Alan Greenwood

Bridge Year Fever’s Grip on Hub grew even stronger with the Brusdar Graterol fiasco.

For those who are still wondering why there hasn’t been a press conference to announce the Mookie Betts-David Price to Los Angeles deal, it is because of the iffy physical status of the Minnesota pitching prospect who is supposed to round out the three-team swap.

Graterol, at the tender age of 21, has already had Tommy John surgery. Furthermore, last season the kid suffered from a “right shoulder impingement.”

In other words, he has a bad arm.

Now I’m no doctor, but it seems fair to conclude that a bad arm can be problematic for a big-league starting pitcher. So, the Red Sox began demanding someone in addition to Graterol, who now looks like more of a reliever to the Jersey Street baseball brass.

Lost in all the brouhaha over a pitcher whose baseball future looks relentlessly inconsequential is their decision to promote Ron Roenicke from bench coach to manager.

Such excitement!

That buzz you hear means your phone is ringing. Or you may have an ear infection.

Roenicke will be greeted by nothing more stirring than New England’s collective yawn. Or a six-state stink eye.

Then again, the 63-year-old seamhead might well be the perfect choice to serve as the caretaker for a ballclub hellbent on aiming for 83 wins and a nice, gentle, merry-go-round baseball summer.

PAT HAND: It can be debated as to whether Danny Ainge is convinced that the Celtics, as currently constituted, are a legitimate championship. Or it could mean that Ainge’s inactivity at the NBA trade deadline is a sign he saw nothing that could put a solid, fun team to watch over the top against the big boys.

But if it is true that Ainge could have wheeled some sort of deal to give it a little more inside defense, or to help the team’s depth, and balked because he wanted to hang onto three late first-round draft picks, shame on him.

When do picks landing beyond the lottery level ever promise impactful NBA players? Holding three of them when they could have made a good team more competitive in playoff series against the league’s top teams is silly.

TIME TRAVEL: Feb. 9, 1965 – “Peter Pike, former Nashua High basketball star, is playing a major role for the Acadia University quintet this season and has been instrumental in pacing the team to a 10-4 record.

“Pete’s biggest effort, according to coach Steve Aberdeen, came against Dalhousie. ‘Pete engineered one of our best defensive efforts of the season in leading the team to a 92-59 win,’ ” Aberdeen said.

“Pike, a sophomore at the Wolfville, Nova Scotia university, is playing varsity ball for the second season.”

Contact Alan Greenwood at 594-1248 or agreenwood@nashuatelegraph.com

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