Crawford, Beckett, Gonzalez Gone In Huge Blockbuster

After tons of trade rumors last night involving the possibility of Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford going to Los Angeles, the deal is going to be finally made official today. Also included in this major blockbuster is Nick Punto as the Red Sox have freed up nearly $250 million in payroll space over the next several years and will take about $60 million off of 2013's guaranteed contracts. In return, the Red Sox will acquire first baseman James Loney (.254/4/33), who will probably fill in for Gonzalez for the rest of 2012. Along with Loney, the Red Sox acquired four prospects in the deal; #2 Dodgers' prospect Allen Webster plus Rubby De La Rosa, Ivan DeJesus, and Jerry Sands. Webster and De La Rosa are each highly ranked Dodgers' pitching prospects who are each close to major-league ready. Webster is 6-8 with a 3.55 ERA in Double-A Chattanooga and De La Rosa is coming off Tommy John Surgery but was 4-5 with a 3.71 ERA in 13 games in MLB last year. Sands (.303/24/101) and DeJesus (.295/3/33) have each had success in Triple-A, but haven't quite figured it out yet at the major league level-- .174/0/1 and .273/0/4 respectively. However, a change of scenery could help them out and Webster and De La Rosa should be elite pitching talent very soon. This deal is huge financially for the Red Sox as much as I hate to see Gonzalez go, it may be the right move.

Lester Shuts Down Yankees In Easy Win (59-62)

Lester lowered his ERA to 5.03

It's always nice to beat the Yankees, and especially when it's a relatively easy and stress free win powered by strong starting pitching and decent offense. The Red Sox got all of that in a nice win in the middle game of this weekend's series in New York. The Red Sox bats got off to a quick start off Yankees' rookie David Phelps, putting Carl Crawford at second base with two outs in the first. Adrian Gonzalez came up and promptly powered a low and away fastball to the opposite field for a two-run homer to make it 2-0. It took them a few innings, but the Yankees finally benefitted from a home run of their own in the fourth inning. That was when Curtis Granderson took advantage of a two-out two-strike mistake fastball by Jon Lester, left up and over the plate, pounding it into the bleachers in center field.

Gonzalez had a two-run homer

Luckily, the Red Sox got that run right back in the top of the fifth-- putting Pedro Ciriaco on first base with one out. An unusual suspect in Nick Punto got the RBI here, driving a liner into the corner in right field. Right fielder Andruw Jones bobbled the ball which allowed Punto to coast into the third after making it 3-1. After that, both starting pitchers really settled down and pitched great ball games. David Phelps (3-3, 2.53) actually put up the longest start of his young career-- going 6.2 innings and allowing 3 runs on 7 hits while striking out 7 in the game. However, he would get the loss due to the fine work done on the other side of the ball by Jon Lester-- who allowed a run on 5 hits in 7 innings. The Red Sox got an insurance run on a wild pitch in the ninth, but they coasted Lester's fine start to a 4-1 win.

Bright Spots:
Jon Lester- 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K, W (7-10)
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (25)
Adrian Gonzalez- 1-3, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Pedro Ciriaco- 4-4, 1 R, 1 2B
Nick Punto- 1-3, 1 BB, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Jacoby Ellsbury- 0-5, 1 K, 4 LOB
Cody Ross- 0-4, 4 K, 3 LOB
Ryan Lavarnway- 0-4, 1 K, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Jon Lester- The Red Sox really took advantage of a great start here today by Jon Lester, who went seven strong innings to earn the win-- he is now 7-10, 5.03.

Middlebrooks Reportedly With Broken Wrist

Despite the win last night, the Red Sox got depressing news to go hand in hand with that win. After being hit on the wrist in the ninth inning of last night's game, Will Middlebrooks reportedly has suffered a broken wrist. This is a particularly nasty injury as it almost derailed David Ortiz's career and can definitely be a nagging injury. Hopefully, it has no real effect on Middlebrooks' career-- but he will miss at least a good portion, if not all of the remaining season. This raises the question of who will play third base in Middlebrooks' absence. The main candidates should be Mike Aviles, Pedro Ciriaco, Nick Punto, and Danny Valencia. Aviles has played plenty of third in his career, but he's been below average with a -17.7 UZR and has been great at shortstop this year with an 11.6 UZR-- he should remain at shortstop. Ciriaco is the most intriguing option on this list, as he hasn't played much third in his career (just 6 innings) but it would present the Red Sox with an opportunity to get his bat in the lineup. Punto and Valencia should remain backup plans as neither have hit well-- .200 and .198, respectively-- or played good defense at the hot corner. I think the Red Sox should try and move Ciriaco to third with Aviles sticking at short.

