The Sox New Prospects

With the conclusion of the 2009 MLB Rule 4 Draft signing period, it is time to look at the Sox final bounty.

Included are links, scouting reports and bonuses, as well as analysis...

1-28 OF Reymond Fuentes $1,134,000

MLB Potpourri – FireBrand Style

With a very active weekend and Monday, Firebrand presents a comprehensive roundup of the latest Red Sox actions and news. Draft signings, playoff outlooks, and veterans returning to health, FireBrand Potpourri has it all...

A lot happened in Red Sox Nation this past weekend. Instead of wondering, let's get into the gritty details.

-The Sox Drop Two of Three in Texas

The Sox lost two to the Rangers. Yeah, it's too bad. The Sox stand one game back of Texas in the Wild Card, but that's history and it's time to look to the future. Junichi Tazawa struggled in his latest taste of big league hitting, allowing 2 HR and 3 BB against 0 strikeouts. Brad Penny had his moments and held his ground against a good Texas offense. However, he is still no more than a back-of-the-rotation starter, which showed this weekend.

The clock continues to tick on Michael Bowden, representing the last of the Red Sox reserve rotation arms. While he sports a glowing scouting report and a pristine 3.20 ERA in triple-A Pawtucket, it is getting more and more difficult to see him being a success at the major league level this year. With just a 6.40 K/9 and 3.36 BB/9 this season, he is far from a sure thing...

Smoltz’s Future

Now that John Smoltz has played his last game as a member of the Red Sox, it is time to ask the question, does he have anything left in the tank? A few teams think so, but his struggles point to a fading pitcher...

The Weekend Series Preview

With Thursday's game still to be played, the Sox look toward their three-game weekend series in Texas, back 5.5 of the Yankees; up 1.5 on the Rangers in the wildcard. This is a big set - don't take it likely...

Attention Tito: Start Lester in New York ONLY

Jon Lester just became the most important man in the Red Sox rotation. Not by design, of course, but out of necessity.

Five and a half games is a strong lead. Not impenetrable, mind you, but strong enough where the Red Sox need to consider what life may be like in the Wild Card...

Time to Count Your Chips

With the Sox back in Boston after a long road trip, it's time to take stock of what the team has left.

Is a playoff appearance still in the cards?


It's a slump. That's it. That has to be it.

Mayday! Mayday! We're going down... aren't we?

Sometimes it's difficult to tell the difference between a slump and a freefall. When given the choice, you always root for the slump, because, what other options do you have...

Tazawa Slated for Tuesday Start

Evan: Please welcome Mike Silver to the Fire Brand writing crew! Tim Daloisio is going to be stepping down from writing articles for Fire Brand. He will still be contributing one podcast a week plus the weekly poll -- and will add in another podcast every week.

Junichi Tazawa heads to the rotation Tuesday against Detroit: Boston's management has decided it's time for Junichi Tazawa to throw his hat into the ring as savior of the Red Sox starting rotation. Is he up to the challenge?