by bcarsley | Nov 4, 2013 | Atlanta Braves, Bartolo Colon, Boston Red Sox, Bronson Arroyo, Bruce Chen, Carlos Pena, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, Daisuke Matsuzaka, David Murphy, Erik Bedard, Houston Astros, James Loney, Kelly Shoppach, Kevin Youkilis, Los Angeles Angels, Lyle Overbay, Mark Kotsay, Marlon Byrd, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Mets, New York Yankees, Nick Punto, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays
The 2014 offseason is officially underway. The Red Sox don’t figure to be the big players in free agency this year that they were before the 2013 season, but depending on which players leave and which players stay, there will still be a few holes to fill. You’ll see...
by jreilly | 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...
by bcowett | Aug 21, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, Alex Rodriguez, Boston Red Sox, Clay Buchholz, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jake Peavy, Ryan Dempster, San Francisco Giants, Shane Victorino, Xander Bogaerts
Another West Coast road trip, another game where the Red Sox were utterly frustrating to watch. That 9th inning…pure agony. Jake Peavy pitched well, but the bullpen couldn’t hold it together at the end of it all, coughing up a walk-off walk to give a win...
by bcowett | Aug 19, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, Angel Pagan, Brandon Belt, Brandon Crawford, Buster Posey, David Ortiz, Felix Doubront, Hunter Pence, Jake Peavy, Jon Lester, Marco Scutaro, Mike Napoli, Pablo Sandoval, Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco Giants, Tim Lincecum
Back to the West Coast go the Red Sox. This time, they have to play by silly National League rules and have the pitchers hit. And the last time they visited AT&T Park in 2010, it didn’t go so well for a certain pitcher and a popular second baseman....
by jreilly | Mar 30, 2013 | 2013 Boston Red Sox, Aaron Hicks, Adrian Beltre, Andrew McCutchen, Atlanta Braves, Brandon Mauer, Bryce Harper, Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Red, Clayton Kershaw, Cleveland Indians, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels, Detroit Tigers, Dylan Bundy, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jason Heyward, Jedd Gyorko, Joey Votto, Jose Bautista, Julio Tehran, Jurickson Profar, Justin Upton, Kyuji Fujikawa, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Matt Kemp, Mike Trout, Oakland A's, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Predictions, Robinson Cano, Ryan Braun, San Francisco Giants, Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals, Stephen Strasburg, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Washington Nationals, Wil Myers, World Series, Yasel Puig
Fire Brand readers, below are the staff’s predictions for the 2013 MLB Season. While there is a very good chance many of these will be incorrect, it will make all of you proud to note that not a single writer picked the Yankees to make the playoffs. Some...
by jkeller | Mar 14, 2013 | 2004 World Series, 2007 World Series, Alex Rodriguez, Andy Pettitte, Arizona Diamondbacks, Austin Romine, Boone Logan, Boston Red Sox, Brett Gardner, Brian Cashman, Buster Posey, C.C. Sabathia, Chris Stewart, Clay Buchholz, Clay Rapada, Curtis Granderson, Dan Johnson, David Aardsma, David Phelps, David Robertson, Dellin Betances, Derek Jeter, Eduardo Nunez, Francisco Cervelli, Hiroki Kuroda, Ichiro Suzuki, Ivan Nova, Joba Chamberlain, Juan Rivera, Kevin Youkilis, Mariano Rivera, Mark Teixeira, Matt Diaz, Melky Mesa, Michael Pineda, Mike Trout, New York Yankees, Phil Hughes, Pittsburgh Pirates, Raul Ibanez, Robinson Cano, Ryan Braun, San Francisco Giants, Travis Hafner
The 2013 New York Yankees are one heck of an interesting bet. It’s not quite black/red, high/low or odd/even, but you can rest assured that outcomes in baseball really aren’t all that complicated. In fact, there are only three kinds of baseball seasons in...
by bcarsley | Feb 25, 2013 | Austin Romine, Baltimore Orioles, Blake Swihart, Buster Posey, Carlos Santana, Cleveland Indians, Colorado Rockies, David Ross, Dusty Brown, Francisco Cervelli, Gustavo Molina, J.P. Arencibia, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Jason Varitek, Jesus Montero, Joe Mauer, John Jaso, Jose Lobaton, Jose Molina, Kevin Cash, Matt Wieters, Mike Napoli, Mike Zunino, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees, Ryan Doumit, Ryan Hanigan, Ryan Lavarnway, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays, Yasmani Grandal
The Red Sox have assembled one of the best collections of catchers in all of baseball. And if you think that speaks to the paucity of passable backstops in the game as much as it does Boston’s roster construction, you’re right. As you all know, the Red Sox currently...
by jreilly | Feb 9, 2013 | Alex Rodriguez, Atlanta Braves, Boston Red Sox, Curt Schilling, Dan Naulty, Kansas City Royals, Ken Caminiti, Kenny Rogers, Lance Armstrong, Melky Cabrera, MiLB, MLB, New York Yankees, PEDs, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, Steroids, Tom Verducci
Like many of you, I grew up with Lance Armstrong as one of my select few heroes. Every June, for seven straight years (1999-2005), I would watch Lance throttle his Tour de France competition into submission. He was a cancer survivor, philanthropist, PED-less cyclist,...
by jkeller | Feb 7, 2013 | Albert Pujols, Andrew McCutchen, Angel Pagan, Atlanta Braves, B.J. Upton, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brandon Crawford, Brandon Morrow, Buck Showalter, Buster Posey, Chris Carpenter, Clay Buchholz, Dan Haren, David Price, Denard Span, Detroit Tigers, Edwin Encarnacion, Edwin Jackson, Evan Longoria, Felix Hernandez, James Shields, Jared Weaver, Jason Vargas, Joe Blanton, John Farrell, Jose Bautista, Jose Reyes, Josh Hamilton, Josh Johnson, Jurickson Profar, Justin Upton, Justin Verlander, Kansas City Royals, Keith Law, Lance Lynn, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mark Buehrle, Michael Young, Miguel Cabrera, Mike Olt, Mike Trout, New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, R.A. Dickey, Rafael Soriano, Ricky Romero, Robinson Cano, San Francisco Giants, Shelby Miller, St. Louis Cardinals, Stephen Strasburg, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, Wade Davis, Washington Nationals, Wil Myers, Zack Greinke
Part 1: The Pitchers Part 2: The Batters Part 3: The League Once again, the same disclaimers apply: 1) Please feel free to bookmark them and come back later in September/October to see how I did — you know that if I hit on a few you’re going to hear about it. 2)...
by scandage | Dec 1, 2012 | Adam LaRoche, Alex Gonzalez, Alfredo Aceves, Andrew Bailey, Anibal Sanchez, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Brandon McCarthy, Brennan Boesch, Brian Wilson, Cody Ross, Dan Haren, Daniel Bard, Detroit Tigers, Edwin Jackson, Francisco Liriano, Jair Jurrjens, Jerry Owens, Joakim Soria, Joe Blanton, Jonathan Broxton, Jonny Gomes, Jose Iglesias, Jose Valverde, Josh Hamilton, Koji Uehara, Kyle Lohse, Mark Reynolds, Mike Adams, Mike Napoli, Nate Schierholtz, Nick Swisher, Rafael Perez, Ryan Dempster, Ryan Madson, San Francisco Giants, Shaun Marcum, Shin-Soo Choo, Stephen Drew
The 2012 Baseball Winter Meetings will be held in Nashville on Monday through Wednesday. Let’s take a look at some of the free agents and non-tendered players that the Red Sox may be interested in. As everybody knows, Boston is looking for a first baseman, and...
