#Baltimore Black Sox

The Black Sox got some good news as Sean Marshall and John Wetteland both began rehab assignments in their journeys back from injury. This was followed by bad news, as John Tudor will miss a couple months with a shoulder issue. Veteran knuckleballer RA Dickey was recalled for his WBL debut.

Frank Robinson hit his 18th and 19th homeruns of the year, but Baltimore fell to Memphis, 5-4.

#Cleveland Spiders

Bill Steen was called into an emergency start. 8 1/3 innings, 12 strikeouts, and 139 pitches later, he had only allowed 1 hit. But 139 pitches and 2 walks in the top of the 9th, and the Spiders summoned Terry Adams from the bullpen. 2 pitches later, the Spiders had a 4-0 lead and a joint 1-hitter.

Stan Coveleski will be out into next season. Sergio Romo was added from AAA.

#Detroit Wolverines

Ed Bailey and Ty Cobb had 3 hits each, with Bailey going yard twice and Cobb moving his average back over .400 to .403 in a 7-2 win over Memphis.

Hank Greenberg went deep twice and Detroit pulled off a come from behind win over Miami, 6-5.

Pressed into a spot start, Si Johnson delivered 4 plus innings of 1 hit ball, then exited with an oblique strain. Claude Passeau, Chad Bradford, and Mike Henneman allowed only a single walk over the rest of the game, giving the Wolverines a 1 hitter by committee. Juan Beníquez and Greenberg went deep in the 6th for the only runs in the 3-0 blanking of Miami.

Ed Bailey hit 3 out and Cobb went deep twice as the Wolverines beat Miami, 6-3.

#Memphis Red Sox

David Bush and Jameson Taillon have moved into the rotation, taking the spot of the injured Shane Bieber and Bill Doak. Derek Lowe was promoted to take Bieber’s roster spot.

Ted Williams went deep twice and the Red Sox beat Baltimore, 9-3.

Manny Ramírez hit 3 homeruns, reaching 19 on the year, as the Red Sox beat Baltimore, 10-7. Skel Roach had to come out of the game with a blister, and will miss about a week, warranting a trip to the DL. Tommy De La Cruz was added to the big league bullpen.

#New York Black Yankees

Mike Schmidt went deep to tie the game in the 8th, and then powered the Black Yankees to a 9-5 win over Los Angeles with a walkoff grand slam in the bottom of the 9th. Schmidt had 6 RBIs on the day.

Schmidt did it again the next day, going deep twice in a 10 inning, 8-7 win over the Angels.

And then it was Babe Ruth‘s turn to hit 2 out, but this time it wasn’t enough as the Angels topped the Black Yankees, 6-3.

Clearly annoyed at people questioning his dominance, Ruth took over the WBL lead in homers, hitting another 3 out in a 15-3 shellacking of Cleveland. For the 3rd time this year, Ruth drove in 6, increasing his RBI total to 79. Héctor López, Nick Etten, Lou Gehrig, and Mickey Mantle also went deep, and Dave Righetti improved to 6-3 on the year with a strong showing.

Half the staff is unknown, and while the OF is far too crowded, both C and the IF are still to be settled.

First round pick Carl Yastrzemski and fourth round pick Bill Lee have an outside shot at making the squad, although Yastrzemski is thoroughly blocked at both LF and 1B.

First Cuts

Not a lot clarified on the mound. Mike Witt and Turk Farrell were sent down, with Eddie Cicotte‘s struggles moving him close to the edge as well. The rest remains complicated: Len Barker and Sadie McMahon have pitched better than their numbers would indicate, while prize FA acquistion Shane Bieber, Jon Lester, and David Bush are struggling a bit.

C Charlie Bennett was sent down, and only Kurt Suzuki‘s arm prevented him from joining Bennett in the minors. Joe Cunningham and David Ortiz have torn the cover off the ball, maintaining quite a crowd at 1B where only George Scott heads off to minor league camp.

The Red Sox had hoped that DJ LeMahieu or Dustin Pedroia would provide some competition at 2B, instead each were sent down after woeful early performances, along with SS Francisco Lindor.

