On the one hand, James Baldwin wanted to downplay his rusty outing. On the other, he acknowledged being concerned–or at least annoyed.
“In nine years of professional baseball, I’ve never had a good spring training,” Baldwin said after allowing four runs, three earned, in 1 2/3 innings in Friday’s opener. “If I was a free agent and had to make a roster, I never would.”
Baldwin struggled with his control in Arizona’s 10-6 victory. The big right-hander, who already is penciled in as the Sox’s Opening Day starter, walked three and hit one batter. He also allowed three hits. Last season Baldwin got hammered in spring training, going 0-1 with a 6.39 earned-run average. Rookie manager Jerry Manuel considered dropping him from the rotation but General Manager Ron Schueler talked him out of it.
“Heck, yeah, (starting slow) bugs me,” he said. “I’ve done everything I can possibly do to avoid it. I got here early, I’ve done extra work. I guess there’s no magic formula. I can’t just wipe a performance like this out of my mind. It just makes me want to work harder and come out earlier.”
Manuel said he wasn’t concerned about Baldwin and joked that he would “send him to the bullpen now, so when the season starts, he’ll be ready to go.”
Last year Baldwin went 10-3 after a five-week stint in the bullpen.
Get well soon: Ed Brinkman, a special assistant to Schueler, suffered a mini-stroke Friday morning. Test results revealed blockage in both arteries and Brinkman is waiting for surgery to be scheduled.
“Our hearts were in two places at one time today,” said Manuel, who planned to visit Brinkman after the game. “He’s so instrumental in what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Hurting: Shortstop Gabby Martinez, who homered in his first spring training at-bat Friday, is day-to-day with a strained quadriceps muscle in his right leg. Martinez injured himself while beating out an infield single. . . . Minor-league pitcher Kyle Kane fractured his knee and will be out at least five weeks.
