Is Casey Kotchman our best bet at first?

As comprised today, Boston has two choices when it comes to filling it's first/third hole: Slide Youkilis over to third and commit to Nick Johnson as first-baseman... or leave the window open for Beltre with the expectation that Kotchman ends up at first. The question is: Is Nick Johnson appreciably better than Casey Kotchman based on actual value? To me, it's a rather simple answer: No. Casey Kotchman is the better option than Nick Johnson.

The Science of Selling Felix, A-Gon Short

In our versions of an offseason blueprint the Red Sox could follow (1, 2, 3) one topic that came up fairly often was how realistic or unrealistic our proposed trade packages were for certain players. Let's recap: Mike Lowell, Casey Kotchman, Clay Buchholz and key minor league pieces (defined as anyone sans Kelly, numbering two) for Felix Hernandez. Money comment: Getting King Felix would be nice, but you are crazy thinking Seattle would have any interest in picking up Lowell or Kotchman. Why would they pick up $16+ in salaries? Lowell is going nowhere unless we pay his salary, which is crazy. - MEe Clay Buchholz, Lars Anderson, Manny Delcarmen, Michael Bowden, two "second-tier" prospects to San Diego for Adrian Gonzalez. Money comment: Delcarmen is a stiff. Bowden is a stiff. Anderson has done NOTHING in the minor leagues. Clay Buccholz has major league stuff but has yet to prove himself for an entire season. For this you'll get one of the best young power hitters in the game? I think not!! - Nick If our proposed deals are not up to snuff, that's not good. Let's try to figure out what a proposed deal could, should be.

Laundry List: Lowell’s Hip, Kotchman’s Bat

Two items for today's laundry list:

1) Hope that Lowell's hip heals

2) Pray to Pedro Serrano's voodoo gods (yeah, that crazy guy from "Major League") that if he doesn't, Casey Kotchman's bat will rise from its slumber.

Mike Lowell came into this season on the heels of a revolutionary labrum surgery, one so new that it is yet to be named (that Lowell, incidentally, hopes will be named after him). As a result, he's already had one DL stint this season due to the hip and received another Synvisc injection Monday.

BOS 3, BAL 1: Clay Out of Control

Both Clay Buchholz and Jason Bay weren't feeling quite right last night, but somehow emerged as the heroes of Friday night's series opener against the Baltimore Orioles.

Buchholz's six strong innings, combined with Bay's 34th home run of the year, lifted the Red Sox past the Birds, 3-1.

Projecting the Playoffs, The Case for Kotchman

With just 20 games left and a 4 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card, what exactly are the chances for our beloved Sox to play in October? Baseball Prospectus seems to think they're pretty high, but Texas has life yet.

And who, exactly, is the Red Sox' most unappreciated player. Surely, it couldn't be Casey Kotchman. Though he doesn't always see the field, he provides stability at a key position on the diamond, while simultaneously solidifying the team's outlook at ... catcher?

Projecting the Playoffs

With just 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Sox' Hunt for Red October is getting stronger by the day. At this juncture, with this team, a 4 ½ game lead in the Wild Card is a considerable advantage. Don't get cozy though, as one hot or cold stretch can completely change the complexion of this race. Still, it's looking pretty good for the Sox, as Baseball Prospectus gives the Red Sox...

Tweets on the Red Sox’s 25-man roster

In a homage to Twitter, the new social media application that is changing how news is delivered (in the same vein how blogs changed everything) I bring to you a summary of each Red Sox player on the 25-man roster in 140 characters or less (the maximum number of characters you can enter on Twitter).

Have Twitter? Follow me. Tim's on too. Oh, and Fire Brand has one as well. You'll notice that had you followed Fire Brand, you would have gotten all these tweets last night.

LAA 7, BOS 5: Dice-K roughed up

A six run outburst in the sixth inning was the all the Angels needed dumping Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Boston…

LAA 5, BOS 3: Get it together

Bad enough we get swept.

BLOGPOLL: AL Awards 5/5

Each week, I will be participating in the 2008 MLB Blog Poll, put together by BaseballHappenings.com. Below are my current…