Felger & Mazz: What Were Red Sox Expecting From Pablo Sandoval?
BOSTON (CBS) -- Pablo Sandoval had a disappointing first season in Boston, and his second isn't starting off any better.
Throughout the offseason the Boston brass continually spoke of the third baseman either losing weight or improving his conditioning. Just last month, manager John Farrell said Sandoval was down 20-22 pounds.
But Sandoval arrived at the team's spring training facilities in Fort Myers, Florida over the weekend looking rather plump, and he got a bit defensive when reporters brought up his weight.
Tony Massarotti, fresh off a week of vacation, had plenty to say about a burly Sandoval on Monday's Felger & Mazz.
"He looks like a bean bag with a hole popped in it, like everything is spilling out of it," joked Mazz. "What the hell happened? I don't think he's fatter than he was at the end of the last year, but he's every bit as fat as he was before."
"On the one hand I say, 'that's disappointing.' On the other, what were the Red Sox expecting? When you give a guy five years and $95 million guaranteed, sign him when he's fat and then he stays fat, how could you possibly be pissed off? In a lot of ways, it's a much bigger reflection on Red Sox management than Sandoval," said Mazz. "You asked him to lose weight and thought he would do it? Did you talk to anyone with the Giants?
"Ultimately, I hold the Red Sox more responsible than I do Sandoval," said Mazz.
You can hear Michael Felger's thoughts on the situation, which he compares to Josh Beckett and others showing up to spring training out of shape in years past, in the video above. Both hosts also take aim at Sox manager John Farrell for the way he's handled the Sandoval issue.
