With Bogaerts Gone To San Diego, What Is Even The Point Of Rooting For The Red Sox Anymore?

 

    What started out as a decent day for the Red Sox after they finally made a few moves in free agency-signing All-Star closer Kenley Jansen to a two-year, $32 million contract and Japanese outfielder Masataka Yoshida to a five-year, $90 million contact-ended in the worst possible way with the late breaking news that franchise shortstop Xander Bogaerts had signed an 11-year deal worth $280 million with the Padres. The fact that the heart and soul of their club is now gone just a few years after they traded away another cornerstone-Mookie Betts-for pennies on the dollar, makes you wonder what exactly Chaim Bloom does for the Red Sox besides transforming them into the Boston Rays? Additionally with Boston's only other star Rafael Devers entering free agency after the 2023 season is there any doubt that he will eventually be moved for a bunch of middling prospects? 

    Very few players in any professional sports these days get to only play for one team but Bogaerts (and Betts for that matter) should have been in that rarified class. He was a two-time World Series champion, an All-Star, a leader on and off the field and a steady professional that always remained accountable even while Bloom and Red Sox ownership continually let him down as they recently stumbled to their fifth (!!!) last-place finish in the past 11 seasons. The last time that I checked, there is no salary cap in MLB (which is preposterous) but that is why big market teams like the Red Sox, Yankees (who just re-signed Aaron Judge to a nine-year deal worth a whopping $360 million dollar contract on Tuesday), Dodgers, Cubs and Phillies should inherently have a huge advantage over the small market teams like Tampa, the Pirates, the Brewers, the A's, etc.

    Bloom was supposedly brought in to firm up Boston's terrible farm system and yet they have produced very few high end prospects since he has been here. Furthermore, what is the point of drafting and developing your own players when like Betts and Bogaerts, they ultimately will be traded away or even worse, leave because you were not even in the same area code in terms of what type of legitimate offer you would give to your homegrown superstar? Listen, we all have the same gripes about the Red Sox and Fenway Park experience these days: the tickets are way too expensive, the product on the field stinks and the ballpark is a pain to get to let alone sit comfortably in on a hot summer night. 

    Fenway is such a tourist trap that it seems immune to not cranking out money no matter how bad the Red Sox might be. Still, that seems to be the only hope to make owner John Henry and his other negligent bozo billionaires to pay attention: stop going to the games, stop buying merchandise and stop watching the games on TV (well that has already happened but that's another story for another day). I have said for years that I love baseball but the sport makes it really hard on fans what with their way too long regular season, tedious games and terrible marketing of the overall product. Likewise, I have no idea how the Red Sox think that treating their team like the Rays is going to make anyone that actually cares about it want to pay any attention ever again. There will always be tough decisions to make in sports but the Red Sox have become completely tonedeaf to what really matters; building a consistent winner with likable players like Bogaerts and Betts should not be that difficult when you have endless resources in every way possible. It is one thing to get pantsed by the Dodgers in a lopsided trade but now they are getting pushed aside by the likes of the Padres. What a joke, thanks for everything Xander-you deserved way better than this pathetic exit from Boston.  

After Almost Two Seasons Of Buffoonery, The Red Sox Finally Got A Real First Baseman-Eric Hosmer

 

    Today the 2022 MLB Trade Deadline came and went with the Red Sox (53-52 overall) thankfully making one final important move: they acquired first baseman Eric Hosmer (a four-time Gold Glover!), two minor leaguers and cash considerations from the Padres (60-46 overall) for minor league LHP Jay Groome. The back story is that Hosmer was supposed to be involved with the blockbuster Juan Soto trade from the Nationals (36-69 overall) but he used his no-trade clause to reject a move to DC. This allowed Boston's chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom to swoop in and obtain the 32-year-old Hosmer with San Diego footing the rest of his contract. It was a move that would make Patriots head coach Bill Belichick proud in the way that Bloom was able to get a quality player and still make someone else pay for him.

