I hope everyone had a great weekend; I know I did! My family had a garage/moving sale Thursday and Friday, and I made out pretty well. We’re having it again this coming Friday and Saturday, and I hope to do even better. Every little bit will help in my move to Connecticut. Saturday, I went wedding dress shopping with my brother’s fiancée, which was a lot of fun. Yesterday, we packed up all my boyfriend’s belongings into a UHaul U-Box, and it was much like a Tetris game to make everything fit. Plus, I was able to get some of my things in it as well. Most of my winter clothes are in that box; so there’s either no backing out now or I’ll have to buy new clothes
For the Red Sox re-cap, the Angels took 2 of 3 from the Sox this weekend. The Red Sox won the first game, and they should’ve won the second game. When you have a 4-run lead in the bottom of the 9th with only one on and 2 outs, you should really win those games. But, the Red Sox lost that game and lost Andrew Miller to the disabled list. With the bases loaded (Miller’s doing), Uehara game in to try and shut it down. He left the 9th inning with a blown save and let four runs score to tie the game 7-7. Josh Hamilton hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the 11th, and the Red Sox fell. Lackey got the loss in last night’s game despite pitching extremely well (2 runs in 7.0 innings with 9 strikeouts. His ERA is now 2.80).
But, back to the topic of the trade market for the Red Sox. They need fresh relievers, maybe now more than ever with Miller out. (An aside, Miller is out with a sprain, but it may be more serious than that. They’re going to run tests on him, and we should have more information after that). Farrell’s been relying on Tazawa and Uehara maybe a little too much, and they’re starting to show wear.
Again, I think obtaining a closer may be the best solution at this point. The team can move Uehara back to the set-up role, and Tazawa could pitch the 7th inning At this point, Bailey’s a nice reliever to have pitch when things aren’t critical (either up or down by 3+ runs, in my opinion). Aceves is a force in the bullpen, but he could also be a good trade chip.
The Red Sox have been linked to Matt Garza of the Cubs, but I’m not sure a starter is the best solution now. Buchholz is going to be having reahab starts probably by the end of the week, and should be back around July 24th. Lackey’s been the key to this pitching staff for most of the season. Doubront and Dempster have been consistent the past month or more, and Lester had a good outing his last time. Really, Lester is the only piece of the starting rotation that concerns me, and that’s really hard for me to say.
I know the Red Sox would like an upgrade at 3rd base, but I’m not sure it’ll be worth the price. Iglesias has pretty much won the starting shortstop position, and Middlebrooks has been hitting extremely well in Triple-A (last I saw, he had a .304 average and many RBIS- including 8 in one game, which set a record). The Sox could always bring Middlebrooks back up.
Personally, if I was the General Manager, I would try to keep as many of the changes internal, if possible. The Sox don’t want to trade away the farm for a deal that may only improve them this season. The Red Sox have a good prospect at shortstop (Xander Bogaerts), who some are saying could switch to third base. Middlebrooks could play first base (he even started to practice playing first base before being demoted). An infield of Middlebrooks, Pedroia, Iglesias, and Bogaerts could be very interesting.
Well, people, that’s all I have for now. As the rumors and trades pick up, I’ll be sure to update the blog. Also, if you weren’t aware, Manny Ramirez signed a minor league deal with the Rangers last week. With Cruz possibly being disciplined to some extent in the Biogenesis stuff, I’m sure Manny will be back in the Majors.
One last note, David Ortiz (starting DH), Clay Buchholz, and Dustin Pedroia were named to the All-Star team. Kojo Uehara is in the final vote, so remember to vote for him. Vote #HighFiveCiti here.
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