Category: J.D. Drew

 Chris Carter

The Red Sox know how to manage “injuries.”

If Lowell goes down, Youk can shift to third and David Ortiz and Chris Carter can share the 1B/DH spots. Or even Rocco could DH at times. If Daisuke suffers from "arm fatigue." Which could also be labeled as "we are being careful with him because of the the WBC." Then Justin Masterson can shift from the pen to the rotation.

But Theo has built a team that can handle suspensions, injuries, performance issues, more than just about any team in the game of baseball. And the organization as a whole has built a farm system that has the players to either be quality Major Leaguers, fill temporary holes, or be traded to address any of these "holes."

April 18, 2009 tito crafts
Brad Penny

BOS 10, BAL 8: Offensive slump broken

Down seven runs to begin the bottom of the second inning Boston never changed their approach at the plate. The Red Sox knew they were given too many innings to catch up. J.D. Drew lead off the inning with a walk and Jason Bay followed crushing his third home run of the season into Baltimore's bullpen cutting the lead to 7-2. Boston's comeback was just getting started.

April 18, 2009 shawn medeiros
Curt Schilling

BOS 8, OAK 2: Wakefield spins gem

The scenario was reminiscent of Curt Schilling's performance against the Oakland Athletics two years ago on June 7. Boston was in a funk. Oakland had a chance at sweeping the Red Sox at home for the first time in a four game set since May 19-21, 1932 when they played in Philadelphia. Schilling was called upon to halt the losing streak.

April 15, 2009 shawn medeiros
Brad Penny

Don’t Panic: The Red Sox will improve.

Sample size, sample size, sample size! Remember the thing that increases the accuracy of whatever the available data happens to…

April 15, 2009 tito crafts
Daisuke Matsuzaka

OAK 6, BOS 5: Red Sox slide continues

Not only is Daisuke Matsuzaka's arm fatigued, but Red Sox Nation is also after suffering through a 12 inning, four hour and 24 minute, 6-5 extra innings loss to Oakland.

April 15, 2009 shawn medeiros
Clay Buchholz

Know Thyself 2009: Boston Red Sox

The 2009 Boston Red Sox are in the final stages of preparing for what is certain to be an entertaining and exciting season. The spring is finally behind us, the roster is set and the team is moving northward to christen Citi Field with some Major League talent.

Now all the roster moves are behind us and the questions move from the "who" of the offseason as they shift to the analysis of performance and the "what" of baseball. This past week has been spent looking at the competition in the American League East, and stiff competition it is. In most cases, the Red Sox had the position by position edge over each team from the Yankees to the Orioles and it should come as no surprise, in that light, that the staff here at Fire Brand gives the Red Sox the edge to win the AL East in 2009.

Today we summarize much of what we've talked about in our "For Better or Worse" series this offseason as we go player by player through the Red Sox roster and prepare for live baseball next week.

April 3, 2009 josh lacey
A.J. Burnett

Know Thine Enemy 2009: New York Yankees

The other half of the best rivalry in sports, The New York Yankees. The Bronx Bombers "only" ended up with 89 victories last season. And the key players they inked this past off-season, have them looking incredibly strong on paper for this upcoming 2009 season.

The philosophy about building a strong farm was basically put on hold for a year. But Brian Cashman made some nice maneuvers, and the result--whether it was intentional or not--allowed the Yankees to lose their first three picks this year. And that is better than losing a first-round pick in three consecutive seasons, of course.

April 1, 2009 tito crafts
Brad Penny

Fireside Chats #36: Where we get the On the DL with Dan Levy while hoping JD Drew stays off it

You didn't really think that we were going to talk another hour of spring training baseball did you? We only spend 15 minutes on the spring before moving On the DL. Thats just about as much playing time as J.D. Drew before his first trip there himself. But seriously, Paul's a little worried about Drew and what that could mean for the team if he were to miss any extended time this season.

We're happy to have Dan Levy from one of the fastest growing sports podcasts on the web, the On the DL Podcast, as this week's guest. Dan's a Phillies fan and a baseball enthusiast. We cover topics from his recent guest, poker celebrity Annie Duke, to why the northeast pumps out the most passionate fans (it's the traffic stupid). And, oh yeah, we mix in a little baseball talk.

March 3, 2009 tim daloisio
Brad Penny

Does Drew/Penny concern you?

Anyone else concerned about J.D. Drew and Brad Penny?

I am. The setback with Penny isn't terribly bad because of the crazy depth the Sox have in pitching and the fact that the Sox have three days off in the first 15 games of the season. It's possible the Sox could go to a four-man rotation and not miss a beat.

Drew, though, I'm concerned about. The team and Drew keep brushing off the concerns, but not for nothing did he head back to Boston and get an injection. If he's out, that means there's a platoon situation with Rocco Baldelli and Brad Wilkerson with Jeff Bailey (probably) on the bench.

If both Drew and Penny are out, it could really weaken the team.

March 3, 2009 evan brunell