Red Sox acquire SS Alex Gonzalez from Cincy

Red Sox fans around "the Nation" will rejoice at the news that the defensive wizard that graced the grounds of Fenway Park's infield in 2006 has been re-acquired today by the Red Sox. Alex Gonzalez is coming back to Boston. After clearing waivers, the Red Sox moved quickly to bring Gonzalez back to Boston ending the Chris Woodward era before it had a chance to blossom.

Details on the package returning to Cincy are unknown at this time, but this move fills a need that they desperately needed to address.

View from the game: Youk’s Last Stand

I was lucky enough to get some good seats in prime fight watching position last night. Pics embedded below for your viewing pleasure.

Optimism on The Baseball Show

It's easy to be down on this team right now. Just keep this in mind; the Red Sox are 1 game up on Texas and 2.5 on Tampa Bay with nine games left against the pair for the AL Wild Card. With Josh Beckett and Jon Lester on absolute fire right now, don't think this team is going to slink away and hide like they did in 2006.

Baldelli to the DL, Reddick recalled, Youk to the OF, Ortiz to speak

Talk about cramming info into a Quick Post headline....

Going into Yankee Stadium and as much a "do or die" series as the Red Sox have reached this season, things are off to an interesting start. Rocco Baldelli has been sent to the DL after fouling a ball off his foot in batting practice at the Trop. Josh Reddick has been recalled to take his spot on the roster. With Jason Bay out of the lineup tonight as his hamstring is still sore, Kevin Youkilis will be manning left field at Yankee Stadium.

In other news, David Ortiz will address the media regarding his positive 2003 PED test on Saturday before the game.

Is the rotation an unaddressed fatal flaw?

When the 2009 season began, there was very little doubt in anyone's mind that the Red Sox had both the depth and talent in the starting rotation for it to be considered, not only the teams' primary strength, but what made them favorites to advance to the World Series from the American League.

With dueling aces at the top in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester, depth in the middle with Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, and Brad Penny, and a plethora of options at the end ranging from top prospect Clay Buchholz to perennial All-Star and future Hall of Fame pitcher, John Smoltz, the front office had covered the rotation in spades. And that doesn't even look more deeply into the farm system or bullpen where the likes of Justin Masterson (since dealt away), Michael Bowden, and Junichi Tazawa lurked.

D-Day 2009

"Baseball is a marathon, not a sprint."

How often have you been told that, with respect to the baseball season, no single day nor no single event matters more than the collective performance over a 162 game season? When looking at individual performance, I follow that perspective to a fault. Until a slump reaches the proportions of David Ortiz in the first months of 2009 or Jason Bay in the most recent, I feel confident that a player will regress or progress as the case may be back to their mean. "Water seeks it's level".

With respect to the team at large, a season is made of peaks and valleys, winning streaks and lulls. As a fan, every multi-game streak in either direction can feel like a precursor to the fate of the season, but as Terry Francona and his players will tell you time and time again, they don't get caught up in such momentum as easily as we do. They head to the park day in and day out to play, and try to win, a game against the team lining up against them on the field that day.

7/30: Say it ain’t so….

7/29: Redemption needed!

7/27: Here’s to you Jim!

Dice-K lost in translation

Daisuke Matsuzaka may be gone...and to many in 2009 forgotten, but the Red Sox have continued to hold out hope that he'll be "in the mix" come September and potentially the playoffs should the team make it into October ball.

This week, the old cliche gone but not forgotten has reared it's ugly head. In an interview with a Japanese media outlet, Daisuke Matsuzaka took some dirty laundry public all but blaming the Red Sox strength and conditioning program for his injury and his struggles this season.