Sox Catch Tampa Bay, Minor Additions: Ryan Shealy

Sox Catch Tampa Bay The Sox finally playing inspired baseball, the club has been rolling with a 14-5 record in June. Meanwhile, the Devil Rays have stagnated, posting just an 8-9 mark over that period. It has been a long time coming, but the Red Sox have finally drawn even at second place with in-division foe Tampa Bay. It’s difficult to do justice to how great of an accomplishment this is. A team that appeared dead in the water not one month ago has risen from the ashes back to contention -- all the while combating debilitating injuries and emergency call ups. Should Daisuke Matsuzaka and Josh Beckett, especially, come back strong from their injuries, the club could once again have the MLB’s best rotation. A 1-2-3 of Beckett, Jon Lester, and a surging Clay Buchholz would rival that of any in the league. John Lackey and Matsuzaka at 4 and 5 would make the Rays and Yankees green with envy. With Ellsbury in left and Hermida the fourth outfielder, the lineup will see a tremendous boost. The best is yet to come. Or is it?

6/20 Online Seats Game Thread: Dodging the Broom

GAME NOTES Not that Vincente Padilla strikes fear into the hearts of Bay Staters, but the Los Angeles Dodgers will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after their loss last night to the Boston Red Sox who will send Tim Wakefield to the mound.

6/19 Online Seats Game Thread: Showing Manny Who Is Boss

Not that Vincente Padilla strikes fear into the hearts of Bay Staters, but the Los Angeles Dodgers will be playing with a chip on their shoulder after their loss last night to the Boston Red Sox who will send Tim Wakefield to the mound.

6/18 Online Seats Game Thread: LA Again?

Just when you couldn't get enough LA in your life, the Dodgers come into town bringing gifts of Manny Ramirez. Have no fear, though, as the Boston Red Sox will turn to trusty ole Felix Doubront... wait a second....

6/17 Online Seats Game Thread: Saving Time for the Celtics

John Lackey and the Boston Red Sox are nice enough to start their last game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at tad early. Let's just hope that the Celtics take advantage as they face the Laker's in Game 7.

6/16 Online Seats Game Thread: Lester Looks to Lift Boston’s Spirits

Last night's systematic dismantling of the Boston Celtics may have shaken your confidence in Boston sports, but fear not... Jon Lester returns to the mound tonight for the Boston Red Sox to take on Rodrigo Lopez and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

6/15 Online Seats Game Thread: Raising Arizona

After a long anticipated day off, the Boston Red Sox are back in action against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks, who will hand Ian Kennedy the ball to face Clay Buchholz.

Defense starts to silence the critics

After an off season that centered around pitching and defense we had the standard jokes this April, but since May those jokes have not been able to joke about defense. There has been some trouble finding solid options in left field and center field, but the defense has solidified to hold up its end. According to UZR/150 the defense has been worth 6.0 runs for every 150 defensive games played. Last year the team was worth only 0.5 runs for every 150 games. Depending on how many innings they total that could be an improvement of 30-40 defensive runs.

Injuries Mounting, Boof Bonser to the Rotation? Nava Who?

Who is Daniel Nava? The Sox have quite the interesting player on their hands. With injuries to outfielders Jacoby Ellsbury, Jeremy Hermida, and Mike Cameron forcing the BoSox to dig deep into the minors once again, the Sox may have caught lightning in a bottle for the second time this season. Darnell McDonald admirably filling in for Hermida and Cameron, the Sox promoted Daniel Nava to the bigs on Saturday to take over Josh Reddick's fourth outfielder spot. Like McDonald, Nava wasted no time endearing himself to fans -- connecting for a grand slam on the first pitch of his MLB career Saturday, leading the Sox to a 10-2 win over Philadelphia. Nava, 27, has had quite the journey to the Majors. Making his professional debut for the Chico Outlaws of the Golden Baseball League in 2007, Nava impressed the scouts with a bit of speed (18 SBs in 20 attempts), pop (12 home runs in 314 plate appearances), and plate discipline (48 BB : 42 Ks) while with Chico. Signed by the Sox in 2008 at the age of 25, Nava kept rolling with hi-A Lancaster. Slugging 10 homers in 379 plate appearances to go along with a very impressive .341/.424/.523 line, the outfielder’s plate discipline (43 BB : 70 K) carried over to affliated ball as well.

6/13 Online Seats Game Thread: Phils without the Fight

The Boston Red Sox look to continue their interleague success against the floundering Phillies, who continued to serve up easy runs to the Boston yesterday. Sunday's contest, which will send Cole Hamels out to face Tim Wakefield, may not be as easy.