March 22, 2005

More On Kim; Schilling Throws Three; Arroyo Solid; Sox Staying In Fenway

Doug Mirabelli spoke out on Monday about Byung-Hyun Kim:
You don't get a sense for what he's feeling. I have no idea. He stays in his own world. ... I don't know if he gets the concept of a teammate or if he grasps that. ... You've got to give him some leeway for language but at some point [you realize] he does speak more than he lets on. So at that point, you start to think he's making that choice. ... We're not segregating him out of anything. He's choosing to be over there [by himself]. That's his choice, not ours.
Terry Francona wasn't too pleased.
I don't know that's the way we need to handle things. I'm not going to send BK a message through the media and I don't think players necessarily need to do that either. ... Part of our responsibility is to be patient and use good judgment.
Kim worked a perfect inning against Pittsburgh on Sunday, but one scout in attendance was unimpressed. "He was at 84 ... He's just a shadow of the pitcher he was in Arizona. This is a guy who threw in the 90s when he was in Arizona, and his slider had incredible movement. Now, his slider is flat. He's a very, very marginal pitcher right now. I wouldn't give the Red Sox $500,000 for him."

Gordon Edes writes: "It appears preposterous to believe Kim will win a job in the Sox bullpen coming out of camp; it appears almost as unlikely the Sox will be able to unload him ... The Rockies and Brewers have shown interest, but given Kim's performances to date, that interest could dry up in a hurry, if it hasn't already." ... In a Globe chat, Edes picked the Red Sox to win 2005 wild card.

Curt Schilling threw 37 pitches in three innings of a simulated game on Monday. He was happy with his velocity and command and called it a "breakthrough day." The CHB has more.

Schilling will pitch again on Thursday. He admitted that he's known "for a couple weeks" that Opening Day was out of the question, though he wants to start one of the two exhibition games in Arizona on March 31 and April 1. ... Schilling also talked about his injury and the ALCS. "In that Game 6, the tendon had split in half. There was a 6-inch tear we didn't know about until they went in there and fixed it. And the bone issue [a bruise diagnosed last May] was also a lot bigger than we expected." After his surgery -- which he said was really "four separate surgeries" -- Schilling was told to expect discomfort for 12 to 18 months.

On Tuesday, the Red Sox beat Derek Lowe and the Dodgers 7-3. Bronson Arroyo went six innings, allowing only four hits and one run, lowering his spring ERA to 2.87. He threw 73 pitches and said he feels more comfortable this spring, knowing his roster spot is secure. He also agreed with Lowe before the game to throw each other only fastballs. ... After Arroyo singled on a 2-2 pitch, Lowe told him, "You'd better not throw me a breaking ball. If you do, I'm telling you right now, I'll shoot you after the game." ... Lowe grounded out in the third.

Also from the Globe: "The Boston Red Sox [Tuesday] will announce that the team is staying put in Fenway Park ... The announcement would end a long cat-and-mouse game by the team's ownership, which has every year made considerable improvements in Fenway such as expanded seating and concessions but refused to commit to staying long term. It is also a dramatic reversal from the Red Sox's stance just five years ago, when the previous ownership argued that the team needed a new ballpark to be financially competitive in the league."

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