Daily Red Sox Links: Bobby Valentine, David Ortiz, Franklin Morales

It was a rough weekend for our beloved Red Sox, as they lost three out four at home against the Twins. Yes, the same Twins that are currently 47-61 and eleven games out of the second wild card spot. Hope is dwindling amongst Red Sox fans. Here, Brian MacPherson takes a look at some possible waiver candidates if the team falls completely out of the race, and a couple of guys who could be available should Boston make a run pushing them into serious contention. (Brian MacPherson; Providence Journal)

• William Tasker writes for the Yankees at It's About the Money, Stupid. However, he recently wrote this great guest piece for Fire Brand in which he uses two fantastic analogies for Boston's experience with Bobby Valentine this season. (William Tasker; Fire Brand of the AL)
• In a season that's been full of bad news, the Red Sox got some more this weekend. David Ortiz is not recovering nearly as quickly as was expected from his achilles injury. According to Alex Speier, this injury may be the straw that breaks the proverbial camel's back. (Alex Speier; WEEI.com)
• If you haven't yet read this amazing piece by our own Matt Kory over at Baseball Prospectus, you're a bad person and you should feel bad about yourself. Seriously though, this is a ridiculously awesome article, and I'm not just saying that because he's a fellow OTM writer. (Matt Kory; Baseball Prospectus)

• The fact that scoring is down across the league in another season being dubbed as "The Year of the Pitcher" has been pretty well publicized. However, as Dave Cameron points out, home runs are crawling back up to a rate very similar to some of the seasons during the "steroid era." (Dave Cameron; Fangraphs)
• After losing the first three games of the series, the Red Sox managed to take the final game of the four game set against Minnesota. They did so behind another good performance from Franklin Morales, who continues to wait for a full-time starting gig. (Maureen Mullen; CSN New England)
• It seems the White Sox are content with the possibility that Kevin Youkilis was just a three or four month rental for this season. Word leaked out yesterday that the White Sox are unlikely to pick up his $13 million option this winter. (Drew Silva; Hardball Talk)
• With or without the Red Sox involved, the American League wild-card race will be something to watch over the next couple of months. If there is a tie for the spot, MLB may have a major problem on their hands. (Al Yellon; Baseball Nation)