Red Sox Win Series Behind Doubront, Six Run Eighth (31-32)

Doubront held a no-hitter
into the sixth

This was a series (and game) that the Red Sox really needed to win-- as the Blue Jays had lost earlier in the day, and if the Red Sox won, they would tie them for fourth. It was fairly low scoring to start off the game and neither team scored through the first couple of innings. Mike Aviles would lead off the third in a good way, though, singling to center and advancing to second when center fielder Justin Ruggiano bobbled to ball. The Red Sox would manufacture a run as Felix Doubront bunted him to third and Scott Podsednik drove him in with a groundout to second base. Another run came in the fourth when David Ortiz went to the opposite field for a solo home run-- his 15th of the year. The Red Sox didn't score again until the sixth-- and the words "no hitter" were being mentioned as Felix Doubront still hadn't allowed a hit. The Red Sox would pile up a few insurance runs anyway as Scott Podsednik singled and got to second on a single by Dustin Pedroia. Adrian Gonzalez singled through the hole into right and David Ortiz knocked a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.

Ortiz had his 15th home run
and had 3 RBIs

With two outs in the bottom of the sixth-- boom! Jose Reyes ended Doubront's no hitter in a big way, crushing a home run to left to cut it to 4-1. The Marlins kept it going in the seventh, leading things off with a single and a double to put two in scoring position and no outs. After an Omar Infante pop up, Justin Ruggiano grounded to Mike Aviles. Hanley Ramirez easily scored from third but Giancarlo Stanton got greedy and was out trying for third base. Still, with only a 4-2 lead, the Red Sox needed some insurance, and in the eighth-- they got just that. Nick Punto doubled and Scott Podsednik singled to lead off the inning and put runners at the corners. Three consecutive singles by Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, and David Ortiz made it 7-2. Will Middlebrooks was hit to load the bases-- and Jarrod Saltalamacchia knocked a sacrifice fly to make it 8-2. A Nick Punto single later in the inning would score two more and make it 10-2. The Red Sox bullpen held that lead (thankfully) and the Red Sox would win the game and series.

Bright Spots:
Felix Doubront- 7 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 9 K, W (7-3)
Matt Albers- 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Scott Podsednik- 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI
Dustin Pedroia- 2-5, 2 R, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 3-5, 1 R, 2 RBI
David Ortiz- 2-2, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-4, 1 R
Nick Punto- 2-2, 1 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Will Middlebrooks- 0-4, 2 K, 4 LOB
Ryan Sweeney- 0-4, 3 LOB

Player of the Game:
Felix Doubront- Even when this game was close, Doubront kept the Sox in it-- holding a no-hitter until the sixth inning and going seven strong-- he is now 7-3/4.17/81.

Red Sox Officially Out Of Last After Win Over Jays (28-25)

Doubront earned his sixth
win of the year

After long last and many tribulations, the Red Sox have finally moved into sole possession of fourth place and are out of last-- also, just 2.5 games out of first. After 1-2-3 innings for both sides in the first, the Red Sox got going in the second inning. They put runners at first and third with two outs, and that's when the two out rallies began to emerge. Will Middlebrooks hit a ball off the wall in right field, but only made it to first for a single-- still, he drove a run in to make it 1-0. Nick Punto then doubled into the corner in right field to score another run and put two in scoring position with two outs. Daniel Nava appeared to have ended the inning when he lined a ball to center fielder Colby Rasmus. However, it appeared the ball was knuckling as Rasmus dropped the ball, allowing two runs to score and make it 4-0. The Blue Jays slowly began to eat away at the Red Sox lead-- starting with a one-out homer to right for Jeff Mathis in the third. However, the Red Sox would render it meaningless-- answering when Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove in a run on a double play to make it 5-1.

