Pedroia Receives Rookie Award

Dustin Pedroia was officially presented with his 2007 American League Rookie of the Year award. The award was presented by future Hall of Famer Craig Biggio who retired this offseason after playing for the Houston Astros.

2007 American League East Champions

The Boston Red Sox are American League East Champions for the first time in twelve years. They also have secured the best record in the majors and will have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Boston opens its ALDS Wednesday against the Los Angelas Angels of Anaheim in Boston, game time has yet to be announced. The playoff roster likely wont include any surprises. By best guess it will consist of: Pitchers Josh Beckett Curt Schilling Daisuke Matsuzaka Tim Wakefield Jonathan Papelbon Eric Gagne Kyle Snyder Manny Delcarmen Javier Lopez Hideki Okajima Mike Timlin Julian Tavarez Catchers Jason Varitek Doug Mirabelli Infielders David Ortiz Dustin Pedroia Mike Lowell Julio Lugo Kevin Youkilis Alex Cora Eric Hinske Outfielders Manny Ramirez Coco Crisp JD Drew Jacoby Ellsbury I believe Boston's thinking will be that Ellsbury needs to be on the roster and that Hinkse is more flexible then Kielty adding IF and OF depth, though Boston could choose Kielty to have someone on the bench who can bat righthanded.

Anything You Can Do.....

Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything Better than you. No, you can't. Yes, I can. No, you can't. Yes, I can. No, you can't. 2nd Major League start 6.1 IP 0H 0R 3BB 6K * Yes, I can, Yes, I can! 2nd Major League start 9.0 IP 0H 0R 3BB 9K *Phil Hughes left the game with a no-hitter after suffering an injury. No telling what would have happened if not for the injury.

I'm Back.....And A Busy Day We Have

Was down for the weekend as I waited for my new computer to be delivered...my old one was crashing constantly so I didn't want to try doing any in depth projects on it such as writing a post to only lose it if the system crashed. In the news today Papi is selling his car, the Pena deal was completed and it seems we made out pretty well and Theo talked with fans over at Boston.com.....oh and there's the whole Timmy shutting down Tampa....again. Will be back in the next couple hours with a nice in depth post covering it all.

What A Day

The Boston Red Sox have had a day more eventful then a team will usually work through, and Boston's day is only half over. We start with Clay Buchholz making his MLB debut today. He went 6 innings striking out five while allowing four runs (three earned). David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia homered for the Sox as they beat the Angels 8-4 in the first game of a double header. Doug Mirabelli started the game but left after the first with a leg injury. Jason Varitek who was to start the night game came in to catch thus throwing the front office into a frenzy. Needing a catcher to catch the nightcap, Boston got on the phone with the Pawtucket Red Sox to get Kevin Cash on his way to Boston, problem though, the Paw Sox aren't at home today so Cash is beating the clock trying to get to Fenway from Ottawa in time for the game. Mirabelli was placed on the disabled list and the Sox have an open spot on the 25-man roster so there's no problem working Cash in. The problem earlier today involved making room for Clay Buchholz and the Jacoby Ellsbury after Buchholz was sent down after the first game. To make that move Boston dealt Wily Mo Pena to Washington for a player to be named and cash considerations. The deal will likely involve someone on Washington's 40-man roster so the deal can't be finalized until after the season because of trade waivers. Notes: The Red Sox first five batters combined for a cycle in the first inning today... Julian Tavarez will start Sunday and Tim Wakefield is pushed back to Monday at Tampa Bay, he's 18-2 career versus the Rays... Varitek will catch Wakefield Monday... Bobby Kielty will take Ellsbury's roster spot Saturday... Ellsbury and Buchholz are both expected to rejoin the Sox on September 1... Ellsbury is leading off in the night game tonight.

Kids Get The Call

The Boston Red Sox will activate Clay Buchholz tomorrow before the first game of the Sox double header with the Angels. Following the game Boston will option Buchholz back to Pawtucket and activate Jacoby Ellsbury who will be with the team for the weekend and then likely optioned back to Pawtucket until September 1. The only question remaining in this process is who will be the odd man out? The Sox have had some serious discussions with an unnamed National League team about trading Wily Mo Pena though no deal has been finalized. If a deal can't be reached by game time tomorrow Boston would either need to clear a spot elsewhere or designate Pena and lose him for nothing. Another possibility should a deal not get done and Boston is hesitant to just let Pena go is the Sox could designate Julian Tavarez who has less value then Pena. Either way after the weekend Bobby Kielty should be in Boston taking Ellsbury's spot and Ellsbury and Buchholz will be back in Pawtucket counting the days until the September 1 recalls.