    Boston's lack of a true first baseman had become a complete embarrassment these last few years. No more being forced to watch Franchy Cordero or Bobby Dalbec stumbling around trying to play a position that neither could handle at all. Hosmer was an All-Star in 2016 and he helped win the 2015 World Series with the Royals. The Padres had also picked up first baseman Josh Bell (who reportedly had been a Red Sox trade target) in the Soto deal so this left Hosmer as the odd man out for what is now one of the best teams in baseball. You cannot blame him for rejecting a move to Washington since the Nationals are going to be rebuilding for years to come. It's not like the Red Sox are exactly World Series contenders at the moment but at least he goes to a market and team that matters so if he plays well, he can set himself up for one last nice contract in MLB before he retires.

    Going back to his days with Kansas City, Hosmer (the No. 3 overall pick in the 2008 MLB Draft) had long been rumored to be coveted by Boston. On a personal note, he is married to former NESN sideline reporter and host Kacie McDonnell who is currently pregnant with their first child. In 90 games this season with the Padres, Hosmer was hitting .272/.336/.391 with eight HRs and 40 RBIs. He has a reputation as a leader and a good clubhouse guy which Boston certainly needs more of both of those things these days. He won't be a Hall of Famer but he has put together a notable career in MLB, hitting a career-high 25 homers in both 2015 and 2016 with a career-best 104 RBIs in his All-Star season (when he was also the All-Star Game MVP). He even won the Silver Slugger for the American League first basemen in 2017 and for his career, his batting splits are .277/.336/.429. The Christian Vazquez trade to Houston (67-38 overall) doesn't make a ton of sense although the former Red Sox catcher admitted that he'd be open to returning here this winter in free agency but at least Boston drastically improved its biggest weakness-first base-with the addition of a fine pro like Hosmer.

My Favorite Red Sox-First Baseman Mitch Moreland-Is The Latest Veteran Traded Away

 

    With the MLB Trade Deadline tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m., the rebuilding Red Sox (12-22) continued to make some notable moves as this morning they traded first baseman Mitch Moreland to the red-hot Padres (21-15) for a pair of minor leaguers-infielder Hudson Potts and outfielder Jeisson Rosario. Almost everyone on Boston's current MLB roster should be on the table for a possible deal so while this news was not surprising, the return (namely no pitching of any sort) was odd. 

    In his fourth season with the Red Sox, Moreland was having a great 2020 (.328 batting average, .430 on-base percentage, .746 slugging percentage with 8 HRs and 21 RBIs in only 22 games) which made him an outlier on a terrible club mostly filled with guys that are underachieving/have checked out already on this bizarre 60-game campaign. At 34-years-old and in his 10th MLB season, Moreland will add an immediate veteran presence to a San Diego team that is filled with young talent but looking for their first playoff berth since 2006. 

    I don't have many personal stories involving professional athletes so humor me for a minute: the summer after I graduated from PC in 2006 I interned with the Bourne Braves of the Cape League. It was a blast: my first taste of working in sports after college and while the Braves were abysmal-the worst team in the league-Mitch was their best player (he also pitched at Mississippi State) and from what I remember, an even better guy. I'm not going to pretend that we were best friends then or that we've kept in touch but I have to say that to see him have such a long, productive career has been awesome. Many other guys would have bailed on that miserable summer for the Braves but he stuck it out which proved his character at a young age. 

    Moreland appeared in back-to-back World Series (both losses) his first two MLB seasons with the Rangers. He called Texas home for seven seasons and he won a Gold Glove in 2016 before signing as a free agent with Boston in 2017. The Red Sox made the playoffs his first two years and 2018 was the ultimate year for him as he was named an All-Star for the first time then won the World Series. Off the field, he is married with three kids plus Mitch is very involved with the Jimmy Fund (he was the Red Sox captain for that wonderful charity this year) and many other worthy causes. Writing all of this, I regret not buying a Moreland Red Sox jersey while he was here. 

