Hansen Looking for Big Improvements in 2008

When the Red Sox drafted RHP Craig Hansen in the 2005 draft they had big plans for the closer out of St. John's University. Hansen played for Boston in 2005 and 2006 with mixed results. He spent last season with the PawSox where at times he showed the ability to pitch at a level that may soon get him back to Boston.

Here are some of the comments from Hansen during yesterday's Media Day at McCoy.

On his off season workouts:

"Off season was very long. I spent most of it one month in Arizona, one month in Boston, one month in New York, and one month in California. I was bouncing around...played in the Fall League, got surgery, and trained for the season coming up."

On his off season surgery to help him with his sleep patterns:

"It helped me sleep tremendously. It helps me breathe during the day. My body recovers quicker from workouts. It just feels great right now."

How he has worked on his pitching repertoire in the off season:

"I basically looked at videos from college. Got the mechanics back and worked on those and make them more consistent now."

On his 2008 expectations:

"Everyone wants to get back up (to Boston). I think that's the expectation for everyone on this field. I would say to just keep on improving on whatever I have. You can never be satisfied with what you've got. No matter how good it is you have to keep working on it."