Don't Worry, Jon Lester Will Be All Right

Jon Lester returned to Boston in grand fashion tonight with a performance that should draw millions of Sox fans off the ledges of bridges from Maine to San Diego. Lester pitched seven strong innings allowing just two hits and a single run that was scored on a sacrafice fly. For most of the night it looked as though Boston would squander another solid performance by a starter trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth. Manny Ramirez led off the ninth with a strike out, Mike Lowell followed him with a solo home run to tie the game and atleast guarantee extra innings. That however was not needed because after Kevin Youkilis struck out Jason Varitek doubled and was singled home by Coco Crisp for the game winner. Eric Gagne worked a solid ninth inning for the win, he struck out the side around a two-out double by Brendan Harris. With New Yorks loss Boston extended their American League East lead to five games. And here is the rest of it.

A Sweep That Wasn't

The Boston Red Sox should be sitting in their clubhouse this morning with a six game cushion in the American League East race, and they would be had it not been for Eric Gagne. Instead this morning Boston sits with just a four game lead with a bit over 40 games remaining on the season. Four games while appearing to be small is still rather big considering the remaining schedules for both Boston and New York. Boston has 45 games remaining against 8 opponents. The combined winning percent of those opponents is .494. New York has 45 games remaining against 8 opponents. The combined winning percent of those opponents is .514. Comparing Remaining Schedules Lets take a look at what remains. For Boston its Tampa Bay, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Baltimore, Toronto, Oakland and Minnesota. For New York its Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles, Boston, Toronto, Kansas City, Seattle and Tampa Bay. Lets play pick the winners shall we? This is a whats likely results in my opinion... Boston vs Tampa Bay (12 games remain) Boston wins 8-4 vs Los Angeles (4) Boston splits 2-2 vs Chicago (4) Boston wins 3-1 vs New York (6) Boston splits 3-3 vs Baltimore (7) Boston wins 5-2 vs Toronto (6) Boston wins 4-2 vs Oakland (2) Boston splits 1-1 vs Minnesota (4) Boston splits 2-2 This puts Boston at 98-64 on the season. New York vs Baltimore (9) Baltimore wins 4-5 vs Detroit (8) New York splits 4-4 vs Los Angeles (3) New York wins 2-1 vs Boston (6) New York splits 3-3 vs Toronto (7) New York wins 4-3 vs Kansas City (3) New York wins 2-1 vs Seattle (3) New York wins 2-1 vs Tampa Bay (6) New York wins 4-2 This puts New York at 91-71, 7 games behind Boston. When picking winners I took into account previous matchups this season between the teams except New York vs Detroit as they haven't played yet this year. For New York the Seattle, Detroit and Los Angeles picks were generous, New York could easily go 5-9 in that stretch as opposed to the 8-6 I picked them for. I'm not saying this will follow through exactly, the main point here is that Red Sox fans need to stop panicking, things aren't as bad as many set them up to be.

