If The Red Sox Can Get Anything This Season From Hunter Renfroe And/Or Bobby Dalbec, Look Out!

 

    One of the biggest question marks for the Red Sox (24-16 overall, 12-11 home) coming into the 2021 season was the bottom of their lineup-granted you could say that for basically any other team in MLB history. Tonight at Fenway Park in their series opener against the Angels (16-21 overall, 8-12 away), Boston's offense was actually carried by their No. 8 and No. 9 hitters for a change: right fielder Hunter Renfroe was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs scored while first baseman Bobby Dalbec had a clutch two-run bomb of his own in the seventh inning which gave the Sox a 4-3 lead and that is how it would end. This could be the start of a nice win streak as the Red Sox won back-to-back games while LA has dropped its last three games in a row. 

    Boston's starting pitcher Nick Pivetta (6+IP, 2 ER, 4 hits, 7 Ks, 0 BBs) and Angels starter Griffin Canning (6 IP, 2 ER, 7 Ks, 2 BBs) were essentially a draw so it came down to a battle of the bullpens in the late innings. Former Red Sox great Jose Iglesias hit an opposite field two-run double in the top of the seventh that scored third baseman Anthony Rendon and first baseman Jared Walsh to make it 3-2 Angels. Dalbec answered in the bottom of the seventh with his two-run homer (his 4th of the season) that went high over the Green Monster then bounced off the Draft Kings sign. Boston's set-up man and closer were both lights out as Northeastern's Adam Ottavino pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning with two strikeouts for his eighth hold of the season. Not to be outdone, UConn's Matt Barnes nearly pitched an immaculate inning (3 strikeouts on 9 pitches) as he struck out the side on 11 pitches for his ninth save of the season. 

    Renfroe opened the scoring with a two-run missile in the second inning that went to the first row of the bleachers in straight away center field. His fifth homer of the season gave Boston the 2-0 lead that they would carry until the sixth inning when the most exciting player in baseball-Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani-hit an opposite field home run of his own that cleared the Monster for his American League best 11th homer of the season. It was his first career home run at Fenway so I bet that he will remember that one forever even if it came in a loss for his crappy team. Seriously, what a waste that he plays for LA (for instance, any of the other four California clubs would be much appealing) which has been stuck in neutral for the better part of the past decade. 

        One of the key facets of this win was that LA's other superstar-center fielder Mike Trout-was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts including a bogus called third strike that Ottavino got on him to end the eighth inning. Trout is at least part robot so naturally he didn't even argue with home plate bozo, I mean umpire Ron Kulpa. Tomorrow afternoon (4:10, NESN) Red Sox pitcher Martin Perez (0-2) continues his quest for his first win of the season while the same could be said for Angels pitcher Dylan Bundy (0-4). Boston is two games ahead of New York (21-17) for first-place in the AL East and they are tied with Oakland (24-16) for the second-best record in the AL, trailing only Chicago (23-14) who has played three less games than them. The Red Sox have scored the second most runs in MLB (203), trailing Houston by only one.

It's Beginning To Feel A Lot Like October At Fenway Park

In hindsight, it's easy to admit that for a brief period in the last decade we started to take playoff baseball for granted. The Red Sox were in the mix every season so actually getting there wasn't all that exciting (same deal with the Patriots, still). Well it's been four years since Boston has competed in the postseason and five years since they actually won a game. This is a long way of saying that tonight's instant classic 2-1 win by the Red Sox (83-57 overall, 46-25 home) over the Tigers (81-58 overall, 37-31 away) at Fenway Park felt like it took place in October rather than early September.

No doubt plenty will happen between now and then but it's not hard to imagine a repeat of this matchup in next month's ALCS. These look like the two best teams in the AL (and maybe MLB) so what a treat that would be for baseball fans. Jon Lester (13-8) pitched his best game of the season (7 innings, 1 earned run, 8 hits, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks) as he was able to outduel Max Scherzer (19-2; 7+ innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 3 walks) and also deny him his 20th win.

In such a long campaign, it's extremely rare that all the stars align and we get to witness an excellent regular season contest like this one turned out to be. Former Red Sox Jose Iglesias staked Detroit to a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the second but the Tigers third base coach made the stupid decision to send their fat catcher Brayan Pena who was thrown out at home by a mile to end the inning.

Will Middlebrooks provided all the offense that Boston would need with a two-run single up the middle in the fifth that scored Jonny Gomes (2 hits) and Stephen Drew. Austin Jackson was 2 for 4 with a double and Omar Infante went 2 for 4 with a run. After missing the last three games with an abdominal issue, Miguel Cabrera returned to the lineup but went 0 for 4. No at bat was bigger for Lester than in the fifth when Cabrera came up with the bases loaded and two outs. Lester fell behind 2-and-0 to the best hitter on the planet but ended up getting him to ground out to shortstop.

Red Sox manager John Farrell broke this down like a playoff game, having Brandon Workman, Craig Breslow and Junichi Tazawa all get one out apiece in the eighth. That paved the way for who has quickly become one of the most effective closers in MLB: Koji Uehara. He nailed down his 17th save on nine pitches and remarkably he still struck out two batters including Iglesias to end it (delicious irony!).

You wish that this series could go on forever (relatively speaking) but sadly it at least temporarily has to end tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) with the D-squad showdown of Ryan Dempster (7-9) vs. Rick Porcello (11-7); get your bullpens ready because it should be a long evening.

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Red Sox Trade Away Future (Iglesias) For Present (Peavy) In 3-Way Deal With Tigers & White Sox

We are still roughly 13 hours away from the 2013 MLB non-waiver trade deadline (that was a mouthful) but the Red Sox have likely already left their mark on this important day on the baseball calendar. Tonight after they trounced the Mariners, they traded for starting pitcher Jake Peavy from the White Sox and they also received Triple-A reliever Brayan Villarreal from the Tigers. To complete the three-team deal, Boston sent shortstop Jose Iglesias to Detroit and three Single-A prospects to Chicago.

