Over the Monster: FanShots

According to a baseball source, the Sox had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off...

2009-11-07T01:37:54Z

According to a baseball source, the Sox had been engaging with the Brewers in on-and-off discussions involving Hardy since the trading deadline, roughly two weeks before Milwaukee sent the struggling shortstop to the minor leagues. Talks continued up until recently, when the Brewers agreed to send Hardy to the Twins for outfielder Carlos Gomez.

According to the same source, Milwaukee wanted either starter Clay Buchholz or reliever Daniel Bard for Hardy. The Sox were not willing to offer either pitcher. Milwaukee was not interested in righthander Michael Bowden, whom the Sox would have been willing to part with, and the Sox did not have a center field prospect who could match Gomez’s skill set.

Sox were in on Hardy - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

"This was not a blockbuster. This was a value trade, a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled...

2009-11-06T02:23:13Z

"This was not a blockbuster. This was a value trade, a chance to get a guy with unfulfilled potential at a reasonable cost.

"The last two years, there were high expectations that didn’t come together for him. His performance certainly hasn’t been as good the last two years as it was in 2007. I can tell you that’s the reason we were able to acquire him today. Had he maintained that performance or had linear progression from 2007 to today, there’s no way we would have been trading for him, let alone in this kind of a deal.

"Hermida is a player who hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet. We acquired him today for a reasonable cost to see if he might be able to fulfill that potential with us. He’s somebody who has positive indicators that future performance might be better than his past performance. His minor-league track record, his age, his draft pedigree, our scouting reports over the year indicate there’s a chance that he can turn into the player he was once thought to be.

"Certainly this is a good time to acquire him when his value is a little bit low and to see if with a change of scenery he will be able to fulfill his potential.

"He is somebody who had and we feel may still have considerable promise. This is a player who was highly sought after as an amateur. We liked him in the draft.

"He’s about to move into his prime years. Sometimes talented young players who struggle at the big-league level put it all together and sometimes they don’t. We had a chance to acquire one for what we deemed to be a very reasonable cost."

Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Theo Epstein on Jeremy Hermida.

Red Sox trade for Jeremy Hermida

2009-11-05T22:59:56Z

Red Sox trade for Jeremy Hermida

This is interesting. Is he part of a platoon or is he replacing Rocco as the 4th outfielder?

Lefty Dustin Richardson, who pitched three games in the majors, was named to the all-star game in...

2009-11-04T20:39:54Z

Lefty Dustin Richardson, who pitched three games in the majors, was named to the all-star game in the Arizona Fall League. It will be played on Saturday. He has had mixed results in seven games — 7.2 9 5 5 5 11 — but has thrown the ball well according to several scouts.

The 6-foot-6 lefty, who spent the 2009 season with Portland for the most part, was a draft pick in 2006 out of Texas Tech.

Richardson an all-star in Arizona - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

David Ortiz: "I think I still have another three or four good years in me."

2009-11-03T18:15:47Z

David Ortiz: "I think I still have another three or four good years in me."

Papi wants to stay with the Sox long term, it seems, but I can't imagine the Sox investing much if anything in him past next year, even if he does have a resurgent year.

The Red Sox may have already lost assistant general manager Jed Hoyer to the Padres and bench coach...

2009-11-02T22:57:31Z

The Red Sox may have already lost assistant general manager Jed Hoyer to the Padres and bench coach Brad Mills to the Astros, but they won't be losing director of player development Mike Hazen.

According to a baseball source, Hazen will be remaining with the Red Sox. His duties won't change, though he will be granted some more autonomy based on the changing role of assistant general manager Ben Cherington. With the departure of Hoyer, Cherington will move from overseeing amateur scouting and drafting and player development to focusing more on the major league club.

Hazen to stay - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Chapman meets with Red Sox

2009-10-29T17:52:04Z

Chapman meets with Red Sox

Seems like so long ago, which is odd, considering the ALCS feels like just yesterday. Not much else...

2009-10-28T03:40:28Z

Seems like so long ago, which is odd, considering the ALCS feels like just yesterday. Not much else I can say, so I'll just like Castiglione's call do the talking.

Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to be at Fenway tomorrow and is expected to throw a bullpen, weather...

2009-10-28T03:37:10Z

Aroldis Chapman is scheduled to be at Fenway tomorrow and is expected to throw a bullpen, weather permitting

Twitter / Kiley McDaniel: BREAKING: Aroldis Chapman ...

