Hermida Eager To Return
After broadcasting 117 baseball games over the last 124 days, I would kill for a 10-day break. But that was the last thing that Jeremy Hermida wanted.
(photo courtesy of Kelly O’Connor)
After being designated for assignment and taken off of Boston’s 40-man roster on July 31st, the 26-year-old outfielder spent 10 days in limbo before being sent to Pawtucket on Monday.
“I’ve been bored to be honest with you,” Hermida told me. “I’ve basically just been hanging out. I got a chance to go down to the stadium and do some hitting off of a tee, and run around and work out a little bit. But it’s definitely been a little bit boring. After the first couple of days I wanted to get out there and start playing, but I had to sit tight and wait to see what was going to happen. I’m just happy to be playing now and I’m ready to get going.”
Hermida worked out with the PawSox at Scranton/WB on Tuesday and is expected to be activated within a few days.
“We’re going to ease him back in there,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “He asked for a couple of days to run around, shag some fly balls, take batting practice, and get his legs back under him. We’ll get him back in there as soon as we possibly can.”
“I’d like to come down here and perform well,” Hermida said. “Since I had 10 days off, I’m going to take batting practice for a couple of days and swing at a moving ball. It will be good to get out here and just play, and I hope to get back up there and contribute to the playoff run.”
It’s been a tough first season in Boston for Hermida. After batting .265 with a .344 OBP in 5 seasons with the Florida Marlins, Jeremy is batting .203 with a .257 OBP in 52 games with the Red Sox.
Additionally, Jeremy suffered five broken ribs on June 4th when he collided in the outfield with Adrian Beltre and is 1 of 16 Red Sox players to spend time on the disabled list this season.
“I’ve never seen anything quite like it to be honest with you,” Hermida said. “It wasn’t tweaking this and tweaking that – it was broken foot, broken thumb, ribs . . . we definitely have suffered a lot up there. I think it shows the depth of this organization and the job that the coaching staff and team have done. It didn’t matter who we were running out there every night, we believed we could go out there and win.”
Aside from a few brief rehab stints, Hermida has not been a minor leaguer since 2005. But he arrived in Scranton on Tuesday with a smile and a positive outlook.
“It’s the first time that I’ve had to go through something like this, but what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” Jeremy told me. “I’m going to come down here and make the best of the opportunity. Nobody is going to feel sorry for me, so I’m going to try to perform and take it as a challenge.”
“You can take one of two roads,” said Lovullo. “You can feel sorry for yourself and say I’m an ex-big leaguer who has had a lot of success and I don’t want to do it anymore, or you can say that I’ve had a taste of it and I want to make it happen again. I have a funny field that Herm is going to choose the latter.”
The vacation is over.
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Carlos Delgado is expected to be back in the lineup on Wednesday as the PawSox open a brief 2-game series in Allentown, PA against the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.
(photo courtesy of Jessica Kovalcin)
Delgado took Tuesday off after going 0-for-3 on Monday – his first game in 457 days after recovering from two surgical procedures on his right hip.
In his first at-bat, Delgado wowed his teammates and coaches by nearly hitting a home run. Scranton/WB’s Greg Golson made a leaping catch of a 370-foot fly ball that would have hit high off of the right field wall at PNC Field. It would have been a home run at McCoy Stadium.
“I told him that he was messing around with us and has been playing the whole time,” Lovullo said. “A hitter is a hitter. He’s going to find a way to put the barrel on the ball and he did that. I thought he looked very good and it’s only going to get better as his pitch recognition improves and he gains strength. After the game he said he was a little sore, but that was to be expected.”
“He loves the game,” Hermida said. “I got a change to play with Carlos a little bit while I was with Florida. He’s a great guy and a great hitter, and he’s done some unbelievable things in this game. There are a lot of guys who probably would have called it quits, but for him to fight and come back the way he has shows how much he cares about this game. I’m hoping he can get back and contribute to the team.”
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It took 11 innings and a season-long 4 hours and 30 minutes, but the PawSox snapped a 4-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 6-5 win at Scranton/WB.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia broke a 4-all tie with a 2-out RBI double off of Yankees closer Jonathan Albaladejo in the 11th inning and earned the honor of wearing Chad Paronto’s Player of the Game “Meowy Christmas” sweatshirt on the bus ride to Allentown.
Since I took this cell phone picture, the sleeves have been cut off and a 70’s hippie fringe has been added to the bottom.
The Boston Globe’s Amalie Benjamin reported on Wednesday morning that Saltalamacchia has been promoted by Boston. I hope he didn’t forget to return the sweatshirt.
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After testing his injured foot on Tuesday in Toronto, Dustin Pedroia said that he’s hoping to play in Pawtucket on Saturday and Sunday before returning to the Red Sox lineup on Tuesday at Fenway Park.
(photo courtesy of Kelly O’Connor)
“He is a great leader and an inspiration,” Torey Lovullo said. “He goes out there with the attitude that he’s going to win and rip your heart out. I think that’s very contagious. The fact that Boston is still in the race without him is pretty amazing.”
There are still great seats available for this weekend’s games at McCoy Stadium. For tickets and info, go to pawsox.com or call 401-724-7300.
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