by huntergolden | Sep 11, 2013 | Adrian Gonzalez, Alex Rios, Andre Ethier, Ben Cherington, Boston Red Sox, David Ross, Gerardo Parra, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake Peavy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jay Bruce, Jonny Gomes, Josh Hamilton, Koji Uehara, Mike Napoli, Nick Markakis, Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, Torii Hunter, Xander Bogaerts
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...
by huntergolden | Sep 4, 2013 | Andrew Bailey, Brad Ziegler, Joel Hanrahan, Jose Bautista, Koji Uehara, Mariano Rivera
If there’s any one player-related piece that I hope people take away from this season, it’s that folks begin to appreciate just how good Koji Uehara is at baseball – and I really mean that. I mean it because sure, he’s an insanely likeable guy, but I say it more...
by jkeller | Sep 1, 2013 | Boston Red Sox, Brandon Workman, Clay Buchholz, Craig Breslow, Daniel Nava, David Ortiz, David Ross, Drake Britton, Dustin Pedroia, Felix Doubront, Franklin Morales, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake Peavy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Matt Thorton, Mike Carp, Mike Napoli, Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, Will Middlebrooks, Xander Bogaerts
“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...
by jpolman | Aug 27, 2013 | A.J. Ellis, Adrian Gonzalez, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, Hanley Ramirez, Jake Peavy, Kenley Jansen, Koji Uehara, Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, Ricky Nolasco, Ted Williams, Yasiel Puig
Maybe it was the arrowed sign directing me to GREEN MONSTER SEATS mounted on the far wall, or the framed lobster painting in the corner. Maybe it was the cloud of salty, familiar accents billowing around the room, but I felt right at home at the Little Bar on LaBrea...
by jkeller | Aug 22, 2013 | Alfredo Aceves, Allen Webster, Andrew Bailey, Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard, Daniel Nava, David Ortiz, David Ross, Dustin Pedroia, Felix Doubront, Franklin Morales, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake Peavy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Joel Hanrahan, John Lackey, Jonny Gomes, Koji Uehara, Manny Ramirez, Matt Thorton, Mike Napoli, Pedro Ciriaco, Rubby de la Rosa, Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino
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...
by akhatchaturian | Aug 3, 2013 | Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller, Clay Buchholz, Craig Breslow, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Felix Doubront, Jake Peavy, Jon Lester, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Ryan Dempster
Red Sox Nation cheered in jubilation when Ben Cherington acquired Jake Peavy in a heist calculated more efficiently than Walter White’s methylamine robbery in Breaking Bad. That said, the team’s inability to bring in a reliever is a cause for concern. There is no...
by jkeller | Aug 1, 2013 | Boston Red Sox, Brandon Jacobs, Brandon Snyder, Brandon Workman, Brock Holt, Clay Buchholz, Craig Breslow, Craig Kimbrel, Daniel Nava, David Ortiz, David Ross, Drake Britton, Dustin Pedroia, Felix Doubront, J.D. Drew, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jake Peavy, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jim Johnson, Joe Nathan, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jonny Gomes, Jose De La Torre, Jose Iglesias, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Mariano Rivera, Matt Thorton, Mike Carp, Mike Napoli, Pedro Beato, Ryan Dempster, Ryan Lavarnway, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, Ted Williams, Will Middlebrooks, Wins Above Replacement, Xander Bogaerts
Every month, here on Fire Brand, I take a look at the relative value of the 25 players on the current active roster. If you missed the March, April, May, or June editions check them out for the criteria and history of these rankings. This month sees a season high six...
by huntergolden | Jul 17, 2013 | 2013 MLB Trade Deadline, Andrew Bailey, Aramis Ramirez, Chase Headley, Jerry Sands, Joel Hanrahan, Jon Lester, Jonathan Papelbon, Josh Reddick, Koji Uehara, Mariano Rivera, Mark Melancon, Michael Young, Miles Head, Stolmy Pimentel, Yovanni Gallardo
With all the talk about whom the Red Sox should go out and try to get at the trade deadline, there hasn’t been much discussion surrounding some of the players they should avoid. And trust me when I say – there are a lots of guys who aren’t close to worth their...
by jreilly | Jul 13, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, Adrian Gonzalez, Alfredo Aceves, Allen Webster, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller, Clay Buchholz, Craig Breslow, David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Felix Doubront, Jacoby Ellsbury, Joel Hanrahan, John Farrell, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Jose Iglesias, Koji Uehara, Ryan Dempster, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, Will Middlebrooks
With the All-Star break looming on the horizon (it begins after Sunday’s game) I think now is a good time as ever to take a look back over the first 94 games of the season and grade out the Boston Red Sox. The categories we will use are the typical five: offense,...
by huntergolden | Jul 10, 2013 | Alex Wilson, Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Miller, Franklin Morales, Joel Hanrahan, Junichi Tazawa, Koji Uehara, Matt Thornton, Mike Gonzalez
As a rule of thumb, I hate the idea of trading for relievers because, well, let’s face it – trades involving relievers almost always end up as a losing bet for the team that needs one. We needn’t be reminded of that in Boston where we’ve been on both sides of that...
