WILMINGTON, MA — Red Sox season is upon us! To get you in the baseball mood, here is a brief Q&A recently conducted with local Red Sox expert Rick Aronofsky, who is the host of Wilmington Community Television’s Red Sox Weekly.
How do you think the Red Sox will do this season?
Given that the American League East Division is a weak one , I expect the Red Sox to win their division. I like their starting nine which has relatively few weaknesses and can hit the cover off of the baseball. The lineup certainly took a hit when Vazquez went down with an injury so it remains to be seen if the local kid Hanigen (graduate of Andover High School) can shoulder the catching duties. The Red Sox bullpen is weak, especially with the closer role. I could never understand why the Sox gave Koji Oehara the two year deal, and now he is on the 15 day disabled list with a sore hamstring.
I still pick them to finish first however.
What was the team’s best move this offseason? What was the team’s worse move this offseason?
Hey, you can’t win without an ACE and the Red Sox aquired Rick Porcello from the Tigers in December, an early Christmas gift. They had to give up Yoenis Céspedes in order to aquire Porcello though. Cherington must have had plan B, C, and D in his pocket when thinking of this trade. As it turns out the Sox wrapped up Rick with a contract extension just yesterday which will keep him in a Sox uniform through his best pitching years.
The worst move in the offseason would have to be not wrapping up Jon Lester. Lester has a history of being a stud horse and I believe Cherington gagged on this move. It’s always about the money for the player, and also the team, so time will tell who was right and who was wrong on this decision.
Who is your favorite Red Sox player on the current team? Who is your all-time favorite Red Sox player?
My favorite player on this current team would have to be Dustin Pedroia. He is the heart and soul of the team, sort of the defacto captain. I like his grit and dertermination, he just hates to lose and also wants to prove his critics wrong. If he can stay healthy he is one of the best second baseman in the entire league.
My all time favorite player never had a long career with them. It was a local kid Tony Conigliaro. Tony had the sweetest swing and had the potential to be a Hall of Fame player before his career was cut short by the unfortunate eye injury from a pitch by Jack Hamilton of California Angels. Tony hit 24 home runs in his rookie season, then hit 32 home runs in 1965 becoming the youngest home run champion in American League History.
Can you tell us a little bit about your ‘Red Sox Weekly’ show on WCTV? Who has been your favorite guest to interview over the years?
Red Sox Weekly is a LIVE one hour program that airs from the WCTV studios in Wilmington. Past guests on the program have included Dick Radatz, Bill Lee, George “Boomer” Scott, Dan Duquette, Rico Petrocelli, Butch Hobson, Charlie Moore, Steve Buckley, Shonda Schilling, and others. Phone interviews have included many , but my most memorable and fun have to be when Fred Lynn calls into the program. I also had the opportunity to interview the Red Sox owner John Henry by phone on the air. This was a complete surprise to me as I took a chance asking him to join us and he agreed. He most likely never knew who the heck I was or where or what Red Sox Weekly was.
The most memorable and favorite had to be Bill Lee. Lee is a character and I knew going into this show that he may be over the top. Bill has been a multiple (three times) guest on the show. The first time had to be the best because of the fact that he showed up for the show a day early! My show airs on Tuesday eves and Bill arrived at the studio on a Monday night. I thought that i had no chance of him coming back on Tuesday but true to his word he arrived Tuesday evening for the show. Bill is a free spirit and lives in the upper most region of Vermont.
My next show will be scheduled in April with one of the best sports columnist in the country as my guest, Bob Ryan.
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