Spring Training, 1984
| AL East | W-L | PCT | GB | | NL East | W-L | PCT | GB |
| Boston Red Sox | 17-7 | 0.708 | -- | | Philadelphia Phillies | 15-9 | 0.625 | -- |
| Detroit Tigers | 15-9 | 0.625 | 2 | | New York Mets | 14-10 | 0.583 | 1 |
| New York Yankees | 14-10 | 0.583 | 3 | | St. Louis Cardinals | 13-11 | 0.542 | 2 |
| Cleveland Indians | 12-12 | 0.500 | 5 | | Pittsburgh Pirates | 11-13 | 0.458 | 4 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 12-12 | 0.500 | 5 | | Chicago Cubs | 9-15 | 0.375 | 6 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 10-14 | 0.417 | 7 | | Montreal Expos | 7-17 | 0.292 | 8 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 10-14 | 0.417 | 7 | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| AL West | W-L | PCT | GB | | NL West | W-L | PCT | GB |
| Kansas City Royals | 14-10 | 0.583 | -- | | San Diego Padres | 17-7 | 0.708 | -- |
| Minnesota Twins | 14-10 | 0.583 | -- | | Atlanta Braves | 13-11 | 0.542 | 4 |
| California Angels | 13-11 | 0.542 | 1 | | Houston Astros | 13-11 | 0.542 | 4 |
| Chicago White Sox | 11-13 | 0.458 | 3 | | Los Angeles Dodgers | 13-11 | 0.542 | 4 |
| Seattle Mariners | 9-15 | 0.375 | 5 | | Cincinnati Reds | 12-12 | 0.500 | 5 |
| Texas Rangers | 9-15 | 0.375 | 5 | | San Francisco Giants | 7-17 | 0.292 | 10 |
| Oakland Athletics | 9-15 | 0.375 | 6 | | | | | |
We emerged as one of the strongest teams in Spring Training. With only one major injury, we weren't the luckiest team in baseball, but nowhere near Montreal, who will start the season with three people on the 60-day DL.
So, how did we manage this?
| Starters | W-L | ERA | GS | IP | WHIP | Comments |
| 'Oil Can' Boyd | 1-0 | 2.25 | 4 | 16 | 0.75 | |
| Roger Clemens | 2-0 | 2.81 | 4 | 16 | 1.25 | |
| Al Nipper | 1-1 | 3.38 | 4 | 16 | 1.38 | |
| Bob Ojeda | 2-0 | 1.13 | 4 | 16 | 1.44 | |
| Bruce Hurst | 1-0 | 1.80 | 3 | 10 | 1.30 | |
With 5 starters and a projected 5 man rotation, that made it easy who to bring up.
Hurst missed a start when he strained his calf, but will be back for opening day. Everyone pitched very well. Our projected rotation:
1) Clemens, 2) Boyd, 3) Ojeda*, 4) Nipper, 5) Hurst*
(* denotes a southpaw)
| Relievers | W-L | ERA | SV | IP | WHIP | Comments |
| Dennis Eckersley | 3-2 | 2.06 | 0 | 35 | 0.91 | |
| Charlie Mitchell | 0-1 | 2.89 | 1 | 19 | 1.45 | |
| Steve Crawford | 1-1 | 4.34 | 1 GS | 19 | 1.55 | |
| Rich Gale | 2-0 | 1.69 | 4 GS | 16 | 1.31 | |
| Mike Brown | 0-0 | 5.68 | 0 | 13 | 1.58 | |
| Mark Clear | 0-0 | 2.53 | 0 | 11 | 1.31 | |
| Bob Stanley | 1-0 | 4.50 | 6 | 10 | 1.00 | |
| John H. Johnson | 2-2 | 5.40 | 0 | 10 | 1.50 | |
| Jim Dorsey | 1-0 | 4.77 | 0 | 6 | 1.59 | |
I'm not nearly as sanguine about our relievers. As you can see, manager Slider kept
Eckersley as a reliever - then proceeded to use him twice as much as the starters. Whatever: He gives us a badly needed boost here.
Who to keep came down to who I thought would benefit from more time on the farm, coupled of course with their performance this spring.
My scouts suggested
Dorsey belonged in A-Winter Haven (all other demotions were to Pawtucket). Given that, and he's 28 years old and unlikely to grow more, there's not much point in keeping him. I'll be trading him once the freeze ends.
Note that the game setup projects everyone having 5 starters and 8 relievers for 13 pitchers. I remember playing games from the '80s where 11 pitchers was correct, and will go with that until and unless proven wrong.
Projected Bullpen:
CL) Stanley, SU) Johnson*/Eckersley, MR) Brown/Gale/Clear
| Catchers | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | Comments |
| Rich Gedman | 77 | 1 | 5 | 0.286 | 0.321 | |
| Gary Allenson | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.273 | |
| Jeff Newman | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.380 | |
I really expected to be sending the older
Newman to AAA or releasing him. He surprised me though and stole the backup job from 29 year old
Allenson.
| Infielders | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | Comments |
| Jackie Gutierrez | 65 | 0 | 10 | 0.262 | 0.271 | |
| Ed Jurak | 63 | 1 | 8 | 0.175 | 0.321 | |
| Mike Easler | 61 | 2 | 7 | 0.180 | 0.324 | |
| Marty Barrett | 60 | 0 | 5 | 0.300 | 0.403 | |
| Jerry Remy | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0.281 | 0.314 | |
| Wade Boggs | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.250 | 0.344 | Ready by Opening Day |
| Dave Stapleton | 22 | 0 | 4 | 0.318 | 0.375 | |
| Glenn Hoffman | 21 | 0 | 5 | 0.333 | 0.417 | |
| Chico Walker | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 60 day DL |
As I mentioned, there was no realistic doubt about
Easler, Barrett or Boggs starting. Boggs suffered an injury that caused him to miss most of Spring Training, but will be back for the opener.
Shortstop was a battle, and in my opinion
Hoffman won. Neither
Gutierrez or Jurak impressed. I'm hoping the latter is playing well below expectations.
Stapleton and Jurak can both play any infield position, so we have ample reserves.
Chico Walker broke his elbow and will miss 3-4 months.
| Outfielders | AB | HR | RBI | AVG | OPS | Comments |
| Tony Armas | 91 | 5 | 18 | 0.253 | 0.293 | |
| Jim Rice | 78 | 4 | 15 | 0.308 | 0.398 | |
| Dwight Evans | 62 | 8 | 24 | 0.355 | 0.523 | |
| Rick Miller | 44 | 1 | 9 | 0.364 | 0.420 | |
| Reid Nichols | 40 | 1 | 9 | 0.175 | 0.327 | |
Similar to the starting pitchers, we had 5 outfielders and I like to carry 5, so everyone comes north.
Evans in particular was incredible, with
Miller and Rice also putting in solid performances.
Projected Lineup(* denotes LHB)
RHP
1) 3B Boggs*, 2) 2B Barrett, 3) RF Evans, 4) DH Armas, 5) C Gedman*
6) 1B Easler*, 7) LF Rice, 8) CF Miller*, 9) SS Jurak
LHP
1) 3B Boggs*, 2) 2B Barrett, 3) RF Evans, 4) CF Armas, 5) C Gedman*
6) 1B Easler*, 7) DH Rice, 8) LF Nichols, 9) SS Jurak