The intangible benefit of Pedroia

The Sox lineup, as always, is a meat grinder. They have four players in the top 20 in the American League in pitches seen per plate appearance (P/PA) and Pedroia ranks seventh at 4.27 (behind Youkilis who is fourth at 4.36) through 217 plate appearances (Victor Martinez is 11th at 4.12, J.D. Drew 13th at 4.11 while Marco Scutaro is 33rd at 3.92). Pedroia is also second in the league in total plate appearances at 217, behind only Denard Span of the Twins at 218, and leads the league in total pitches seen. Factoring in the entire majors, Youkilis ranks ninth and Pedroia 19th in P/PA.

Sitting in the No. 2 hole in the Sox lineup, Pedroia pesky plate appearances have a ripple down effect. Take for instance last Thursday when Boston beat Minnesota 6-2 on the strength of Jon Lester's nine-strikeout complete game. Pedroia was 0-3 with a walk and a run against the Twins and Francisco Liriano and was instrumental in knocking Minnesota's wily lefty out of the game after 4.2 innings with five earned runs on five hits and three walks. Pedroia was in the midst of a 4 for 39 slump at the time that spanned from May 12 to 23 before putting up three hits against the Rays on Monday.

5/26 Online Seats Game Thread: Sox Top at Trop

As the Boston Red Sox continue their success against top teams, they will have to carry their momentum as John Lackey squares up to take on Matt Garza in the Trop.

5/25 Online Seats Game Thread: Rays Give Red Sox A Lift

Don't look now, but the Boston Red Sox are starting to win games against some of the toughest teams in the majors. Jon Lester will look to carry that momentum forward, as he faces James Shields of the Tampa Bay Rays, who has been simply dominant thus far in 2010.

Chris Iannetta, Michael McKenry good targets for Red Sox

There is no better time to target Iannetta as a trade candidate. He possesses an extraordinary bat, is a great defensive backstop, and is cheap. Signed through 2012 for roughly $3 million per year (with a $5 million team option in 2013), he’ll be easy on the ledger. Having just turned 27, he could be the team’s feature backstop for the next four to five years.

He won’t be cheap to acquire, however. Offensively gifted catchers who excel behind the plate don't grow on trees. Though the Rockies have depth at catcher in their system -- including fellow Sky Sox backstop Michael McKenry -- Iannetta is a very rare asset that will likely be difficult to wrest from the Denver management's fingers.

5/24 Online Seats Game Thread: Back to the AL East

The Boston Red Sox did to Philadelphia what the Bruins could not this weekend. But the boys of summer will have a whole new challenge, as they head south to Tampa Bay to face the Tampa Bay Rays in a good old fashioned AL East showdown.

Daisuke Rolling, Ellsbury Back, Colorado Catchers

Daisuke Rolling With all the issues the Red Sox rotation has faced this season, there is nothing better than to see Daisuke Matsuzaka stepping up into at the right time. Throwing a one-hitter in Philadelphia on Saturday, there has been some speculation that Daisuke may be taking that long-awaited leap to respectability. However, other than two stellar starts sandwiching his New York meltdown, there has been a little to be excited about this year. Daisuke just hasn't changed at all from years past to indicate that any sustainable change is in the works. His zone percentage at a career low (46.4 percent), his first-strike percentage largely unchanged (56.6 percent in 2010 v 59.5 percent, career), and his zone contact percentage in line with his career line (84.9 percent, 2010 v 84.2 percent, career), it seems we are dealing with the Daisuke of old again this season.

5/23 Online Seats Game Thread: The Vet Steps In

ust a few hours after Dice-K dialed in for a brilliant performance, veteran Tim Wakefield, starting in place of the DL bound Josh Beckett, will try to lead the Boston Red Sox past one of the game's best pitchers on one of the league's best teams, as they try to close an away stint with a victory in Philadelphia against Roy Halladay.

The coming of Prince Felix?

At the tender age of 16, pitcher Felix Doubront signed a contract worth $150,000 with the Boston Red Sox -- which wasn’t exactly pocket change. At 21, in November of 2008, the Red Sox placed Doubront on their 40-man roster so they wouldn’t risk losing him in the Rule V Draft.

The latter if not the former should speak volumes about how highly the Red Sox rate this 6-foot-2, 190-pound left-hander -- who may not be the second coming of Jon Lester but who eventually could be in the “ballpark” so to speak. Arguably the best left-hand pitcher in Boston’s farm system, Doubront dominated the Venezuelan Summer League and the Gulf Coast Rookie League as a teenager.

Can Ortiz hit the inside fastball?

I was in the Sox clubhouse on Thursday with WEEI.com and one thing stuck out at me -- Clay Buchholz playing Plants vs. Zombies on the leather couch on his iPad. Having played Plants vs. Zombies for hours on my friend's magical device, I can understand the addiction.

Thursday was also the day that David Ortiz railed against the media, Buster Olney of ESPN in particular, for criticizing him after his horrendous start to the year. I was not around for that particular encounter but the fallout has been pretty interesting.

5/22 Online Seats Game Thread: After a Rocky Start in Philly

The first game of interleague play didn't go as well as the Boston Red Sox had planned. But tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka will welcome back some familiar faces from the DL to take on Kyle Kendrick in the second game against the Phillies.