Red Sox Bat Notes

[matt]

Sat in the front row next to the on deck circle friday night at Oakland with my son and got to speak with Varitek, Pedroia and the bat boy about bats. Here are some learnings as well as a couple photos (Ellsbury with a nice blonde X-bat and my son with Youkilis)

Varitek told me that we can tell his BP bats apart from gamers by weight. He used 33oz or more for BP and 32 or so for games with a cupped end. Said that several teammates (incl Manny) often use the same bat in BP and the game. He does not.

Papi used black X-bats all weekend. Used the typical Big Stix in BP only. Bat Boy told me this is a new thing and he may play with some others too. Also said that any 34 inch Papi bat is likely a BP bat, as he uses 34.5 in games (I think we all knew that.) The tops of these x-bats were both scratched down to raw wood. I see too many "gamers" with clean paint on the tops.

Manny used SSK's all weekend. Bat Boy had not seen any SAM's this year, just X-bats and SSK.

Pedroia used a 2-tone M9 in addition to the usual black M9.

Ellsbury carried around an armful of blonde X-bats and did not let anyone touch them. After the games, he carried them all back to the clubhouse himself. He ignored (appropriately) my son's begging to get a broken one. Uses same bats in BP.

Both Manny and Papi's gamers have printed number stickers on the knobs this year saying "24" and "34." I have a late season Manny X-bat from 2007 with the same thing.
Matt

Lowell and Youk used the black M9's. Lots of Maple on this team these days!