    While it'll be hard to see him playing for another team, I'm psyched that he's going to a legitimate contender that unlike the Red Sox is on the rise and should only get better and better the next few years. Moving across the country with a large family like that during a pandemic doesn't sound too fun but San Diego is an amazing place that anyone would enjoy. Who knows, maybe he can win another World Series or two before he retires following a really solid career. Not bad for a guy from Amory, Mississippi. 

      

    

Let The Red Sox Fire Sale Begin, Enjoy Your Duckboat Jake Peavy!

We've known for weeks, maybe months, that the 2014 Red Sox were circling the drain and there would be no postseason baseball this fall for the defending World Series champs. Their recent four-game slide has sent Boston (47-56 overall) back to the basement in the AL East-10.5 games behind first place Baltimore and seven games back in the Wild Card. The non-waiver trade deadline is looming on Thursday so the Red Sox finally made a move as they flipped veteran starting pitcher Jake Peavy to the Giants for minor league pitchers righty Heath Hembree and lefty Edwin Escobar.

He's had some bad luck and no run support for months (2 runs or fewer in his last 8 starts) but the fact is that in 20 starts this season, Peavy is 1-9 with 4.72 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. At 33, he looks pretty washed up but the funny thing is that he could look like a different guy when he gets to the friendly confines of AT&T Park along with the weak West (3 teams at least 10 games under .500) in the JV National League. Plus he has 7.5 years of experience with San Diego so that should count for something.

Peavy will make his Giants (57-46) debut tomorrow night on Sunday Night Baseball (8:07, ESPN) at home vs. Dodgers. Being on a good team in a pennant race should also give him a boost for a few months, similar to what happened basically a year ago when he came over from the White Sox to the Red Sox.

With Brandon Workman waiting in the wings in Pawtucket, Boston probably won't miss anything Peavy could bring anymore on the field. However, not to sound too cheesy here but he seemed like a great dude that everybody loved. This is the same guy that bought a Duck Boat after the World Series win, he immediately embraced his new team and what it meant to play in such a special environment. Those things that you can't measure in endless baseball stats is what the Red Sox and their fans will miss most about Jake Peavy, he is the rare baseball player that isn't a dink.

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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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You Know Things Are Going Well When Jonny Gomes Is Hitting Walk-Off Bombs

So have you jumped back on the Red Sox bandwagon yet? If not, you're missing out on a fun team that seems to get better by the game. Tonight, Boston (52-34 overall, 30-16 home) delivered its MLB-best (tied with Giants) eighth walk-off win of 2013, 2-1 over San Diego (40-45 overall, 15-27 away) at Fenway Park on Jonny Gomes' solo homer just over the Monster.

Gomes pinch-hit to start the bottom of the ninth and came through with his sixth homer of the season. It was also his third walk-off hit of 2013 (2 homers) which is pretty remarkable for a guy that I thought was completely useless when they signed him. He's not a great player by any means but he obviously has a clear role as a clubhouse leader and pinch-hitting specialist. In the last two nights alone, I've had to admit that John Lackey is pitching really well and Gomes is the perfect fit for a squad like this.

Jon Lester got a no-decision but that shouldn't hide the fact that this was his best start in a month and a half. He went seven innings, allowing one run on six hits with five strikeouts and one walk. He threw 31 pitches in the first inning and gave up an RBI single to Kyle Blanks in the frame so lasting that long and getting into a rhythm was key.

The Padres had been playing well up until a few weeks back but now they've lost five in a row and haven't scored more than two runs in any of those contests. Edinson Volquez (6 innings, 1 run, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk) was good and Nick Vincent pitched a scoreless seventh but Luke Gregerson (4-4) choked when Bud Black tried to coax another inning out of him.

The Red Sox tied it at one in the fourth on Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI single which drove in Mike Carp (2 for 4, double). Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 4 with a double and stolen base while Carlos Quentin was 3 for 4 with a double and run in the loss.

