MVN: Most Valuable Network

 

Jason Bay became a US citizen just in time for Independence Day... now we just need to sign him to nice, fat 5-year contract all American style and we'll be good to go.

Happy Fourth of July everyone.

Rob

I've been thinking... The Red Sox might be the deepest team in baseball, even with Matsuzaka on the DL and Jed Lowrie still rehabbing in the minors. The clearly have to chips to make a big move (or a small one) before July 31st... but do they NEED to? Jason Bay is one of the AL's most productive hitters, despite a .268 BA at present. Jacoby Ellsbury has proven that he can handle the everyday role in center. And JD Drew and Rocco Baldelli have combined to hit .271 with 14 homers, 48 RBI and 55 runs, while offering a nice lefty/righty option for Tito. Youkilis and Pedroia make up one of the best right sides of the infield in baseball, but Youk may find himself across the diamond for much of the second half. That is where one potential problem lies... at third base. Mike Lowell could be ready to contribute... Read more

The Sox lost a forgetful game yesterday when the bullpen imploded like the planet Krypton. My prediction of John Smoltz' dominance was not completely accurate, but he did hold the O's to three hits and one run before the weather bounced him from the game. The rest is history and I'll leave it there... Now we look to Josh Beckett... you know the guy that has dominated every opponent, save for the Phillies, over his last seven starts. Beckett is 5-2 with a 3.80 ERA in 10 starts against the Orioles... but he's been so locked in lately, that all previous stats are irrelevant IMO. The Sox will face Brad Bergesen, a young righty that has been very effective in June: 3-0, 2.23 ERA, .194 BAA in four starts. The Sox have never faced him before, but we can all hope that the 10-run surge from last night will carry over... Read more

Mike Lowell hit the DL today and, as expected, Jeff Bailey was added to the roster. If Lowell's hip bothers him for the rest of the season, the Sox will have to make some decisions and they could make a move in that direction before the trade deadline on July 31st. Here are some options: Jeff Bailey and Mark Kotsay hold down the fort at first base while Kevin Youkilis moves over to third base. Kotsay is hitting .310 in 42 at-bats and Jeff Bailey was hitting .355 in June before the call-up, so these two offer a nice righty/lefty split at first base. Youk is Youk, but it might be worth noting that he is hitting just .244 with 41 at-bats as the third baseman... a far cry from the .310 BA he has overall. That said, he hit .328 with a 116 at-bats as the 3B in... Read more

John Smoltz allowed four runs in the first inning of his 2009 debut against the Nationals last week. After a month of denial, Smoltzy admitted that his return to major league action was more than just any other start... "There's been so much going on in the last eight days, I'm kind of glad it's over so I can resume the five-day rotation and do what every pitcher does," he said, "and that's make improvements from game to game." Therefore, I expect him to look like he did in the last two innings of theat game for five innings tonight in Baltimore. Smoltz retired the last six batters he faced in order in his last start and fanned the last three, using the pin-point control he has displayed throughout his career. Look for more of that action right out of the gate tonight now that the hype has died down.... Read more

If there are two things I love it's baseball and the Samurai... and so, I give you this:   Cool, right? Shoutout to Big League Stew for the clip.... Read more

Not much to report here really... The Red Sox seem to have the Orioles number these days, especially when Jon Lester is pitching. With last night's 4-0 victory, Lester improved to 8-0 agains the O's in his career. He pitched seven shutout innings and fanned eight, knocking his ERA down to 4.35 on the year and 1.85 in five June starts. Paps closed out the game and earned his 132nd save, tying him with Bob Stanley for the most in Red Sox history... he's also a perfect 20 for 20 in sace chances against the Orioles. The offense didn;t exactly break out of the recent slump they've slipped into, but four runs was enough to hold down the O's. JD Drew was bumped into the leadoff spot and responded with a 3 for 5 game that included a 2-run ding dong and a triple. He missed the cycle when... Read more

The offense went to sleep over the weekend, but the Sox have been known to beat up on the Baltimore Orioles, so perhaps that's all about to change... Yahoo! pulled the stats: The Red Sox outscored the Orioles 30-14 in sweeping a four-game series in Boston from April 17-20 and have plated 56 runs in winning the last seven meetings. The Red Sox have won 11 of the last 12 in the series and five of the last seven at Camden Yards. The O's also have the leagues 3rd worst ERA at 4.97... so we'll have that going for us... which is nice. (insert Caddy Shack credit here) Jon Lester gets the start tonight. He's never lost toe the O's and owns a 7-0, 2.45 ERA against them in nine career starts. That said, he's just 3-3 with a 5.26 ERA oon the road this season, despite beating the Nationals... Read more

Josh Beckett dominated the Braves again on Friday, throwing seven scoreless innings and fanning six batters, earning his ninth victory of the season. That performance also earned him some air time on CSN's The Baseball Show thanks to yours truly. Beckett is now 9-3 with a 3.48 ERA and 94 Ks. He also owns a .239 BAA and has walked 32 batters in 98.1 innings. But he's been especially dominant in June, going 4-1 with a 1.51 ERA, 35 K's to just 4 walks and a .195 BAA. Justin Verlander has also been stellar in June and Roy Halladay is back from injury this week, but Josh Beckett has become the new front runner to start the All Star game and is he keeps this pace through July he should be a lock. The Sox put four runs on the board on Friday night, but it was Beckett's performance that won... Read more

Beckett: 8-3 with a 3.74 ERA, .239 BAA and 88 Ks. Add 6 Ks and 7 shutout innings to that line after last night's win over the Braves. Other contenders... Zack Greinke: 9-3, 1.90 ERA, 111 Ks (1-2, 4.33 ERA, .287 BAA in June) Roy Halladay: 10-1, 2.53 ERA, 88 Ks (currently on DL) Justin Verlander: 8-3, 3.31 ERA, 118 Ks Runner-ups: Felix Hernandez, Edwin Jackson and Jered Weaver. So who starts the All-Star Game?... Read more

If you haven't watched The Baseball Show on Comcast Sports Net yet, tune in this Saturday morning and hear me give my two cents on the Sox during the Web Sox Nation segment. Last time CSN called me in, Big Papi was homerless and the Nation was buzzing with questions and concerns... so much so that Felger called me out for beating a dead horse when it was my turn to talk. Tune in Saturday morning around 9:30 and see which "dead horse" I beat this week! Thanks guys!  ... Read more