The whole team was happy about
getting out of last place

The Blue Jays then started a two out rally of their own in the bottom of the fifth-- putting two on base with two outs. They'd score on a bloop single by Kelly Johnson but that was it in the inning. Jose Bautista and the Blue Jays would cut it to a two-run lead when Bautista drove a home run to center to make it 5-3. Felix Doubront held the Blue Jays to three runs and was eventually was taken out in the seventh with a 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K line. It stayed with the score of 5-3 until the eighth, when the Red Sox loaded the bases with just one out. Ryan Sweeney would sort of deliver on a slow groundout to the first baseman. The Red Sox scored on the play but did not score again in the inning. The Blue Jays scored one in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single by Brett Lawrie. The Red Sox came through again in the ninth when Nick Punto, of all people, crushed a ball into the second deck to make it 7-4. Alfredo Aceves had a shutdown and the Red Sox had won to move out of last.

Bright Spots:
Felix Doubront- 6.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, W (6-2)
Alfredo Aceves- 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K, SV (14)
Daniel Nava- 1-3, 1 BB, 2 RBI
Kevin Youkilis- 1-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 BB
Ryan Sweeney- 1-2, 1 R, 2 BB, 1 RBI
Will Middlebrooks- 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI
Nick Punto- 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI

Dull Spots:
Mike Aviles- 0-5, 2 K, 4 LOB
Adrian Gonzalez- 0-5, 1 K, 1 LOB

Player of the Game:
Nick Punto- Oddly enough, it was Punto who played the biggest part in the win today-- coming just a triple short of the cycle with a monster home run-- he is still a miserable .175/1/5 this year.

Bats Come Alive But Bullpen Blows Lead In Extra Inning Defeat (0-3)

Buchholz made his return after
missing much of 2011

In Red Sox style, today's game was a heartbreaker as they concluded their first series by being swept in Detroit. Things got going quickly for the Tigers as they scored four times in the first inning-- highlighted by a three-run double by Jhonny Peralta. However, the Sox came back in the second inning when Mike Aviles drove in two with a double. It could have much so much more though as they stranded the bases loaded. The Red Sox' offense would not go to waste-- however-- as the Sox scored five times in the third inning to take a 7-5 lead after three. The Tigers were able to tie the score in the fourth inning, chasing Clay Buchholz from the game-- he allowed seven runs on eight hits in four innings in his first start since June 16. In the sixth, the Sox would take another lead as Jacoby Ellsbury doubled to lead off the inning. After Collin Balester pitched to Dustin Pedroia, Daniel Schlereth came in to pitch to Adrian Gonzalez. On his first pitch of the 2012 season, Gonzalez took Schlereth deep to right field to take a 9-7 lead. The Sox scored again in the top of the ninth to take a 10-7 lead and put closer Alfredo Aceves into the game to replace Vicente Padilla-- who had pitched very well.

However, he was not effective

Aceves was ineffective to say the least. He allowed singles to Austin Jackson and Brennan Boesch before Miguel Cabrera promptly took him long for a game-tying three run homer. Bobby Valentine did the smart thing after that by pulling Aceves and entering Franklin Morales. Morales pitched well for two innings-- allowing just a hit and striking out three. An RBI bloop single for Nick Punto and a hard liner by Dustin Pedroia would score two runs in the top of the eleventh-- putting Franklin Morales in line for the win. Valentine pulled Morales in favor of Mark Melancon who allowed a run on a sacrifice fly by Delmon Young to put two outs and a man on first for Alex Avila. With a 2-2 count, Avila pulled a homer just over the right field wall for a walk-off home run to crush Red Sox fans' dreams in a 13-12 loss.


Bright Spots:
Vicente Padilla- 4 innings, 2 hits, no runs, 4 strikeouts
Franklin Morales- 2 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 3 strikeouts
Nick Punto- 3-6, 1 double, 3 RBIs
Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-6, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 double
Dustin Pedroia- 2-6, 1 RBI
Adrian Gonzalez- 2-6, 2 runs, a two-run home run
David Ortiz- 3-6, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 double
Mike Aviles- 3-5, 2 runs, 1 double, 3 RBIs

Dull Spots:
Clay Buchholz- 4 innings, 8 hits, 7 runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts
Alfredo Aceves- 0 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs
Mark Melancon- 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 3 runs
Kelly Shoppach- 0-3, 2 strikeouts, 2 left on base

Player of the Game:
Mike Aviles- He had some timely hits in a very good ballgame for Aviles-- he went 3-5 with a two-run double and RBI single, also scoring two runs.

