The Lenny DiNardo Blog

Another Great Outing v. Orioles

Today, Lenny had another great start against an AL East team. He pitched 4 scoreless innings, surrendering 4 hits, no walks, and thankfully no balks.  He was charged with one error (I didn't get to listen to the game, so I'm not sure the cause). He had one strike out.  The money number? His ERA has fallen to 1.86 for the spring...or in other words, he's approximately TEN TIMES better than David Riske, who apparently is a lock to make the team (to be fair - Riske finally pitched a scoreless inning today).

Regardless, we think this outing should cement him on the big league club - and probably even challenge the young Jonathan Papelbon for the next starters job when Schilling or Wells goes down with a bad hip.

DiNardo v. O's: Now

Fire up the XM or the Gamecast. Lenny's on the mound

Excellent Outing v. Toronto

Here's the line from Lenny's start today: 3 Innings, 2 Hits, 0 Runs, 0 BB, 2 Ks, 3.86 ERA. All on 39 pitches.

Of course, that ERA is for the entire spring. On the spring Lenny is now 1-0. He's gotta make the team. Him, and Adam Stern. What a big game that kid plays...

UPDATE: I hadn't noticed this before, but Lenny had another balk. Also, Holtz got a hold, but walked 2. Big Riske who is so good against lefties that we don't actually need a lefty in the bullpen...gave up 4 runs and 4 hits in 1.1 innings, leaving him with a 10.80 ERA for the spring.

Pre-Game: Last Spring Lenny Start

As I mentioned below, Lenny gets the start today against the Blue Jays.  RedSox.com has a Lenny blurb on its rotating front page (as of 11:19 AM EST, it's #4 if you wanted to see it):

Lenny DiNardo, who is trying to land a job in Boston's bullpen, makes his second Grapefruit League appearance on Saturday afternoon at 1:05 ET as the Red Sox take on the Blue Jays. You can follow all of the action by listening live on Gameday Audio.

You can listen to Gameday Audio (it is only $15 for the year). For my part, I'm going to be listening on my awesome XM radio (Channel 177).

2d Round of Cuts: Bye-Bye Breslow

Well, Lenny Nation, you can breathe a sigh of relief. Yesterday (St. Patty's Day), the Sox pared their major league camp down to 40 players.  Among those reassigned to Pawtucket? Breslow, Bumatay, and Seibel. Those are three of the non-roster invitee, left-handed relief pitchers we had identified as the major competition for the big league job. The remaining 2 lefties? DiNardo & Holtz.

Edes is high on Holtz and seems to think that Lenny will end up as a Starter in Pawtucket:

There are only two lefthanded relievers still in camp: Lenny DiNardo, who is scheduled to start today against the Blue Jays and could wind up in Pawtucket's starting rotation, and Mike Holtz, the 33-year-old journeyman who pitched in Japan last season. Holtz has made an impression by striking out 12 and walking just one in six innings.

It is true that Lenny has been starting a lot more than I had expected - including today. A strong performance could bump him ahead of Holtz. Then again, who the hell knows. This could just be Edes talking out of his ass. Laytah!

1st Round of Cuts/Wells Factor

Well, the good news out of Fort Myers today is that Lenny survived the first round of cuts which were made today. Lefties Jon Lester and Abe Alvarez were optioned to Pawtucket, along with Edgar Martinez, David Pauley, and Jermaine Van Buren.  This wasn't really surprising -- the real surprise would be if DiNardo actually was sent down this early.

The other big news (from last week) was that David Wells decided that it was in his best interest to act like he enjoys Boston and his huge success at Fenway.  This throws our previous analysis to the wind...and throws a possible wrench into Lenny's prospects for making the team early on this year. (how many other cliches can I *throw* into this paragraph?).

