SoxSport

I'd rather see Bogaerts at SS and Middlebrooks at 3B in September. They would give the RHd hitting a boost it needs right now. Middlebrooks is hitting with power in AAA.

I don't care who they get--just get some pitching help. A guy who can start right away and another reliever. That would be a boost to a team that deserves it for what they've shown so far.

I wouldn't expect them to show their cards in this press conference--not a week before the trade deadline. We'll see what they do in the next few days.

Nava not in lineup tonite in LF against RHP. Hope he doesn't get traded. That would be a mistake. One of their best hitters.

Nolan Ryan, who knows more about pitching than anybody, now has 8 starters on the Rangers. The Red Sox have about half that many right now, plus minor league pitchers they are shuffling in to make starts. Their pitching has thinned out considerably with the injuries. They need another starter and another prime reliever to step in if those Japanese guys falter. I doubt they have the pitching depth to sustain a stretch run, unless they get more surprises from their prospects.

I think Middlebrooks should have been brought up when Drew got hurt again. Bradley should be up, too, for defense and facing RHP. Iggy is a SS. He doesn't have enough offense to play 3B, especially with Drew not hitting.

They thought this was going to be a "bridge" year, but baseball can sometimes be unpredictable. They are a surprise team--maybe overachieving. But so did the Orioles last year, and it turned out they are really pretty good. No fluke there. So maybe the Red Sox are pretty good. My guess is they have changed their thinking somewhat about this year, and are more inclined to fill holes because they are in the thick of it. At some point, the Rays figure to cool off, so you know they aren't going to create much distance. One thing that bites them is having a SS type hitter playing 3B. As long as Iggy was hitting .400 it didn't matter that Drew continues to suck as a hitter at SS, but now that Iggy is coming back to earth (as any hitter does in this situation), the problem is showing up. They need more lumber at 3B, where hitting is more important than defense. When Drew got hurt again, they moved Iggy to SS, and got some hitting from Snyder and Holt at 3B. But they both made important errors in games. With the talk now of using Middlebrooks as a trade chip, you wonder if it wasn't better to bring him up when Drew got hurt, and tolerate his weak OBP. He isn't much worse hitting than what Drew has been. And better defensively than the replacements. Even Iggy has shown a weakness in fielding bunts, which SSs don't often do.

Middlebrooks for Peavy is currently a trade rumor in tweets and stories by Speier et al. Figured he might be the one to go, with Bogaerts close and Holt, Snyder, Drew and Iggy on the left side. They could expand it to include Craine, who is pitching Thursday.

They'll have his head if he does nothing and they blow it in August and September. The Orioles got KRod for about the same level prospect as the Sox got Thornton. Fair enough. KRod is a free agent, but the Orioles have the option to sign him. And he isn't the KRod of a few years back. Despite what the ownership said today, I think they are serious about signing more pitching. They just don't want to give up good prospects for rentals. That's clear. Interesting today Middlebrooks was omitted in the list published of "untouchable" prospects. I figure maybe he might be trade bait right now.

I see Garza just beat the Yankees, allowing no earned runs for 7+ innings. Garza would have been perfect for the Red Sox, but they were not going to give the package Texas gave for him as a rental. But there is an advantage of a rental: you're not stuck with him if he doesn't pan out. If he pans out, extend him. He's worth it. With Dempster, they are stuck with a back end starter for front of rotation money for 2 years. In that sense, rentals are better. You get to try the merchandise before you spend big bucks on it--at a prospect price, of course.

Garza just beat the Yankees.

The trouble with Peavy is he is just too much like Dempster. But they almost have to come away with somebody, because their rivals are improving.

Terrific right now, even more terrific next year when he will be playing for almost nothing. He's their best, most consistent starter.

Koji has saved them this year. He's the guy who deserves a rest day.

He must have been joking. This is not exactly a "routine" series. I would guess the medical staff has him on a rest regimen much like Crawford last year, who got a day off in the middle of a Yankee series at Yankee stadium. Not the managers call? Pretty nutty to be resting Ellsbury against RHP in an important series.

Benny Boy isn't giving up any prospects for rentals. The Orioles just got KRod. The Red Sox can't stand still while their rivals improve by the trade deadline.

Iggy isn't enough of a power hitter to be playing 3B. He should be playing SS, where he would have more value for his defense.

I would imagine the front office is on the fence right now. How can they call this a bridge year when they are in first place? That's the objective. So the objective is here. What does that mean in terms of improving the team right now to win? We'll see in the next few days. My guess is they were close to trading for Garza, and the Cubs held up the Ranger deal until just after the Andrews prognosis on Buchholz was announced. So does that mean they are going after Peavy? The question still boils down do we improve right now or sit on the prospects for the future? Stay with the plan?Leading the division, it seems they are compelled to do whatever it takes to stay on top. That could mean modifying the plan. Do they think they can get by with the likes of Workman et al? Can they afford Peavy's contract? I have a feeling they haven't decided yet.

They need Contreras right now, if he has anything.

Lackey is their best pitcher right now. Good for him. The anti-Buchholz. The guy pitched hurt for 2 years, and nobody knew.

If anyone ever deserved big money, it would be Pedey. I don't think it will affect him. He's already making big money--more than he can ever spend. I hope his wife doesn't read this.

Ellsbury has a "planned" day off tonite, according to Farrell. Seems strange so soon after the all-star break for an important series.

The tweets are quoting him this aft saying he thinks he should be back around the first of September. I don't see much of a change in his thinking after Andrews. Maybe they should trade him--he's a bit of a head case. There is criticism of him on the tweets.

They seem to have found a starter in Workman. You never know about these kids. Sometimes they come out of nowhere. I'm having my doubts they will add another starter now that the Buchholz situation has been "resolved." But it'll be two weeks, maybe more, before he pitches again. And by that time they could be 5 games down. And what happens if he can't pitch? They are probably still throwing dice on this guy. Another factor is they have no cap space to make a major move, unless injuries have changed the cap picture. No discussion of that in the media. They aren't going to go way over the cap to get a significant pitcher. More likely, they will settle for another minor reliever. Things will have to break right for them to come out on top with the pitching they have right now.

The Garza deal to Texas was announced about an hour after the Andrews report on Buchholz--via the tweets. Its a good bet the Cubs were waiting on the Red Sox and the status of Buchholz. The Red Sox clearly decided to pass. You figure they might have had first dibs on Garza. I'm also guessing Middlebrooks is the guy who would have gone to the Cubs. He's probably better than Olt, the guy the Cubs got. But the Red Sox are loaded on the left side of the infield, and the Red Sox would have looked stronger down the stretch with Garza. I wonder if they will just settle for another reliever before the deadline. Peavy might well take them over the cap, though I don't know how all those season ending injuries factor in.