News
Baldelli set to make hometown debut
Boston (1-0) vs. Tampa Bay (0-1), Wednesday, 7:10 p.m. ET
By Ian Browne / MLB.com
04/08/09 4:47 PM ET
Everywhere Rocco Baldelli goes these days, he seems to have a new friend."People are yelling your name everywhere you go for no apparent reason," said Baldelli.
The reason is that the Cumberland, R.I., native is now home, embarking on his first season with the Red sox.
While Baldelli soaked in Tuesday's Opening Day festivities, his season will truly start Wednesday night when he will his first start for Boston against left-hander Scott Kazmir and his former team, the Tampa Bay Rays.
Baldelli's career had encountered a road block the last couple of years as he dealt with chanelopathy, which causes excessive muscle fatigue. But the outfielder made it through Spring Training with no problems and is enthusiastic about the coming season.
"I went through some tough times the last year or two and I didn't know where my baseball career would be," Baldelli said. "If I knew then that at this point in my career I'd be playing for the Red Sox and being back home and feeling as good as I do, I'd be very pleased."
Unlike most players who come to the Red Sox, Baldelli needed no introduction to the inner workings of Fenway Park or their passionate fanbase.
"There's an energy here that I've seen since I was a kid. It's pretty unique," Baldelli said.
The right-handed hitter figures to give the Red Sox pop against lefties, and he also serve as a good option for manager Terry Francona in the late innings.
"I'm ready to go," Baldelli said. "I feel good. I feel strong. I really have no complaints at this point."
As for the pressure of being the hometown guy? Baldelli isn't too worried.
"I don't really worry about much, to be honest with you," Baldelli said. "I just kind of do my own thing, play, play hard, and hopefully things work out. That's kind of how I go."
Pitching matchup
BOS: LHP Jon Lester (16-6, 3.21 ERA in 2008)
The left-hander is coming off a breakthrough season. Aside from winning 16 games, he led the staff with 210 1/3 innings. He threw a no-hitter against the Royals at Fenway on May 19. He also had a shutout at Yankee Stadium on July 3. He was the American League's Pitcher of the Month in July, going 3-0 with a 2.05 ERA. Lester is 16-2 with a 3.30 ERA in 31 career games at Fenway. He is 4-0 with a 3.38 ERA against Tampa Bay. However, the Rays beat him twice in the American League Championship Series last October. TB: LHP Scott Kazmir (12-8, 3.49 ERA in 2008)
Kazmir struggled throughout the second half of the 2008 season, primarily due to an inability to locate his slider, which historically has been his best pitch. In the first half, he posted a 3.02 ERA, and in the second he pitched to a 4.02 ERA. The left-hander enjoyed a nice spring that saw him find his slider and lock in his mechanics, which could be a precursor to a good season. Historically, he has enjoyed pitching at Fenway Park, where he is 4-4 with a 3.02 ERA in 11 career starts. He is 6-7 with a 3.62 ERA in 21 career starts against the Red Sox. Tidbits
Carlos Pena is 5-for-16 lifetime against Lester with two homers and six RBIs. ... Dustin Pedroia has crushed Kazmir throughout his career, hitting .560 (14-for-25) with a homer and three RBIs. ... The Red Sox have sold out their last 470 home games, a Major League record. ... Francona has a fresh bullpen for this one, as Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, Javier Lopez and Takashi Saito all went unused on Opening Day. Tickets
Buy tickets now to catch the game in person.
On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio• Gameday
• Official game notes On television
• NESN, ESPN2 On radio
• WEEI 850, SBN 1150 (Español) Up next
• Thursday: Red Sox (Daisuke Matsuzaka, 18-3, 2.90 ERA in '08) vs. Rays (Matt Garza, 11-9, 3.70 ERA in '08), 1:35 p.m. ET
• Friday: Red Sox (Tim Wakefield, 10-11, 4.13 ERA in '08) at Angels (Nick Adenhart, 1-0, 9.00 ERA in '08), 10:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Red Sox (Brad Penny, 6-9, 6.27 ERA in '08) at Angels (TBD), 4:10 p.m. ET
Ian Browne is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