Consider that the Francona may only take 10 pitchers into opening day (due to an open schedule during the first week). If that's the case, Arroyo and Papelbon are likely to end up in the bullpen...which bumps another guy out of the major league club. Here's how it's looking right now:

Starters: (I'm way into this rotation)
Beckett
Wakefield
Schilling
Wells
Clement

Bullpen:
Arroyo
Papelbon
Foulke (possible - could be held out to continue rehab)
Timlin
+1 (and then another 2 after the first weeks of the season)

The Plus-One/Three?:
DiNardo
Riske (shelled this spring - 10.80 ERA in 4 games)
Seanez (shelled - 15.75 ERA in 4 games)
Tavarez (has pitched one inning for the DR, allowed 3 runs on 3 hits)
Meredith
Breslow (not currently on the roster)

The good news (though I'm sure I'm reading way too much into this) is that the RedSox.com depth chart lists Lenny ahead of Tavarez and Seanez, though behind Riske.  However, I really think that you need to come into the season with at least ONE lefty in the bullpen. Now that Alvarez and Lester are serving more time in Pawtucket, Wells is the only other lefty on big league club.

If they go with Lenny, he'll be the only non-closer, non-meant-to-be-starter, not named Timlin in the bullpen.  He'll get a lot of chances in that case.

Non-Lenny Lefties to Pitch Tomorrow

Today, Edes reported in the Globe blog that the Sox will be taking a lot of young pitchers to the Twins exhibition tomorrow, including Breslow, Bumatay, and Holtz.

Jonathan Papelbon is still on tap to pitch tomorrow night's exhibition opener against the Twins. The other pitchers Terry Francona intends to take with him are: Rudy Seanez, David Riske, Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen (all roster pitchers).

Francona will also take nonroster lefties Craig Breslow, Mike Bumatay, and Mike Holtz.

I see this as a good sign, actually. Lenny will have his chances soon - but it seems like he's being considered the default guy. It would take a remarkable performance by one of the non-rostered three to get this race going.

UPDATE: I'm an idiot. DiNardo isn't pitching today (3/2) because he's starting practice with Italy. Whatever. I still think it's a good sign somehow.

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.

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 . . . ."

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.

Chasing Lenny...

Just imagine that Seibel, Breslow, and Bumatay are chasing Lenny.

Source: Boston Herald

Projo: Pulling for Seibel

Steven Krasner, from the Providence Journal, mentions yesterday's Group 4 workout:

One group throwing off the mound was an all-lefty crew -- Phil Seibel , Mike Holtz , Lenny DiNardo , Craig Breslow and Mike Bumatay . The Sox do not have a proven lefty out of the bullpen on board.

For Seibel, it was his first work off the mound since July 2004. Since then, he has been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and further surgery to re-route a ligament in the elbow. Seibel, 27, fought the urge to throw too hard to impress.

"It was exciting to be out there. It was nice. I was real happy I was able to stay calm," said Seibel, who had a two-game, 3 2/3-inning cup of coffee in Boston in 2004.

I mean, you're always happy for a guy like Seibel to come off Tommy John Surgery and pitch again. Great stuff. Doesn't mean he should get Lenny's place, though. As for proven...Give LD a chance.

Group Four

Edes reports from camp that Lenny is part of Group Four - a/k/a Survivor: LRP.  It's widely thought that only one of the 5 Group Four members (the only left handed relief pitchers in camp) will make the big league club. In addition to Lenny, the group includes Mike Bumatay, Craig Breslow, Mike Holtz, and Phil Seibel.  Here's a quick breakdown of who these guys are:

Craig Breslow, 25, is the biggest threat to Lenny this spring. He's coming off a good end-of-season with the Padres where he held lefthanders to an .063 average (1 hit in 16 at-bats) as a rookie.

Mike Bumatay, 25, is a Detroit Tigers product and has had decent performance recently in minor league and winter league play.

Mike Holtz, 33, spent most of his career in the Anaheim Angels system up until 2003. Last year, he rebounded in Japan and is making what may be his last go at the majors.

Phil Seibel, 27, is a Red Sox product, having spent the 2004 season in Portland, Pawtucket, and 2 games in Boston.  This spring Seibel is trying to come back from Tommy John surgery which he had in 2004.

Really, Breslow is the main competition...we'll see how the spring works out... Go Lenny!

He's such a go-getter

Two days 'til Pitchers & Catchers Report; Lenny's Already There...Boston's CBS4 is reporting that Lenny showed up in Fort Myers today:

Some Red Sox pitchers already are working out in Fort Myers, Florida, even though they're not required to report for spring training until Saturday.

Among those who threw today were Keith Foulke, Lenny DiNardo, Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen.

The first official workout for pitchers and catchers is Sunday