A Couple Things

This is a syndicated post. Original article from Boston Red Sox News, available at Boston Red Sox News.

John Lackey continued his Grapefruit League dominance Wednesday afternoon, as he scattered two hits over four scoreless innings in the Red Sox's 4-2 loss to the Mets.

This is a syndicated post. Original article from Boston Red Sox News, available at Boston Red Sox News.

After being slowed by back and neck ailments, right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka threw batting practice Wednesday morning for the first time this spring.

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Infielder Jed Lowrie, who has not played since Thursday, has been diagnosed with mononucleosis, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said on Wednesday.

This is a syndicated post. Original article from Boston Red Sox News, available at Boston Red Sox News.

Infielder Jed Lowrie, who has not played since March 11, has been diagnosed with mononucleosis, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said on Wednesday. Lowrie had been suffering from fatigue symptoms and was put through a battery of tests earlier this week.

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Gordon Edes has reported on twitter that Francona says Lowrie has mono. Speculation in the clubhouse is rampant over who Lowrie has been kissing, and if he is indeed in 8th grade.

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http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/pos...ld-lefty-embree




After leaving the Sox, Embree maintained decent production for the next two seasons before dropping off in '08 and '09, ballooning to a 4.96ERA in '08 with the A's and a 5.84 last year with the Rox before getting injured. His HR/9 increased, which could be related to the Coliseum and Coors Field catching up with him, but his BB/9 also ballooned by almost two walks a game, reaching his highest rates since his 1996 season.

Recently, he's cut his curveball and changeup out of his repertoire. Fangraphs has both pitches at about average throughout his career (though they were used more and more sparingly throughout the years), so I'm not entirely sure why he decided to get rid of them.

Embree's last super terrible season, '05, bears some resemblance to his last two seasons (increased HR rate, higher FIP, but same BB/9 rate), though it's worth nothing that in '05 it appears he was severely hampered by a .324BABIP -- in his last two years, they've been right around his career average.

He'd be coming back from a fractured leg after not pitching since mid-July. A minor league contract can't hurt, though I'm of the opinion that Shouse gets his shot (which I'm sure is the current plan).