Why the Red Sox are sending Connelly Early and Payton Tolle back to Boston early from Colorado
DENVER — The Red Sox are playing three games at the Rockies’ Coors Field this week. Connelly Early and Payton Tolle are just attending one of them.
The Sox plan to send the rookie lefthanders back to Boston early — midday Tuesday — in an effort to minimize their time in the Mile High City’s extreme altitude and maximize their time at home before they face the Yankees.
“Just to get them out of these elements and give them a couple of days to reacclimate,” interim manager Chad Tracy said.
Pitching coach Andrew Bailey said: “We know they’re not going to pitch this series, so getting them back in the good sleep patterns, recovery [is worthwhile]. We have plenty of staff [at Fenway Park who] will take care of them and get them what they need.”
It is not uncommon for teams to send the next day’s starting pitcher a few hours ahead when they are about to change cities, to ensure that that guy can get a full night of sleep. Sending someone(s) a day and a half ahead of the rest of the team is rarer — except when clubs come to Colorado.
Because the thin mountain air impacts so much of the game here — pitch shapes, batted-ball flights, physical recovery of athletes’ bodies — teams make a point to limit the effects.
When Bailey was with the Giants, they would have their non-participating starting pitchers skip the trip altogether by staying in San Francisco or going to the team’s spring training complex in Arizona.
“A lot of teams do it,” Bailey said.
Early and Tolle will return more than 24 hours ahead of the rest of the Red Sox, who are due back very late Wednesday. Early will pitch against the Yankees on Thursday. Tolle will do so Friday.
“Get back east a little bit early, get back in the right time zone, and make sure we can maximize recovery,” Bailey said. “That is important.”
Crochet not cleared
Garrett Crochet had his injured left shoulder reevaluated Monday, as scheduled, and strength tests showed that he is “improving,” Tracy said.
But not enough to be cleared to play catch.
“They’re still showing improvement in the numbers, but we’re not quite ready to throw yet,” Tracy said.
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Sullivan vs. the Sox
Rockies lefthander Sean Sullivan, an Andover native scheduled to start against the Red Sox on Tuesday, comes from a family of hardcore Boston sports fans — so much so that he attended the 2004 World Series parade as a 2-year-old, he said.
As a kid, he counted Jon Lester (a 6-foot-4-inch southpaw, as Sullivan is now) among his favorites. David Ortiz, Kevin Youkilis, and Mookie Betts also made the list.
This will be his third major league game. He debuted with Colorado on June 12 with three scoreless innings at the Athletics (then gave up eight runs in four innings in his encore at the Cubs).
“Growing up, I always imagined it the other way: me playing for the Sox,” Sullivan said. “But this is just this cool. I’m excited to get out there and compete and help the team win. It’s obviously pretty cool being [against] the hometown team, but it’s just like anybody else.”
His parents, Patti and Joe Sullivan, are making the trip to watch in person, he said.
Coming back to Coors
For Tracy, returning to Coors Field stirred memories of his father’s stint as manager of the Rockies. Jim Tracy had that job from 2009-12, taking over as interim manager early in that first season (after initially coming aboard as bench coach) and leading the club to a surprise playoff berth.
A minor league player at the time, Chad Tracy spent much of those Septembers — when his season was over — in Denver hanging around.
“Every time I come in here, the first thing I think about is one of the playoff games against the Phillies in ’09. It was electric,” Chad Tracy said. “[Yorvit] Torrealba had a big hit to right-center in that game. I remember thinking at the time, that was maybe the loudest I’ve ever heard a stadium.”
Romy good to go
Romy Gonzalez will resume his rehab assignment Tuesday with Triple-A Worcester, Tracy said. He sat out the weekend after a fleeting left hip issue. Activating him during the homestand that begins Thursday “could be” in play, per Tracy, depending on how Gonzalez feels physically and at the plate … In the All-Star voting update released Monday, the Red Sox had one player in the top 10 at his position: Willson Contreras, who was sixth among AL first basemen. The first phase of voting runs through noon Thursday. The top two at each position (and top six outfielders) advance.
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