Meet Bobby Kielty

This post of course in a few days could be meaningless as Bobby Kielty has the option of getting out of his deal with Boston if not added to the major league roster within a week of his signing. But let's get to know him anyway. Kielty was born in Fontana, California on August 5, 1976 and signed with the Boston Red Sox the day after his birthday on August 6, 2007... Happy Birthday! Kielty attended the University of Southern California and the University of Mississippi with a stop in between at Riverside Junior College. He began his professional career in 1999 after signing with the Minnesota Twins. Quad City River Bandits In 1999, Kielty began his minor league career with the Quad City River Bandits of the Midwest League. An eye problem forced him to miss more than a month of action (May 21-June 24), and he was disabled with a strained right hamstring (August 25-September 3). In only 69 games, Kielty batted .294 with 13 HR and 43 RBI and 12 SB. He homered in 3 consecutive games from August 14-16. New Britain Rock Cats Kielty was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats of the Eastern League in 2000. He hit a grand slam against Portland on April 8, and another against Erie on May 26. He played in the Eastern League all-star game held in Bowie, Maryland. Bobby led the team in home runs (14), was 2nd in RBI (65) and 3rd in hits (118). His 98 walks led the league. He also had a .262 batting average for the season. Salt Lake Stingers/Edmonton Trappers On August 26th, Kielty was promoted to the Salt Lake Stingers of the Pacific Coast League, where he played in only 9 games, and hit .242 with 2 RBI. He was rated the Twins 8th best prospect, and the 9th best prospect in the Eastern League. Kielty then began the 2001 season with the Twins newly relocated Pacific Coast League team in Edmonton with the Edmonton Trappers. Then in early April, the Minnesota Twins selected his contract and Kielty made his major league debut on April 10th against the Detroit Tigers. On April 13th, he got his first major league hit off Mark Buehrle of the Chicago White Sox. The Twins optioned Kielty back down to Edmonton on April 21st, but was recalled by the team on July 31st. He hit his first career home run off Chris Carpenter of the Toronto Blue Jays on August 2nd. Bobby then found himself in Edmonton again on August 17th, but then returned to the Twins on September 3rd when he was recalled by the team again and played in 28 of the Twins last 37 games. Overall with Edmonton, he finished with a .287 average, 12 HR and 50 RBI, while with Minnesota he hit .250 with 2 HR and 14 RBI. Minnesota Twins Kielty once again started the 2002 season in Edmonton, but only appeared in 2 games (.429, 0 HR, 0 RBI) before the Twins called him up. On April 14th, he hit a 2 run pinch homer against Detroit. On May 17th against the New York Yankees, Kielty recorded his first career 4 hit game, and on June 26th against the White Sox, he had his first ever 4 RBI game. Kielty made his post-season debut against the Oakland Athletics in the ALDS, going 0 for 4 in the series. He then went 0 for 3 with a walk and RBI in the ALCS against the Anaheim Angels. After the season, he won the Bill Boni Award as the Twins most outstanding rookie, and he finished 4th in the American League for AL Rookie of the Year. Kielty finished the year with a .291 average, 12 HR and 46 RBI in 112 games. After the Twins traded right fielder Matt Lawton to the New York Mets midway through the 2001 season, the Twins frequently used a platoon of Kielty and Dustan Mohr in right field. Twins fans were so accustomed to seeing one or the other player in right field that they dubbed the duo "Dusty Kielmohr". This situation persisted until midway through the 2003 season. Kielty began the 2003 season with a 12 game hitting streak with the Twins, and had his first career 2 homer game on April 17th against Detroit. On May 16th against the White Sox, Kielty had a career high 5 RBI game, and on May 27th against Oakland, he hit a game winning pinch hit 3 run homer in the 8th inning off Barry Zito. On July 16th, Minnesota traded Kielty to the Toronto Blue Jays for LF Shannon Stewart. Toronto Blue Jays Bobby made his Blue Jays debut the next day against the Boston Red Sox, going 3 for 4 with a home run and 3 RBI. On September 21st against the Baltimore Orioles, he had his first career 2 stolen base game. Kielty's final Twins stats were a .252 average, 9 HR and 32 RBI, then in Toronto he hit .233 with 4 HR and 25 RBI. His combined stats were .244, 13 HR and 57 RBI. In the off-season, the Blue Jays traded Kielty to Oakland for starting pitcher Ted Lilly. Oakland Athletics Bobby was the Athletics opening day left fielder in 2004, and through May 19th, he was hitting .250 with 4 HR and 14 RBI. After then, he hit .190 with 3 HR and 17 RBI for the rest of the season, ending up with a .214 average, 7 HR and 31 RBI. All 7 of his home runs gave the A's the lead. Kielty hit his first career walk off home run on June 1st against the White Sox. Kielty rebounded in 2005 by hitting .263 with 10 HR and tied his career high with 57 RBI. On May 20th against the San Francisco Giants, Kielty went 4 for 4 with 3 runs scored. However, he missed 3 weeks in September due to an oblique injury. In the 2005 season Kielty, along with other members of the team, grew out his hair and refused to cut it. He earned the nickname "Ronny Mac" due to his similarity to McDonalds mascot, Ronald McDonald. Before a game at McAfee Coliseum, Kielty dressed up in full Ronald McDonald attire and amused the crowd. Many fans wore ginger wigs to the game in dedication to Kielty. Kielty cut his hair in the 2005 off-season, and began the 2006 season with the Athletics Triple A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats. He spent 10 games there, batting .222 with 1 HR and 4 RBI before being recalled by the A's. As of August 15th, Kielty has a .266 average with 5 HR and 23 RBI, along with 2 SB's. In the 2006 season as a backup player for the A's, Kielty hit his first career grand slam. On September 19, he hit a grand slam against the Indians off pitcher Cliff Lee. Coincidentally, Lee and Kielty are very good friends as their wives were good childhood friends. On July 23, Kielty was designated for assignment by the Oakland Athletics to make room for closer Huston Street. *Team career recaps are from Wikipedia entry for Bobby Kielty.