And that brings us to Carl Yastrzemski, who has simply exploded onto the scene. It’s not clear where the 20 year old could fit in Memphis’ lineup, but if he keeps hitting like this, they’ll find a spot for him. Eddie Rosario, Tom Brown, and Lefty O’Doul were optioned to the minors.

These moves leave Memphis still needing to do a lot of work, primarily on the mound and in the outfield, positions that are crowded enough the Red Sox could be challenged in finding enough opportunities for the talent to be accurately evaluated.

Second Cuts

Some of Memphis’ best performers on the mound from last season (Heath Bell, Len Barker, and Bill Doak and, in a slightly lesser key, Tim Wakefield) have struggled mightily this Spring, but will be given some more time to work out the kinks. Tommy de la Cruz, Eddie Cicotte, Bill Hogg, and Sadie McMahon weren’t so lucky, with all four being sent to the minors.

Kurt Suzuki‘s defense again keeps him in camp, at least temporarily.

The IF remains a mess: Iván De Jesús, Wade Boggs and Bill White are all struggling and players considered long shots coming into camp–David Ortiz and Dobie Moore especially–have been jaw-droppingly good.

The situation is the same in the OF, where Yastrzemski and Alex Johnson are tearing the cover off the ball and Mookie Betts, Ted Williams, and David Justice are all mired in the muck of sub .500 OPS’. Look for both of these logjams to break over the next week.

Third Cuts

P remains a conundrum compounded by Bill Doak and Jon Lester (both stalwarts last season) struggling. For all his versatility, Tim Wakefield just can’t seem to get a feel for his knuckleball, and heads to AAA along with Derek Lowe.

Kurt Suzuki is fantastic defensively behind the plate, but his offense is just too weak for the WBL at this point. He joins Iván De Jesús, Mike Greenwell, Andrew Benintendi, Dwight Evans, and Candy Jim Taylor at AAA.

That sounds like a lot, but there are still a lot of roster questions to figure out. The odds are only one of Joe Cronin, Joe Cunningham, and Travis Shaw can make the roster, and it’s not clear if there is space for all three of Nomar Garciaparra, Dobie Moore, and Vern Stephens. Given that Bill White and Wade Boggs are entrenched as starters on the corners (with David Ortiz pushing White for time), there is a lot of pressure in the middle infield.

Even with the demotions of Joe Kelley and Hack Wilson, the Red Sox have eight OFers in camp, with established contributors Ted Williams (!), David Justice, and Mookie Betts all struggling to put the bat on the ball. This felt crowded even before camp started, with Manny Ramírez, Reggie Smith, Sammy Sosa, Williams, and Betts all but assured of spots. Add to that the stellar debuts from Carl Yastrzemski and Alex Johnson, and it’s all a bit of a mess.

Final Cuts

The acquisition of Gabby Hartnett leaves the C position pretty crowded, especially given Dobie Moore can fill in behind the plate in a pinch. As such, Bob Brenly heads to the minors despite a decent showing last season. He was joined by recent acquisition Rollie Fingers who needs another year of development at least.

The C position was finalized with Dave Engle‘s demotion, as Billy Bryan holds on to his roster spot behind Hartnett.

Moore’s presence also allows the Red Sox to keep only 1 of Claude Ritchey and Wayne Causey. Ritchey performed better both last season and in the Spring, so Causey finds himself on his way to AAA.

Young Jim Kaat impressed during the Spring, but will start the year at AAA, as will veteran IF Nomar Garciaparra, who again showed too little to warrant a WBL roster spot.

Despite showing some promise–certainly more than he showed in a disastrous 2000–Nixey Callahan will start the year at AAA, as will Jameson Taillon. 1B was always going to be crowded, when David Ortiz hit 6 homeruns during the Spring, it got ridiculous. That earned Ortiz a roster spot, with Joe Cronin and Joe Cunningham both heading to AAA, and Travis Shaw sticking with the Red Sox due to his ability to backup Wade Boggs at 3B.

And then there was one cut left to make.

The choices were Bill Doak (excellent last year, horrendous this Spring), Alex Johnson (a total unknown tearing the cover off the ball this Spring), or Carl Yastrzemski (a strong Spring, but no real place to get regular playing time). Memphis decided to get Yaz some regular at bats, making him the final cut of the Spring.