Monday Links

Photo by Kelly O’Connor of sittingstill.smugmug.com

After dropping Friday’s game to the Baltimore Orioles, the Red Sox took the weekend games of the 4 game set. On Saturday, the club was backed by a suburb outing by Felix Doubront and an RBI triple by Brock Holt, en route to a 4-2 final. On Sunday, Jake Peavy pitched a rocky 5.2 innings, but was picked up by a 3 run home run off the bat of Jonny Gomes, some terrific relief pitching, and a walk-off error that secured Boston’s 6-5 win.

• After battling a bum hamstring and a bout with the flu, Shane Victorino finally took the field. The 33 year old right fielder began a rehab stint with the Pawtucket Red Sox on Saturday, and is reportedly aiming to come back by Thursday. (Shane Victorino to begin rehab assignment Saturday)

• Following in Victorino’s footsteps, Will Middlebrooks is also set to begin a rehab assignment. After being placed on the 15-day disabled list with a calf strain, the Red Sox third baseman seems ready to hit the field once again. (Middlebrooks set to start rehab)

• Shifting is a two way street. Obviously, the fielders need to slide over to the side that the hitter favors. But at the same time, pitchers need to throw pitches that correlate with the defensive alignment behind them. While some starters attack hitters with a conventional shift approach, others pitch away from the shifts strengths, to their own strengths. (Red Sox adjust infield shifts to pitchers, no vice-versa)

• While Boston’s offense has arguably been their biggest issue so far this season, the teams defensive woes have been prevalent too. When the Red Sox offense isn’t scoring runs, and the defense isn’t preventing runs, the teams below .500 record becomes understandable. (D-Ficiency: Leaky Red Sox defense a key ingredient to early struggles)

• The Ryan Roberts project in Boston is finally over. The Red Sox recalled infielder Brock Holt to play third base last week in the absence of Will Middlebrooks. Initially, the Boston chose to sign Roberts as a free agent over recalling Holt. However, Roberts failed to live up to Boston’s expectations, and Holt’s bat caught fire at AAA. (Why the Boston Red Sox changed their mind on Brock Holt)

• In the wake of the Boston Marathon tragedy, David Ortiz took the field and delivered a pregame speech that Boston won’t soon forget. Now, on the one year anniversary of the attack, Ortiz reflects back a year, and anticipates how this Patriots Day will be different from the last. (David Ortiz: Emotions will run high)

• Tweet of the weekend: Dustin Pedroia: Not a doctor.