FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Christian Vazquez was awake at 5 a.m. on Saturday, counting down the minutes for a sim game that was set to start 6 1/2 hours later.
The cannon-armed catcher was hardly apologetic for his enthusiasm, nor did he need to be. After missing all of 2015 following Tommy John surgery, Vazquez needed this trial run to prove to the Red Sox his readiness to play in a Grapefruit League game.
Expect that to happen in the next couple of days, after a strong showing by Vazquez in which he made two strong throws to second on stolen-base attempts by Rusney Castillo.