We Paid Top Dollar For This?

David Murphy, Kasson Gabbard and Engel Beltre for this? In four appearances covering 3⅓ innings Eric Gagne has given up six runs while he ERA has balooned by nearly a run per game. Two weeks ago this game would have been won by Boston with Hideki Okajima starting the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon pitching the ninth, instead we saw another appearance by Gagne that was just plain pathetic.

Future On Display

Beggining tomorrow and lasting throughout most of the remainder of the season, the future of the Boston Red Sox will be on display at Fenway Park. Portland and Lowell will both play games at Fenway on Saturday while the Sox are playing in Baltimore. Portland will play the Harrisburg Senators (Washington) while Lowell plays the Hudson Valley Renegades (Tampa Bay). The Lowell game is at 12:05 followed by Portland. In just a couple weeks a handful of top prospects could find themeselves with a September callup. Jacoby Ellsbury is one who is very likely to get the call to provide speed off the bench down the stretch. Should he continue his solid play from earlier this year when he was up he could also find himself on the bench in the playoffs. Boston won't discount the importance of a speedster on the bench, its the very reason they won the World Series in 2004. George Kottaras could also find himself in Fenway park in September. He is the only minor league catcher on the Sox 40 man roster and they would love to have a third catcher around to give Varitek added rest, assuming the division race isnt close. There are no infielders on the 40 man roster who aren't already in Boston. The Red Sox do have 2 spots on the 40 man roster open and also can move Brendan Donnelly to the 60-day disabled list if they needed another spot. We know Bobby Kielty likely will be called up sooner then later and that would require a spot, though his arrival would depend on Wily Mo Pena's departure which would clear another spot. Another spot to be taken on the 40 man will be for Clay Buchholz and that could be as soon as next week when the Sox play a double header. Buchholz has been dominant in the minors this year and could join a powerful young rotation next year that will include Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester. Other pitchers who could see time in Fenway in September are Javy Lopez who was recently sent down to make room for Curt Schilling, Craig Hansen who has been very good the past several weeks and Craig Breslow could provide another solid left handed arm from the bullpen. Brandon Moss could join Ellsbury in the outfield mix in September after a recent three day stay with the Sox in California.

Red Sox AM Wrap

Wily Mo Pena Clears Waivers As with several players in August, Wily Mo Pena was placed on trade waivers and cleared them. This means Boston can trade Pena before the end of the month to any team. They can't however option him to the minors, he would have to clear regular waivers for that. Expect Boston to move Pena soon for a player to be named much like the Sox and Orioles did last year with Javy Lopez before finalizing the deal at seasons end when Adam Stern was sent to Baltimore. Moose Season The Seattle Mariners wont discipline the Moose for the incident in Seattle Sunday when he ran into Coco Crisp. No surprise there, the team did apologize to the Red Sox. As I stated before, Major League Baseball needs to step in and ban these kind of events from the field, it creates a dangerous environment for players who teams have millions of dollars invested in. Tough Series In Los Angeles I was expecting another two of three series from the Sox, now I'm hoping for a single win after Boston has lost the first two games of the series. Both games went along well in the early parts only to see Boston lose two games they could have won. Tavarez Days Numbered? Julian Tavarez is the lone weak link in the Sox bullpen. Don't be surprised if Boston designates him before the week is out and replace him on the roster with either Javy Lopez or Clay Buchholz. Drew Front And Center J.D. Drew will make his Sox debut in Center field tonight and his first start their since 2005. Coco Crisp will get the night off. Since Boston elected to put Drew in center that would probably mean Pena will get the start in right field. Had Brandon Moss been getting the start, he likely would have been in center. Barry B*nds Barry Bonds, who has long been wrapped up in a steroids scandal hit home run number 756 of his career last night against the Washington Nationals. Bud Selig was not in attendance for the record breaking home run. Interested in some nice * related merchandise? Check out this site. Let's hope Alex Rodriguez makes this a brief appearance in the record book for Bonds.

