redsoxfan3

Damn, Simmons almost threw that ball out of the stadium.

Hell yes Ross and Gonzalez! Finally a homer for A-Gon.

Way to get out of that Cook! I think a lot of us thought we were at least giving up one run there.

I think we are taking good at bats, aside from Aviles. Gonzalez made good contact, but due to the shift he grounded out. Ross saw a lot of pitches. We are getting good at bats, we just need to start stringing together hits. We will be fine.

Me too. We need to start swinging the bat. We are making Minor look better than he really is.

Aviles looked HORRIBLE that at-bat. He looked at two good pitches, then swung at a pitch in the dirt.

That works. Good hustle Youk.

People are being over dramatic at Fenway. Youk deserves credit for the several good years of baseball with the Sox, but he needs to go.

Even though Ross struck out, he still got Minor to throw a lot of pitches.

I agree. He definitely pitches for contact. If he can get those ground ball outs, then he can be effective. That is really important in Fenway.

Correct. It will be interesting to see what happens with Cook though if he performs well today.

That a boy, Pedroia!

My reaction exactly. We need Papi's bat in the lineup. Why the hell is Youk playing? Was it because he said he was hitting "missiles" in BP the other day?

I really do not know if the thumb is a big factor. Pedroia and Bobby V both have stated that it is not a factor. I think it is more of Pedroia was just struggling and in a slump. It happens to everyone. He did have a huge game yesterday. Hopefully he can add on to his good game yesterday.

With Kalish in AAA, that leaves us with CC, Ells, Sweeney, Ross, Pods, D-Mac, and Nava (when CC, Ells, and Sweeney all return). I am assuming that D-Mac gets DFA'd, so that still leaves us with six OF's. If we trade Pods, then that leaves us with CC, Ells, Sweeney, Ross, and Nava. I could deal with an OF that consists of those five. The report did say that Nava and Ross were possible trade chips, so I guess that with Kalish, it depends if one of those two get traded as well.

Interesting find from MLBTR. We all know a couple OF's have to go, especially with CC and Ells coming back shortly. This is a tough choice. From the sound of things, it looks like Ells, CC, Sweeney, and Kalish are the players that will stick, although I am sure if someone is interested in Sweeney then he is available to be traded. I am not sure if I would rather have Ross or Nava. I have a feeling that we are going to deal Pods and one of Ross or Nava. I am not really sure which one teams would be interested in more, but it is interesting to think about.

That would be ideal, but at this point if an AL team offers us the better deal, then we should take it (as long as it is a team not in the AL East). I would be fine with him going to the White Sox. I think we only play the White Sox four more times this year, so that is really a non factor if we trade him there.

Imagine if Morales actually pans out to be a decent number 5th starter. Morales is only 26 and Doubront is only 24. That is two guys that had no impact in the rotation last year that could possibly have a huge impact in the rotation this year. Doubront has already been decent this year. Morales is impressive after his first two starts. I do not want to be too optimistic with Morales, but I am liking what I am seeing. I would love to see Doubront as a #3 or #4 for many years to come. I would also love to see Morales as a #5 for several years to come if he can prove himself this year. I want to point out that after two starts that I am not sold on Morales. He needs to continue to start the rest of this year and have a solid year as a starter before I am sold on him. Next year we could potentially have Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, Doubront, Morales, and Lackey all fighting for spots in the rotation. I know there has been some talk about trading Beckett this offseason. I do not know how realistic that is, but if that is the case and we could land Hamels in free agency, then we could have a good rotation next year. Like I said, Morales still has a lot to prove, but so far, so good.

An old Dustin Pedroia quote. Dustin Pedroia has struggled at times in his career, he has always managed to bounce back. He is the type of player we need in the lineup. The thumb is probably more of an issue than anyone wants to admit, but he will get things going eventually. He is the type of hitter that can break out at any point. He is a leader in this lineup. When he does not always hit so well, he at least plays well defensively and adds a veteran leader in the lineup. He is bound to have a huge game. Hang in there. Dustin Pedroia will be fine.

Not so sure about that. The FO is going to do everything in their power to keep him and have him retire as a member of the Red Sox. He said that as well last year and he came back. He is frustrated with the media, not so much the team. If he starts saying that about the actual team, then I think we can be concerned.

I thought his reaction was over the top. He also said it was a "pussy move." How is it a pussy move? Like you said, it is against the rules. More power to the Nats for checking and getting Peralta ejected. It is all fair game. Don't play the game against the rules and go out there and call another team cowardly. I used to respect Maddon, but after this I lost a lot of respect for the *******.

Good article. If the article is right and he will be ready for the majors by sometime in 2013, this could be very interesting on what happens with Ellsbury. Ells is a free agent in 2014 and if Bradley is ready for the majors and comes up and shows that he can produce, then we might see the last of Jacoby if he is going to demand a big contract. I like our OF with CC, Ellsbury, and Kalish already, and with Bradley coming along, it will be even more exciting to watch. Not to mention we have Ross and Sweeney who still might be around next year or in 2014. Sweeney is a FA in 2014 and Ross is a FA in 2013.

Well, just because one pitcher did it does not mean all of their pitchers do it. From what I have read, the reason the Nats knew that is because Peralta used to pitch for the Nats. They were aware of it then and that is why they challenged it last night. There is a rule that states that hitters are allowed to use pine tar for bats, but pitchers are not allowed to. The pine tar does allow them to have a better grip on the ball, but I still do not thing that is as a big of a factor as this article is making it sound like. Rules are rules, that is why I understand the ejection. Let's just hope this is a lesson learned for the Rays and they do not do this. Hopefully Peralta was the only one.