I'm not a huge Peavy fan, I think that he's injury prone and overrated but the guy did win the 2007 NL Cy Young with the Padres (19-6, 2.54 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 254 strikeouts). It seems like he's been around forever and he made his MLB debut in 2002 with San Diego but Peavy is only 32. After not going over 200+ innings since 2007, he performed well in a contract year (surprise surprise) last season: 219 innings, 11-12 with 3.37 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 194 strikeouts. The best part of this is that he's not a rental and the three-time All-Star will be under contract through next season with an option for 2015.

This season he was on the DL for almost two months with a broken rib. In 13 starts, he is 8-4 with 4.28 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 76 strikeouts but keep in mind that the White Sox are one of the worst teams in MLB. This is a depth move for the Red Sox who realize that they need a sharp rotation to reach the playoffs for the first time in four long years and then do damage against loaded teams like the Rays and Tigers. Brandon Workman has looked real good in three starts but he'll go to the bullpen with Peavy aboard. Another factor in this move had to be the health of Clay Buchholz. I assume the Red Sox are worried that he might not return this season so this gives them more veteran experience and skill.

Seeing Boston dump Iglesias appears cold but when you think about it, probably a wise decision. In the few months where he was getting on base and piling up hits, we fooled ourselves into thinking that he'd really improved at the plate. The huge slump of the last few weeks shows that he's still the same guy for the most part and that hot streak was completely out of character. We would all rather have him than Stephen Drew but the Red Sox screwed themselves by overpaying that sack of crap. Furthermore, Iglesias has been playing third base but his natural position is shortstop (where I predict one day he'll win a Gold Glove).

Boston was about to have a logjam on the left side of the infield anyways with Will Middlebrooks hopefully returning to the club later this season if he continues to work out his issues on the field with the PawSox. Plus, the franchise's top prospect-Xander Bogaerts-is already knocking at the door and likely to make his MLB debut any day now. It should be some consolation to Iglesias that he's likely to fall into a great situation since the Tigers are a World Series contender (again) and their starting shortstop Jhonny Peralta is expected to be suspended (as soon as later this week) 50 games for his shady ties to Biogenesis.

Veteran third baseman Michael Young is still on the Phillies and the Red Sox have been mentioned in plenty of rumors involving him earlier this week. I don't know if they'll pull the trigger on that but I'm thinking Peavy will be their biggest new player. I hope they trade for another reliever though since their bullpen could certainly use some help.

UPDATE 7/31: Brock Holt was called up by the Red Sox to presumably play third base, not Middlebrooks.

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Jon Lester Proves That He Can Still Bring It, For 1 Game At Least

He hasn't pitched like a top of the rotation guy for months but tonight Jon Lester (9-6) showed that he can still get the job done against a quality opponent in a big game. Boston (61-41 overall, 34-18 home) beat Tampa Bay (59-42 overall, 25-23 away) 6-2 at Fenway Park to improve to 10-4 against the Rays this season and push them back to 1.5 games ahead for first place in the AL East.

In one of his better outings of the season, Lester went 6.1 strong innings and allowed only two earned runs (both on homers) on seven hits with a season-high eight strikeouts and no walks.

Super rookie Wil Myers (double) gave the Rays an early 1-0 lead with a solo shot over the Monster in the second. Boston responded with single runs in the second, third and fifth inning. Mike Carp tied it with an RBI single and Shane Victorino (double) stole home after Dustin Pedroia stole second base and Rays shortstop Yunel Escobar bobbled the throw. The new $100 million dollar man-Pedroia-added a sacrifice fly for the 3-1 Red Sox lead.

Evan Longoria cut it to 3-2 with a mammoth homer to center in the sixth. Boston gave themselves more breathing room in the eighth thanks to Stephen Drew's (run, stolen base) clutch RBI single (yes I really just used clutch and Stephen Drew in the same sentence) and two runs came home on Jose Iglesias' infield single.

The Red Sox bullpen was brilliant as they all completed their jobs perfectly. Matt Thornton got an out against the one batter he faced, Junichi Tazawa recorded four outs (3 on strikeouts) then closer Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 9th inning with two strikeouts in the non-save situation.

Mike Napoli (2 for 4 with 2 runs, double), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 for 4 with double, walk) and David Ortiz (2 for 4) all had multiple hits as Boston bounced back from a two-hitter last night with 12 hits this evening.

Tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) should be a good matchup as Felix Doubront (7-3) takes on reigning AL Cy Young winner David Price (4-5) who recently returned from the DL.

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Red Sox Rally For A Great Win In Extra Innings, Take 3 Out of 4 in Seattle

Ranking wins is always a useless exercise but I think most Red Sox fans would agree that today's come-from-behind 8-7 win over the Mariners in 10 innings at Safeco Field was one of Boston's (57-37 overall, 26-21 away) best victories of 2013. For starters, they rallied when they were down 5-1 in the third inning and took three of four in Seattle (40-52 overall, 22-25 home) to ensure that whatever happens this weekend in Oakland, they are guaranteed to lead the AL East at the All-Star break.

I'm not joking when I say that it feels like the Red Sox have a new hero nearly every game and this afternoon/early evening was no different as Steven Wright's (1-0) second career MLB appearance was a doozy (in a good way of course): 5.2 scoreless innings, three hits, three strikeouts and two walks. He bailed out Ryan Dempster who was terrible: 3.1 innings, seven runs (four earned) on nine hits.

Boston took this wacky series by scoring 34 runs including 30 in the past three games (all wins). The Red Sox had 10 hits and seven walks. Daniel Nava contributed the most important one with an two-out RBI single that scored Jackie Bradley Jr. in the 10th. Koji Uehara-who got snubbed in the Final Vote for the All-Star Game-shrugged it off to get a 1-2-3 10th with two strikeouts for his seventh save of the season.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 walks) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a leadoff homer-the eighth of his career and the third home run of the season. Seattle put up four runs in the second on Kyle Seager's (2 hits, 2 RBIs) solo homer, a ground-rule RBI double by Billy Butler and two-run single by Endy Chavez. An RBI single by Michael Saunders in the third gave the Mariners a 5-1 lead which the immortal Erasmo Ramirez promptly coughed up.

