"Who Needs an Ace When You Can Get a Bunch of No. 3s & 4s?"- Red Sox So Far This Offseason

I refuse to be the reactionary type that calls into sports talk radio or bitches on Twitter and Facebook in the immediate aftermath of the Red Sox making a curious move in December. Nope, the Winter Meetings just concluded in San Diego and Boston has not one, not two but three new starting pitchers in its rotation (at least for the moment). Still, especially with the whirlwind of activity the last few days with the Red Sox, I want to hold off from completely bashing them since this can't be it, right?

It started earlier this week when Jon Lester finally made up his mind and chose the Cubs over the Red Sox (has anyone else ever done that in baseball history?). That set off dominoes all over MLB and locally, Boston traded pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Alan Webster to Arizona for Wade Miley. Then they dealt outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, reliever Alex Wilson and prospect (RHP) Gabe Speier to Detroit. Finally, they signed former Red Sox great Justin Masterson to a one-year deal worth $9.5 million with incentives built in that could add up to $2.5 million.

At best, these seem like reasonable moves. Webster stinks and De La Rossa has outstanding stuff but apparently Boston wasn't too enamored with him. Miley was not good in 2014 (8-12, 4.34 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 183 Ks, 75 BBs). Still, he was on a terrible team and he's a 28-year-old lefty that should be entering the prime of his career. Most importantly for the Red Sox, he should deliver innings. He went over 200 IP the last two seasons and nearly three in a row (194.2) in 2012.

Porcello undoubtedly has the most potential of this group. He's still only 25 (he turns 26 on December 27) but the former first-round pick already has six years of big league experience under his belt. He quietly improved with the Tigers (his only MLB home before now) but last season could be fairly termed his breakthrough campaign: 15-13, 3.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 3 shutouts, 129 Ks/41 BBs in 204.2 IP. The thing you wonder about with him is how he does with more pressure since he's been able to hide in Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer's (among others) shadows all those years.

Masterson is a Patriots-esque move: bringing back a guy that had moderate success with them then blossomed somewhere else but later lost it amidst injuries and general struggles (hey LeGarrette Blount). It's safe to say that last season was a disaster for Masterson as he was traded from the Indians to the Cardinals but never could find it, eventually excluded from St. Louis' postseason roster (keep in mind that he was an All-Star in 2013 with Cleveland). He came up with the Red Sox in 2008 and was part of the Victor Martinez trade with Cleveland the following year so he knows manager John Farrell and should have a good feel for what it's like to be a Red Sox.

I am disappointed that the Red Sox seemingly gave up Cespedes for less than I thought he was worth but apparently there wasn't a great market for him or something. Still, I realize that to get anything of value in a trade, you are going to have to give up a good player and not the last guy on your bench or some Single-A scrub that nobody knows. It would have been fun to see him get a full season in Boston in a real lineup with Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez after he was solid in his short stint here last season but what can you do?

Despite all this, the fundamental truth remains the same: Boston has no ace (you could also argue no No. 2 either) since who can trust Clay Buchholz or Joe Kelly to do that? The scary part is that the Red Sox always try to act like they are smarter than every other team yet here they are once again completely changing their focus. Their philosophy goes from one extreme to another each season: pay out their ears for overrated free agents, save money and sign veteran guys and most recently I guess they watched the ALCS this fall between the Orioles and Royals and thought "hey, aces are overrated." Wrong, the Giants captured their third World Series in five years thanks to Madison Bumgarner's singular brilliance. You can win plenty of regular season games with smoke and mirrors but eventually in the playoffs, their true colors will show.

Scherzer is a free agent that could command upwards of $200 million while Phillies ace Cole Hamels is thought to be available via a trade since Philadelphia is still rebuilding. Unless they get one of those guys (clearly I'd prefer Scherzer) or somehow luck into another top of the rotation guy, it's hard to get too enthused about the Red Sox in 2015. This team has finished in last place two of the last three years so it'd be nice if they acted with a little more urgency here. Fenway Park has the most expensive tickets in MLB and Boston had the fourth highest payroll in the league. In other words, there is no excuse not to field a contender almost every year with no salary cap.