Red Sox Tie, Win In Split-Squad Double Header (8-4)

Cook threw 3.1 shutout innings

Today the Red Sox did one of the interesting quirks of spring training, two simultaneous games going on at the same time; starting at 1:05 and 1:35 eastern time. In the first game, the Red Sox played the Orioles in Sarasota. Not too much scoring happened early, with Aaron Cook tossing 3.1 shutout innings, allowing just a hit. Wei-Yin Chen of the Orioles was just as good until the fifth inning, when the Sox put Pedro Ciriaco and Ryan Lavarnway on base to lead off the inning. Nate Spears promptly homered to give the Red Sox a 3-0 lead. However, Clayton Mortensen allowed two runs in the sixth inning to allow the Orioles to make it a one-run game-- he finished with 2.2 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts as he was not sharp. Will Inman allowed a hit and a walk in a scoreless seventh inning. Doug Mathis was solid for the eighth, but the O's tied it in the ninth at 3-3. The Sox kept Mathis in though-- and he turned in a decent performance with 3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts. The umpires decided to call the game after the tenth and the game ended in a tie-- another quirk of spring training.

Bright Spots:
Aaron Cook- 3.1 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Doug Mathis- 3 innings, 3 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts
Adrian Gonzalez- 1-2, 1 walk
Ryan Lavarnway- 3-3, 1 run
Pedro Ciriaco- 1-3, 1 run
Nate Spears- 1-2, 1 run, 3 RBIs, 1 home run

Dull Spots:
Clayton Mortensen- 2.2 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 3 strikeouts
Josh Kroeger- 0-5, 3 strikeouts, 2 left on base
Kevin Youkilis- 0-3
Ryan Dent- 0-2, 1 left on base
Kolbrin Vitek- 0-2, 1 left on base
Jonathan Hee- 0-4, 3 left on base
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beckett threw five strong innings

Shortly after that game began, a second one in Ft. Myers also started, also against the Orioles. After two scoreless innings to begin the game, the Sox took advantage of Armando Gallaraga in the third. Lars Anderson led off the inning with what should have been a leadoff double but some rough fielding by Xavier Avery made it essentially a leadoff triple. Alex Hassan didn't hesitate in driving him in with a groundout. After the Orioles tied it in the fourth, the Sox quickly reclaimed the lead. After a groundout by David Ortiz, Cody Ross doubled and Kelly Shoppach singled to put runners at the corners with one away. Nick Punto proceeded to hit a gapper to left-center, scoring Ross and giving the Sox a 2-1 lead. After a Mike Aviles popout, Lars Anderson drove a ball into left. It scored Shoppach and Punto, but Anderson was caught heading to second by left fielder Ryan Flaherty. Beckett finished his day after the top of the fifth-- in all, he earned the win with 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. The Sox proceeded to pad onto their lead in the bottom of the fifth. An Alex Hassan single and Jacoby Ellsbury double led off the inning with two in scoring position. RBI groundouts by Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz gave the Red Sox a 6-1 lead. The next batter, Cody Ross, then crushed a ball over the psuedo-monster in left to give the Sox a 7-1 lead. Ross Ohlendorf came in for the Sox and pitched well over 1.2 innings, allowing no hits or runs plus 2 walks and a strikeout. However, Junichi Tazawa was shaky in the eighth inning-- allowing 3 hits and 3 runs in just an inning. Michael Bowden closed out the 7-4 win with 2 hits in a scoreless inning.

