Boston’s bullpen competition takes an interesting turn

The Red Sox's bullpen search has taken on an interesting look these days.

With Tim Wakefield virtually certain to open the season as No. 5 starter and Dice-K on the shelf, there are two spots open. The favorites are Boof Bonser and Brian Shouse (the latter serving as LOOGY), but there are doubts about both, apparently.

The Red Sox are talking to Alan Embree about a return as they are reportedly unhappy with Shouse's production.

As for Bonser, word is that the Diamondbacks and Cubs are both interested in acquiring him. Bonser is a starter, but Boston is trying him out as a reliever, where it is thought he will have more success. He would also function as a longman. There's no indication the Red Sox are interested in dealing him, but it's possible the Sox would do so given a nice return. They have Scott Atchinson pushing Bonser for a bullpen spot.

That said, pitching depth is a canard. It's more likely that Bonser stays and Atchinson goes to Triple-A than it is the Boof being traded.

Can Jacoby Ellsbury add power to his game?

At NESN, I wrote an article theorizing if Jacoby Ellsbury could add power to his game.

I drew quick and dirty comparisons to Johnny Damon and Carl Crawford, arguing that Ellsbury can expect to see an uptick in power production in the future. I wanted to expound on this here.

Baseball is a game of evolution. The game that's being played on the field now, while under similar rules hearkening all the way back to the inception of the game, is drastically different.

I think the evolution of Johnny Damon puts things in proper perspective for Ellsbury. (Click 'Read More' or the headline to read the remainder of the article and leave a comment.)

Evan Brunell’s 2010 MLB Predictions: Does Boston win it?

As the advent of spring training games are upon us, I thought I'd kick off everyone's favorite little exercise by providing my own personal predictions as to how I think the season will shake out. Now, before I do so, a word of caution: predictions can change daily based on events. Heck, my predictions change multiple times a week. But I've gotta make predictions at some point, right? Point being, I might disagree with my own predictions a week from now. Most of the time, these kind of predictions are an exercise in fallacy, but it's not going to stop me from trying. I don't know why I made things harder on myself, but I set out to present an exact record. This means I had to go into a spreadsheet and make sure all the wins and losses totaled the correct amount of games while also balancing out to a .500 record. Took me a while, but dadgum it, I did it. One thing I did not control for was the unbalanced schedule (in a total record sense), but I already strained my tenuous math skills, so I wasn't about to complicate it further. Click "read more" or the headline to find my predictions.

All Aughts Team of the Decade Dishonorable Mention: Eric Gagne

With 26 percent of the vote, Eric Gagne barely edged out Carl Everett (23 percent) to "win" dishonorable Boston fans welcomed Gagne to town at the trading deadline (the trade was for Kason Gabbard, since returned, David Murphy who has evolved into a great fourth outfielder/sometimes starter, and prospect Engel Beltre.) Game Over had arrived... but it was the other kind of Game Over. The losing kind. mention on the All-Aughts Team of the Decade. Gagne won despite being placed on the poll hours after Everett and the other main candidates were on it (Julio Lugo joined Gagne). Boston fans welcomed Gagne to town at the 2007 trading deadline (the trade was for Kason Gabbard, since returned, David Murphy who has evolved into a great fourth outfielder/sometimes starter, and prospect Engel Beltre.) Game Over had arrived... but it was the other kind of Game Over. The losing kind.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade GM: Theo Epstein

Was there any doubt? The Boy Wonder is clearly Boston's GM of the Decade, taking the job over officially for the 2003 season. 2000-2001 was the death throes of former Boy Wonder Dan Duquette, who was responsible for bringing Pedro Martinez to town, and ... that's about it. Duquette sometimes didn't understand how to properly construct a roster or interact with the media. In his defense, he did put together solid postseason-caliber teams and had a deft hand in picking players up off the scrap heap. (Bret Saberhagen, Troy O'Leary, etc.) 2002 was with Mike Port at the helm as interim GM although some have said that Epstein was the one running things behind the scenes. Whatever the case, Boston courted Oakland GM Billy Beane heavily following the 2002 season, and a deal was thought to be in place. The contract was a go. Oakland's compensation (Kevin Youkilis) was a go. And then... Beane got cold feet. California was home. He pulled out, and Boston was left without a GM.