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If Buchholz Ever Decides To Return This Season, The Red Sox Would Have Some Kind of Rotation

They are doing it in many different ways and the bottom line is that the Red Sox continue to stack up victories and series wins in 2013, a far cry from 2012 (only 1 win away from last year's pathetic total). Boston (68-45 overall, 39-21 home) moved to a season-high 23 games over .500 with a 4-0 shutout of the Diamondbacks (56-55 overall, 26-31 away) this afternoon at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox have the most wins in MLB, one more than the Braves and Pirates, and they won the series (2-1) while wrapping up a memorable homestand (5-2 with a pair of walk-off wins and Jake Peavy's debut being the main highlights besides today). They also lead MLB with 23 series wins.

There was a time when Felix Doubront (8-5) could be counted on for short outings and high pitch counts. This latest quality start marked 15 straight outings where he's given up three runs or less, not bad right? He went seven solid innings, allowing five hits with five strikeouts. My two favorite numbers for him: 95 pitches and zero walks.

Rookie Drake Britton still hasn't allowed a run in MLB, he pitched a scoreless eighth and Koji Uehara had a scoreless ninth (don't ask me why he appeared with a four-run lead). Matt Thornton left with an oblique injury, he was the first guy out of Boston's bullpen.

Brandon McCarthy (2-5) kept Boston off the scoreboard for four innings but Jacoby Ellsbury changed that with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Dustin Pedroia added an RBI double two batters later.

The Red Sox added two more runs in the sixth which was more than enough. Ellsbury and Shane Victorino (2 hits) each had RBI singles. I'd say that the top of the lineup got it done today for Boston. Ellsbury owed his RBI to Arizona right fielder Gerardo Parra who lost his easy fly ball in the sun, this came after a first inning error by Parra.

Cody Ross and Martin Prado each had a pair of singles for the Diamondbacks in the loss.

Boston will play 16 of its next 19 games on the road. There next 10 contests are all away from Fenway (longest road trip of the season), starting with three in Houston (36-74, 5th in NL West)-MLB's worst team-beginning tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) with Texas native John Lackey (7-8) vs. rookie Brett Oberholtzer (1-0). Knuckleballer Steven Wright (2-0) makes his first career MLB start on Tuesday (8:10, NESN) vs. Jordan Lyles (4-5). Ryan Dempster (6-8) closes it out at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday (8:10, NESN) against another rookie-Jarred Cosart (1-0). The Red Sox swept a four-game series with the Astros April 25-28 at Fenway.

That's followed by four against the red-hot Royals (seriously) in Kansas City and three in Toronto against the hapless Blue Jays. Boston's next game at Fenway isn't until August 16 vs. Yankees.

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Jake Peavy Makes Quite The Positive Impression In His Red Sox Debut

The natural fanboy/honk reaction to Jake Peavy's excellent start tonight is to think "see, that's why the Red Sox traded for him!" Clearly I'm excited that he looked really good but let's pump the brakes before we start anointing him as the starter for Game 1 of the World Series this October.

Boston (67-45 overall, 38-21 home) beat Arizona (56-54 overall, 26-30 away) 5-2 at Fenway Park as Peavy (9-4) was able to outduel young Diamondbacks ace Patrick Corbin (12-3). It was 1-1 in the seventh until Jacoby Ellsbury (40th stolen base) drove in Stephen Drew (2 hits) with an RBI single and Shane Victorino (2 hits) scored Brock Holt with a sacrifice fly.