Junichi Tazawa had maybe his best outing of the season as he struck out the side in the eighth and Koji Uehara (2-0) continued his magical first half with a 1-2-3 ninth including a strikeout for the win.

Boston is 7-1 on this excellent homestand and they'll try to close it out tomorrow afternoon (1:35, NESN) with a sweep of San Diego on the Fourth of July. Red Sox rookie Allen Webster (0-2) looks for his first MLB win against Eric Stults (6-6).

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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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Padres take series against Red Sox, following four rain delays in one game and another John Lackey stinkbomb

The nice and mostly crazy people that live on Cape Cod year round were treated to quite a dog's breakfast of a game at Fenway Park yesterday afternoon.

You see it was Cape Cod Day at Fenway and the Boston Red Sox (44-30) celebrated by showing no signs of life in a 5-1 loss to the San Diego Padres (32-44). Did I mention there was four rain delays and John Lackey lasted 3.1 innings? All wonderful memories that I'm sure those in attendance will treasure forever.

Lackey (5-6) had somehow won his last three starts but he returned to his pathetic form yesterday by allowing five earned runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. He also hit two batters and had a wild pitch.

Listen, I'm extremely sorry that Lackey is going through so much while his wife battles cancer but if he's showing up to work, he has to perform better. At the moment, he's one of the biggest busts in Theo Epstein's reign as Red Sox GM and I don't have much faith that anything will really change in the next few years for Lackey.

The Padres took advantage of Boston's misfortune as Clayton Richard (3-9) went five innings for the cakewalk win. He allowed one earned run on eight hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Ernesto Frieri threw a scoreless sixth and seventh and that's all San Diego needed as the game was mercifully called before the bottom of the eighth.

Lackey made sure to get off to one of his trademark fast starts by allowing a leadoff homer to Will Venable. They added four runs in the fourth on a bases loaded walk, a bases loaded hit by pitch, a wild pitch and an RBI single by Chase Headley. Excuse me while I go vomit after just reliving that miserable half inning.

Adrian Gonzalez (4 hits) provided the only highlight for Boston with an RBI single in the fifth which scored Jacoby Ellsbury. Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis each had two hits in the loss, further indications that they're both heating up.

Interleague play is over at Fenway for this season and now the Red Sox wrap up facing the National League by visiting Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Houston for three games apiece. Boston won't return to Fenway until July 4.

Jon Lester takes on Paul Maholm and the surprising Pirates (37-37) tomorrow night at PNC Park. It sounds like Gonzalez will play some left field on the road trip since Terry Francona has to find a way to keep both him and David Ortiz in the lineup. No easy solutions for that one with no DH.

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Alfredo Aceves walks six, Padres luck out to gift win at Fenway

Basically the only way the San Diego Padres can win at Fenway Park this season is by some divine act of God or a completely uncharacteristic performance.

They got one of the latter last night as Red Sox starter Alfredo Aceves walked six batters (including five in the second inning alone) as the Padres (31-44) snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over Boston (44-29).

Aceves is known for his fine control but he was a mess. In five innings, he allowed four earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts. It's a miracle that he didn't give up more runs, lasted that long and wasn't even charged with the loss.

Padres starer Mat (one t?) Latos wasn't exactly the picture of efficiency either as he lasted just 5.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits with four walks and eight strikeouts. He also did not factor into the decision.

San Diego's offense didn't do much, they had more walks (eight) than hits (seven) which is pretty hard to do. Nick Hundley, their catcher and No. 9 hitter, was the only Padre with two hits. Jason Bartlett walked three times with a hit and RBI. Cameron Maybin scored twice for this offensively-challenged squad.

The Red Sox wasted 13 hits by its offense as they struggled with runners in scoring position (3 for 13) and left 11 on base.

Kevin Youkilis went 4 for 5 with an RBI while Jacoby Ellsbury (RBI), Marco Scutaro (run) and Josh Reddick (run, RBI) all had two hits in the loss.

