FORT MYERS, Fla. – Over the weekend, Red Sox non-roster invitee Lucas Luetge described himself as a cockroach.
“I always tell people I’m like a cockroach,” the aid pitcher advised MassLive’s Christopher Smith. “You can’t get rid of me.”
With that distinctive analogy in thoughts, the Herald determined to place a number of gamers on the spot by asking them which animal they assume finest describes them. Meet the creatures of the 2024 Red Sox, within the order by which they had been requested about their wild sides:
Rob Refsnyder: Shark
“I’d say shark, only because my son loves ‘Baby Shark,’ ” he stated. “It’s like a joke how much he loves it. It’s just ridiculous, the longevity of that song. So I say shark, because we pretend to be sharks together.”
Any particular species of shark?
“Baby Shark is a Great White, right?” Refsnyder requested.
No one is aware of for sure.
Zack Kelly: (Mighty) Duck
“My son likes ducks,” Kelly stated after listening to Refsnyder’s reply. “Mighty Duck.”
“Ooh, that’s a good one,” Refsnyder replied.
“Me and Donald Duck are both ‘Da Da,’ so I never know who he’s talking to,” Kelly stated with a smile.
Kenley Jansen: Lion
“OK, let me show you,” an enthusiastic Jansen stated when requested. “If I was an animal, I don’t want to tell you to just tell you, I’m gonna show you why, if I’m an animal, who I would be.”
After over a minute of scrolling by means of his picture album, he held up his cellphone. On the display, a black and white picture of a fearsome, majestic lion and the phrases “I’m coming for everything they said I couldn’t have.”
Leave it to the nearer to offer a mic-drop reply.
Vaughn Grissom: Dolphin
“I’m either a dolphin, or my favorite animal is an elephant, but I don’t want to be that slow,” Grissom stated.
Then, the reply took a devious flip.
“First of all, I could kill (Refsnyder) with the shark,” the infielder stated with a mischievous smile. Indeed, dolphins can kill sharks.
“Yeah, we can do it all,” Grissom added, absolutely embracing his marine mammal facet. “Can do tricks, smart, do whatever I want.”
Triston Casas: Orangutan
Casas selected an animal not too far off from the genetic make-up of a human.
“I would be an orangutan, swinging from trees and eating a lot of bananas, because I like bananas,” he stated. “I just like their dynamic, how athletic they are, but mostly that they like bananas.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, people and orangutans have roughly 97% of the identical DNA.
Trevor Story: Lion
“I don’t want to be swayed,” he stated when requested if he needed to know what his teammates’ solutions had been. Nonetheless, he and Jansen had the identical thought.
“The easy answer is like, lion or tiger, right? I’m sure you’ve heard that a couple times,” he stated. “I was thinking lion. That was the first one that came to mind.”
Lion or tiger, however not bear? (Oh my!)
“No bear for me,” Story stated.
Isaiah Campbell: Koala
“What would be the equivalent of a teddy bear?” Campbell contemplated. “Maybe a koala bear?”
“Actually, that’s a really good representation of me,” the reliever determined. “Obviously, I’m a bigger guy but like, koalas are very furry and gentle until they’re not. I have a feisty side on me, but it takes a lot to get there. I just like going about my business, I’m a nice guy, I enjoy being around people.”
Claws out on the mound solely? “Yup,” he stated. “I’m a go at your throat on the mound but off the field, I’m a sweetheart, big teddy bear.”
Lucas Giolito: Wolf (or Golden Retriever)
“Never given it too much thought,” Giolito stated. “I’d say maybe a wolf, because wolves are very loyal and I feel that I’m loyal.”
“I also love dogs, and wolves are the closest relative,” the most recent Red Sox beginning pitcher continued. “I’ve been described as a golden retriever-type person before.”
Josh Winckowski: Owl
Winckowski received straight to the purpose.
“Maybe just like an owl,” he stated, “because I like to be up at night.”
Chris Martin: Giraffe
“I guess a giraffe,” Chris Martin stated thoughtfully. “Physically, I kind of look like one.”
The soft-spoken reliever is listed as being 6-foot-8 on Baseball-Reference.
Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock: Tigger/Eeyore/Bird of Prey/Koala/Black Bear/Winnie the Pooh/Dug
Houck deviated from the pack together with his preliminary reply. “Honestly, I’m more like a cartoon character,” he stated. “I’m like Tigger.”
If Houck is Tigger, then what would his closest buddy on the crew, Whitlock, be?
“I think he’s Eeyore,” Houck stated with a chuckle. “I’m all over the place and he’s just kind of like –”
Whitlock selected that actual second to amble over. The pitchers’ lockers are subsequent to at least one one other.
“I’m saying how I’m Tigger and you’re Eeyore,” Houck advised Whitlock. “Especially at 7 o’clock in the morning, I’m definitely Tigger and he’s definitely Eeyore. Until you get coffee in him, he’s definitely Eeyore.”
“Eeyore?” Whitlock exclaimed, equal components outrage and amusement.
“Until you get coffee in you, yes!” Houck responded.
“I mean, yes, Tigger is right for you,” Whitlock stated.
Then, Martin walked over and advised them he was a giraffe.
“Giraffes makes sense,” Whitlock stated. “I’m a bird of prey.”
Because he’s going to be feasting on batters this season? “Oh jeez,” Whitlock stated.
“I mean, that’s what you said you were,” Houck stated with a smile.
“Birds of prey, they’re sometimes solitary, but huge family values and they always mate for life,” Whitlock stated. “I’ll go red-tailed hawk, because that’s what we have in Georgia.”
“Wow, you really went deep on that,” Houck stated.
Then, one other pivot. “Now that I think about it, honestly I might be more of a koala,” Whitlock stated. “I love these questions.”
“I’m a bear, because a bear always wants honey,” Houck stated, pivoting as effectively. “I like sweets, I like Sour Patch Kids, Mike ‘n Ikes –”
“I think he’s a good black bear, because they’re not scary,” Whitlock stated of Houck. “Grizzlies, you run away.”
Or maybe Houck is Yogi Bear.
“Hey there, Boo Boo! I think I found a pic-a-nic basket!” Whitlock stated, mimicking the cartoon character’s voice completely.
“I don’t know what I am,” Houck stated.
“You said I was Eeyore,” an affronted Whitlock replied. “What the heck? I’m a depressed donkey?”
“He’s just low-energy sometimes,” Houck stated. “Like you, before you have your coffee.”
“I mean, that’s true,” Whitlock agreed.
Postscript: The following morning, Whitlock advised the Herald that after a lot dialogue between the pitchers, Houck was the golden retriever Dug, from the film “Up.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com