SoxSport

What they need to do is put Bard to sleep, and then wake him up and make him believe he's the setup guy again. Use him strictly as a setup guy in AAA a few times, then in Boston. Keep telling him he's the setup guy. Just like old times.

This team is cruising for a fall--the way the mgt is operating. Not playing Ortiz tonite, who is 7 for 25 against Chen. Disregarding defense, which hurts the pitching. No real 3rd baseman. Weak defense in LF on the road. Putting an outfielder at 1B. Too many hubris signs here.

The way Ells has been playing lately, I doubt he's going anywhere.

The kid is only 23?. Still young and developing. His upside hasn't been established. It's good for him they traded him. He'll get to play SS in Detroit, and he won't have a lot of media and others throwing out cynical BS about his hitting. He's playing about as well in Detroit so far as you'd expect a good field/weak hit SS to play. That's probably enough in Detroit. If he can stay around .300, they'll have lightening in a bottle.

Middlebrooks will be the guy brought up. He's on the 40 man roster, and is preferred defensively--he knows the position.He and X are pretty much a standoff hitting wise in AAA. And he hits LHP better than Holt or Snyder--two guys who should not be playing 3B for defensive reasons. One of the reasons why the Sox are way down defensively in the league. It hurts their pitching.

Thats' the way it is developing. But there are 40+ games left, and anything can still happen. And probably will.

Middlebrooks may be better at this point, since he knows how to play 3B and has hit lefties as well as Bogaerts. X is still learning 3B. I doubt they have given up on Middlebrooks. He's on the 40 man roster, too, and easier to bring up.

This is just like the '67 Impossible Dream season. They keep pulling games out of their asses with big hits from different guys, and with good relief pitching. Time to put Dempster in the BP and start Workman, who has looked good as a starter and bad as a reliever. And time to bring up Middlebrooks to play 3B properly.

Dempster sucks. They keep starting this bum, they might not make the playoffs. They couldn't get a nickel for him right now.

They seem to think keeping a guy in AAA will correct his problems. I don't know why his problems can't be corrected in Boston. They need some experience at 3B, and Middlebrooks is the only one they have. Plus he can hit LHP, which some of their Rhd batters don't do so well. I would like to see Bogie playing SS and MBrooks playing 3B against LHP. Drew can't hit LHP either, and the other two have hit LHP in AAA better than RHP. This team is going to get a diet of LHP the rest of the year, and they have to improve their RHd hitting or risk missing the playoffs.

Well, they finally brought up Rubby. Who knows? Maybe Bogie will be next.

Typical low average, low OBP guy who is streaky and strikes out a lot. Not exactly Manny Ramirez.

The Red Sox are going to see every LHP on the planet the last two months of the season--and the playoffs, if they make it. Clearly, that's the way to beat them.

I see they have the lead with a 5 spot in the 5th. Hold on.

Yeah, they wasted a lot of that money pre-season. But they have plenty of it, and it's fruitless to criticize now when they are doing so well. I see they've jumped back in the lead against powerhouse Houston. They can't lose two in a row to that team. Their payroll is less than Pawtucket's.

Nap is wearing a sign that says I need a day off. Hope that coach was wearing a cup.

Workman two good starts. One bad relief outing. So he doesn't start tonite? Go figure. Stretching their luck on these spot starters from Pawtucket. You got to beat the bad teams if you want to stay on top.

Time they brought up Bogaerts to play 3B and get another RHd bat into the lineup. I'd like to see Bradley up, too. I can see why they might have a lid on Middlebrooks, but those other two guys could really help them right now.

Going to be tough for ARod to play. He's the only cheater who has tried to play, and is suffering the consequences. All the others would be getting the same treatment, though the media is putting him under the microscope. They seem intent on villifying the guy, while ignoring all the others. Braun has slipped away into the darkness.

I suspect this is what the ARod "ban" is all about. The Yankees are powerful. Interesting the PA seems to be backing ARod. We'll see. Showalter has managed the Yankees. He knows the organization.

Girardi is the type of guy who doesn't give a crap about any of the controversy surrounding ARod. He's going to field his best team, and that means ARod starts and bats cleanup, I guess, tonite. Joe doesn't let the political BS interfere with his managing. I remember he got fired in Miami for telling the owner where to go.

I saw ARod's press conference today. You almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost. He seemed pretty sincere about wanting to play and help the Yankees win. I'm sure that's what he was told to say. He avoided questions about PEDs. It's true he's been through a helluva lot with his hip injuries, rehab, etc. But that was probably caused by taking steroids. Whenever these guys hips and legs fall apart, you have to suspect steroids, especially after they've had monster years. Steroids can work miracles, but they'll bite you if you take them too much or regularly. Prednisone comes to mind. The way I see it, the Yankees made their bed with ARod's ridiculous contract, and now they should lie in it. But they need to retool, and are pretty desperate to get out of his contract--or as much of it as they can. That we are seeing Selig separating ARod from the others--without any disclosed justification--is a testimony as to how powerful the Yankees are. He's giving them a years' salary--probably as much as he figures he can get away with. The arbiter, however, may see things differently. The other factor is the media. So much of it is based in NY--the networks, etc. ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, Fox. Predictably, most are on the side of the Yankees. Morosi alone of Fox has suggested the Yankees are a factor in Selig's treatment of ARod. Most of the others sound like mouthpieces for the Yankees.

Iglesias is a bit above the prospect level. He's Detroit's starting SS tonite. He could be a steal, or he could be a utility player. It's a mystery.

Never thought I'd feel sympathetic for ARod, but the way that NY-based network media is ganging up on him, along with Selig and the Yankees, he's getting defending tweets from non-Yankee fans. Looks like a blatant effort by the Yankees to get ARod's contract off the books with a lifetime ban. But it appears Selig has come to realize he can only get away with an extra year tacked on--he really has no beef with ARod beyond what Braun and the other cheaters have done. What is going on right now is a testimony to how powerful the Yankees are in MLB and the media. Voiding ARod's contract is a key to their retooling.

They want their best RHd power hitter behind Ortiz. And right now, that's Napoli. Middlebrooks hasn't hit, and is in AAA. Gomes doesn't play full time. Pedey doesn't hit for power enough. RHd power has been a problem since Manny and Bay.