ShareThisAfter a few weeks when you literally couldn't tell the players without a scorecard, the Boston Red Sox were finally set to look like themselves again Friday.
With the Dominican Republic and Canada both knocked out in the first round of the World Baseball Classic, David Ortiz and Jason Bay both rolled into the Red Sox spring training complex Thursday.
Just in time, too. There may be no such a thing as a big game during spring training, but Friday night's matchup against the Yankees is about as close as it gets.
Both players will start against New York. After several games of looking awkward in the field for the Dominican Republic, Ortiz will return to his familiar designated hitter role. Bay will play left field.
With the long-awaited return of Mike Lowell to the field also on tap for Friday night, the Red Sox lineup will at last look something like the version fans remember.
"It's hard, man -- you spend all winter preparing for camp, and then nobody's here," manager Terry Francona said. "Having guys back in camp, I'm not going to complain about that at all."
The Red Sox sent 15 players to the WBC, tied for the most in baseball with the Mets. Jacoby Ellsbury and Jed Lowrie make nearly every road trip, surrounded by a cast of minor leaguers.
"It's fine with me. I'm getting at-bats," Ellsbury said.
Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis are still playing for Team USA, Javy Lopez and Puerto Rico continue into the second round, and Daisuke Matsuzaka continues to anchor the Japanese team.
The Red Sox expected to get Bay back right around now, but the Dominican team was projected to go deep into the tournament. Their two shocking losses to the Netherlands sends Ortiz back early, which is a welcome surprise.
The Red Sox were on the road Thursday, so most of the team hasn't gotten to rib Ortiz or Bay about their losses yet.
"I haven't seen them yet, but it's nice to get all those guys back, get them some at-bats that they need," said pitcher Josh Beckett. "They'd obviously like it if had lasted a little longer, but for us, I think it's best if they're around us."
The time away shouldn't affect their readiness for the start of the season. Both Bay and Ortiz got about 15 at-bats in the WBC, close to what they would have gotten had they been with the team the last two weeks, Francona said. The team keeps a list of player statistics on the wall of the clubhouse. They kept Bay and Ortiz on the list, using their WBC stats instead of their spring training numbers, and their workloads are comparable to that of the other starters right now.
The team's prospects have been the real beneficiaries of the big leaguers' absence. Top prospect Lars Anderson has seen the field in almost every game, and Josh Reddick has looked like a force at the plate. Nick Green has taken advantage of Pedroia's absence to put up the second-best average in the Grapefruit League. Chris Carter, Jeff Bailey, Paul McAnulty and Brad Wilkerson have used the playing time to battle over the last spot on the roster.
With Ortiz and Bay back, things will start to return to normal. Though they clearly won't be the same until Youkilis and Pedroia are back, joining Big Papi to set the tone in the clubhouse.
Pedroia has been making his presence felt from afar, sending Francona texts as the U.S. team won its first two games. The U.S. fell to Venezuela Wednesday night, however, and Francona's phone never lit up once.
"Nope. He didn't get any hits last night. He's quiet," Francona chuckled.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Providence Journal
