The Red Sox appear to have won one thumb war and temporarily lost another. Josh Beckett, who traveled to San Antonio today to have his sore thumb evaluated, received good news and is expected to make his scheduled start on Saturday at Detroit. Andrew Bailey, who the Sox acquired from Oakland to serve as the [...]

Boston’s newfound pitching depth is already receiving a test. On Sunday, it was reported that new closer Andrew Bailey has a thumb injury and was heading to Boston to determine the extent of the ailment. This morning, WEEI reported that Josh Beckett is flying to San Antonio to have a thumb injury examined. Bobby Valentine [...]

Introducing your Opening Day closer for the Boston Red Sox…..Alfredo Aceves? No, this is not an April Fool’s Day prank. Media reports today indicate that Andrew Bailey, who the Sox acquired in the off-season to serve as the replacement for Jonathan Papelbon, is flying back to Boston to have his injured thumb examined. According to [...]

If you are a Red Sox fan who does not closely monitor the farm system and happened to watch Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay, chances are you were saying, “Who are these guys?” In a 7-7 tie at Port Charlotte, the Sox did not start any of their regulars, and among the nine in the [...]

Alfredo Aceves told the media on Thursday afternoon that it would be “like a dream” to open the regular season in the Red Sox starting rotation.  The 29-year-old right-hander, who is one of three candidates for the final two rotation spots, looked impressive while limiting the Blue Jays to two runs (one earned) and three [...]

Sooner or late, a major league team needs to give its promising prospects a chance. That is the case even for a big market team like the Boston Red Sox. Highly regarded minor leaguers like shortstop Jose Iglesias, third baseman Will Middlebrooks and catcher/DH Ryan Lavarnway are knocking on the door, and it could be [...]

Perhaps Chris Carpenter – the OTHER Chris Carpenter, and not the Cy Young Award winning starting pitcher with the St. Louis Cardinals – will one day help the Red Sox bullpen. It will not be anytime soon. The hard-throwing right-handed reliever who the Sox received from the Cubs as part of the compensation for Theo [...]

Before we delve further into the Red Sox shortstop situation, let’s make something clear. The off-season trade of Marco Scutaro was surprising, but it will not have a negative impact on the 2012 season for the Red Sox. After all, we are talking about a 36-year-old veteran who is best suited as a utility infielder [...]

Jon Lester looked every bit the top of the rotation starter that he is this afternoon when he tossed seven scoreless innings against the Phillies. The left-hander, who is slated to start Opening Day at Detroit, allowed two hits, struck out 10 and did not walk a batter in Boston’s 6-0 victory. Lester, Josh Beckett [...]

The Red Sox bullpen is not set, mainly because there are still questions about who will fill the final two spots in the starting rotation. There is also uncertainty about who will fill left-handed relief roles since Felix Doubront is likely to claim the No. 5 starter’s role. This is likely why Boston Globe baseball [...]