FORT MYERS, Fla. — It could have been worse.
If Jake Peavy had used his right hand to cut a zip tie on his fishing equipment last Saturday, the Red Sox right-hander would be in serious trouble. As it was, he cut the index finger on his left (non-throwing) hand so severely that he required a procedure under anasthesia to stitch it up.
According to WEEI.com, Peavy sustained minor nerve damage when he cut through a tendon with his fishing knife. But a source told the Boston Herald that the “integrity of his finger wasn’t compromised” and suggested that the procedure Peavy underwent was performed primarily to guard against an infection.
Regardless, the incident prevented Peavy from making his first spring training start as scheduled and may put him in jeopardy for being ready to start the regular season on time. On Tuesday, Peavy’s finger still was wrapped in a cumbersome bandage. He played long-toss, sans glove, from 120 feet, and was scheduled to throw a bullpen session Wednesday.
But Peavy has not attempted to place his hand into a mitt. According to manager John Farrell, the Red Sox are being mindful of the possibility that excess perspiration could lead to infection.
A date has not been set for when Peavy might make his first Grapefruit League start. The Red Sox have not ruled out the possibility that he will have enough time to get ready for his first regular-season start, although Farrell said they will have a better feel for the situation in 10 days.
If Peavy misses any time at the beginning of the season, Farrell said veteran lefty Chris Capuano and young right-hander Brandon Workman would be the leading candidates to take his turn.
NOTES, QUOTES
–CF Grady Sizemore is making steady progress in his attempt to make the Red Sox’ roster after missing the past two years while recovering from microfracture surgery on both knees. “I’m happy with how things are feeling from a body standpoint,” Sizemore said. “Just not noticing anything out there, not having any pain, not coming in feeling worse the next day. It’s as good as I could have hoped for.” Sizemore spends at least an hour, sometimes 90 minutes, per day getting treatment from the medical staff and working with trainers and strength coaches. There are times when Sizemore still feels rusty, especially at the plate, which can be expected after not playing since the end of the 2011 season. “I don’t feel bad (physically), but at times, my body is not catching up with my brain,” Sizemore said. “I want to go faster, but it’s not quite there yet.”
–RHP Koji Uehara never has been as popular as some of his countrymen who have migrated from Japan to the majors. But now that he’s a World Series champ, having achieved as much dominance as any closer in history for four months last season with the Red Sox, his Q Score is rising. Last month, he took the World Series trophy on tour, meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. He’s also the new pitchman for Suntory premium malt beer. And after tossing an easy, breezy 14-pitch scoreless inning in his spring training debut, he was greeted outside the clubhouse by a throng of Japanese media that far outnumbered the handful of embedded reporters who typically cover him. Has a star been born? “No, I don’t feel that’s changed,” Uehara said through his translator, C.J. Matsumoto. “I feel like all this media, they probably went to (Yankees star Masahiro) Tanaka and they just came to me afterward.”
-SS Xander Bogaerts’ ascension to the majors always was bound to bring to mind thoughts of Hanley Ramirez, the can’t-miss Red Sox shortstop prospect who came nearly a decade earlier. “He’s definitely really talented,” Bogaerts said of Ramirez, a three-time All-Star, 2006 NL Rookie of the Year and NL MVP runner-up in 2009. “The way that he plays, that’s something you hopefully want to become one day.” But Sox GM Ben Cherington, the club’s farm director when Ramirez was coming through the system, noted that the two players have far different personalities. “Xander comes from a very strong family. He has a solid foundation,” Cherington said. “I think it helps him navigate the things that come with being a big league player. It can take a while to deal with for a younger player, and Hanley maybe took a little longer to find that out. But Xander has been a pretty mature young man from the time he first came into the organization. He was very comfortable in whatever environment he’s been put into.”
–1B Mike Napoli was eased into spring training games last year to guard against the worsening of a degenerative condition in his hips. But with his health finally stable, he doesn’t have any restrictions this year — and it shows. On March 2, Napoli crushed a two-run homer to straightaway center field in the fourth inning against Baltimore Orioles reliever Eduardo Rodriguez. “You want to get to that (swing) as fast as possible,” Napoli said. “I still have work to do, but it felt good. I’m trying to see pitches, get my timing down, get my leg kick on time and just be in a good hitter’s position early. But yeah, to crush a ball like that, this early in the spring, it’s nice.”
–1B/LF Mike Carp is drawing interest this spring, but the Red Sox aren’t inclined to trade him. Carp has been productive as a left-handed pinch-hitter and occasional starter either at first base or in left field. In 216 at-bats last season, he batted .296 and slugged .523 with nine homers and 43 RBIs, including a memorable 10th-inning grand slam Sept. 11 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Carp credited left fielder Jonny Gomes for helping him adjust to a part-time role. Whenever Gomes didn’t start, they sat together on the bench and talked about how they might make an impact later in the game. “We went out there and we tried to combine to be one player,” Carp said. “Our goal was 30 (homers) and 100 (RBIs), and we came pretty darn close considering the amount of at-bats we had. We just feed off each other.”
QUOTE TO NOTE: “The way my metabolism is, I have to eat, like, nonstop. It’s nothing for me to get something quick, like McDonalds. If somebody else eats a whole pizza, they gain five pounds and it takes four days to lose it. I lose weight when I eat pizza. It’s easy to do that because I never look in the mirror and say, ‘Man, I can’t do that anymore.’ But from a health standpoint, it’s probably not the best thing to do.” –Red Sox RHP Clay Buchholz, to the Boston Herald, on why he’s changing his diet