Assessing Boston’s shortstop options

With the departure of Alex Gonzalez to Toronto, it’s time to move on and explore what options are available to Boston to man the shortstop position in 2010 — and possibly beyond. I’ve gone through some potential free-agent and trade options and then tied it all in a neat little bow for consideration.

Internal options include Jed Lowrie and Jose Iglesias.

The free agent market has a bevy of options, but they all have their drawbacks. From Marco Scutaro to Adam Everett to Miguel Tejada to Craig Counsell — yes, Craig Counsell — we have you covered here.

Want to think trade? Stephen Drew, Cristian Guzman and Hanley Ramirez are considered.

Yeah, Hanley Ramirez. The New York Daily News has a note that the Marlins are talking to the Red Sox about a Hanley Ramirez trade.

BOS 8, FLA 2: Six runs in fourth pace Sox

While all eyes were stuck on Hanley Ramirez, Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz stole the show.

Remember when Josh Beckett was great?

And I know that “game-calling” skills may be overrated. But in the case of Beckett, I prefer Varitek to be behind the plate, rather than Kottaras. No disrespect to Georgie boy, but I like when the calm, collective, intelligent mind of Tek is calling the shots while Beckett is on the hill. Could be just a personal preference I guess. But we will all agree, I’m sure, that nobody knows Beckett like Tek does.

Chat Transcript: Ortiz, Yankees, Buchholz and more

David Ortiz – Samara Pearlstein

Sit down with a big cup of coffee, because have I a treat for you. I participated in a chat on Tuesday night and they have made the transcript available for Fire Brand to peruse.

I talk about which minor leaguers to keep an eye on… what the Sox need to do to win this year… how important David Ortiz is to us.

Oh, I also throw out predictions such as who will finish at first… scoff at the Yankees… and talk about who the heck can be our future catcher.

Let’s get real about Ramirez

Something has been bothering me for the past week since the news that the Red Sox had inquired about acquiring Hanley Ramirez from the Florida Marlins. I’ve seen/heard countless fans calling for the Red Sox to make this deal happen and a perception that the Marlins “made him available”.

Reality is quite the contrary however. As the Red Sox should, they send feelers out on possibilities for matching up with players that they are interested in across the league. I would fully expect that they’ve done the same with the likes of Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder or David Wright or countless others. Truth be told, great young players aren’t often available via trade and there’s a reason for that. This is even more pronounced when that great young player is cost controlled by a smaller market team.

We’re Making The Playoffs!

In 2003, 2004 and 2005, the Red Sox lost Opening Day and went on to make the playoffs. In 2006, Opening Day was won and … well, let’s not talk [...]