Sources say Napoli signs with Sox.

[BSN07]

Originally Posted by Spudboy

I have not lurked at all! I just spend 9 days in Ukarine and now I'm in London with nothing but nonsensical ITV to watch so decided to check on TS. Not much has changed!!@ How you been?

Not bad, winter training is in full swing so busy busy. London is terrible this time of year. Most or Europe is. I can't imagine Ukraine was any nicer hahaha

Don't give up on British tv yet, there are some gems in there

[seabeachfred]

Originally Posted by BSN07

Not bad, winter training is in full swing so busy busy. London is terrible this time of year. Most or Europe is. I can't imagine Ukraine was any nicer hahaha

Don't give up on British tv yet, there are some gems in there

Believe it or not we had one helluva cold snap out here is supposedly warm and sunny Southern California----I kid you not. It got down to 32 degrees on two evenings and one morning I got up to go and work out when the temperature read 34 degrees. They even said that in some of the citrus areas the ranchers were worrying about losing half their crop because it got down to 29 in some areas.

It has been great the last three days in the high 70's and helps making me think that baseball may not be that far away. To me Spring is the best time of year. Hope it come fast this time around.

[Porcupine penis]

Good to see them work this out. I like Napoli a lot, hopefully his hip stays healthy, I think if it does, he's in for a phenominal year at fenway.

[BSN07]

Originally Posted by seabeachfred

Believe it or not we had one helluva cold snap out here is supposedly warm and sunny Southern California----I kid you not. It got down to 32 degrees on two evenings and one morning I got up to go and work out when the temperature read 34 degrees. They even said that in some of the citrus areas the ranchers were worrying about losing half their crop because it got down to 29 in some areas.

It has been great the last three days in the high 70's and helps making me think that baseball may not be that far away. To me Spring is the best time of year. Hope it come fast this time around.

The weather here has been weirs. Usually you wither get mild temps with overcast and drizzly rain, or more clear days, colder temps and then snow. It's been all over the place this year. One week it's 50 and I want to go outside for training and then the other it's like 20...

I'm just glad we have an inside complex to train at or the weather would have drove me over the age already

[Behindenemylines]

If the hip was that much of an issue I can't see Napoli catching at all. They got him for his right handed power. Playing 1B is secondary, and I have to belive catching is off the table unless it an emergency. You have Salty and Ross starting the season, and Lavarnwayis waiting in the wing.

[redsoxfan3]

Originally Posted by Behindenemylines

If the hip was that much of an issue I can't see Napoli catching at all. They got him for his right handed power. Playing 1B is secondary, and I have to belive catching is off the table unless it an emergency. You have Salty and Ross starting the season, and Lavarnwayis waiting in the wing.

I still think Napoli will catch on occasion, especially in interleague away games. We could have Napoli catch and Big Papi play 1B. I don't think we will see him back there about 70 games or so, but I think we could see him play about 15-20 throughout the year. Everything is circumstantial. It depends on a lot of factors. My guess is that they do not want him to catch a lot, but if they feel that is best thing to do given the situation, then I am assuming they will put him behind the dish. I am still hoping that we can trade Salty. If we do keep Salty, I hope he can get another 20+ homer season and work on that OBP and BA. The big thing for me is that when he catches, we have a big defensive liability.

[Behindenemylines]

Originally Posted by redsoxfan3

I still think Napoli will catch on occasion, especially in interleague away games. We could have Napoli catch and Big Papi play 1B. I don't think we will see him back there about 70 games or so, but I think we could see him play about 15-20 throughout the year. Everything is circumstantial. It depends on a lot of factors. My guess is that they do not want him to catch a lot, but if they feel that is best thing to do given the situation, then I am assuming they will put him behind the dish. I am still hoping that we can trade Salty. If we do keep Salty, I hope he can get another 20+ homer season and work on that OBP and BA. The big thing for me is that when he catches, we have a big defensive liability.