Brandon Moss Gets Call

Boston.com is reporting that the Boston Red Sox will callup Brandon Moss for the series in Anaheim. No details of the callup are known yet. Gordon Edes of the Boston Globe points out that Moss has been playing some first base lately. UPDATE: Boston will callup Brandon Moss for the game Monday in Anaheim to take the roster slot of Eric Hinske who will be leaving the team for three days for personal reasons.

Dent, Boone..... Who Cares!

A common theme has emerged this season with the Yankees downfall. Many fans of the Yankees seem to think its fun to post video and comments about Aaron Boone and his walk-off homer to win the 2003 ALCS. Some even go as far as to post video of Bucky "Fucking" Dent and his big hit in 1978. Of course doing that would be fine and all if it weren't for the fact that the last time the Yankees and Red Sox met on the field when it mattered, Boston burried New York in historic fashion. We have seen many walk-off homers in the playoffs before Boone and we will see many more long after his career ends. We have seen other light hitting players hit big homeruns and we will see many more long after Dent is gone. What we never had seen before that series in October 2004 was a team fight back from a 3-0 game hole and win the series. Never before had that been done in baseball, and perhaps never again in the lifetimes of anyone who currently serves as a fan of either team. Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone have long been burried in the sea of irrelelvance. What they both did is long been burried in the minds of Sox fans, but what Boston did to New York in 2004 will long outlive even the youngest of fans.

What Is The Cost Of Doing A Deal At The Deadline?

A soruce within Major League Baseball has said the deal Boston was working on for Jermaine Dye that would have included a third team would have had to include Boston giving up Hideki Okajima, Boston was not willing to do that and the deal fell apart. Boston has several appealing players who they would move in the right deal such as Wily Mo Pena and Coco Crisp from the big league roster, though Crisp's availability probably depends on the seriousness of Jacoby Ellsbury's groin strain. The Sox also have David Murphy and Brandon Moss who could be moved before the deadline. Most teams however want some combination of Ellsbury and/or Clay Buchholz to make a deal. Even Tampa Bay for Ty Wiggington was asking for Justin Masterson. Boston in all liklihood will pull off a minor deal or two but wont be able to land a big name player with the reluctance to deal the top kids on the farm.

Red Sox Round Up

Sorry I haven't been able to post for awhile, I have been busy. Lets take a run around whats happening in the Nation this fine Saturday afternoon. Lester Return Continues Jon Lester takes the hill tonight against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in his second start back from his heroic battle with cancer. This will be his first appearance against the Devil Rays. The six strikeouts in his last start against Cleveland was the second highest in his brief career, he has had atleast two strikeouts in each major league appearance. Manny Being (the) Manny We Expected Manny Ramirez has been on a tear since the all star break. He is hitting .421 (24-57) with 6 HR and 19 RBI since the break. Ramirez is on pace for a .306 27 102 line for the season but as his second half tear continues those projections will continue to rise. Prospect Status Some Sox fans will be very upset come next week when Boston lets the deadline pass without making any major moves, but why? Boston still owns the best record in baseball and a magic number of 52. As I have stated to some people recently, I would rather fall short in the playoffs this season and still have Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz to lead the team into the future, then to trade them for what will probably be a little over a season rental of Mark Teixeira, who is most likely going to Baltimore once he's a free agent. Not to mention that getting Teixeira doesn't guarantee a World Championship. Meanwhile do we really want to see another Sox draftee turn into an all star (Sanchez, Bagwell, Schilling) or Rookie of the year (Bagwell, Ramirez) elsewhere? The Road Ahead Of the remaining 59 games for Boston a whopping 37 come against teams below .500 including 14 against Tampa Bay and 13 against Baltimore, another seven come against teams currently right at .500. If we assume Boston plays the remainder of the schedule at a .550 clip (hardly impossible) then New York would have to play .667 ball over the remainder of the season to catch Boston. Donnie Sadler Suspended Former Sox player Donnie Sadler was suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games today for testing positive for a drug of abuse under baseball's minor league program.

