New Poll Question: Most coveted star

Considering that it's highly unlikely that the Red Sox could acquire both in a trade, who would you prefer to see don a Sox uniform come April? * Adrian Gonzalez * Felix Hernandez

Matsui in Red, Varitek’s ‘C’

Hideki Matsui as a Red Sock? (Left: While not the best "action shot" out there on Matsui, it would offend our sense of decency to have pictures of Yankees high-fiving or trotting around the bases on our site. Therefore, we felt a picture of Matsui being brushed back by a fastball was much more appropriate.) Yesterday, the Red Sox official website announced a rumor linking the team to Hideki Matsui. According to sources at nikkansports.com (don’t even bother with the link, unless you can read Japanese), the Japanese website expects the Red Sox to tender Matsui a contract at some point this offseason. Though Matsui proved this season that he is still a force at the plate, the real question is whether or not he can effectively man left field.

New Poll: Which catcher would you least like to see go on free agency?

New Poll Question: Which Red Sox catcher would you least like to see go on free agency? * George Kottaras…

Theo’s “95-Win Team”, Beckett’s Extension, Falling Dominoes, and the Mailbag

Theo’s “95-Win Team" In recent years, one of the most important axioms put forth by the Theo Epstein and the Red Sox front office is the law of the “95-Win Team”. According to this directive, the team’s goal is to target 95-wins annually in an effort to compete every season. This is really a great piece of wisdom, as a team that wins 95 games will make the playoffs most years. In fact, the Wild Card winner since 2003 – the first year Theo took the esteemed office of Red Sox General Manger – has averaged a record of just about 95-67. However, this doctrine relies on one major assumption – that this team will always be able to perform up to their expected level... Josh Beckett's Extension Over the past few days, rumors have been circulating that the Sox and the Josh Beckett camp have been discussing a contract extension. Adding fuel to the rumors, Beckett and agent Michael Moye have indicated that there will be no hometown discount for the Sox, so the team will have to be ready to shell out quite a bit of cash. Introducing the FireBrand Mailbag And, finally, introducing the FireBrand mailbag, where we will answer all of your darkest, most burning questions about Red Sox Baseball. If you would like to ask the writers a question to be answered on the site, please forward your inquiries to Mike_Silver_FireBrandAL@yahoo.com.

Red Sox Offseason BluePrint v.2 : Holliday, Harden, Scutaro

Like most teams, the Boston Red Sox offseason will be defined by the willingness of their owner to open his wallet. Fortunately for Sox fans nationwide, Uncle John certainly has some deep pockets. However, the amount he is willing to spend will have a lot to say about the direction that this team will be headed. The prudent move by the Red Sox will be to look for incremental gains in what is partly a transitional year, while also being a year of opportunity. The club has nearly its entire 2009 starting lineup under contract, including its entire starting staff and at least seven of nine position players. For a team that won 95 games last season, that’s a recipe for success. Still, the American League gets more competitive every year, as the AL West, the Yankees, and our little brother Rays make it harder and harder to buy the Wild Card.

Anaheim Angels’ ALDS Roster

Mike Scioscia released his postseason roster on Sunday, giving fans even more to feast on as the postseason nears. The team will consist of 15 position players and 10 pitchers. Position Players Catchers (3) Primary: Mike Napoli Reserves (2): Jeff Mathis, Bobby Wilson While Napoli is the Angels' primary catcher, Mathis will begin the series catching Lackey - much to the Sox' benefit. Mathis is a very poor hitter (.211/.288/.308), so his free at-bats will kill any rallies when he limps to the plate. Wilson, the team's #3 catcher, will provide depth and late-inning roster flexibility.

BOS 12, CLE 7: The Long and Winding Win

It may not have been the way that Clay Buchholz wanted to head into the post season, but a win is a win in professional sports, as the Red Sox took their 95th win of the season off of the Cleveland Indians, 12-7, on Sunday. Buchholz only lasted three innings, but the run support was there in droves, as J.D. Drew clocked two, Jed Lowrie belted a grand slam, and Alex Gonzalez made sure that everyone knew he was doing just fine with another home run, just to name a few.

BOS 11, CLE 6: Bats Boost Beckett Past Indians

The Boston bats had Beckett's back last night, in a big way. Alliteration aside, the Red Sox starter struggled through five innings, but came up with the win, his seventeenth of the season, as the Sox took a third game from the Cleveland Indians. With only one game left in the regular season, the quiet Red Sox backs woke up, as Aaron Laffey and the rest of the Tribe's pen were lit up, on the way to an 11-6 loss.

BOS 6, CLE 2: Sox Take Two from Cleveland

“Effective” isn’t a term often used to describe Daisuke Matsuzaka’s outings, but that’s exactly what he looked like in last night’s start, as the Red Sox took a second win off of the Cleveland Indians, 6-2.

Fireside Chats #61: Where we are the champions….errr…wild card my friends

[podcast]http://360thepitch.com/firebrand/61_10_1_09_firesidechats.mp3[/podcast]

Paul and I catch up after a week off with the end of the regular season looming. The Red Sox have clinched and instead of painfully breaking down the teams' miserable performance in these "exhibition games", we look forward with initial thoughts to another match up with the Anaheim...Los Angeles Angels in the ALDS. All after, of course, a little prayer for Jon Lester and Josh Beckett's health.

All that and more on Episode #60 of Fireside Chats on MVN!