The Advanced Scout: ALCS – Detroit Tigers

by | Oct 12, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, 2013 MLB Playoffs, Alex Avila, Anibal Sanchez, Austin Jackson, Boston Red Sox, Bruce Rondon, Clay Buchholz, Detroit Tigers, Doug Fister, Jake Peavy, Jhonny Peralta, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jose Iglesias, Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Omar Infante, Phil Coke, Prince Fielder, Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez

I guess it was inevitable that the teams with the two best offenses in the major leagues would meet in the ALCS. Strangely enough, the Tigers and the Red Sox have never faced each other in the playoffs before in the history of baseball. Someone’s going to make a...

Friday’s Links – A New Opponent

by | Oct 11, 2013 | 2013 ALDS, 2013 Boston Red Sox, 2013 MLB Playoffs, Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz, Detroit Tigers, Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Verlander, Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Will Middlebrooks

Considering how time seemed to slow down a ton in the ALDS, it feels like forever since the Red Sox played a game. Yay for anxiety and years off my life! No matter how hardened the person, the postseason exacts a toll on all of us, be it our patience or our energy....

Fire Brand 2013 Postseason Predictions

by | Oct 2, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, 2013 Cleveland Indians, 2013 Playoffs, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Dodgers, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals

Back in March of this year, the Fire Brand writers got together and submitted their 2013 Preseason Predictions. Well, in short, they weren’t pretty. And, quite frankly, preseason baseball predictions usually are not accurate, evidenced by 4 of the 7 writers at...

Ghosts Of Red Sox Past: The 2013 Playoffs

by | Sep 30, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, 2013 Cleveland Indians, 2013 MLB Playoffs, 2013 Playoffs, Adrian Beltre, Adrian Gonzalez, Anibal Sanchez, Bartolo Colon, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Moss, Bronson Arroyo, Carl Crawford, Cincinnati Reds, Clay Buchholz, Cleveland Indians, Coco Crisp, David Murphy, David Ortiz, Detroit Tigers, Dustin Pedroia, Engel Beltre, Hanley Ramirez, Jacoby Ellsbury, James Loney, Jed Lowrie, Jon Lester, Jose Iglesias, Josh Reddick, Justin Masterson, Kelly Shoppach, Kris Johnson, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Melancon, Marlon Byrd, Matt Albers, Mike Aviles, Nick Hagadone, Nick Punto, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Rich Hill, Ryan Kalish, Stephen Fife, Stolmy Pimentel, Tampa Bay Rays, Terry Francona, Texas Rangers, Tim Federowicz, Victor Martinez

Not sure if you’ve noticed, but the Red Sox have undergone a tremendous amount of change over the past few years. Sure, some mainstays like David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury have defined the core of this team. Yet by my count,...

Award Season

by | Sep 29, 2013 | Andrew McCutchen, Boston Red Sox, Carlos Gomez, Clay Buchholz, Clayton Kershaw, Detroit Tigers, Jose Fernandez, Jose Iglesias, Josh Donaldson, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Harvey, Max Scherzer, Miami Marlins, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Mets, Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays, Wil Myers

Here’s a sad thing: this column will be posted on the final day of the regular season for the Boston Red Sox. That’s right, 162 games are about to be in the books. Soon, it’ll be time for playoff talk (and an extra-special Playoff TrollBag next week), but before we...

How have the Red Sox Fared as AL East Champions?

by | Sep 26, 2013 | 2007 World Series, American League East, Bill Buckner, Boston Red Sox, Carlton Fisk, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Dave Stewart, David Ortiz, Dennis Eckersley, Detroit Tigers, Doug Mientkiewicz, Fausto Carmona, Fred Lynn, J.D. Drew, Jason Varitek, John Valentin, Josh Beckett, Keith Foulke, Koji Uehara, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Roger Clemens, Terry Francona, Wade Boggs

Last Friday night, the Red Sox earned their 94th win in 155 games played, with the last out fittingly coming on a Koji Uehara strikeout. The win sealed the first division title for the Red Sox since 2007, and their seventh AL East title since the division was formed...

Ranking Possible Playoff Opponents

by | Sep 12, 2013 | Adam Jones, Adrian Beltre, Alfonso Soriano, Andy Pettitte, Anibal Sanchez, Baltimore Orioles, Billy Butler, Boston Red Sox, Brett Gardner, Buck Showalter, C.C. Sabathia, Chris Davis, Chris Perez, Chris Tillman, Cleveland Indians, Corey Kluber, Detroit Tigers, Doug Fister, Elvis Andrus, Ervin Santana, Evan Longoria, Grant Balfour, Greg Holland, Hiroki Kuroda, Ivan Nova, James Shields, Jarrod Dyson, Jason Giambi, Jason Kipnis, Jim Johnson, Joe Maddon, Jose Iglesias, Jose Molina, Josh Donaldson, Josh Hamilton, Justin Verlander, Kansas City Royals, Leonys Martin, Manny Machado, Mariano Rivera, Matt Moore, Matt Wieters, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Napoli, Nelson Cruz, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Oakland Athletics, Robinson Cano, Ryan Cook, Scott Kazmir, Tampa Bay Rays, Terry Francona, Texas Rangers, Ubaldo Jimenez, Yu Darvish

ESPN’s standings currently have the Red Sox sitting at a 99.9% chance of making the playoffs. So is it a lock that Boston will once against be dancing in October? Of course not! But just how close are they to winning the AL East? Even if the Red Sox go a modest 7-8...

The Advanced Scout – Detroit Tigers

by | Sep 2, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, Alex Avila, Andy Dirks, Austin Jackson, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers, Doug Fister, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jose Iglesias, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Carp, Prince Fielder, Ramon Santiago, Rick Porcello, Ryan Dempster, Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez

In a sense, this homestand is a worst-to-first when you consider the American League Central standings. The last-place White Sox come to town first, then the Detroit Tigers saunter on in to Boston. It’s a steep increase in difficulty, but in the end, we’ll...