Red Sox Farm Friday: Daniel Bard

Daniel Bard projects as a late inning blow-the-hitter-away relief pitcher. When you can throw a fastball at 100 mph, batters are going to miss. The question has been: will it blow away major league hitters? This year Bard has made steps towards answering that question with a resounding “yes.” With Bard likely starting the year [...]

Red Sox Farm Friday: Lars Anderson

Lars Anderson is the reason Mark Teixeira won’t be coming to Boston.
Now that I have your attention, I’m not trying to say the Red Sox won’t pursue Teixeira, but doing so creates more problems than it solves. When you have a potential 30-HR bat like Anderson in the minors, its just smart not to clog [...]

Yankees Acquire Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez

The Yankees have just traded for Jorge Posada’s replacement. Rumors had been swirling around other catchers going to the Yankees who were much younger and inexperienced. Instead, a crafty veteran was chosen.
Today the Yankees agreeed to trade Kyle Farnsworth (RHP) to the Tigers for Ivan Rodriguez (C).
No further details on the specifics of the trade [...]

Youkilis and Hansen for Teixeira?

Introduction
Ah, the difficulties of being a GM. Should Theo pick up Manny’s option? Should Theo sign Jason Varitek after the season? For right now, the most pressing concern for the Red Sox is what they will do before the July 31 trade deadline. Should the Red Sox consider trading one of their young arms? Where [...]

Ortiz: What’s Left in the Tank?

Through 99 at bats, David Ortiz is batting .172 and battling pain in his knees. With a start like this one for Ortiz, you have to wonder how much longer he can still be dominant.
Against all odds, Ortiz is on pace for a productive season. By projections on average, Ortiz is still on route to [...]

Beckett Amazes and Loses, Shields the Better

Josh Beckett versus James Shields was the definition of pitcher’s duel: only one run on either side was needed. Josh Beckett, as good as he was, gave up the runs. James Shields made the Red Sox lineup look inept during a 3-0 Tampa Bay win. The Red Sox can easily fall into a hitting funk. [...]

Rays Walk-Off Against Sox

Tampa Bay Rays 5, Boston Red Sox 4 (in 11 innings)
Stars of the Game:

Manny Ramirez is a monster this year. To quote a line from Rocky 4, “Whatever he hits… he destroys.” Manny’s hitting has always looked so effortless, but when you go 3-5 and push your average up to .370, you think Manny [...]

Red Sox Back in America and Back in Action

Tell me if this sounds familiar…
Game 1, Tues: Bos. vs Oak. Dice-K vs Joe Blanton.
Game 2, Weds: Bos. vs Oak. Jon Lester vs Rich Harden.
Deja vu all over again. Thanks Yogi. Even in the WWE rematches don’t come this quickly, but luckily the Red Sox and Athletics get to roll the dice again. Most likely [...]

Fantasy Baseball: Rookies to Watch

First off, I need to warn against taking any rookies in a draft. Most don’t pan out to be anything. Some perenial All-Stars and other bench bunnies (seemingly multiplying as they jump from team to team).
I’d like to think the guys I’m about to mention are can’t miss but be weary not to jump at [...]

Red Sox Visit White House

David Ortiz holding the World Series trophy next to President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney (Courtesy of MLB.com)

The Red Sox finally got congratulated today for winning the World Series. Of course its happening right before the beginning of the next season, but whatever. Tradition is tradition.
A large showing of Sox fans showed up [...]

Red Sox-Athletics Japan Opening Series Sold Out

Tickets for the March 25-26 games at the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome have just sold out. The Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics will begin their season there before heading back to the states to finish up the preseason.
The only native Japanese player who looks to have a chance to play out there is Hideki Okajima. [...]

Spring Training Water Cooler Talk

Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury

Terry Francona has said Coco Crisp is the incumbent, meaning Jacoby Ellsbury still needs to win the job. You’d think the interview for the spot would have been the World Series, Ellsbury was kind of great there. Apparently, Ellsbury is behind Coco. At least CF is a great place to have [...]

Baseball: Pick-Ups and Drop-Offs

A short segment on fantasy baseball players to look for, either during your draft or in the current free agent pool. Depending on your own league settings, you might want to look deeper into the stats and see what secret sexy baseball Casanova you can find. Don’t get too charmed by speed: a guy who [...]

Red Sox Preview: David Ortiz

David Ortiz

Pos
DH/1B

Age
32

Bats
L

Throws
L

Experience
10 years

2008 Salary
13.25 Million

2007 Stats:

G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG

149
549
116
182
52
1
35
117
111
3
1
.332
.445
.621

Current Affairs: David Ortiz had surgery November 6th to repair torn cartilage in his right knee. Apparently he is almost back to 100%. For more conformation here’s a picture of Ortiz at spring training. It doesn’t even look like him. He looks trim.
Offense: Grade A+
Ortiz is still one of [...]

Red Sox Preview: Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez

Pos
LF

Age
35

Bats
R

Throws
R

Experience
14 years

2008 Salary
20 Million

2007 Stats:

G
AB
R
H
2B
3B
HR
RBI
BB
SB
CS
AVG
OBP
SLG

133
483
84
143
33
1
20
88
71
0
0
.296
.388
.493

Current Affairs: Manny showed up on time to spring training. Yay. And if you have been reading the Globe, Manny has been getting ripped! Manny has always worked hard at becoming a better hitter so maybe after a disappointing 2007 where he broke his streak of 9 consecutive years of [...]