Meet Your 2007 All Stars

Josh Beckett SP After a dismal debut season with the Boston Red Sox in 2006, Josh Beckett came out on an impressive run this season. Beckett leads the team in wins while posting a 3.38 ERA. His 83 strike outs is second to rookie Daisuke Matsuzaka. Beckett sits at 11-2 and will pitch once more before the All Star game which he could start. The most impressive stat for Beckett this year, which has led to his remarkable season is that he has allowed just 6 homeruns. Mike Lowell 3B Rewarded with a strong first half, Mike Lowell was named as a reserve to the All Star team. His 55 RBI leads the team. He's second on the team with 12 homeruns while batting .297 Lowell who came over in the trade with Beckett was long considered a throw-in, a take him or no deal kind of thing. Boy what a throw-in he has been for Boston. This is Lowell's fourth All Star selection having been a member of the National League team from 2002-04. David Ortiz 1B With the game being played in a National League park this season there was no DH on the ballot, thus David Ortiz appeared as a first baseman, and he walked away in the voting. Ortiz has had a down year in the power category, but is still having a great season. He leads the Red Sox in homeruns with 13 and doubles with 27. He's also batting .314 and has 49 RBI. This is his fourth consecutive selection to the American League All Star team. Jonathan Papelbon Closer Picking up where he left of last season, Jonathan Papelbon is again one of the best closers in baseball. He of course leads the team in saves with 19 in 20 chances. He leads Sox relievers in strikeouts with 42 in 30 innings and one would expect he be leading the relievers in ERA as well, but he's not. A 1.50 ERA is fabulous but good for just second among Sox relievers. Manny Ramirez OF Manny being Manny, boy do Red Sox fans love it. Ramirez has had a slow start but he is finally hitting the ball better, and Sox fans hope the power isn't far off. Combined with Ortiz, Ramirez is part of what is one of the most feared hitting duo's in baseball. When there on, the middle of the Sox order is one tough place for a pitcher to navigate through untouched. American League pitchers know they have had it easy thus far with Ramirez hitting just 11 homeruns, and American League East opponents fear whats going to happen to them when Ortiz and Ramirez are hitting like they usually do considering Boston has built a 10 game lead without their power. The wake up could occur as soon as this week when Boston open its first series of the season against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

The Fun Leading Upto The Trade Deadline

In NASCAR they call it Silly Season and some of the names being tossed around as targets fans want Boston going after before the July 31 trade deadline makes you wonder if MLB should call it the same thing. Torri Hunter? Ichiro Suzuki? Some fans want both of them in the lineup this summer and beyond. Sure that would be great, but we need to think ahead. The Sox only have three outfield positions and JD Drew is locked very expensively into one of them for the foreseeable future. Coco Crisp surely doesn't have a secure job, but who exactly would you rather have roaming center long term, an aging Ichiro, a similarly aging Hunter or the hot prospect in Pawtucket Jacoby Ellsbury? If one single Sox fans says anything other then Ellsbury, smack yourself now because you deserve it. Then of course there's Manny Ramirez. Hunter could be a decent replacement for Boston who should have no problem unloading Ramirez anytime they so feel it is time. However Hunter doesn't strike the fear that Manny does at the plate, he doesn't walk as much as one would like and most importantly his OBP numbers don't meet the standards the Sox front office likes, his career high was .337 last season and he's more likely to finish a season closer to .300 then .350 on any give year. Manny's worst OBP season with Boston was .388 in 2005 and he's more likely to be over .400 then not. Other names we hear are Mark Teixeira the first baseman from Texas, his OBP number more reflect what Boston looks for and his power could help Boston unload Ramirez and go with a lighter hitting outfielder without harming the total offense of the team. If Boston landed Teixeira they would likely move Kevin Youkilis back to third base and that would lead to the end of Mike Lowell's sucessful stay in Boston. Lowell of course is highly sought after by numerous teams looking for a bat at third and a deadline deal is more likely to involve Lowell then any other player on the Sox major league roster. Playing General Manager What moves would I make if I were the General Manager? First as much as I like Mike Lowell I would move him if I could land Teixeira, thats an easy move. Second I would go after Alex Rodriguez in the off season, not to would be the most idiotic move any GM with money to spend could do. Assuming I land Rodriguez and Teixeira I would send Manny packing to offset some of the cost, assuming Rodriguez gets around $24 million per season in his next deal and that it would take $12 million to lock Teixeira up for a few years that would be about a $7 million increase in payroll after deducting Lowell and Ramirez. Curt Schilling becomes the next casualty as I would not re-sign him after this season, that's another $13 million in savings leaving me $6 million under the 2007 payroll. To replace Schilling I go out and find a closer to take over for Jonathan Papelbon in 2008, though if I cant find one its not a big deal as Hideki Okajima can be a very effective bridge until 2009 when Craig Hansen or Manny Delcarmen among others should totally be ready to take the job...that's even more savings. I'm now looking to enter 2008 with a rotation of Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield. The next victim to fall will be Coco Crisp, I will pay someone to take him if I have to though someone surely would take him for a mid level prospect. His stay in Boston thus far has been a huge disappointment. Jacoby Ellsbury is the future in center field and the future is now. At this point most of you are probably pissed demanding to know why I cut Youkilis outta the equation. Don't fear, our favorite speedster is still with us, remember then lighter hitting outfielder I mentioned? Ladies and Gentlemen, your new left fielder... Kevin Youkilis. This leaves us with a Youkilis, Ellsbury, Drew outfield from left to right. A speedster sandwiched with two usually reliable OBP bats. At this point attention is turned to Wily Mo Pena. What to do with him? I love his potential but there's just no room for him and his bat has too big a whole to be an effective pinch hitter, so Pena becomes my latest trade chip. You hope to land a top level prospect for someone like Pena, someone who can be an important part of the team in the future. I would look for pitching, perhaps a middle reliever or a middle infielder who would be ready when Julio Lugo either finishes his contract in Boston or is forced into retirement by a legion of pissed off Sox fans. This leaves Boston in a great position in 2008 assuming some of the kids in Pawtucket are ready to step in the bullpen. If not there's a few spots there that would need to be answered as well, but I wish to assume Delcarmen and Hansen are ready to step in. If Clay Buchholz is ready in 2008 great he can take Wakefields spot sending Wakefield to the pen. If he needs another year in the minors thats fine too.

