FORT MYERS, Fla. - The current Red Sox manager, Terry Francona, has raved about the arm strength of infielder Nick Green throughout spring training, praise that would not have been possible without the assistance of a former Red Sox manager.
Green, a pleasant surprise in camp, began his career as a shortstop but moved primarily to second base "because nobody could teach me how to throw right," he said. "I could get it over there, but I wasn't consistent."
In 2006 in spring training with Tampa Bay, Green worked with a coach named Jimy Williams - yes, that Jimy Williams. Williams explained to Green he was taking the ball out of his glove wrong - when he transferred the ball from glove to bare hand, Green's elbow stuck out like a chicken wing. Green began taking the ball out of his glove while keeping his elbow close to his midsection, and his inaccuracy disappeared.
Green sometimes compares pictures of himself turning a double play from before his work with Williams and after. The difference is stark. In the old pictures, his elbow juts out. In the recent ones, it stays where it ought to.
Williams "helped me with my throwing," Green said. "It was great for me to have him in camp. Ever since I started working with him, I'm more comfortable and confident."
Green, through no immediate fault of his own, is a long shot to make the Sox roster. He is an infielder on a team trying to decide between Jed Lowrie and Julio Lugo at shortstop and that has the reigning American League MVP at second base.
The logjam in front of him, though, does not detract from his impressive spring training. Green, after blasting a monster home run to center field Monday, has 11 hits, tied with Jeff Bailey for the team lead, two homers, and a .458 batting average. Partly because of Williams's counsel, Green can play second base, shortstop, and third base.
Green, 30, has compiled a .240 batting average while playing in 275 games with four teams since his major league debut in 2004. He spent all of last year with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Yankees' Triple A affiliate. It was his first season without a big league appearance since 2003. The Red Sox signed him in January to a minor league contract.
He arrived here as an afterthought, but with playing time available with Dustin Pedroia playing in the World Baseball Classic, Green has taken advantage.
"It is great to get a good opportunity to show that I can play, and that if they need me, I can be an asset to the team," Green said.
"He's had a real good camp so far," Francona said. "He may be one of those types of guys where we may not have a spot. But when you come in and show what you can do, you certainly put yourself in a good light."
In Fort Lauderdale, Ray hurled a fastball inside. Lowrie turned on it instinctively and without pain, smashing it "way foul" down the right-field line.
"That was a big thing last year - I wasn't catching up to good fastballs," Lowrie said. "I hadn't felt that sort of quickness to an inside pitch in a long time."
Although Lugo's offensive and defensive statistics surpass Lowrie's, Francona has praised them both so far. "I'm not going to lose any sleep over it," Lowrie said.
