Nothing good about the last couple of days for Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval and the Red Sox reaction to them.
Sandoval has the worst season of his career after signing for huge dollars in Boston, and how does he respond? By showing up the next year looking like he swallowed the bat boy.
Ramirez has a 2015 season where he became a laughing stock in left field, was out of the lineup for over 50 games and didn't hit a home run after the All-Star break, and how does he respond? By loafing through a couple of days of ground balls using a borrowed glove before taking the weekend off.
So Sandoval is fat and Ramirez doesn't even have his equipment ready to go. Should we really be shocked? Ramirez is one of the great dogs in all of professional sports. And Sandoval clearly has no problem with the fact he's let himself go, stating for the record yesterday that "I didn't try to lose weight.''
But the cherry on top is the reaction of the Sox. Crank up the excuse generator.
Late last season and into the winter, interim manager Torry Lovullo and new president Dave Dombrowski talked about Sandoval needing to lose weight. Manager John Farrell in January went so far as to say he had lost 20-22 pounds.
But yesterday, with Sandoval exploding out of his shorts, Farrell was left to do some typical double-talk and sunshine-blowing. He said the Sox might have anticipated there was a "potential'' for weight loss, but that "no specific number was given.'' He made sure to point out that Sandoval was in better shape than he was at the end of last year, which might technically be true (but probably isn't). Either way, how could he be in any worse shape? Is that even possible?
Boston Red Sox
Find the latest Boston Red Sox news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
As for Ramirez, Butterfield had to tap dance as well. He said that during their half-speed drills there was "no panic to his (meaning, Mike Napoli's) glove.'' He said Ramirez was "bending well,'' that he was "confident'' and "energetic.''
So energetic that he then left camp for his home in Miami. Perhaps to get his glove. Meanwhile, the local Domino's franchises in Ft. Myers rejoice. Sandoval's still there.
E-mail Felger at mfelger@comcastsportsnet.com. Listen to Felger and Mazz weekdays from 2-6 p.m. on 98.5 FM. The simulcast runs daily on Comcast SportsNet.