, cheese curds, bisque, chives and, presumably accompanied by a cardiac paddle. Admittedly, the new sandwiches, a Lobster Melt and a Surf & Turf Kebab, look pretty tasty.