Aaron Hill (2 hits) cut it to 3-2 in the eighth with an RBI single but Junichi Tazawa was able to get out of an inherited bases loaded and no outs jam by only allowing one run. Jonny Gomes-who is making a late run at a Gold Glove (haha)-threw out Cliff Pennington at home to keep the Red Sox ahead by a run. That was Tazawa's 18th hold of the season.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia added two important insurance runs with a two-run homer to center, his 10th of the season, in the home half of the eighth. From there, Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth for his 10th save of the season. Uehara walked a batter (his ninth of the season) but I guess he's excused since he has 70 strikeouts and a 1.43 ERA.

Let's be real, Peavy is not an ace anymore but maybe he can catch lightning in a bottle (cliché alert) for a few months and get the Red Sox deep into the playoffs. Who is Clay Buchholz? The native of Alabama (Roll Tide!) went seven plus strong innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

Corbin matched him most of the way, he went six innings and allowed three earned runs on eight hits with six strikeouts and two walks. As a lefty, his stuff is nasty so there is a reason he looks destined to win many awards this season and in his entire MLB career.

Paul Goldschmidt has enjoyed his weekend at Fenway, he cranked his second homer in as many nights. This time it was to straightaway center, for a 1-0 Arizona lead in the fourth. Victorino answered with a rocket that just found its way into the first row of the Monster seats, his seventh homer of the season, in the fifth inning to tie it at one.

Diamondbacks catcher Wil Nieves was 2 for 3 with a run in the loss.

Both teams go for the series victory tomorrow afternoon (1:35) as Felix Doubront (7-5) takes on Brandon McCarthy (2-4), who is coming off the DL.

UPDATE 8/4: Daniel Nava will go on the paternity list for the Astros series and Brandon Workman will replace him on the active roster.

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Cody Ross Pummels The Red Sox In His Inaugural Return to Fenway Park

I know that we all passed around an industrial size bottle of bleach after last season ended for the Red Sox-thereby erasing most of that nightmare. However, one of my only positive and lasting memories from the miserable 2012 campaign was Cody Ross. Tonight, in his first game back at Fenway Park with the Diamondbacks he went 4 for 4 with two doubles, a solo homer, two runs and three RBIs as Arizona (56-53 overall, 26-29 away) beat Boston (66-45 overall, 37-21 home) 7-6.

Believe it or not, the Red Sox had a great chance at notching their third consecutive walk-off win as Stephen Drew (2 hits, 3 RBIs) and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, triple, run) were on first and second with one out but Diamondbacks closer Brad Ziegler got Shane Victorino to fly out and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to end the threat and game.

Boston lost because Jon Lester (4.1 innings, 6 earned runs, 11 hits) went back to his dark place after two great outings in a row. The best player in MLB that you've never heard of-Paul Goldschmidt-gave Arizona a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the first. David Ortiz answered with a two-run homer of his own during Boston's first at bat, his 21st of the season came off Diamondbacks starter Randall Delgado (4-3).

The Red Sox took a 4-2 lead in the next inning on a pair of sacrifice flies by Drew and Brock Holt. Lester coughed it up as Ross cut it to 4-3 with an RBI single in the third then Arizona scored three times in the fifth to chase the big lefty. Martin Prado (2 doubles, 2 runs) and Ross had RBI doubles while Jason Kubel (2 hits) ended Lester's night with a run-scoring single.

I can't explain it but Drew has been on a tear the last few weeks (for him) and he came through with a two-run homer, his 8th of the season, to tie it in the sixth. Fittingly, Ross had the last laugh though with a solo homer off Pedro Beato in the seventh.

Arizona had 16 hits, six guys had multiple hits including former Blue Jays star Aaron Hill (2 for 5 with double, 2 runs). Mike Napoli was 2 for 5 with a run in the loss but Boston was held to nine hits.

Scoring figures to be way down tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as NL rookie of the year/Cy Young candidate Patrick Corbin (12-2) takes on Jake Peavy (8-4) in his Red Sox debut.

UPDATE 8/3: Red Sox recalled reliever Rubby De La Rosa and sent Pedro Beato back to Pawtucket.