Brock Holt (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Jose Iglesias (2 hits, 2 RBIs) and Ellsbury all kept the line moving with two-out RBI singles that cut it to 5-4. Dempster couldn't do anything right as he allowed RBI singles to Kendry Morales and Seager for a 7-4 Mariners lead in the fourth.

From then on thanks to Wright's incredible relief and Uehara, the Red Sox were able to shut down Seattle's mighty (haha yeah right) batting order. Boston tied it with three runs in the fifth on Mike Carp's sacrifice fly and more RBI singles from Holt and Iglesias.

Beating up on shitbums like the Mariners is all well and good but I'm excited to see how Boston reacts to playing a great team like Oakland (54-38, 1st in AL West this weekend at that dump O.co Coliseum. The A's are one of the best teams in baseball but don't ask me to explain how that's possible with their mostly unimpressive roster. The sum is greater than the parts I guess.

John Lackey (6-6) faces Jarrod Parker (6-6) tomorrow night (10:05, NESN) in the series opener. Jon Lester (8-5) will try to bounce back from an awful few months on Saturday night (10:05, NESN) against A.J. Griffin (7-5). The unofficial end of the first half comes on Sunday afternoon (4:05, NESN) as former Red Sox great Bartolo Colon (12-3)-who is an All-Star-faces TBA.

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Red Sox Have The Most Wins In MLB, Because America!

Today the Red Sox celebrated the Fourth of July exactly like our forefathers would want them to: by pummeling the hapless Padres 8-2 at scalding hot Fenway Park. With the win, Boston (53-34 overall, 31-16 home) swept the three-game series from San Diego (40-46 overall, 15-28 away), completed an impressive 8-1 homestand and head to the West Coast for a 10-game road trip heading into the All-Star break with the most wins in MLB (sorry Pirates).

There were many subplots in this victory for the Red Sox that could prove to be more important down the road later this season. Rookie Allen Webster (1-2) finally picked up his first career win in MLB: six innings, two earned runs on five hits with four strikeouts and four walks. He will be in the rotation for at least a couple more turns so this should help his confidence. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, 3 runs, 14-game hitting streak) hit his first homer since April 7, haha seriously only his second of 2013. Last but not least, Andrew Bailey pitched a 1-2-3 seventh with two strikeouts when Boston led 7-2. He might not close again this season but the Red Sox need him to be productive to help their bullpen survive the dog days of summer.

To move a season-high 19 games over .500, Boston had 18 hits. All nine guys in the lineup had hits and Brandon Snyder was the only one with just one hit but it was a solo homer (his 1st of the season) so he's forgiven. Shane Victorino was 2 for 4 with a double and run, Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with two RBIs and a double, David Ortiz was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a double, Mike Napoli was 2 for 5 with two runs and a double, Jonny Gomes was 2 for 4 with double and RBI, Ryan Lavarnway was 2 for 4 and Jose Iglesias was 2 for 4 with a double, run and RBI.

San Diego has lost six games in a row and it's not difficult to figure out why they were swept: they scored a grand total of four runs in the three games. Ouch babe. The Padres two run explosion today came on Chase Headley's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Jesus Guzman (3 for 3, double, walk).

Without question, these next 10 games are the toughest stretch of the season (so far) for the Red Sox: three at the Angels (40-44, 3rd in AL West), four at the Mariners (37-47, 4th in AL West) and three at the A's (50-36, 1st in AL West). Putting aside the fact that the Angels have been really disappointing again and the Mariners are awful as always, playing 10 games in a row on the other side of the country presents plenty of challenges.

Red Sox fans should get some rest since two games against the Angels, three against the Mariners and two against the A's will be 10:05 p.m. or 10:10 p.m. starts on the East Coast. Felix Doubront (4-3) faces C.J. Wilson (8-5) tomorrow night in Anaheim (10:05, NESN), Ryan Dempster (5-8) takes on TBA on Saturday night (10:05, NESN) then Boston gets the Sunday Night Baseball treatment (8, ESPN) as John Lackey (6-5) returns to face his former team and Jered Weaver (2-4)-storyline that they'll hit you over the head with alert!

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Jose Iglesias Named American League Rookie of the Month for June

Let's state the obvious: absolutely nobody (outside of maybe friends, relatives and the man himself) could have expected this start for Red Sox utility infielder Jose Iglesias. We are a few weeks away from the 2013 MLB All-Star Game and he's hitting .415/.463 OBP/.533 SLG in 41 games with 56 hits, 23 runs, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBIs. Today, Iglesias was named the American League Rookie of the Month for June.

Showing how few homegrown prospects the franchise has hit on lately, Iglesias is the first Red Sox to receive the honor since Jacoby Ellsbury way back in September 2007. In June, Iglesias hit .395 with .453 on-base percentage. For a guy that looked hopeless at the plate as recently as last season, this start to 2013 (that we all know will end some point soon) has been nothing short of amazing.

He's always been known for his exceptional glove but Jose has also shown his versatility as he started the season at shortstop, was sent to Pawtucket when Stephen Drew was healthy then came back and now he's the third baseman with Will Middlebrooks playing for the PawSox. Scratch that, he's been in his natural position the last few games because Drew is doing what he does best-missing games with iffy injuries.

Another cool part of this is that Iglesias-a Cuban-is also joined by his fellow countryman outfielder Yasiel Puig of the Dodgers who was named the National League Rookie of the Month for June. It's the first time two Cubans have won the award at the same time. For what it's worth, I think that Iglesias has a good shot at the American League Rookie of the Year as well since it is not a particularly strong class. Stay tuned on that.

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John Lackey: Red Sox Ace, Wait What?

(ESPN's 30 for 30 voice) "What if I told you that John Lackey has been Boston's best pitcher for the last month and a half?" This extremely unlikely scenario has become the reality for the Red Sox (51-34 overall, 29-16 home) with Clay Buchholz out indefinitely due to his annual mysterious injury and Jon Lester unexpectedly struggling. Lackey (6-5) pitched his second gem in a row as Boston beat San Diego (40-44 overall, 15-26 away) 4-1 tonight at Fenway Park in the opener of a three-game interleague series.

