The Pawtucket Red Sox (Boston's Triple-A entry in the International League) understand such things, so they hosted their annual Hot Stove Party at McCoy Stadium this weekend.
We've attended this affair for a few years now and have always had a great time, so we were really looking forward to a taste of baseball amidst the bleak midwinter.
The Red Sox have a rookies program that they've been running for the last few years in which some top prospects go through two weeks of seminars, public appearances, etc. to help ease their transition as they work their way through the minor leagues.
The Pawtucket Hot Stove Party is usually at the end of the program, so the Sox send a few players projected to play for the Paw Sox at some point during the upcoming season.
Last year, among the prospects were Jed Lowrie and Justin Masterson, both of whom were fixtures with the major league Boston Red Sox by the end of the 2008 season. Who knows what might happen to this year's crop?
Five players were in attendance this year, all of whom played for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs last season. Since the Sea Dogs are our most frequently attended team, we knew all about them.
First up was southpaw starter Kris Johnson. We had met Kris at Portland's "Field of Dreams" at the end of the 2008 season, when he and first baseman Aaron Bates emerged from the cornstalks and greeted fans in our section of the stands (other players visited other sections). We mentioned that to him and he enjoyed the anecdote.
Next to Johnson at the Hot Stove autograph table was first baseman Lars Anderson (shown above) who is rated as the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox system and heard us mention the Field of Dreams and remarked how much fun that was.
Anderson's status as a hot prospect was no secret to the fans present, as we kept hearing people ask, "Is this the line for Lars?" Most haven't had the chance to see him play, but we have, and he's impressive.
Also impressive is Daniel Bard, the righty reliever who tops 100 mph with his fastball without seemingly trying. He can also slow it down to the 80s to thoroughly confound opposing batters. When we mentioned to him how he changes speeds so well, Lars piped in with, "Whaddya mean? His change-up is 90!"
We had a lot of fun with those guys!
The next group featured manager Ron Johnson along with outfielder Zach Daeges and catcher Mark Wagner, shown above, both former Lowell Spinners.
We always get a kick out of talking to RJ, who is a very humorous fellow. He does a great job of working with young players, as is evidenced by the impact several have had with the Red Sox over the last couple of years. Those players always make it a point to mention how much he helped them along.
We mentioned to Zach that we had seen him play as both a Spinner and a Sea Dog. He appreciated that, as it seems to us that some players aren't as well-recognized as others at the minor league level.
Mark Wagner gets some buzz, however, as he's the Red Sox' top catching prospect and any Sox fan knows that the big club has catching issues - to say the least. If and when he gets to the big leagues, we can see him being a popular player, as he is a really nice guy. We had a very pleasant chat with him.
We enjoyed meeting all of the players (as well as mascots Paws and Sox, shown at left with J) and can't wait to root for them - once it gets a little warmer!
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