If game calling by the catchers is a big part of the pitchers struggles then I can see Ross catching more then most of would have guessed. Napoli is not going to be mistaken for a gold glove catcher and the Sox got him for his bat so the more he catches the more a chance that his hip problem could revisit the Sox in 2013. I got to believe that Napoli taking the one year deal and dropping the 3 for $39 deal makes the hip a future problem if he catches too much.

[Dojji]

Actually as offensive catchers go, Napoli's not that bad. He's a cut above most catchers who are out there for their bat. His issue has always been his ability to play a full season behind the dish. He's always had the talent to be more than good enough defensively in any given game.

Given the hip condition, it'd be a pipe dream for Napoli to play more than 20-30 games as a catcher, but I can def see him playing it in interleague. It would probably be the right move. And it would allow us to bat Salty for Ross in a key at bat without worrying about not having an option to finish the game if he happened to get hurt, which is a nice perk.

[User Name?]

Originally Posted by Dojji

Actually as offensive catchers go, Napoli's not that bad. He's a cut above most catchers who are out there for their bat. His issue has always been his ability to play a full season behind the dish. He's always had the talent to be more than good enough defensively in any given game.

Given the hip condition, it'd be a pipe dream for Napoli to play more than 20-30 games as a catcher, but I can def see him playing it in interleague. It would probably be the right move. And it would allow us to bat Salty for Ross in a key at bat without worrying about not having an option to finish the game if he happened to get hurt, which is a nice perk.

Also, the knock on Napoli has always been lack of mobility. I have never read or heard anyone badmouthing his game-calling, and his results with both the Angels and Texas prove that.

[?who?]

I doubt he catches much, plus they re-signd Saltalamaccia and have Ross and Lavarnway.

[a700hitter]

Originally Posted by ?who?

I doubt he catches much, plus they re-signd Saltalamaccia and have Ross and Lavarnway.

Tell us a little about yourself in the Introduce Yourself thread.

[?who?]

Im ?who? A redsox fan in a suburb of Chi who also likes the Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Hawks. Cubs and sox fans share a special bond, we always rooted for each other to finally break your curse.

[Bellhorn04]

Details of Mike Napoli’s contract
By Alex Speier

According to a baseball source, the one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox and Mike Napoli includes the following incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $13 million:

Active roster bonuses

$500,000 each for 30, 60, 90, 120 days on the active roster

Plate appearance bonuses

$500,000 each for 300, 325, 350, 375 plate appearances

$1 million each for 400, 475, 550, 625 plate appearances

Catch-all bonus

If Napoli is active for a minimum of 165 days in 2013, he will get the full $8 million in incentives for a total of $13 million

[Palodios]

Originally Posted by Bellhorn04

Details of Mike Napoli’s contract
By Alex Speier

According to a baseball source, the one-year, $5 million deal with the Red Sox and Mike Napoli includes the following incentives that could increase the value of the deal to $13 million:

Active roster bonuses

$500,000 each for 30, 60, 90, 120 days on the active roster

Plate appearance bonuses

$500,000 each for 300, 325, 350, 375 plate appearances

$1 million each for 400, 475, 550, 625 plate appearances

Catch-all bonus

If Napoli is active for a minimum of 165 days in 2013, he will get the full $8 million in incentives for a total of $13 million

Sounds easily obtainable.

[seabeachfred]

Originally Posted by BSN07

The weather here has been weirs. Usually you wither get mild temps with overcast and drizzly rain, or more clear days, colder temps and then snow. It's been all over the place this year. One week it's 50 and I want to go outside for training and then the other it's like 20...

I'm just glad we have an inside complex to train at or the weather would have drove me over the age already

Well at least you have an inside training complex where you get some vigorous practice sessions in. When I coached high school baseball back in the early 70's, every time I woke up the first thing I did was look at the skies and then head for the newspaper to see what the weather was that February, March or April. We weren't home free until late April when the weather ceased being potentially inclement. When I decided to get my own baseball program outside of school where we played from April through August I got the good weather and never had to worry about it. Tough when you have to concern yourself with the both the weather and the opposition. Believe me, I know where you're coming from.