Lackey won his fourth straight decision as he went eight innings, allowing one earned run on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. You know the shameless Red Sox honk media will be writing poems about Lackey while this run continues but he is turning into the main individual story (see: redemption) on a team full of overachievers.

The Red Sox improved to a season-high 17 games over .500 and they are 6-1 on this current homestand. Brandon Snyder-who?-had the biggest play of the game, a three-run double in the fourth which gave Boston a 3-0 lead. That came after a great nine-pitch at bat against Padres rookie pitcher Robbie Erlin (1-1). Jose Iglesias (2 hits) added an RBI single in the sixth before Jesus Guzman hit a solo homer in the seventh just over the Monster for San Diego's lone run.

Not counting Iglesias, three other Red Sox had multiple hits in the victory: Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base), David Ortiz (2 hits, double, run) and Jonny Gomes (2 hits, double, run) while Dustin Pedroia walked three times and stole a base. Former Red Sox great Pedro Ciriaco singled and stole two bases in his first game against Boston since getting traded to San Diego last month.

Joining Lackey, Snyder and Iglesias, the night's other star was Boston's closer Koji Uehara. Yes, I can't believe I just typed that sentence either. Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth inning with two strikeouts for his fifth save of the season (and fourth in a week).

Lester (8-4) faces Edinson Volquez (6-6) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) as Boston goes for their seventh win in their last eight games.

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Koji Uehara Scoffs At Your Days Off As He Converts His Third Save In As Many Nights

Baseball seasons are so long that oftentimes you stumble into the right role for a player when it was only supposed to be a temporary solution. I don't want to get too ahead of myself here but by notching his third save in three games, I think that Koji Uehara looks very promising as a closer this season for the Red Sox. Boston (49-33 overall, 27-15 home) beat Toronto (39-40 overall, 17-23 away) 7-5 tonight at Fenway Park for their fourth straight win that put them a season-high 16 games over .500.

Staked to a 5-0 lead in the fourth, Red Sox rookie pitcher Allen Webster had everything lining up for his first MLB win. However, when he left after six innings the Blue Jays had cut it to 5-4 and Andrew Bailey (remember him?) allowed a solo homer to Edwin Encarnacion (2 for 3, 2 RBIs, walk) in the seventh that tied it at five and handed Webster a no-decision.

Boston manager John Farrell pushed all the right buttons against his former team as Jonny Gomes-pinch hitting for Daniel Nava (2 for 3, run)-came through with an RBI single in the seventh which put the Red Sox back on top for good. Jarrod Saltalamacchia walked with the bases loaded for the final margin.

Andrew Miller (1-2) got four outs in relief for his first win of 2013 then Uehara had his third consecutive clean ninth with two strikeouts for his fourth save of the season. Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with a triple and run plus Jose Iglesias was 2 for 4 with a run and stolen base. New London CT native Rajai Davis was 2 for 4 with two stolen bases and a run for the Blue Jays.

Stephen Drew had a two-run triple in the second but he left in the fourth with a hamstring injury following a double. It is truly shocking to see a warrior like one of the Drew brothers get hurt. I'm sure he'll be right back in the lineup tomorrow. Mike Napoli had an RBI single in the third and Jacoby Ellsbury (2 for 5, run) knocked out overrated Josh Johnson with a two-run single in the fourth.

For once, Toronto got back into a game by playing small ball and not simply relying on homers. Jose Bautista and Encarnacion had RBI singles in the fifth while Adam Lind added a sacrifice fly. Maicer Izturis trimmed it to 5-4 Boston with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Boston and Toronto face each other tomorrow afternoon in a rare 4:05 p.m. start on NESN. Felix Doubront (4-3) takes on mighty Esmil Rogers (3-3) and people have been talking about this matchup for weeks, haha yeah right.

UPDATE 6/29: Drew isn't on the DL (yet) but the Red Sox called up Jonathan Diaz from Pawtucket. Diaz is in the lineup today at third base, making his MLB debut. To make room on the roster, Clayton Mortensen was designated for assignment.

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Red Sox Clobber Rockies With Season-High 20 Hits In A Convincing 11-4 Win At Fenway

As far as most people were concerned, the Red Sox' 2013 regular season unofficially started tonight as the Bruins lost Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final last night thus ending their excellent campaign. Boston (46-33 overall, 24-15 home) acquitted themselves quite nicely in its first game under the true spotlight as they rolled 11-4 over Colorado (39-39 overall, 16-22 away) during interleague play at Fenway Park.

To start a nine games in 10 days homestand, the Red Sox had a season-high 20 hits while Ryan Dempster (5-8) turned in a quality start: six innings, two earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks. The immortal Juan Nicasio (4-4) gave the Rockies no shot as he was roughed up for seven runs (six earned) on 12 hits in 2.1 IP.

Everyone in Boston's lineup had at least one hit, led by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 runs, double, walk), Dustin Pedroia (4 RBIs, two runs, double, stolen base), Daniel Nava (RBI) and Jose Iglesias (2 runs, double) who all had three hits. Shane Victorino was 2 for 5 with a double, run, RBI and stolen base, Mike Napoli was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and a walk and Stephen Drew was 2 for 5 with a triple (that should have been a homer) and a run.

By the time the third inning was over, the Red Sox were comfortably ahead 7-1. Pedroia and Nava had RBI singles in the first before Wilin Rosario (3 for 4) had a solo homer off Dempster in the second. Pedroia and David Ortiz added RBI doubles in the second for a 4-1 Boston lead. Napoli had an RBI single later in the frame followed by RBI singles by Victorino and Pedroia in the third.

Nick Arenado's (3 for 4 with double) RBI single in the fourth cut it to 7-2 but Iglesias answered with an RBI double. Colorado pretended to make it a tad interesting in the seventh with a run coming in on Victorino's error and Carlos Gonzalez's RBI single but the Red Sox tacked on three additional runs in the seventh and eighth. Pedroia drove in another run with a sacrifice fly, Napoli hit an RBI single and a run scored on Victorino's ground out.

Colorado's Michael Cuddyer was 2 for 5 with a run which was more than enough to keep his MLB-best 22-game hitting streak alive and well. The Rockies' first visit to Fenway since the 2007 World Series is a short one since the series finale is tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN) with John Lackey (4-5) taking on Roy Oswalt (0-1) who makes his second start for Colorado.

