3 Up 3 Down is Only 6 Games Back

by | Jun 30, 2014 | AL East, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Workman, Brock Holt, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Joe Maddon, John Farrell, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie Betts, New York Yankees, NL West, Rubby de la Rosa, Shane Victorino, Stephen Drew, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Will Middlebrooks, Yasiel Puig

After an extended hiatus, 3 Up 3 Down returns to give you a look at who performed well and who did not over the past week of Red Sox baseball. After what has been a tumultuous season (that could be the understatement of the season), the Boston Red Sox, after taking 2...

Fourth Place

by | Nov 3, 2013 | Adrian Beltre, Boston Red Sox, Clayton Kershaw, Detroit Tigers, Jose Bautista, Justin Verlander, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Max Scherzer, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Trout, Toronto Blue Jays, Yasiel Puig

I projected the Red Sox to finish fourth in the division this season. To be fair, I am an idiot. I predicted Jason Heyward would win the National League MVP award, and he went on to be only the third-most-valuable player on his own team in terms of fWAR, with a...

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...

Why the Yankees Are Not Underdogs and Never Will Be

by | Sep 5, 2013 | Andy Pettitte, Boston Red Sox, Brennan Boesch, Brett Gardner, Brian Cashman, C.C. Sabathia, Curtis Granderson, Derek Jeter, Hiroki Kuroda, Houston Astros, Ivan Nova, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jayson Nix, Leo Nunez, Los Angeles Dodgers, Lyle Overbay, Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Robinson Cano, Tampa Bay Rays

The Red Sox kick of a critical four-game series in the Bronx tonight, facing the hard-charging Yankees. New York enters the series only 2.5 games out of a Wild Card spot, a rather drastic turnaround from where they were a month ago. On August 7, the White Sox...

To live for the Sox and imbibe in L.A.

by | 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...

The Advanced Scout – Los Angeles Dodgers

by | Aug 23, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, A.J. Ellis, Adrian Gonzalez, Andre Ethier, Boston Red Sox, Carl Crawford, Chris Capuano, David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Jake Peavy, John Lackey, Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Josh Reddick, Juan Uribe, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Ellis, Matt Kemp, Ricky Nolasco, Yasiel Puig

The moment you saw this series on the schedule, you had to know Narratives Day was coming. Well, it’s arrived. Merry Christmas, beat writers. Thankfully, I’m not here to talk the potential storylines. I love you guys enough that I’m here to talk...