Pablo Sandoval looks good in spring training so far. I like that John Farrell isn’t getting too excited about it yet:
For manager John Farrell, it’s too early to make judgments on Sandoval’s swing.
“Just a couple fastballs out over the plate,” Farrell said. “He’s got the ability to hit the ball to all fields, as we saw today. Equal to the two line drives to the left side, I thought it was a good solid aggressive swing from the right side of the plate. He just looks more aggressive, more free, and more than anything, he just looks and feels more confident, not just from the at-bats but his overall game.”
If the Red Sox can get the 2013 Sandoval back, or even the 2014 version, he’ll give the club a decent boost.
Sandoval strikes me as someone whose age was off. His career makes a lot more sense if he were two years older than stated. This used to be common, but with tougher immigration rules, it’s been tougher for foreign players to change their age.
Sandoval, Pedroia, and the 1B/DH situation are why I’m not as sold on this team as a lot of people seem to be. I simply don’t expect much out of Sandoval, Pedroia’s on the wrong side of 30 and plays hard, and the acquisition of Moreland as a primary 1st baseman baffles me.
They could have simply used Hanley at 1st and let Chris Young and Brock Holt platoon at DH, with the other guy being the 4th outfielder for the day. Or let Swihart learn 1st base. Or use pretty much anybody at 1st because Moreland’s a replacement-level player.
I think age fraud is still around. Especially in countries like Venezuela where we probably dont have as much clout to investigate. Might be pretty much wiped out in the DR and Mexico. Cuba too because players tend to get vetted in international play before coming here. Lot of money at stake so they simply have to work harder to get away with it. I see some pretty mature looking 19 yo for a post steroid environment