POLL: Who should be the primary setup man?

Time to give Youkilis credit: Deserves to be in MVP mix

As we get later and later into September, the question inevitably crops up: Who is the Most Valuable Player?

In the American League, Joe Mauer all but has the award sewed up. A .367/.435/.612 line out of the catcher position tends to do that. There's also been the inevitable Yankee calls: Mark Teixeira is unquestionably the MVNP according to a Yankees beat writer. Derek Jeter is in the mix... of course. MLB Network's Victor Rojas yesterday gave props to Miguel Cabrera.

I ask: Where's the Youk love? (I asked this of Rojas, who said that we'll probably start hearing Youkilis' name bandied about. You are. Right here.)

9/3: Two young hurlers go at it

GAME NOTES: Buchholz has suddenly fashioned himself into a very solid No. 3. The key here is if Buchholz can keep it up amidst increasing pressure as October nears. Price has been a disaster on the road but kills it at home. It'll be up to Buchholz to match zeros.

9/2: No more homers, Beckett!

GAME NOTES: Beckett heads up against a pitcher who has -- on the face of it -- been pretty similar to him on the year. Can Beckett turn his woes around and be the guy we need to ensure an October dance?

Wholesale Keychain TRIVIA: 17 strikeouts combined

On Friday, August 28, Boston pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts. The last time this happened in Red Sox history, two pitchers combined for those 17 strikeouts. Who are those pitchers?

Previous trivia question: Ben Flowers was the first pitcher in major league history to pitch eight games in eight days, happening July 1953. Ellis Kinder later matched this feat in August. Evan stumps Fire Brand!

J.D. Drew a Top 5 right fielder

J.D. Drew hit his 19th home run of the season, tying his total from last year. His next home run will rank as only the fourth time in 11 full seasons that he's reached that plateau.

Outside of a .217/.316/.361 line in June, Drew has been turning in a great year. It is easy to get on Drew when his batting average seems to be hovering in the .230s and he's always dinged up. But let's take a second here, step back, and see how valuable Drew has been to the Sox.

Throwing out 2007 and his grand slam to ice the ALCS in Game Six, Drew has a .272/.395/.505 line, not including last night's game. To have a line like that out of your right fielder is immensely valuable.

To compare, I ran a comparison of batters with at least 800 plate appearances over the last two years from the beginning of 2008 to August 31, 2009.

Flip the page to see what I found.

9/1: Lester takes the hill

GAME NOTES: Jon Lester is suddenly the Sox's new ace with Josh Beckett having given up a horrifying 10 home runs in his last three starts. This is a crucial series, as the outcome of the series will likely dictate the Rays' playoff chances the rest of the way.

Dice-K rolling anything but snake eyes

Daisuke Matsuzaka had a tough go of it in Double-A yesterday (Sunday), throwing two innings and giving up five runs on four hits. He walked three and struck out one. In other words, the same old Dice-K.

It would be nice to have Dice back for the stretch run -- this is no question -- but if the Sox can get into October, they may not need him. A three- and four-man rotation is usually all that is needed in October. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Tim Wakefield and Paul Byrd, at this point, can help the Sox far more.

Update: Here's a link to photo's Tim took at the game in Manchester yesterday. From his view, Dice-K wasn't throwing his A stuff, almost as if he wasn't even trying the first time through the lineup.

Yankees do what they can to destroy Chris Carter

arThe Yankees claimed Chris Carter to tweak their cross-town rivals and intra-division rivals, directly benefiting from forcing the Sox to do a little 40-man roster manuevering in September. What I'm more miffed about is the Yankees effectively shuttering Chris Carter's career.

WholesaleKeychain.com TRIVIA: 8 games, 8 days — ROUND TWO

No one has been able to get this question correct! Thus, I'm giving you guys another chance. The person who gets it right will get two points, not one. If no one can get it correct by next Wednesday, it will be my second "stumped Fire Brand" question. You don't want that... do you!?

Who was the first pitcher in major league history (hint: Red Sox player) to pitch eight games in eight days?