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Red Sox Mostly Stand Pat At Trade Deadline: Acquire Craig Breslow, Deal Away Lars Anderson In Separate Moves

We all tried to lie to ourselves for the last few weeks but we should have known all along that the Red Sox wouldn't do anything big at the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline. Josh Beckett is still here (although he could be moved in a waiver deal in August) and he'll start tonight against Justin Verlander and the Tigers.

Boston made two minor moves: they traded right-handed reliever Matt Albers and PawSox outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty reliever Craig Breslow; PawSox first baseman Lars Anderson was sent to the Cleveland Indians for Double-A knuckleballer Steven Wright (not the comedian), who will report to the Portland Sea Dogs.

A New Haven, CT native and Yale graduate, Breslow actually appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox in 2006 before being released after the season. It seems like ever since then (maybe because Theo Epstein also went to Yale), Boston had always coveted him and tried to bring him back.

He's played for six MLB teams (Padres, Red Sox, Indians, Twins, A's and Diamondbacks) over seven seasons. Understandably given his role, Breslow isn't much of a name nationally but he's been one of the best and most consistent players at his specialized position. His career ERA is 3.02 with a 1.24 WHIP. Earlier in his career, he was regarded as a lefty specialist but now he faces righties as well. In 40 appearances for Arizona this season, he had a 2.70 ERA with 1.18 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

Albers had a misleading 2.29 ERA this season in 39 1/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and 15 walks. He played for Boston the last year and a half after signing as a free agent. After an outstanding first half in 2011, he came crashing back to Earth and while his numbers look good in 2012, Bobby Valentine clearly didn't trust him since he never pitched in late innings or particularly tough situations.

That trade means that Franklin Morales will probably have the chance to go back to the starting rotation since now Boston has three lefties in the bullpen: Breslow, Andrew Miller and Morales.

Podsednik (.387 average in 19 games with the Red Sox) was outstanding in his brief time with Boston this season. However, he's 36 and after he got hurt then rehabbed in Pawtucket, he lost his spot with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford returning to action. Who knows how much he has left in the tank anyway?

Once upon a time, Anderson was a big-time prospect but playing first base, he was never going to find consistent playing time with Adrian Gonzalez (signed through 2018) ahead of him and light years better to begin with.

The best we can hope is that they can get rid of Beckett via a waiver deal; today was the non-waiver deadline. Until then, please boo him as much as possible if you go to a game that he starts. Boston had a chance to really shake it up but rookie GM Ben Cherington didn't have the balls to find a way to trade Beckett (who has 10-5 veto rights) or something else that would change the chemistry in that toxic clubhouse. So yeah, looks like the Red Sox still aren't going anywhere in 2012. Oh joy.

UPDATE 7/31: Clayton Mortensen was brought up for tonight from Pawtucket since Breslow isn't in town yet.

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McCain is not happy: Diamondbacks lose their 12th straight road game

There is still one more day before people start paying attention to the Red Sox, or maybe a few more weeks if you count the 2010 World Cup in South Africa but they're playing well at the moment.

Boston (39-28) beat Arizona (26-40) 6-2 last night at Fenway, handing the Diamondbacks their franchise record 12th straight loss.

Jon Lester (8-2) won his eight consecutive start. Since losing his first two games of the season, he's 8-0 with a 2.01 ERA. He went seven innings, giving up two earned runs on four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia (2 runs, 2 hits, steal) has been heating up and he continued to swing the bat well, notching a two-run homer in the first which scored Marco Scutaro (2 hits).

Justin Upton (2 hits) tied it up with a two-run bomb of his own in the second inning but you knew it wouldn't hold with Rodrigo Lopez (2-6) on the mound for Arizona.

He went seven innings but gave up six earned runs on 10 hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

J.D. Drew had an RBI double in the third (scoring Pedroia) and the next batter, Adrian Beltre (2 hits), drove in David Ortiz with an infield single.

