Red Sox Spring Training: Gonzo, Youkilis, Perkins and More
FORT MYERS, Fla (CBS) - The Red Sox held their final Spring Training workouts on Friday, and now it's time to "Play Ball." Here are some quick hits from down in Fort Myers as the Sox get ready for baseball in 2011.
- Manager Terry Francona was absent to attend a funeral. DeMarlo Hale took over for Tito, and talked about the different kind of leaders for the Red Sox, from the loudness of Dustin Pedroia to the locker room presence of Jason Varitek.
DeMarlo Hale Talks Leadership On The Red Sox
Podcast
- The lineups were announced for Saturday's double-header with Boston College and Northeastern. Both are seven inning games, so Hale thinks players coming back from injury will get around four innings of work and a couple at-bats.
-Adrian Gonzalez hit off a tee for the second straight day, and fourth time this week. Next week he's expected to move off the tee to "flips" for a couple of days, and then start hitting some soft batting practice. One thing is for sure, the Red Sox will not rush Gonzo back for Spring Training games.
-Third baseman Kevin Youkilis is excited to play in games and "get out of the groundhog days of practice." Although he last played in a game on August 2nd, Youk said it felt like he was on the diamond just yesterday. He will not be concerned if he doesn't put up good numbers in spring, saying "stats don't matter, it's all about (getting your) timing." Youkilis also gave his thoughts on the Celtics trade of Kendrick Perkins.
Kevin Youkilis Talks About The Celtics Trading Kendrick Perkins
Podcast
-The Red Sox will take on the Minnesota Twins Sunday and Monday to open up Grapefruit League play. Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz will pitch Sunday, with Daisuke Matsuzaka getting the start Monday.