UPDATE 6/26: Beato was sent back to Pawtucket with reliever Clayton Mortensen reinstated from the DL.

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The Orioles Still Completely Own The Red Sox, For Whatever Reason

Don't get me wrong, I know the Orioles are a good team but I'd be lying if I told you that I can rationally explain why they have dominated the Red Sox the last three seasons (23-8) and are the only opponent with a winning record (4-1) against Boston so far this year. Tonight at Camden Yards, the O's (39-29 overall, 19-14 home) blanked the Red Sox (41-28 overall, 20-14 away) 2-0.

This came on the heels of Baltimore's 5-4 win in 13 innings on Thursday night. Did I mention that the Orioles have pulled within 1.5 games of the Red Sox so if they sweep Boston this weekend, they would take over first place in the AL East? Yikes, that could definitely happen.

Four pitchers combined on the shutout for the Orioles: starter Chris Tillman (7-2) threw six scoreless innings with three strikeouts, Darren O'Day (seventh), Tommy Hunter (eighth) and Jim Johnson (ninth, 24th save) all had 1-2-3 innings, hence why this game finished in a crisp 2:43.

Ryan Dempster (4-7) pitched one of his better games for the Red Sox but it wasn't good enough: 7.2 innings, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts and 5 walks. His arm might fall off (he labored through 122 pitches) but he saved Boston's bullpen since Koji Uehara only faced one batter-J.J. Hardy (who he retired on 3 pitches to end the eighth with two men on).

Baltimore had five hits, led by Manny Machado (3 for 5 with 2 doubles). Boston only had three hits as a team, two by Jose Iglesias (who extended his hit streak to 15 games) including a double.

Chris Davis, who has morphed into Miguel Cabrera Jr., hit an opposite field solo homer in the second (his 22nd of the season) and Nate McLouth scored in the third on Adam Jones' infield single.

Before they drop the puck on Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals (8, NBC), John Lackey (3-5) faces Freddy Garcia (3-3) tomorrow afternoon (4:05, NESN) as the Red Sox try to find a way to beat the Orioles.

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Red Sox Take Series With Yankees Thanks To A Rain-Shortened Game Delayed 3 Times

You knew it was going to be a strange night when the start of the Red Sox-Yankees game on Sunday Night Baseball was delayed for 45 minutes even though it never actually rained in the Bronx. Before there were two more rain delays, Boston (35-23 overall, 18-11 away) scored three runs and New York (31-25 overall, 16-13 home) got none. It was mercifully called after 5.5 innings so the Red Sox received the easiest win they'll find all season, 3-0.

After skipping a start (with a mysterious shoulder injury), Clay Buchholz (8-0) returned and went all five innings. He allowed just two hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Andrew Miller warmed up and was about to come in to start the bottom of the sixth (after the first delay) but then it started pouring again complete with thunder and lightning. That perfectly sums up Miller's MLB career to this point. Speaking of complete, Buchholz "earned" a complete game with this victory. That'll definitely make his agent happy.

Boston scored single runs off Hiroki Kuroda (6-4) in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Kuroda went 5.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts.

The Red Sox opened the scoring with Mike Napoli's (2 hits) ground out in the fourth that plated Dustin Pedroia. Jose Iglesias cranked his first homer of the season (and second of his MLB career) with a solo shot to left (401 feet) in the fifth. No seriously, that really happened. David Ortiz (2 hits) followed with a solo homer to right in the sixth, his 10th of the season.

After losing 4-1 on Friday, Boston blew out New York 11-1 last night then waited out this one for a series win. They get a welcome day off tomorrow before embarking on a six-game homestand (Tuesday-Sunday) at Fenway Park against two teams from the AL West: the Rangers (35-21) and Angels (25-32). Former Ranger Ryan Dempster (2-6) takes on Justin Grimm (5-3) on Tuesday (7:10, NESN), native Texan John Lackey (3-5) opposes Alexi Ogando (4-2) on Wednesday (7:10, NESN) and Jon Lester (6-2) meets Derek Holland (5-2) in the best matchup of the series-on Thursday (7:10, NESN).

The Red Sox got swept (3 games) in Texas May 3-5 when they scored four total runs. They can't possibly do much worse than that against what I feel is the best team in the American League.

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Morales Wins 2013 Red Sox Debut, Boston Earns Split With Philadelphia (Twice)

He can never stay healthy for very long but as he showed last season when he was forced into the starting rotation, Franklin Morales (1-0) can pitch. He made his 2013 Red Sox debut tonight and it was a good one (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 2 strikeouts, 2 walks) as Boston (33-22 overall, 16-10 away) beat Philadelphia (26-28 overall, 12-13 home) 9-2 at Citizens Bank Park in their series finale.

These teams won't see each other again this season, unless they meet in the World Series (dies laughing) in October. They each won a game at home and a game on the road in this weird four-game interleague home-and-home stretch.

Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 4, walk, run) set a Red Sox franchise record with five stolen bases. It's like he suddenly woke up last week and realized how much money he's losing by performing like an average player. Contract years for all!

Like their win vs. the Phillies on Memorial Day, the Red Sox jumped all over a helpless rookie pitcher-in this case Jonathan Pettibone (3-1). Boston scored four runs in the first, one in the sixth, one in the seventh and three in the ninth to make it look even more impressive.

Ellsbury scored on Dustin Pedroia's ground out, Mike Carp had an RBI single and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (run) added a two-run single for the 4-0 Red Sox lead.

Delmon Young had Philadelphia's only highlight of the game-a two-run homer in their first at bat. Jonny Gomes had a pinch hit homer in the sixth (his third homer of the season) and David Ortiz followed suit with his own solo home run in the seventh (his ninth of the season). Stephen Drew's ground out drove in a run then Salty and Jose Iglesias (2 hits) had back-to-back RBI doubles as it got out of hand for the Phillies in the ninth.

For the first time in two months, the Red Sox will square off with the Yankees (30-23 overall) this weekend at Yankee Stadium. Boston took two of three in the Bronx to start this season and they catch the Yanks at a good time considering New York has dropped five in a row including four straight to the Mets. Hahahaha!

Tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) Jon Lester (6-1) faces C.C. Sabathia (4-4), Saturday night (7:15, Fox) Felix Doubront (3-2) takes on Phil Hughes (2-3)-that one might take six hours-and on Sunday Night Baseball (8:05, ESPN) Clay Buchholz (7-0) is tentatively scheduled to meet Hiroki Kuroda (6-3). New England is supposed to have dog days of summer type weather this weekend so why not be treated to Red Sox-Yankees games which always seem to last forever.

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Red Sox Take 3 of 4 From Indians Thanks To Ellsbury's Walk-off 2-Run Double

Every good season in MLB features at least a few signature wins and memorable moments. Sunday afternoon at Fenway Park, Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) provided the best win of 2013 for the Red Sox with a walk-off two-run double against the Indians for a 6-5 Red Sox victory. It was the team's fourth walk-off win of the season.

With the Red Sox win and a Yankees loss, Boston and New York are now tied atop the AL East.

Boston (31-20 overall, 16-11 home) ripped Cleveland's (27-22 overall, 12-12 road) heart out in back-to-back games with a pair of improbable comebacks (their bullpen had been 8-0 going into Saturday's contest) which led to a series win (3-1) and three consecutive wins for the home team. The Red Sox finished the season series 5-1 against former manager Terry Francona's new squad.

Boston trailed 5-1 going into the bottom of the eighth before Jose Iglesias' sacrifice fly cut it to 5-2. Mike Napoli and Jarrod Saltalamacchia each had RBI ground outs to bring Boston within a run in the ninth. Indians closer Chris Perez (0.2 IP, 4 ER, 2 hits, 3 walks) was the main scapegoat for Cleveland even though Joe Smith came in for one pitch-Ellsbury's two-run double-that cost the Indians the game. Making matters worse, Perez had to leave the game with an arm/shoulder injury.

Felix Doubront pitched well (6 IP, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 5 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) but the immoral Corey Kluber (6.2 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk) was even better for the Indians.

Ellsbury and Stephen Drew (3 for 4 with double, triple, 3 runs) cost Boston a pair of runs in the first as they let Carlos Santana's pop up to center drop in for two runs.

Daniel Nava got the Red Sox started with an RBI single in the third inning. Jason Kipnis (3 runs, 2 hits) hit the cheapest homer you can get in Fenway, 319 feet around Pesky's Pole, for a solo shot in the fifth and Nick Swisher (2 hits) added a solo homer of his own in the sixth but at least his went well over the Monster-a little more impressive. Swisher's sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 5-1 as Cleveland looked poised to get a series split.

Alex Wilson pitched a scoreless seventh for the Red Sox and Craig Breslow (2-0) went the last two innings and earned the win despite allowing Swisher's sac fly.

The weather is finally supposed to get nice tomorrow-fittingly for Memorial Day-and Boston begins Interleague play for this season with two games at Fenway against the Phillies (24-26, 3rd in NL East) then two in the City of Brotherly Love. Clay Buchholz was scratched from tomorrow night's (7:10 p.m., NESN) start after he slept wrong on his collarbone holding his baby (haha OK?) and Alfredo Aceves (1-1) will make a spot start against rookie Tyler Cloyd (1-0). On Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Ryan Dempster (2-5) faces Cliff Lee (5-2). Wednesday night (7:05 p.m., NESN) at Citizens Bank Park, John Lackey (3-4) takes on Kyle Kendrick (4-3) and on Thursday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (6-1) meets rookie Jonathan Pettibone (3-0).

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It's Baseball Season Already? Ugh, Well At Least The Red Sox Won Their First Opener Since 2010

I did my best to avoid Spring Training like the plague that it is so I have to say it was strange to sit down this afternoon and watch the Red Sox 2013 regular season opener at Yankee Stadium against the Yankees. I got bored quickly and it went way too long (3:37) but that's how it always is for Red Sox-Yankees so the important thing is that Boston (1-0) won their first opener since 2010, 8-2 over the soon-to-be dumpster fire Yankees (0-1).

The expected pitcher's duel of Jon Lester (1-0) vs. C.C. Sabathia (0-1) never happened since both were gone after five innings. Who needs aces? Lester allowed two earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks which made him look like Felix Hernandez compared to Sabathia: four earned runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and four walks.

Boston had 13 hits but only a pair of extra base hits: a triple by Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 6, 2 RBIs, run) and a double by Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 walks, 2 runs). Making their Red Sox debuts were Shane Victorino (2 hits, 3 RBIs), Jonny Gomes (2 hits, run, walk) and heralded rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. (3 walks, 2 runs, RBI, 1 sick catch in left field). Jose Iglesias had three hits, a run and RBI which is misleading since none of his "hits" made it out of the infield.

The Red Sox bullpen is seen as one of their few obvious strengths and they played that way for one game at least. Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 sixth (on five pitches!), Andrew Miller got two outs then Andrew Bailey cleaned up his mess (two walks) by striking out Kevin Youkilis to end the seventh, Junichi Tazawa had a scoreless eighth and Joel Hanrahan put up a clean ninth albeit in a non-save situation.

Boston got all the runs they'd need in the second inning as Iglesias had an infield RBI single, Victorino added a two-run single and Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) notched an RBI single.

New York's only two runs were courtesy of Francisco Cervelli's two-run single in the fourth. With Curtis Granderson, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and Mark Teixeira all currently on the shelf, it's hard to see the Yankees playing well or scoring any runs for that matter. That's why the Red Sox and other AL East teams have to rack up as many wins as they can while the Yanks are fielding lineups more suited for the Royals.

Bradley Jr. tacked on a run via a grounder in the seventh, Ellsbury had an RBI infield single in the ninth and Victorino drove in Bradley Jr. with a single, a fitting way to end a memorable MLB debut for the 22-year-old former South Carolina Gamecock.

This always seems to happen but there is an off-day tomorrow so we won't see these teams again until Wednesday night (7 p.m., NESN) as Clay Buchholz faces Hiroki Kuroda.

