Red Sox prepare Roman Anthony for Fenway Park debut in left field Wednesday
Kyle Hudson
.
Hudson and
Jarren Duran
, the Red Sox' primary left fielder, have been instrumental in helping Anthony learn the 37-foot Monster, Anthony said.
Through his first month in the majors, Anthony has split time mostly between right field and designated hitter. He played left once, but that came in San Francisco, not Boston.
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The key, in Duran's view, is to get as much practice as possible, via early work like Anthony did or during batting practice, when hitters routinely slam balls off the wall. That is the only way to learn the 'craziest things,' like how balls come off the kooky nooks and crannies, Duran said.
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'Honestly, it's just instincts. You've got to trust your instincts. It's weird,' Duran said. 'To the right of the ladder, the ball is always going to kick to center. Balls at the ladder and to the left are going to kick straight or almost even toward the line. Learning things like that — from playing it and seeing it and watching video and seeing how stuff bounces off — [is important].
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Duran suggested watching video of
Andrew Benintendi
playing Fenway's left field 'back in the day.'
'He played the Monster like an absolute stud,' Duran said.
The piece of advice that has most resonated with Anthony: Keep the ball in front of you. If it bounces off the wall and then trickles by, back toward the infield, the chance of throwing out the runner at second base evaporates — and he might even get to third.
'How to keep it in front of me is the biggest thing and the biggest thing for anyone playing the Monster,' Anthony said. 'Always having that angle to just get somebody out at second base I think is important.'
Duran said: 'The tricky ones are the ones that are high. You're like, is this going to hit the wall? Is it not? Those are the ones that nick the wall and get past you. But those are also the ones where you're like, all right, he's already going to get a double, so why not try to make a play on it? As long as you can hold him from a triple, it's OK.'
Anthony has played in front of the Red Sox' Monster facsimiles at Double A Portland's Hadlock Field (the Maine Monster) and at JetBlue Park at the team's spring training facility in Fort Myers, Fla.
But there is nothing quite like the real deal.
'You can't really replicate Fenway, as much as they do a great job at other places,' Anthony said. 'It's kind of its own thing. Let's see how it works.'
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Mum on Mayer
Cora was coy regarding
Marcelo Mayer's
role upon the return of
Alex Bregman
(strained right quad), perhaps as soon as late this week.
'We have to wait,' Cora said. 'We have to wait to make decisions. I can answer that question later.'
Mayer, who was called up to the majors for the first time in late May, when Bregman got hurt, has mostly played third base in that stint. The Red Sox have used
David Hamilton
and
Romy Gonzalez
in a platoon at second base.
On the bench for a fourth consecutive game Tuesday (as the Sox faced a fourth lefthanded starter in a row), Mayer owned a .214 average and .665 OPS.
Hendriks hurt again
Liam Hendriks
suffered a setback with his injured right hip, causing him to likely seek a second opinion, Cora said.
The team transferred Hendriks to the 60-day injured list, delaying his eligibility to return until late July, but that sounds like a longshot.
'It wasn't good [Monday],' Cora said. 'He said the harder he pushed, he felt it. I don't want to say we're back to square one, but they'll talk and seek other opinions and see what happens.'
Call to arms
A day after righthander
Richard Fitts
nabbed his first major league win, the Red Sox sent him down to Triple A Worcester in a bit of pre-All-Star break roster maximizing.
Righthanded reliever
Isaiah Campbell
was called up to take Fitts's place. Cora said they wanted the extra bullpen arm temporarily because of others' recent workloads.
Hunter Dobbins
(right elbow strain) has a 'good chance' to return to the rotation this week, probably Friday, replacing Fitts.
Garrett Crochet
is penciled in for Saturday (with an extra day of rest), Cora said.
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Campbell, 27, had a 16.20 ERA in eight appearances for the Sox last year. He was much better — 3.89 ERA — with Worcester this season. He said he added a sinker to help him against righthanded batters and a curveball against lefties.
'Obviously, last year wasn't great, wasn't what I wanted,' Campbell said. 'But I'm excited for a new, clean slate. The team is rolling right now, so whatever I can do to help, that's what my goal is.'
Rafaela up to sixth
Ceddanne Rafaela
moving up to sixth in the batting order was a result of
Carlos Narváez
having the day off, Cora said.
In general, the Sox like Rafaela at or near the bottom of the lineup, despite his hot hitting.
'The numbers are the numbers. I get it,' Cora said. 'He's one of our best hitters. But him hitting eighth, ninth is great for this team.'
Tim Healey can be reached at
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