Day 333: Former Red Sox Players Making Spring Training News

Well, spring training play has officially begun with the Red Sox taking on Northeastern University and Boston College in a split-squad double header Thursday afternoon. The won the both contests 5-2. These games always make me nervous because, holy crap, what if they lose to a bunch of college kids? They start playing kids their own age tomorrow when they take on the Minnesota Twins at 1:05pm.

A couple of former Red Sox players made some headlines today in games of their own. Remember Josh Reddick? I always liked that guy and I was a little sad when the Red Sox traded him to the Oakland A's for pitcher Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney. It was a great trade... for the A's. Reddick also lucked out by managing to get out of town before the 2012 Bobby Valentine disaster. Bailey has been riddled with injuries, missing a lot of 2012 and really not doing anything special otherwise. Sweeney... I barely remember him. He spent just the 2012 season with the Sox.

Reddick has two solid seasons under his belt with Oakland and in 2012, hit a career high (by a lot) 32 home runs. But his offense is what truly stands out for this 27-year-old—he won a Gold Glove in '12 for his play in right field. And today, in a spring training game against the San Francisco Giants, he had not one, but two amazing catches to rob Mike Morse of home runs both times. Reddick scaled the outfield fence to make the spectacular catches and many say they've never seen anything like it.

Wanna see? It's worth the time. At first I thought they were just replaying the catch and then I realized it wasn't a replay, he just did it again! Click HERE for the video.

The other headline making former player is Carl Crawford who now plays for the LA Dodgers. I hate this guy. Even when he played for the Red Sox, I thought he was a whiny bitch. So it's fun to see him do stuff that makes him look even more douchey than he already is. He was attempting to steal a base but the ball was hit foul. In the meantime, he had already slid into second base in a rather awkward way. It appeared he belly-flopped his way to second and in the process smacked his chin on the ground which in turn sent his helmet flying off his head. And it was all for naught because it was a foul ball. It's not as exciting as Reddick's catch, but you can see the video HERE. It's good for a giggle.

I seriously don't miss that guy even one little speck, or the guys that were shipped off to LA with him. If that crew was still around last season, I don't think they win the World Series. I know... bold statement but there's something to be said about team chemistry and getting along. Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez and Josh Beckett did not play well with others. But I digress... (and I'm guessing you're nodding your heads in agreement at my digression?)