Red Sox Notes: Wright clears a hurdle; 3 things we learned and more

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The knuckleball may not have been as elusive as he would have liked, but Steven Wright came away from his live batting practice session Wednesday morning feeling good about himself.

He was just happy to face hitters for the first time in almost a year, having undergone major knee surgery last spring, which he termed “a big hurdle.’’

“Today I was more concentrating on my mechanics and trying to get to the point where I could trust the knee,’’ said Wright, “and see if it could get to the point with my knee where it could withstand throwing with a little bit more effort.’’

It’s been a long road back for Wright, who has had to proceed cautiously this spring.

“I’m definitely not where I want to be,’’ said Wright, “but it’s getting better and better. Every day I go out there and get off the mound, it’s stressing it more and more and that’s what I have to do. I feel pretty good where I’m at right now. It’s just a matter of getting the stamina back.

“A lot of it is mental and getting over the fact that I can do it. Before I had the surgery, every time I would land, it would hurt. So it’s now it’s just getting over that mental lapse and (realizing) that the knee is good.’’



Wright also understands that as good as he felt Wednesday morning, the bigger test will come Thursday.

“I’ll have to see about the recovery,'' he said, ''the bounce-back, the soreness, the tightness and see what comes out of it.’’

In a few days, Wright will repeat the process with another live BP session, after which it will be decided if he gets into some games.

When asked if he envisions himself being ready for the start of the season, Wright said: “I haven’t even thought a timetable from the beginning (of the recovery process). For me, I try to take it day-by-day and try to get a little bit of a victory every day. If you try to think about that light at the end of the tunnel, it might get dim. Talking to other guys who have gone through significant injuries, you’ve got to take one day at a time and try to win the day. Today was a big win.’’

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Three things we learned from the Red Sox’ 2-1 win over the Twins:

1-Working out of jams is a good thing – in spring training.

Twice in the span of the first four innings, Chris Sale allowed a one-out triple. Both times, he came back to get the next two hitters he faced. In the second, he fanned both and in the fourth, he struck out the first hitter, then got the next one on an inning-ending groundout.

“You want to be able to get into some sticky situations, I guess, before the regular season starts,’’ said Sale. “That’s what we’re here for. We’re here to get some work in and try to get better. You don’t want to get into start No. 2 or 3 and be in a bad situation for the first time, so it’s good to get the juices flowing and compete here.’’

2-Look for Sale to change speeds on his fastball more this year.

A week ago, Sale got the dugout on alert when he was throwing 97 mph in the first inning. On Wednesday, Cora joked that his heart skipped a beat in the first when he saw Sale throwing his fastball at 87 mph.

But there was a method to Sale’s madness.

“The way he used his fastball, that was impressive,’’ Alex Cora said. “He has a lot in the tank. He was pitching, just pitching. It’s a matter of keeping guys off balance and reaching back whenever he needs to and that stuff that we saw today plays any day of the year.’’

3-Bobby Poyner continued to make his case.

Poyner hasn’t pitched above Double A, but he’s had a strong spring and caught the attention of the coaching staff and front office.

On Wednesday, Cora lined him up to face a couple of the Twins’ best hitters and Poyner didn’t disappoint. He struck out lefty Jason Castro, then allowed a single off the end of the bat to Brian Dozier before coming back to get Joe Mauer to ground into a double-play.

“He did a good job,’’ said Cora, who acknowledged he didn’t know much about the lefty before spring training. “But talking to (some coaches in the minor league system), they told me, ‘The kid can pitch.’ There’s something about him on the mound – he’s very calm, he understands who he is, he doesn’t try to be somebody else, and he gets people out.’’

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PITCHING SCHEDULE:

Thursday vs. TOR: LHP David Price, RHP Joe Kelly, RHP Carson Smith, LHP Roenis Elias

Friday vs. BAL: RHP Rick Porcello, RHP Heath Hembree, RHP Brandon Workman, LHP Robby Scott.