Daily Red Sox Links: Dustin Pedroia, Pedro Martinez, Felix Doubront

As has been talked about around Boston for the past week or so, one of the few things Red Sox fans can get enjoyment out of these days is playing spoiler to playoff contenders. Well, last night they finally lived up to that. They won 4-3 on a walkoff single from birthday-boy Jacoby Ellsbury, despite Jon Lester allowing seven (!) walks. However, as Brian MacPherson points out, they were even failing as spoilers before last night. (Brian MacPherson; Providence Journal)

• Last night was one the first time it was truly fun to watch a Red Sox game in the last couple of weeks. Before the walkoff victory, the Red Sox had been in the middle of a dismal stretch, and watching the games were becoming more and more of a bummer. (Alex Convery; Fire Brand of the AL)
• If the Yankees coming into town wasn't going to pump up this dying Red Sox team, nothing was. After one game, it definitely seems like they have a little bounce back in their step. (Pete Abraham; Boston.com)
• Over at High Heat Stats, Bryan O'Connor looks at some of the best single seasons of all time by a pitcher, according to Fielding Independent Pitching. One guy on this list is this author's favorite player of all-time. (Bryan O'Connor; High Heat Stats)

• Looking ahead to next season, the rotation has to be the number one priority for this front-office, as it's at least one, probably two, arms short of being a quality group. One big hope for next year is a rebound from Lester, who, if I may repeat myself, through seven walks last night. Scott Lauber examines the issue of the starters. (Scott Lauber; Boston Herald)
• It's a pretty common school of thought that the high payroll teams will always be the ones who contend and make deep runs into October. While it certainly doesn't hurt, there seems to me more parity in MLB nowadays than they get credit for. (Dave Cameron; Fangraphs)
• Despite some rumors to the contrary, it seems that Daisuke Matsuzaka and Franklin Doubront will make their next starts. At this point, I'm not sure why they aren't shutting down Doubront in preparation for next year, when he'll likely be back at the back-end of the rotation. (Joe McDonald; ESPN Boston)
• Over the past few years, MLB has seen an influx of extremely wealthy owners come into the league. Most notably was probably the most recent, when a group that includes Magic Johnson bought the Dodgers for a billion dollars. Garrett Wilson points out the league's hypocrisy when it comes to prospective owner Mark Cuban. (Garrett Wilson; The Outside Corner)