Does it weird any one else out as much as me that Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez will be playing...

2009-10-27T11:26:18Z

Does it weird any one else out as much as me that Johnny Damon and Pedro Martinez will be playing in a World Series and the Red Sox are not involved?

Congrats to the MFY. In other news, GO PHILLIES!

2009-10-26T04:30:23Z

Congrats to the MFY. In other news, GO PHILLIES!

Ben Cherington, who also has been a senior vice president and assistant general manager, will move...

2009-10-24T18:54:59Z

Ben Cherington, who also has been a senior vice president and assistant general manager, will move over from his duties overseeing scouting and player development into Hoyer's role, which has been more on the major league personnel side. Cherington and Hoyer were named co-general managers in December, 2005 when Epstein briefly left the organization. Cherington, like Hoyer, has been considered a prime candidate for several major league general manager openings.

Farm director Mike Hazen and scouting director Jason McLeod will expand and continue their roles without Cherington's supervision. Epstein relies heavily on both international director of scouting Craig Shipley -- also a candidate for several general manager vacancies -- and former Royals general manager Allard Baird, who serves as director of pro scouting as well as a special assistant to Epstein.

Boston Red Sox Blog - No major overhaul for Sox front office - ESPN Boston

Could Terry Francona lose his bench coach? Brad Mills is one of the four finalists to become...

2009-10-24T00:52:07Z

Could Terry Francona lose his bench coach?

Brad Mills is one of the four finalists to become manager in Houston. The others are current interim manager Dave Clark, former Nationals manager Manny Acta and former Astros manager Phil Garner.

Houston officials said they were very impressed with Mills and like the idea of his bringing an AL East mentality to their organization.

Mills very much in mix for Astros - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Yet another anniversary: 34 years ago, Carlton Fisk pushed one fair and pushed the Sox to Game 7....

2009-10-22T02:09:34Z

Yet another anniversary: 34 years ago, Carlton Fisk pushed one fair and pushed the Sox to Game 7. So very close to breaking the Curse, and against one of the best teams in history too.

ANAHEIM - Former San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers said he'll take a couple of months...

2009-10-21T07:22:28Z

ANAHEIM - Former San Diego Padres general manager Kevin Towers said he'll take a couple of months off and enjoy some of the time (2010 season) remaining on his Padres contract before deciding his next step in baseball.

Towers could easily land a scouting gig or special assistant job with Boston or New York (Yankees) where he has good friends in Theo Epstein and Brian Cashman who would love to have Towers evaluate players. The Red Sox have told him he can work for them if he wants to. With Sox assistant GM Jed Hoyer a frontrunner to land Towers' old job in San Diego, that job could be open for Towers as well.

Towers has standing offer from Sox - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Scouting video of Jose Iglesias

2009-10-20T17:21:23Z

Scouting video of Jose Iglesias

There's some mistakes in the article like: The 3 millions Bonus (It's 6 millions) and "The bat is the reason the kid is here..." (Sorry guys but it's the glove).
But I liked the "He’s a flashy defender who wants you to be aware that he is a flashy defender".

Guess what happened five years ago? Yeah, I know, a LITTLE late.

2009-10-20T03:59:57Z

Guess what happened five years ago? Yeah, I know, a LITTLE late.

From Surviving Grady. The early hours of this morning marked the five year anniversary of these...

2009-10-18T23:57:31Z

From Surviving Grady. The early hours of this morning marked the five year anniversary of these events. In other words: HOLY CRAP, that feels like just yesterday!

Mr. Doubletalk interviews the Red Sox

2009-10-18T23:44:16Z

Mr. Doubletalk interviews the Red Sox

The Yankees are in the ALCS for the first time since — ahem — 2004. But Yankee Stadium may not be so...

2009-10-16T16:04:39Z

The Yankees are in the ALCS for the first time since — ahem — 2004. But Yankee Stadium may not be sold out tonight for Game 1 against the Angels. That would be embarrassing for the business side of the organization.

Whether it's the economy or the outrageous ticket prices, there were still 6,000 seats available as of last night through the team. Just a few minutes ago, to see what was out there, I pulled up four tickets on Yankees.com for section 221. OK, so they were $431 each. But they were there.

Good seats still available - Extra Bases - Red Sox blog

Never would have happened in Fenway. Good fans, bad team (OK, so not bad, just not good enough).