Handicapping the backup infielder race

With the news that Julio Lugo is undergoing arthroscopic surgery tomorrow, the question becomes who is going to pick up the slack. Lugo may return in time for Opening Day... he could return a few days after... or his injury could be worse than currently thought.

Either way, the backup infield job is now officially a competition. If healthy, Jed Lowrie and Lugo are the two victors... but who could the job fall to if Lugo can't make it back in time? Let's look at the four candidates.

Why Extend J. Bay Now?

I was one of the very few people unhappy (extremely so) with Jason Bay’s acquisition at 3:59:59 on July 31st,…

Lugo to have surgery, Pedroia hurt

Dustin Pedroia strained a muscle near his ribcage during Team USA workouts on Friday. It's not anything to be concerned about, but this next piece of news is.

Julio Lugo may have torn his meniscus in his knee and word is he will undergo arthroscopic surgery on Tuesday. He'd be sidelined a month, leaving the starting shortstop job to Jed Lowrie. That's probably the outcome we all hoped for, but losing Lugo as a backup is tough.

Nick Green, Gil Velazquez, Ivan Ochoa and Angel Chavez will all compete for the backup job. So far, Green has to be winning the job -- he's hitting .387/.472/.645 and has a reputation as a solid gloveman.

Win a “Welcome to Fenway” t-shirt from The Red Seat

I think our friends at The Red Seat have summed it up perfectly;

"From the outside it looks like a warehouse. Then you go inside and come up the ramp and BAM! it hits you square in the face. The wall, the light, the green - it's like no other ballpark."

So here's your chance to live up to the words on the front of their "Welcome to Fenway" t-shirt ("You never forget your first time") and win one while your at it.

Just call into the the Fireside Chats hotline at 641-715-3900 (extension 57843) and leave us your first reaction to Fenway Park. Heck, we'll even open it up to your best experience in Fenway Park.

The best story will be played on the air during next weeks show and the caller will win a "Welcome to Fenway" shirt and be eligible to win The Red Seats' 2009 release. All our moles can dig up is that it features a certain AL MVP.

You have until Tuesday afternoon to place your calls.

Mr. Reliable.

It took me some time to come around to believing this. Like many people, I saw that Wakefield could be hit...very, very hard on any given day. So I never fully appreciated Wake's ability. It was obvious that he wasn't an ace, for ace pitchers don't get rocked that often. But with my growing understanding of statistics, came my growing appreciation for Tim Wakefield.

So "effective" I thought summed up Wakefield well. Six straight seasons of "league-average" ERA+'s led me to use that word.

Welcome Back

Dear Jason Bay, Mike Lowell & David Ortiz, Welcome back!!! It was really good to see you in a Red…

Some quick notes from Ft. Myers (Fife, Pimentel, etc.)

I've been down at the Fort for the past couple of days, and have spent most of that at the Player Development Complex. Here's some quick notes from yesterday and today.

Papelbon says Manny was ‘cancer’

The popular Red Sox (and sports?) story today is going to be Jonathan Papelbon coming out with both barrels aflame at one Manuel Aristides Ramirez. Read on to hear Papelbon's quotes and my reaction...

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.

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.