The Lenny DiNardo Blog

He's got a Contract, anyway.

Sox reported that they signed Lenny and 15 others to a contract for the 2006 season.  No info on how much the man's making, though...

Projo: "Varsity" Blues

I'm not sure what this means, but the Projo's Krasner once again seems down Lenny:

Maybe no conclusion should be drawn, but non-roster left-hander Mike Holtz was working on the diamond where the majority of the "varsity" pitchers were participating in the rundown drills. The Sox don't have a holdover left-hander for the bullpen except Lenny DiNardo, who is not the classic type of situational southpaw. Holtz has not pitched in the big leagues since 2002, and did not pitch at all in 2005. He has been in 350 major-league games, mostly with the Angels' organization, from 1996-2001. He split time with Oakland and San Diego in 2002.

I guess it's possible that Lenny could be the long reliever out of the pen and Holtz (or Breslow) could be Krasner's "classic" situation lefty.  I need to hear Francona's take on his possible pen situation. The "problem" as it exists for Lenny is probably the surplus of quality starters that will take up pitching spaces in the pen (Arroyo, Clement?, Wake?).  In a normal world with a dearth of starting pitching, you'd want to keep a DiNardo around for spot starting & long relief.  That may not be true when you have a couple spare starters hanging around.  However, I won't draw any conclusions from Krasner's observations -- we'll wait for Francona to make his own.

Disappointed

Well, this doesn't look good. The Boston Herald posted a photo of an upset-looking Lenny with the following caption: "Red Sox Spring Training at the Red Sox Player Development Complex.  Lenny DiNardo looks a bit dissapointed with his pitching as he talks with Jason Varitek after throwing."


Anybody have any background on this?

UPDATE: Boston.com has a similar photo ...the upside, of course, is that Lenny seems to be reaching out to Tek and that can only be helpful.

February 2006 in Review

• On the internet: We found Lenny on both Friendster and Wikipedia. Plus, Lenny has his own quote page with some choice ones. Also, there's a Lenny-signed World Series Baseball on sale for a cool $69.99.

• World Baseball Classic: Lenny's a member of the Italian Team, which is fighting an uphill battle in Pool D (against Venezuela, Dominican Republic and its historic rival, Australia). Plus, the Herald had a nice featurette on Lenny and his tenuous connection to Italy.

• Spring Training: Lenny showed up early (on 2/15) and led the team onto the field in the first full workout (on 2/24). His main competition for the lefty spot out of the bullpen was analyzed and given plenty of media attention.  However, when it all comes down to it - Lenny remains the man to beat for the position.

Welcome to the first month of the Lenny DiNardo Blog: when you're here, you're family!

Pics from Spring Training

So, I'm sure it was my whining below - but Boston.com finally posted some pics of Lenny from "Picture Day."  He's so Italian - hand motions and everything...

Out of Media Focus

So, leafing through the pages of the internet today, I've realized that many in the Boston/New England/Florida media just don't find Lenny to be a very compelling story. Now, Craig Breslow on the other hand is turning into a minor media darling (yeah, we get it, he went to Yale...).

The bigger concern is whether this media coverage is reflecting Tito's focus, too. For example, Edes (who signs his posts like a 12-year-old girl - "laytah") went out of his way to report that Francona opted to go watch Hansen vs. the infield rather than DiNardo vs. Coco.

Does this mean that Lenny's basically a lock? Or is this an indication that the spring isn't going as well as hoped?  If anyone is down there, give me an update on how our guy is doing.

NOTE: To be fair, the Edes "Doctoral Candidate" article is pretty interesting. And Gordon notes: "Breslow is a long shot to make the club -- he walked an alarming 13 batters and gave up 15 hits in just 16 1/3 innings last season . . . ."

While we're at it . . .

I guess it's not right to mention the Boston Phoenix's shout out without thanking some other blogs that have been linking here. So...

Grazie, OvertheMonster ("I'll be checking it out every single day. DiNardo is the man.") and da GYS ("Speaking of DiNardo, there is now a blog devoted only to him.  And I thought our Ben Grieve obsession was weird...").

The BoPhoe Gives Some Love

The Boston Phoenix's Sox Blog gives much love to Lenny, and a shout out to this blog! Thanks, Mike!

Leading the Charge!

Lenny kicks off camp:

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- At 1:40 p.m., under another cloudless sky and blazing sun, the 2006 Red Sox burst out of the clubhouse and took the field en masse for the first time in the spring season. Let the record show they were led through the crowd and onto the diamond by Lenny DiNardo.

Yes! The man is GEARED UP for a killer season.

Fire Brand Preview

Evan takes a look at (former?) minor league Sox pitchers as we head into the season. Like most true Boston fans, he thinks Lenny is the "real deal:"

Did you know that in 2004, Lenny pitched for the GCL Red Sox, Sarasota, Portland, Pawtucket, and Boston? Well traveled. He stuck to Pawtucket and Boston this year, and really put himself on my radar. In 23 games, 22 starts, in Pawtucket, he had a 3.15 ERA and a 6-3 record. He K’d 93 in 108.2 IP and walked 35. He went to Boston and appeared in 8 games (one start) and had a 1.84 ERA in 14.2 IP. I’m really hoping he can steal a bullpen spot. He’s the real deal in my opinion.

I'm not sure that stealing a bullpen spot is really what needs to happen. I think it's really going to come down to Lenny and Craig Breslow.  Maybe due to his tenure with the club, he's got some supporters in there that want to see him do well and might give him the extra boost.  But I'm not sure it would be a shock for him to be the main lefty out of the bullpen.

NOTE: ProJo talks with Breslow about his chances. It seems like they're making their way through Group Four. Let's hope they splash a little ink Lenny's way...