Evan Brunell joining NESN.com

I have some very exciting news, which you've probably already gleaned from the headline. I'll be joining NESN.com to write New England sports, primarily during nights. I'm very excited about this opportunity and hope you guys will read me over there. There is a direct link to my articles here. (What does this mean for Fire Brand? I'll be moving to once a week on Fridays. Troy and Lee will step up to fill the void, and I'm honored to have such capable writers in place.) Be sure to bookmark both Fire Brand and NESN!

All-Aughts Team of the Decade Honorable Mention: Mike Lowell

Mike Lowell was the proud winner of the All-Aughts Team of the Decade honorable mention at 30 percent of the vote, and its easy to see why. After all, Lowell not only has provided above-average offensive seasons each year he wore the Boston uniform (and sans 2009, excellent fielding seasons) but his character is off the charts and he nabbed the 2007 World Series MVP award. Lowell came to Boston after being exiled from Florida following a year where he posted an obscene (in a bad way) .658 OPS, showing no ability to make contact and a lack of power. For the Red Sox to get ace Josh Beckett, Lowell was forced upon them. No one seriously thought Lowell would be worth his salt despite it being just one year. Lowell found Fenway Park to his liking in 2006 albeit on a team that collapsed late and missed the playoffs. His 47 doubles were a career high, and he set a career high the following year in a different category: RBI. That was the year of 2007, when Lowell stepped up amongst injury and attrition -- 31 games batting fourth, 17 fifth and 101 sixth -- and became a feared middle of the order hitter. His doubles sank to 37, but he popped 21 home runs and hit .324, the first and only time his batting average has been over .300 in a season.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade Dishonorable Mention Vote

Last week, we put to a vote on Fire Brand who should win the honorable mention spot on the All-Aughts Team of the Decade. The winner of the poll, which looks to be Mike Lowell, will be officially added to the team later this week when we recap his accomplishments in Boston. Today, I bring to you the dishonorable mention candidates. No Team of the Decade roster is complete without recognizing those that made waves in Boston for all the wrong reasons. Below are five candidates, none of which are Manny Ramirez given he's already made the team. Please take your time and vote for the candidate you feel belongs on the roster, either at the end of this article or on the right sidebar, near the top. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my displeasure to present... well, click through and find out!

Is Clay Buchholz’s change-up responsible for lefty struggles?

Clay Buchholz is poised to take another step forward this year as a full-time member of the Red Sox rotation. He spent much of the first half of 2009 dominating Triple-A competition, and finally got his shot when Tim Wakefield experienced injury problems most of the second half. His "emergence" wasn't much of a surprise despite his godawful 6.75 ERA in 15 starts and one relief appearance during 2008, as his Fielding Independent Pitching was 4.69 and xFIP (FIP with home runs normalized to park and league data) 4.28 over 76 innings. Those respective FIPs were 4.69 and 4.09, respectively, covering 92 innings in 2009 with a 4.21 ERA all told. An aspect to Buchholz's game I don't think has been made enough of, however, is his inability to pitch against left-handers. Okay, inability is a bit strong, so let's go clear deficiency compared to right-handed batters.

All-Aughts Team of the Decade Honorable Mention Vote

Now that the All-Aughts Team of the Decade roster is complete, it's time to fill out the two remaining spots available: honorable mention and dishonorable mention. We're tackling the former today. The Red Sox have players worthy of being immortalized on the Team of the Decade even though they didn't crack the roster. Below are the five candidates eligible for honorable mention. Please take your time and vote for the candidate you feel belongs on the roster, either at the end of this article or on the right sidebar, near the top.