Dustin Pedroia

Red Sox Madness Final Four: Ellsbury vs. Pedroia

After two grueling rounds of match ups, we now know the Final Four contestants in the first annual Red Sox Madness tournament. In a late run, (primarily thanks to Paul and I's get out the vote campaign for Jon Lester in last night's podcast), Jon Lester eeked out the closest battle of the tourney yet over Kevin Youkilis 45-42. Lester will battle fellow #1 seed and starting pitcher Josh Beckett in the second of our Final Four matchups.

The top half of the draw pits the top two hitters in the Red Sox lineup. Which tablesetter's success means more to the Red Sox chances in 2009? Is it the upstart #3 seed Jacoby Ellsbury or the reigning AL MVP and #1 seed Dustin Pedroia?

Remember, the simple question is "who's success is more important to the overall success of the Boston Red Sox in 2009?" Vote away after the jump!

April 1, 2009 tim daloisio

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Red Sox Madness Round 2: Pitchers Duel

The first two teams, UCONN & Villanova, have punched their tickets to the Final Four in Detroit, and the first two players have punched a ticket to the Final Four of our Red Sox Madness tournament. Just like March Madness, a #1 seed (Pedroia) and a #3 seed (Ellsbury) have advanced.

Today we move to the lower half of the brackets and are greeted with a serious pitchers duel in #1 seed Josh Beckett and #2 seed Daisuke Matsuzaka.

Remember, the simple question is "who's success is more important to the overall success of the Boston Red Sox in 2009?" Vote away after the jump!

March 29, 2009 josh lacey

Jon Lester

Poll: Better or Worse: Jon Lester’s innings pitched in 2009?

New Poll Question: Better or Worse: Jon Lester's innings pitched in 2009?

Jon Lester pitched a yeomans-like 237 innings in 2008. There is debate over whether Lester will be a candidate for the now famous "Verducci-effect" in 2009. Can Lester's arm hold up for another 200+ innings this season? Vote in the poll to the left and give your community projection for Lester here.

Find out how you all responded to our previous poll, "Will Josh Beckett drop a sub-3.50 ERA in 2009?" after the jump.

March 11, 2009 tim daloisio

Jason Varitek

Poll: Better or Worse: Josh Beckett’s ERA in 2009

New Poll Question: Better or Worse: Josh Beckett's ERA in 2009?

Josh Beckett pitched better than his 4.03 ERA might suggest in 2008, so it's safe to assume he'll better that total in 2009. The question is, "by how much?". How low can he go? How does 3.50 sound for a bar? Vote in the poll to the left and give your community projection for Beckett here.

Find out how you all responded to our previous poll, "Will Jason Varitek hit .240+ in 2009?" after the jump.

March 3, 2009 tim daloisio

A.J. Burnett

Why was Josh Beckett “less great” in 2008?

Injury is rumored to be a reason why Beckett backtracked a tad, yet his peripherals were still very impressive to look at. So while his visit to Dr. James Andrews may have been legitimate, Beckett showed flashes of brilliance throughout the year, to have us believe that maybe the injury effected him slightly, but not enough to completely harness his great stuff.

February 7, 2009 sean o