Bright Spots:
Josh Beckett- 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts
Jacoby Ellsbury- 1-3, 1 run, 1 double
Dustin Pedroia- 1-3, 1 RBI
Cody Ross- 2-3, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 1 home run
Kelly Shoppach- 1-3, 1 run
Nick Punto- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI, 1 double
Lars Anderson- 2-3, 1 run, 2 RBIs, 1 double
Alex Hassan- 1-2, 1 run, 1 RBI

Dull Spots:
Junichi Tazawa- 1 inning, 3 hits, 3 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Mike Aviles- 0-3, 3 left on base

Red Sox Make Some Timely Plays In Walk-Off Win (6-2)

Beckett threw 4 strong innings

Yesterday's game was an exciting one for the Sox as I luckily got a chance to record and watch the game, which is why it's coming out this morning rather than last night. The 1st inning was a bit rough for the Sox, a one-out double for Emilio Bonifacio. Beckett proceeded to hit two of the next three batters to load the bases with two outs. He then broke the cardinal rule of pitching to not walk in a run by walking Chris Coghlan. However, he settled down after that, and the Marlins were still only up by one when the Sox came to bat in the third. After two quick outs, Mike Aviles lined a ball over Bonifacio's head in the center field and trucked around the bases for a triple. I personally thought that the chance was squandered as Nick Punto came up to bat, but Punto lined a double into left to tie up the game at 1-1. The Sox came back strong in the fourth, after a David Ortiz walk to lead off the inning, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to right with one out. With runners at the corners, Cody Ross blooped a single into right to score one. Kelly Shoppach then flew to center to score another and give the Sox a 3-1 lead. All the while, Josh Beckett had certainly settled down-- throwing three shutout innings after the rough first and looking like this on the day: 4 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts. After Beckett was done, the two biggest offseason acquisitions came in to pitch: Mark Melancon struck out one in a perfect inning and Andrew Bailey allowed a run on three hits in his inning to put the Sox up 3-2 after six. Ross Ohlendorf came in to throw his first innings with the Red Sox, and was pretty good-- 2 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk. However, Scott Atchison was a bit rough. With a man on first, Clint Sammons doubled to left-center, but a wonderful, gorgeous, beautiful, fantastic relay got the runner out at home. However, a run would still score on another play at the plate to tie up the game off Atchison, who allowed a run and three hits in his inning. The Sox went down scoreless and the game went to extra innings, where Jesse Carlson threw for 1 inning, 1 hit, no runs or walks, 1 strikeout. However, in the 10th, after a one-out single by Nate Spears, Pedro Ciriaco launched a 2-run homer to win the game for the Red Sox.

Bright Spots:
Josh Beckett- 4 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts
Mark Melancon- 1 inning, no runs or hits, 1 strikeout
Ross Ohlendorf- 2 innings, 1 hit, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout
Jesse Carlson- 1 inning, 1 hit, no runs, 1 strikeout
Nick Punto- 1-3, 1 RBI, 1 double
Pedro Ciriaco- 1-2, 1 home run, 2 RBIs
David Ortiz- 1-2, 1 run, 1 walk
Cody Ross- 1-3, 1 RBI
Mike Aviles- 2-3, 1 run, 1 triple

Dull Spots:
Andrew Bailey- 1 inning, 3 hits, 1 run
Scott Atchison- 1 inning, 2 hits, 1 run
Kevin Youkilis- 0-3, 2 strikeouts, 2 left on base
Juan Carlos Linares- 0-2, 1 strikeout

Red Sox To Sign Nick Punto

Just hours after shipping Jed Lowrie and Kyle Weiland to Houston for Mark Melancon, the Red Sox have effectively upgraded both of them. Melancon is clearly better than Weiland, and just now, the Red Sox signed Nick Punto-- who will effectively replace Lowrie. They signed Punto to a 2 year/$3 million contract plus incentives. With his bat, Punto's .278/1/20 2011 season is no better than Lowrie's .252/6/36. However, with the glove, Punto is clearly superior, as the 34 year old is a great defender at second base, shortstop, and third base; all the positions Lowrie played. Punto played for the Cardinals in 2011 after playing for the Twins from 2004-2010 and the Phillies from 2001-2003. His best season offensively came with the Twins in 2006, where he batted .290/1/45. As you can probably tell, Punto doesn't have a whole lot of power; however, he has maintained an OBP of higher than .300 every year but one since 2003. I'm liking the Melancon trade a whole lot more since the Sox made this move.