Sox Ride Bats & Arms To Sweep

The Boston Red Sox used a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays to extend their lead in the American League East to seven games over second place New York. Boston won each of the three games against Toronto in convincing fashion by 9-2, 9-3 and 8-0 scores. Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield were brilliant in their starts and the bullpen was effective in the limited opportunities they had in the series. Following this series Boston's team ERA stands at 3.17, the starters have a 3.49 ERA and the bullpen has a 2.38 ERA. Boston hit nine homeruns in the series with each of the regulars hitting atleast one except Coco Crisp and J.D. Drew. More importantly the series continued the solid hitting of Jason Varitek and Dustin Pedroia, two of Boston's hitter who had been struggling for much of the early season. Boston heads home for a 10 game homestand that will provide two stiff challenges for the Red Sox, Detroit comes to town for a four game set and Atlanta for a three game season. Last season Boston had a stellar record against the National League and hope to continue that this season. Julian Tavarez, Curt Schilling and Josh Beckett go for the Sox in the Baltimore series starting tomorrow. Tavarez will face rookie Brian Burres while Schilling goes against Steve Trachsel. Beckett faces Jeremy Guthrie. Boston should easily be favored in each of the three games.

April Fools

Not in the wildest of dreams, of the most loyal Red Sox fan could what is happening to the New York Yankees have been dreamed. Yet here we are. One month down and five to go and the New York Yankees are in last place in the American League East 6.5 games behind Boston. Boston has beaten New York five times in six outings this season. Coming into 2007, many still picked New York to win the division, though it wasn't as one sided as it has been in the past. New York had a devestating offense on paper and a bullpen even more devestating. But something happened in the first four weeks of the season. We learned paper doesn't matter. Boston's bullpen has been it's biggest strength, the rotation not far behind and at time the offense has been inept, but overall its among the best in baseball just as it had been in 2003, 2004 and 2005. With the downward spiral of the Yankees theres been calls for Joe Torre's head and his days appear to be numbered in the Bronx. Yankee fans are looking forward to the next two weeks, they play no one besides Texas and Seattle and thats enough to make anyone drool. But what happens if New York sports a losing record over the next two weeks? Will Torre be gone? Brian Cashman? Will Roger Clemens even consider joining them in June or will his list be narrowed to Boston and Houston? So many questions hang over Yankee Stadium and we haven't even brought up Alex Rodriguez's status. Will he be a bomber next year? Or could he be hitting bombs against them 18 games a season from the friend confines of Fenway Park? All we know for sure right now is Boston has the largest end of April lead ever for an American League East team and that the New York Yankees are Fools.