Cool! Now lets’ get him up to the show.
Much of the talk about the Red Sox this season as revolved around youth. But one of the team’s best performers is a veteran who is defying the clock. At age-34, Rob Refsnyder contemplated retirement in the offseason. Instead, he’s back in his lefty-mashing platoon role and playing as well as he ever has. (Christopher Smith, MassLive)
But if you want to see some serious youth at Fenway, you have more options than just Kristian Campbell, Ceddanne Rafaela, and (hopefully soon) Roman Anthony. You can catch the Baseball Beanpot there tonight, as Northeastern and Harvard face off in the final. (Max Shwartzberg, Boston Globe)
But college ball just isn’t much of a draw compared to seeing big league stars, of course. And one veteran scout and executive is already predicted that Roman Anthony will soon be one of those. (Alex Speier, Boston Globe)
Anthony’s WooSox teammate, Vaughn Grissom, has shined in AAA this year, too. And, like Anthony, the roster situation makes it difficult to discern his path to the big leagues. Will he find his way back to Boston regardless? (NESN)
Carlos Narvaez isn’t a big league star and very likely never will be. But what he has been so far is an outstanding defensive catcher behind the plate who is already beloved by the pitching staff. (Peter Abraham, Boston Globe)
But despite unexpected solid play from guys like Narvaez, the Red Sox once again find themselves hovering right around the .500 mark, as they have for most of the last five years. Here’s an attempt at explaining the stagnation. (Jon Couture, Boston.com)