What does the release of Josh Bard mean?

The release of Josh Bard hit Boston by storm yesterday. While the release of a backup catcher may not register much in other cities, it’s very important here; both for our rabid intake of baseball and the myriad implications for Jason Varitek’s role and the future of catching in Boston.

To all those conspiracy theorists out there, it may not mean that the Sox value George Kottaras more… it is possible it means they’re on the cusp of a blockbuster trade like Miguel Montero or Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Breaking News: Sox cut Josh Bard

It appears that Josh Bard’s second tenure with the Red Sox was even shorter than his first as the Red Sox cut the player most expected to caddy Tim Wakefield and provide some offense from the back up catcher position.

Bard was having a very fair spring, albeit in small sample size, hitting .429 with three extra base hits in fourteen at bats.

Does this hand the reigns over to George Kottaras or Dusty Brown? Or is there another shoe to drop for a younger catcher as we all expected there could be at some point this spring? More to come as details unfold.

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.

Examining the Red Sox’s defense via Defensive Runs

A couple years ago, The Fielding Bible
took baseball by storm with John Dewan’s Plus/Minus system to evaluate fielders. This year, he’s back at it with The Fielding Bible–Volume II in which he takes all the metrics created in the original volume and distills them into Defensive Runs, a statistic that can show how good a player is at preventing runs.

Which TV characters resemble Red Sox players?

I was thinking about the multitude of TV shows that I watch and I thought it would be pretty funny and cool to pair up who I think represents a certain character best on the Red Sox. I’m not limiting this to one show (but am limiting it to shows currently on the air), so… let’s check out my comparisons. In the comments, leave your own!

JUNKYARD DOGS, A Season of Redemption . . . and Hope.

17 of the starting 25 Red Sox for 2009 have much to prove this season. Of this number, 15 are rebounding from injuries which plagued 2008.

Josh Bard returning to Red Sox

Free agent catcher Josh Bard is on the cusp of returning to the Red Sox, sources told the Boston Globe.

Young and Greene propel Pads to 6-1 win

Not known much for his hitting, but his stellar defense, Khalil Greene hit two homeruns (10, 11) while rising pitching star, Chris Young, went 7 innings silencing the Boston Red [...]

Theo’s Biggest Mistake

Letting Orlando Cabrera go was Theo Epstein’s biggest mistake of his short career as a general manager, and we’re feeling the effects of this to this day.
Let’s backtrack a little [...]