Roster Power Rankings, March Edition

Every month during the season, here on Fire Brand, I take a look at the relative value of the 25 players on the current active roster. The criteria for the power rankings: 1) What is the value of each player on the Red Sox roster relative to the other players? If a...

Benches, Depth And The 2013 World Series

The Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals are both very good teams, and that is why they are meeting in the World Series. The Red Sox finished first in the majors in runs scored, doubles, OBP and OPS. Their pitching staff finished 14th in the league in ERA, seventh...

Ben Cherington’s 2013 Report Card: The Free Agents

Red Sox GM Ben Cherington entered the 2012-2013 offseason with an open mind and an open checkbook. After a disastrous 2012 campaign that resulted in 69 wins and the salary dump to end all salary dumps, Cherington finally got the keys to the car to spend the money...

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Is Surprisingly Valuable

I’ve never really been a big supporter of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. I thought he was a worthwhile gamble to acquire from the Rangers for next to nothing, and I liked the idea of grooming him behind Jason Varitek. I was patient through the yips and then through the long,...

Roster Power Rankings, August Edition

“And down the stretch they come!”  Once again the calendar turns from August to September. Thankfully this time around the Red Sox are not only back in the race, they are, in fact, leading the race. Boston entered August 65-44, up 0.5 games in the American...

Is He Worth It?

As soon as a new deal is signed the debate begins over whether or not the player is actually worth the money that they will be paid. It happened with all of the free agent acquisitions last winter, it happened when Pedroia signed his extension, and it will happen...

An Argument For Keeping Jacoby Ellsbury

Last week, I wrote about how the Red Sox are in great shape headed into the offseason thanks to their financial and organizational flexibility. With the Nick Punto trade creating more salary relief than anyone would’ve thought possible and a big steps forward by a...