This is the look I give when non-Red Sox fans continue to pester me about the team's season. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE
As we look ahead to the 2013 roster, one player I feel like is kind of forgotten is Daniel Bard. We all know what happened to the once-dominant reliever this year after the team tried converting him to a starter. After a long stint down in Pawtucket to help fix his mechanics and mental issues, it seems he'll rejoin the big league roster today. He's confident in his ability to convert back to a relief pitcher. (Sean McAdam; CSN New England)
This past offseason represented something of a mixed bag for new Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. He had some successful moves, such as signing Cody Ross, to go with some failures, such as trading Josh Reddick away in the Andrew Bailey deal. Bill Reynolds writes that now, after the huge deal from this past weekend, is Cherington's time to shine. (Bill Reynolds; Providence Journal)
Speaking of that huge trade, Chip Buck takes a final look at how this trade affects both teams, for both the short-term and the long-term. (Chip Buck; Fire Brand of the AL)
In this edition of the Baseball Nation Show, the main topic is that same mega-deal that seems to continue to remain the talk of the baseball world. Here are Grant Brisbee's and Rob Neyer's views on the deal, among other topics. (Grant Brisbee, Rob Neyer; Baseball Nation Show) (youtube)
When trying to decide how to gauge a pitcher's value, it's tough to determine how much balls in play are influenced by luck, and how much it's about the defense. Fangraphs has always opted to value pitchers by the three true outcomes, strikeouts, walks and home runs. Now, they've added a new set of stats, "fielding dependent pitching", to try and place some value on batting average on balls in play and strand-rate. (Dave Cameron; Fangraphs)
Between Melky Cabrera and Bartolo Colon, PED use has once again taken a spot on the forefront of the baseball world. The staff at Baseball Prospectus looks back at some of the most memorable suspensions in the league's history. (Baseball Prospectus Staff)
With Josh Beckett no longer with the team, the last true ace this team has seen left. Jon Lester has come close to that level in the past, but has never truly gotten over that hump. If the team wants to contend again sooner rather than later, Lester taking that next step forward is a huge part of that. (John Tomase; Boston Herald)
On Tuesday night, Cardinals' catcher Yadier Molina was involved in a scary collision at the plate. In the aftermath, many writers across the internet expressed an interest in changed rules to protect catchers. Amongst those writers was Dayn Perry. (Dayn Perry; CBS' Eye On Baseball)
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/8654432/20120829_gav_al2_332.jpg)