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Apparently The Red Sox Don't Learn From Their Recent Mistakes

Nothing like waking up on a Monday morning, after a marathon Patriots loss on Sunday night, and finding out that the Red Sox have signed a complete piece of garbage that you can't stand. Boston and free agent shortstop Stephen Drew have agreed to a one-year deal worth $9.5 million plus $500,000 in performance bonuses.

If the name is familiar, it is because he is the younger brother of former Red Sox whipping boy J.D. Drew. So yes, after one glorious season without a Drew in Boston, we are going to be forced to suffer through another campaign from an injury-prone, overpaid, underachieving lifeless Southern robot.

Stephen and J.D.'s careers have followed similar paths: they were much hyped first-round picks out of Florida State, represented by superagent Scott Boras and somehow they've hoodwinked numerous MLB teams out of millions of dollars for years. I'll give Stephen credit that he had four decent seasons in a row (2007-10) but true to his heritage, he played 86 games with Arizona in 2011 and 79 combined between the Diamondbacks and A's last season.

The frustrating part with the Red Sox is that much like J.D., for some unknown reason, they've been obsessed with Stephen for as long as he's been in MLB. I just don't get it beyond the fact that they need a short-term fix at shortstop. Jose Iglesias is hopeless at the plate and seems destined to be Rey Ordonez Jr. at best while their top positional player prospect-shortstop Xander Bogaerts is probably a year away from reaching the Red Sox.

Stephen's best season to date was 2008 in Arizona: 152 games, 91 runs, 178 hits, 44 doubles, 11 triples, 21 homers, 67 RBIs. He hit .291 with .333 OBP and .502 SLG. For his career, he's a .265 hitter with .328 OBP and .433 SLG.

One of the ironic things is that he's probably no better than Mike Aviles who the Red Sox had no interest in retaining (they shipped him to Toronto for manager John Farrell). Aviles was later dealt to Cleveland so I guess nobody wants the poor guy. Given his last name, his brother's struggles in Boston and hefty price tag for such an average player, it's not hard to predict that Stephen's short stay with the Red Sox will be painful for both the team and fans alike.

UPDATE 12/19: The Red Sox designated right-handed reliever Pedro Beato for assignment. He was obtained from the Mets in the Kelly Shoppach trade in August. Beato went 1-0 with a 4.70 ERA in four games with seven strikeouts and three walks in 7 2/3 innings for Boston.

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Goodnight To The Worst Red Sox Team Of My Lifetime

Well the time that we've all been dreaming of since about mid-May is finally upon us: the 2012 Red Sox' tour of pain is over. We won't see them again until April in a meaningful game and not a moment too soon at that.

Fittingly, for Daisuke Matsuzaka's (1-7) last outing as a Red Sox (69-93, 35-46) and Bobby Valentine's final night as an MLB manager, both were thoroughly embarrassed as New York (95-67, 51-30 home) trampled Boston 14-2 at Yankee Stadium. It clinched the third AL East title in four years for the Yankees and 18th overall after the Rays beat the Orioles 4-1.

Now is when the real fun starts, we can only hope that the Red Sox owners and GM Ben Cherington come up with a better choice than Valentine. Then again, who could possibly be a worse pick? It is horrifying that last winter, after months of deliberation, that clown was their hire.

Dice-K didn't stick around long, he probably had a flight back to Japan to catch. In 2.1 innings, he allowed five earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts, a walk and two homers.

Hiroki Kuroda (16-11) went seven innings (2 earned runs, 7 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) for the Yankees, who will host the winner of Orioles-Rangers starting on Sunday in the ALDS.

It was a monster night for Robinson Cano (4 for 4, 3 runs, 6 RBIs, 2 homers) and Curtis Granderson (2 homers, 4 RBIs). Nick Swisher was 2 for 3 with a run, RBI and two walks while Alex Rodriguez (2 for 3, double, 2 runs, 2 walks) and Ichiro Suzuki (2-run double, 2 runs) contributed to the laugher for the Yanks.

Cody Ross was 2 for 3 with an RBI single, Pedro Ciriaco was 2 for 3 with a double and run while Dustin Pedroia had a double, walk and stolen base. In the near future (possibly tomorrow) after I have some time to breath and wash the stink away from this incomprehensibly bad season, I plan to write a post highlighting the few Red Sox that had good seasons (hint: those three play prominent roles). Jose Iglesias also had an RBI single, hopefully that gives him some confidence heading into the winter.

Until then, let's hope that a Men In Black type mind eraser device exists and that we can all use it to get rid of all our memories having to do with the 2012 Red Sox. They were truly the most hateable Boston sports team that I've ever seen and it would be tough to top them in that particular way.

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You Knew The Rays Wouldn't Go Down That Quietly, Especially Against The Red Sox

The Rays probably won't make the playoffs this season, since they are 5.5 games out of the second AL wild card with 12 games to go. However, it was nice of the Red Sox to leave them with a parting gift for their dozens of fans.

Boston (68-83, 35-40 away) led 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth inning tonight at Tropicana Field, poised to take three out of four from Tampa Bay (80-70, 41-34 home). That's when Andrew Bailey (1-1, 2nd blown save, 5 earned runs) completely imploded and the Rays rallied for a wild 7-4 walk-off win on B.J. Upton's (double) three-run homer (24th of the season) off Vicente Padilla.

Carlos Pena had cut it to 4-2 with an RBI single and Desmond Jennings (3 hits, double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) tied it with a two-run single.

It had been a pitcher's duel with Clay Buchholz (7 shutout innings, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) performing even better than AL Cy Young frontrunner David Price (7.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 8 hits, 7 strikeouts, 1 walk).

This should have been remembered (mostly by me) as Jose Iglesia's big offensive output. After collecting just two hits in his first 37 at bats this season, he went 3 for 4 with two runs including a solo homer (the first of his MLB career) in the ninth which made it 4-1. It was nice to see something positive after all the bullshit he had to put up with from Bobby V's unfathomable move to pinch-hit for him mid-at bat. He deserved that.

