DONE DEAL: Victor Martinez a Red Sox; LaRoche to Braves for Kotchman

Bob Nightengale of USA Today says that Victor Martinez is about to become a Boston Red Sox.

D-Day 2009

“Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint.”

How often have you been told that, with respect to the baseball season, no single day nor no single event matters more than the collective performance over a 162 game season? When looking at individual performance, I follow that perspective to a fault. Until a slump reaches the proportions of David Ortiz in the first months of 2009 or Jason Bay in the most recent, I feel confident that a player will regress or progress as the case may be back to their mean. “Water seeks it’s level”.

With respect to the team at large, a season is made of peaks and valleys, winning streaks and lulls. As a fan, every multi-game streak in either direction can feel like a precursor to the fate of the season, but as Terry Francona and his players will tell you time and time again, they don’t get caught up in such momentum as easily as we do. They head to the park day in and day out to play, and try to win, a game against the team lining up against them on the field that day.

Did Rickey Henderson use steroids?

Now that I have your attention, let me get this out of the way: I have nothing factual to back this up other than some oblique quotes from Jose Canseco and good, old-fashioned deduction.

David Ortiz issues statement, speaks to reporters

David Ortiz issued a press release on the allegations that he used steroids in 2003, then spoke to reporters. Check out what he had to say.

7/30: Say it ain’t so….

Talk about kicking a team while they’re down….

Ortiz and Ramirez Said to Be on 2003 Doping List (via NYTimes)

Should be interesting to watch this play out. Still gathering my thoughts.

Lars Anderson: ‘Learning how to deal with own expectations’

Drafted in the 18th round in 2006, Lars Anderson burst on the scene after a strong 2007. In 2008, Anderson did nothing to dispel his skyrocketing value, closing the year out with a .316/.436/.526 line in Double-A Portland in 41 games.

This year, Anderson has returned to Portland for what many thought would be a temporary situation. Instead, as the 21-year old struggles with adversity, he’s been leapfrogged in the SoxProspects.com prospect standings by Josh Reddick as the organization’s top bat.

While a line of .257/.350/.385 with eight home runs in 394 at-bats doesn’t exactly make one drool, Anderson’s hitting is too advanced to last. So what’s the problem?

7/29: Redemption needed!

Still bitter after what happened between 10:30 and 11:30 pm last night. Make it right by me Red Sox.

WholesaleKeychain.com TRIVIA: 20+ HR INF

What year was the first time the Red Sox had all four infielders register back-to-back 20+ home run seasons?

OAK 9, BOS 8: A’s rally versus Sox

Jonathan Papelbon has not been a sure thing for the Boston Red Sox this season.