Youk gave Boston a 1-0 lead with an RBI double in the first which scored Adrian Gonzalez.

San Diego scored twice in the second on bases loaded walks (maybe the most boring play in sports).

Maybin's RBI single and Hundley's RBI double in the third pushed the San Diego advantage to 4-1.

The Red Sox tied it with single runs in the third, fourth and sixth. Ellsbury had an RBI single, Reddick added and RBI double and Gonzalez tied it with an RBI single.

San Diego's winning run was plated by Anthony Rizzo's ground out in the seventh. The great duo of setup man Mike Adams and closer Heath Bell teamed up to hold Boston scoreless in the eighth and ninth. Adams struck out two in the eighth and Bell gave up a hit and struck one for his 19th save of the season.

John Lackey and Clayton Richard (two complete bums) close out the series this afternoon and with that interleague play is done at Fenway this season. The next time a National League team could play in Boston would be in October but let's not get too ahead of ourselves.

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Andrew Miller teases Red Sox fans with a decent debut

No sport has as many busts and flameouts as baseball. With so many rounds in the MLB Draft, not to mention four levels of minor league teams before reaching MLB, it's Darwin's survival of the fittest to make a major league roster.

Andrew Miller was a first round pick of the Detroit Tigers in 2006 and he was rushed to the big leagues (he made eight appearances for them that season which is insane). Perhaps not surprisingly, his career went off the rails and he was traded to the Florida Marlins (2008-10) where he didn't do much of anything notable.

Fast forward to present day and the tall lefty (6-7, 207 pounds) from the University of North Carolina is a spot starter for the Boston Red Sox. He didn't get a decision in his debut with his new team but his promising start has to make Red Sox fans dream that this talented guy can finally put it together with a change of scenery (15-26 career record, 5.82 ERA, 1.74 WHIP).

He went 5.2 innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Miller departed after giving up a game-tying three-run bomb to Padres second baseman Orlando Hudson (3 hits) and ringing double to stud prospect Anthony Rizzo (obtained in the Adrian Gonzalez trade last winter) but Boston (44-28) turned it into a blowout with a 14-5 win over San Diego (30-44), which put more shine on Miller's start.

A 3-3 game in the seventh turned into a joke thanks to a bunch of awful performances by Padres relievers which enabled Boston to roll up 10 runs.

The biggest story line of the series is obviously Adrian Gonzalez's first trio of games against his former team. Gonzalez didn't disappoint, going 3 for 5 with three RBIs and two runs, including an RBI double and two-run single in the crazy seventh.

The Red Sox built a 3-0 lead on San Diego starter Wade LeBlanc (7 hits, 2 walks, 1 strikeout) before he left after three innings. Don't ask me how this terrible lefty has a job, even in the NL West and cavernous Petco Park. He throws complete junk, further proof that if you're a lefty pitcher, you have a much better shot to make it than garden variety right-handers.

Chase Headley went 4 for 5 with two runs for the Padres.

The Red Sox were led by Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz who had two hits and two RBIs while Dustin Pedroia scored three runs. Marco Scutaro had two hits and scored twice.

Boston had 14 hits and accumulated nine walks, a main reason why this nine inning game took a laborious nine innings and had NESN's Jerry Remy and Don Orsillo talking about soap operas and ties in the eighth and ninth innings.

Tonight could be more of a fair fight with Alfredo Aceves subbing for an ill Josh Beckett. San Diego sends Mat Latos (who is good but is having a rough season) to the mound. Oh who am I kidding, the Padres are awful and the Red Sox are the best team in baseball. Might be another ugly night for our visitors from the West Coast.

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Happy Holidays from Theo and the minions

In something that was long overdue, the Boston Red Sox finally made a big move.

They acquired San Diego Padres superstar first baseman Adrian Gonzalez in a trade. The Padres receive three highly-rated Red Sox prospects: pitcher Casey Kelly, first baseman Anthony Rizzo and outfielder Reymond Fuentes.

