Jed Lowrie’s Big Bat

With all the injuries and disappointments in the 2010 season, perhaps one of the more pleasant surprises has been the superb play of infielder Jed Lowrie. For a player who missed the season’s first 94 games -- not to mention missing most of ’09 with a left wrist injury -- reminding the organization that he was still alive was quite the powerful message. After debuting with the big club back in 2008, Lowrie figured to play a big role in the club’s future. Unfortunately, 2009 was a lost season -- putting him on the organizational backburner. Beginning the 2010 season on the 60-day DL didn’t help matters either, as it seemed he might have more of a career in Pawtucket than Boston. But Lowrie has done quite the job reestablishing himself in the BoSox’ future...

‘Tis the season… it is better to give than receive

The calendar is closing in on July 31, 2010 and most are discussing who could the Red Sox acquire to help the team close the gap in the A.L. East. But few talk about the prospects that could be moved until a year or two or twenty years from now. Hopefully, the Olde Towne Team will not give up another future Hall of Famer this summer.

Hopefully, the Olde Towne Team will not give up another future Hall of Famer this summer. Two that could go are Lars Anderson and Oscar Tejada . The former Red Sox top prospect could now find his w

The DL All-Stars

Kevin Youkilis left last night's game in the 4th inning with an ankle injury. At the moment, it appears he'll be fine -- the word out of Fenway is that he'll be in the lineup tonight. Still, the sight of Youk leaving the game yesterday must have caused remotes across New England to be flung in exasperated disgust as the injury bug appeared to claim another key player on this 2010 Red Sox team. In recounting the injuries that have plagued the club this year, it occurs to me that we could field a fairly talented club solely from our DL. In order to find out exactly how good, I decided to draw up a lineup (nine offensive positions, two starters, a setup man, and a closer) and see how well it would stack up given their projected 2010 WAR (I'm using CHONE projections for batters because they're the easiest to find, but the estimates shouldn't be too far afield; for pitchers it's a bit tricky, but I'll resort to using fangraphs.com's fan projections -- imperfect, but close enough). This is obviously a thought experiment more than anything else, but it's interesting to see exactly how much talent the Sox have lost so far this season.

Epstein’s Draft Hits… and Misses

With the 2010 Amateur Draft just around the corner (Monday June 7 through Wednesday, June 9), I wanted to spend this week's column looking back at the previous best and worst picks of the Theo Epstein era, an era in which the strength of the minor league system has been both a top priority for the team and an area of almost unparalleled success.

With seven drafts under their belts, this front office has taken the team from a roster of two homegrown regulars (Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon) in 2003 to eight in 2010. Among them are a perennial Cy Young contender, a powerhouse corner infielder, a league champion base stealer, an elite closer, a man with a 100 mile an hour fastball, and an MVP. In addition, there is a new crop of talent maturing in the minors, with some players nearing the point where they will make a Major League contribution. So, not bad for a few years. After the jump, we'll take a look at the best and worst draft picks of the past seven years.

Pawtucket Red Sox 2010 Season Preview

There's a pretty big game tonight. It's Opening Day and the Red Sox and Yankees will battle on NESN/ESPN2 at 8:05 p.m. in the opening salvo of the 2010 rivalry. But keep an eye on the Triple-A team, as there are plenty of people starting things off in Pawtucket that will be important to the Sox's title hopes down the road... Torey Lovullo didn’t need an inordinate amount of time to drink Boston’s “kool-aid” after he was named the Pawtucket Red Sox manager.

Injuries striking Red Sox left and right

Do the Red Sox have another curse on their hands? Two separate Boston players have had bouts with cancer. David Ortiz had heart problems a few years ago. (Click 'Read More' below or click the headline to see the rest of the article.)

Red Sox need backup shortstop

With the signing of Adrian Beltre and impending acquisition of Bill Hall, it seems that the Sox only have one thing left to do: dump Mike Lowell to bring in a backup shortstop. Lowell is perhaps even more redundant with the acquisition of Hall, who can play third and has done so primarily for a while now. There are now four third basemen on the roster (Kevin Youkilis included). What the team lacks is a viable backup shortstop. While Hall can play every position but catcher competently, he hasn't tried his hand at short in three years -- and thus shouldn't be considered an option there. He figures to serve as the fifth outfielder and primary third base backup and likely first base as well. He also can appear at second base but is his position of least experience (assuming you sum all his outfield games). Assuming that the team dumps Mike Lowell (who deserves a better fate and I feel should have a nice season in 2010 but it is what it is, and I can't argue with the team's decision), who can they bring in?

Lowrie, Bowden Face Crossroads in 2010

Important Seasons Upcoming for Bowden and Lowrie For all the talk about 2010 being a “bridge” year, it looks more like the team is building a new Boston skyline than a bridge over troubled water. With three big free agent signings already in the books and more expected to come, the team might as well be jumping cannonballs off the ledge with the huge splashes we’ve seen so far. Still, the “bridge” that we’re seeing is really quite interesting in what it says about the team’s upper-level prospects and players ready to contribute on the major-league level. In particular, this upcoming season will be crucial in the careers of Michael Bowden and Jed Lowrie. Though Bowden may have dug his own grave with his ineptitude on the mound last season (much of which was bad luck, i.e. a .377 BABIP) and Lowrie’s season was cut short by unfortunate injuries, the team’s “bridge” may not be to the next group of prospects – per se – but, rather, it is a bridge over the current failing batch, Bowden and Lowrie...

Mike Lowell fails physical in Texas

According to Peter Abraham at Boston.com a major league source has said that Mike Lowell has failed his physical to finalize the trade to the Texas Rangers.

According to a major league source, the third baseman needs surgery on the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb and the trade to Texas that was agreed upon 11 days ago is off.

Assessing Boston’s shortstop options

With the departure of Alex Gonzalez to Toronto, it's time to move on and explore what options are available to Boston to man the shortstop position in 2010 -- and possibly beyond. I've gone through some potential free-agent and trade options and then tied it all in a neat little bow for consideration. Internal options include Jed Lowrie and Jose Iglesias. The free agent market has a bevy of options, but they all have their drawbacks. From Marco Scutaro to Adam Everett to Miguel Tejada to Craig Counsell -- yes, Craig Counsell -- we have you covered here. Want to think trade? Stephen Drew, Cristian Guzman and Hanley Ramirez are considered. Yeah, Hanley Ramirez. The New York Daily News has a note that the Marlins are talking to the Red Sox about a Hanley Ramirez trade.