Cody Ross broke the scoreless proceedings with an RBI double in the sixth. Ryan Lavarnway (2 for 4, run) added an RBI single in the frame and Mauro Gomez's (2 hits) RBI triple in the eighth gave Boston a 3-0 advantage.

Ben Zobrist got the Rays on the board with a sacrifice fly in the eighth that seemed innocent enough at the time.

Hallelujah, Boston comes back to Fenway for its final homestand of 2012. They play three against Baltimore (85-64, 2nd AL East, tied with Oakland for wild card lead) and then two against Tampa Bay after an off-day on Monday.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Jon Lester (9-12) takes on Miguel Gonzalez (6-4). It is Aaron Cook (4-10) vs. Chris Tillman (8-2) on Saturday afternoon (1:10 p.m., NESN) then Felix Doubront (11-9) faces TBA on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). The Orioles have been arguably the best story in MLB this season; they have pulled out countless extra innings and one-run contests. I don't know how they have made it happen but it's exciting to watch and it looks like they are a lock for October. Good for them.

UPDATE 9/21: Red Sox recalled pitchers Zach Stewart and Pedro Beato along with third baseman Danny Valenica from Pawtucket.

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Scutaro Shipped To Rockies; Bard Avoids Arbitration

What is it with the Boston Red Sox and shortstops? Since they traded franchise icon Nomar Garciaparra in 2004 (which turned out well), the formerly coveted position has turned into a revolving door of mostly middling players.

Tonight, the Red Sox traded Marco Scutaro to the Colorado Rockies for pitcher Clayton Mortensen. The righty is 26 and a former first-round sandwich pick in 2007 by the Cardinals. He was traded to Oakland in the Matt Holliday deal and then traded to Colorado last winter for a minor leaguer.

This will be Mortensen's fourth MLB franchise. He put up decent numbers last season: 2-4 with 3.86 ERA in 16 games (6 starts) but from the looks of this move, it was all about dumping salary.

Boston picked up Scutaro's $6 million option earlier this winter so needless to say, it was odd to see him get traded soon after that. Even worse, all that the Red Sox have left at shortstop for 2012 are the dynamic scrub duo of Mike Aviles and Nick Punto. Don't tell me that Jose Iglesias will be the starter since he can't hit enough to play full-time in MLB.

The one positive aspect of this move is that it frees up money to pursue Roy Oswalt, who they desperately need. ESPNBoston also mentioned Cody Ross, a rumor that I hadn't heard before reading that tidbit. He's OK and he would help if Carl Crawford misses time (after wrist surgery) but I'm much more interested in Oswalt just because he has way more potential to help.

No matter how you spin it, the Red Sox seem destined for another third-place finish in the AL East again (for the third year in a row) behind the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays. While those teams have improved themselves (NY) or kept its core intact (TB), the Red Sox have plugged holes (closer, set-up) but not improved their biggest issues (chemistry, starting pitching). Plus, they added the most self-absorbed and arrogant manager in MLB.

I'm not jumping off the bandwagon, I'll always root for the Red Sox but over the past few seasons, they've made it very hard to like them. Ownership is driven just by making money and not winning games, what should really matter. Likewise, many of their players over the last few years have been obsessed with personal statistics. how much they're getting paid and other inconsequential things. In other words, the Red Sox are now No. 4 in my top four (Bruins, Patriots, Celtics, Red Sox) rankings of local professional teams. It will take so much to change that any time soon.

In other Red Sox news today, the team reached a one-year, non-guaranteed contract for 2012 with Daniel Bard. They avoided arbitration with the reliever who will try to become a starter in spring training. Now only Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Bailey and David Ortiz are left to sign before February 1, the deadline for when the Red Sox are forced to go to a hearing with any of those guys if they haven't reached an agreement yet.

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Marco Scutaro Will Return To Boston In 2012

It will take years to get over the fallout from the 2010 season for the Boston Red Sox. However, at some point we all have to begin to move on.

Today was a start as the team made its first roster decision regarding one of its more notable free agents: shortstop Marco Scutaro will be back in 2012 as the Red Sox picked up his $6 million dollar team option.

There's a very short list of players that were completely unscathed by the 7-20 September. Alfredo Aceves, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon and Scutaro were from my point of view, the only players that seemed to consistently care about the results and/or put up strong individual performances admist all the Popeye's and beer stained drama.

Scutaro hit a career-best .299 for the 2011 season with seven homers and 54 RBIs. He also put up a .358 OBP with .423 slugging percentage, both career-highs. If that's not enough, he hit .387 in September which was third best in the American League.

Although Scutaro turned 36 on Sunday (shameless plug, my birthday too), he should be dependable next season (3rd in Boston, 11th in MLB) as well. Fingers crossed that Boston finally pulls the plug on the Jed Lowrie experiment (too injury prone, inconsistent, terrible defensively) while they wait for 21-year-old Jose Iglesias to learn how to become a better hitter in Pawtucket. His defense is MLB-ready, he just has no prayer at the plate right now.

The Red Sox have to decide before Monday night about a $3 million dollar team option on reliever Dan Wheeler (I think they'll let him go).

Eight other players: Erik Bedard (ha), J.D. Drew (haha), Conor Jackson (yeah right), Trever Miller (nope), David Ortiz (probably), Papelbon (most likely), Jason Varitek (please no) and Tim Wakefield (see Varitek) became free agents today and Boston has until Thursday at 12:01 a.m. to exclusively negotiate with them.

In other Red Sox news, they'll start interviewing manger candidates this week. First up, Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin and Brewers hitting coach (and former Red Sox third base coach) Dale Sveum. Granted, Terry Francona wasn't a big name when he got the job in 2004 but at least he had MLB managerial experience in Philadelphia before he took over in this pressure cooker. Please tell me they can do better than these bums.

UPDATE 10/31: The Red Sox declined to exercise Wheeler's option and he's a Type B free agent. Pap and Ortiz are Type A free agents, meaning that if they leave Boston receives a first-round pick and a sandwich pick from the club that signs them. If you lose a Type B free agent, you get a sandwich pick. Boston also declined an option on reliever Scott Atchison but he remains on the 40-man roster. You know he'll be back, making 50 trips between the Red Sox and PawSox next season and for the rest of his playing career.

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