There will reportedly be another player to be named later in the deal going to San Diego.

Wow, you have to love this move if you care at all about the Red Sox. After a terrible season in 2010 following a terrible off-season, they needed to show their fans and the region that they still care about putting a true contender on the field.

All the nickel and dimeing they've done in the last year plus is quickly forgotten now that they have an affordable, left-handed, 3-time All-Star who is just starting to be in the prime of his career at 28.

Last season in San Diego (at Petco Park, one of MLB's toughest hitter parks) with no protection around him in an awful lineup, he hit .298 with 31 home runs and 101 RBIs. He finished fifth in the National League in OBP (.393), ninth in slugging (.511) and first in hitting with runners in scoring position (.407).

He received 35 intentional walks, second only to Albert Pujols. If that's not enough he's a two-time Gold Glover at first base meaning Kevin Youkilis will slide back to third base (and Adrian Beltre is probably gone).

He's hit 30+ home runs the last four seasons with 99+ RBIs in each one of them.

This is the biggest move the Red Sox have made since they acquired Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell from the Florida Marlins in 2005 for Hanley Ramirez and other prospects.

If they couple this with the signing of either outfielders Carl Crawford or Jayson Werth, the Red Sox will put themselves right back at the top of the American League East and all of baseball. This is a hell of a start.

Summer is here

Yesterday marked the official start of summer and there's some symmetry with that in baseball as this is the last weekend of interleague play. I for one will miss it. Many people (old-timers and players) seem to hate it but the last time I checked the regular season is 162 games. The Yankees games are fun but how many times can you see the Devil Rays, Blue Jays or Orioles? Interleague play gets your team out there as you can see how they stack up against the other league's squads. Players always whine about how it's unbalanced but who can predict when a division will be as bad as the NL Central this season. And plus, there's a pretty big margin for error as you can still beat up on your league's crappy teams after faltering through interleague play. Everyone has ball-busting road trips, you have to figure it all evens out during such a grueling schedule. The Red Sox are 10-5 through their first 15 games against NL teams and they fittingly end it at San Diego-arguably the best team in the National League.
There's no clear-cut top team in the NL; the Mets have the lineup but plenty of pitching problems. The Brewers look pretty good but they haven't sniffed the playoffs in years. The Dodgers and Braves are decent but nothing special by any means. The Rockies have been the hottest team in baseball, 22-7 in the last month and fresh off sweeping the Yankees at Coors yesterday but will their pitching hold up? With the Padres ridiculous pitching (their team ERA is 3.05, .31 ahead of the A's and .67 ahead of the Sox, who have the third best ERA), they'll always have a chance. Even if their offense is still pretty pathetic (team batting average-.246, 2nd worst in the league), they play in a spacious pitcher's park, they have an emerging star-first baseman Adrian Gonzalez-and enough other decent positional players-the Giles', Mike Cameron, Michael Barrett-to do something.

All three pitching matchups are beautiful, well maybe not so much on Saturday: Dice-K vs. Greg Maddux tonight, Wakefield vs. Chris Young Sat. and Beckett vs. Peavy (the two front-runners for their league's Cy Young) on Sunday afternoon. The old saying goes that good pitching beats good hitting so we'll see how these games play out. The Sox know how to wear pitchers out, so they've got that going for them. Coming off back-to-back shutouts of the Braves this week, the Sox pitching is also settling down after Schilling pitched a stinker on Monday at the Braves then went back to Boston and emerged on the DL-shoulder tendinitis. If the Sox pitchers can keep them in the game's-which is not too much to ask against this anemic lineup-the Sox will have as good a chance as any to put some runs on the board. Ortiz won't play all three games as they juggle around Lowell, Youk and Ortiz at NL parks with no DH. I have a couple friends in San Diego-easily one of the best US cities-who are going to all three of these games. Definitely wish I was in their shoes as this should be a fun weekend. It's the last time we'll see AL vs. NL (besides the All-Star Game) until the World Series.