Finally, Kevin Youkilis crushed a two-run homer in the seventh off Lopez which scored Ortiz.

Daniel Bard pitched a scoreless eighth and Ramon Ramirez started the ninth with the 6-2 lead. He got two outs but after throwing only 10 of 19 pitches for strikes, he allowed a hit and walk which made Jonathan Papelbon come in for one out.

Paps got the out and his 15th save.

Boston goes for the sweep with John Lackey taking on ace Dan Haren, an hour earlier (6:10 start to accommodate the NBA Finals). Haren has a 7-4 record and 4.61 ERA so he hasn't been up to his usual level but he can always spin a gem.

Wonder who Big Schill is rooting for?

With the Celtics and Lakers playing Game 7 on Thursday, it's guaranteed that nobody outside of Pink Hats and old people will pay attention to the Red Sox for at least two more days.

Boston (38-28) started off a three-game interleague series last night at Fenway with the Diamondbacks (26-39) and won 6-3 behind Clay Buchholz's (9-4) eight strikeouts.

Buchholz wasn't economical with his pitches, throwing 113 in 5.2 innings but he was mostly effective. He gave up three earned runs on seven hits with a walk.

Former Sox great Adam LaRoche gave Arizona the early 1-0 lead in the first with an RBI single which scored Stephen Drew (J.D.'s brother).

The Red Sox answered with two in the first on David Ortiz's two-run shot to right center. Dustin Pedroia (3 runs, 2 hits) had an RBI double in the third which scored Mike Cameron, Daniel Nava scored on Ian Kennedy's wild pitch and Pedroia came around on Victor Martinez's infield single.

Justin Upton cut it to 5-3 in the fourth with a two-run double but that's as close as the Diamondbacks would get. Kevin Youkilis added an RBI double in the fifth for Boston and some fine bullpen work drew the curtains on the game.

Kennedy (3-4) was knocked around for six earned runs on nine hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out six.

Hideki Okajima (2 outs), Manny Delcarmen (2 outs), Daniel Bard (1 inning) and Jonathan Papelbon (1 inning) only gave up one hit combined, no walks and two strikeouts. Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth for his 14th save.

Jon Lester faces former Oriole Rodrigo Lopez tonight.

Haren outduels Beckett as D-Backs win 2-1

Since baseball is so slow-paced by nature, it gives old-timers and rock-headed announcers plenty of time to get all whimsical. No sport has as many tired sayings as America's Pastime. One of my favorites is "good pitching always beats good hitting."

For one night at least, that was prophetic as the Arizona Diamondbacks led by Dan Haren outlasted Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox, 2-1 last night at Fenway.

Haren (8-4) was just a little bit better than Beckett and he had luck on his side. Haren went seven innings, giving up just two hits and a walk while striking out five.

Beckett (7-5) lasted eight innings but he gave up two runs on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Playing without Sean Casey (who started serving his three-game suspension), Boston (47-32) was in a pickle when Kevin Youkilis took a ball off his eye in between innings. A throw from Mike Lowell took a bad hop and struck Youk on the eye. He wasn't one of People's 50 most beautiful people to begin with but the shiner really added something to his ugly mug.

Youk had to depart so Brandon Moss came in and wouldn't you know, a big play revolved around his inexperience at first.

In the seventh, Chris Young had doubled in Conor Jackson to give Arizona (40-37) a 1-0 lead before Chris Snyder hit a grounder to first. Moss bobbled it-allowing Mark Reynolds the runner at third to score-before recovering and getting the out at first.

The Red Sox' offense finally awoke in the eighth, forcing D-Backs reliever Tony Pena to throw 26 pitches. J.D. Drew drove in Julio Lugo with a sacrifice fly to cut it to 2-1.

David Aardsma continued his fine recent work as he danced around two walks and a hit to strike out two and record a scoreless ninth.

Former Sox pitcher Brandon Lyon promptly recorded his 16th save of the season on five pitches.