LATEST STORIES FROM FIRE BRAND AMERICAN LEAGUE
9/20: The Diceman goes up against B-more
September 20, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Daisuke Matsuzaka takes the hill for the second time since his much-anticipated return. While his first start was impressive, it will be all for naught if he morphs back into his former self. Dice-K needs to continue attacking the strike zone if he hopes to contribute...
Sox 2d round pick Alex Wilson shines
September 20, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Alex Wilson was pitching against Texas in a 2007 tournament while at Winthrop University when he felt a "pop" in his right elbow.
The next thing he knew had a Tommy John operation to repair a torn ligament, which required 18 months of rehabilitation.
Wilson, who checks...
BOS 11, BAL 5: Less than Lester, Still Good Enough
September 19, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Even an uninspiring performance by Jon Lester was enough to get the job done against an Orioles team that has all but thrown in the orange towel, as Boston beat Baltimore, 11-5, on Saturday.
It was the Red Sox bats that locked up the 12th consecutive series win against the Orioles...
Wakefield Set to Return, But For How Long?
September 19, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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After a successful side-session on Friday and strenth test on Saturday, Tim Wakefield prepares to return to the hill on Monday. The return should put him in line for the playoff push, though the reports coming out of Boston are not the most encouraging:
He will pitch once every...
9/19: Lester looks to clip some wings
September 19, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Lester starts on one extra day of rest. Lester is inching up on 200 innings pitched on the year, so I see no reason why they shouldn't be a little cautious this late in the season. David Hernandez? Fah! Lester eats David Hernandez for lunch.
BOS 3, BAL 1: Clay Out of Control
September 19, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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On a night when Clay Buchholz admits he didn't bring his best, the young starter allowed only one earned run on five hits, further solidifying his place in the Red Sox rotation, and earning the Red Sox yet another win over the Baltimore Orioles, 3-1.
Buchholz made a solid case...
9/18: A test for Buchholz
September 18, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Clay Buchholz locks horns with the Orioles and Jeremy Guthrie. It seems like Buchholz keeps facing the Orioles. Of course, he has that no-hitter... but the Orioles have also bombed him unrelentingly. Although Buck looks like he can be our No. 3 in the playoffs, every...
20/20 Vision
September 18, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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A few years back, I was introduced to a simple site on the Internet that gave me a different and useful lens on the baseball season. Doug's Stats (www.dougstats.com) looks much like it did the day I stumbled on it in 2003. It hasn't gotten a Web 2.0 facelift, there are no fancy...
LAA 4, BOS 3: Halos enjoy resurrection over Red Sox
September 18, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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The Los Angeles Angels didn't want to leave Fenway without at least one win for the trip home, as the AL West leaders beat the Red Sox, 4-3.
A wild pitch in the seventh tarnished an otherwise solid start for Josh Beckett, who went eight innings for seven hits and only three...
Sizing Up the Competition
September 17, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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With just under three weeks left in the regular season, the field is almost done filling out, with just five teams holding real hopes of reaching the post season: Boston, New York, Detroit, Minnesota, and Los Angeles.
Anaheim is up 6 in the West, Detroit is up 4 on Minnesota in...
9/17: It's Beckett Time
September 17, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Josh Beckett looks like he's coming out of that funk he was mired in for a couple weeks. He'll do it against Ervin Santana, who has had a bad year after busting through last year. I'll be at the game, so let's hope we see a good one!
The Turning Point, The Injury Front, and Sleep Tremors
September 17, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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The Turning Point
There's no better way to enter the playoffs than on a hot streak, unless, of course, your opponent is reeling in defeat.
The ninth inning of last night's game must have put a huge damper on the spirit in the Los Angeles clubhouse. After reclaiming their...
BOS 9, LAA 8: A-Gonz and Done It Again
September 16, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Alex Gonzalez earned himself a valuable pair of singles, as the Red Sox checked off their seventh victory in just eight days, against the Los Angeles Angels, 9-8.
Watching A-Gonz at the center of the home plate pig-pile still takes some getting used to, but after almost 80 hits...
Fireside Chats #60: Where we count chickens before they hatch all episode long and love it
September 16, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Boston Red Sox podcast on MVN Radio, Episode #60 where we count chickens before they hatch all episode long and love it Episode #60 Hosts: Paul Testa, Tim Daloisio Guests: None The playoffs are right around the corner aren't they? Cause if they aren't then we might be a little...
9/16: The Byrd flies with the Angels
September 16, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Paul Byrd makes what could be his final start for the Red Sox, as Tim Wakefield is due back shortly. Byrd has been a nice arm for the Sox so far. Can he shut down that offense?
POLL: Playoffs No. 4 starter?
September 16, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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New Poll Question:
If the playoffs started now, who should be the Sox's No. 4 starter?Tim Wakefield (returns 9/21)Daisuke MatsuzakaPaul ByrdNo one, go three-manMy pick was Dice-K because unlike Wake and Byrd, he can be transcendent. I don't think the Sox will...
Q+A with prospect catcher Ryan Lavarnway
September 16, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Ryan Lavarnway was previously interviewed on Fire Brand July 17, 2008. At that point, Lavarnway was rehabbing from a broken scaphoid bone in his left wrist after being drafted in the sixth round of 2008.
Lavarnway has gone on to be a major contributor to Greenville's playoff...
BOS 4, LAA 1: Dice is Nice
September 15, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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In his first game back since June 19, Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a surprisingly decent an unagitating outing, as the Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States of North America, 4-1.
The multi-million dollar man notched over six shutout innings...
6/15: ALDS Preview... again?
September 15, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: The Angels come to town. We'll probably be facing them in the ALDS again -- the Angels could use a strong showing at Fenway Park to give them confidence going into the playoff series. The Angels aren't the pitching club they used to be, but boy, they can rake...
A-Gon's Bat
September 15, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Damn Alex Gonzalez for giving us hope. OK. Maybe that was overdoing it, but A-Gon is not nearly the batter he has shown since being traded to Boston from Cincinnati.
For the type of hitter fans expected to get in the trade, there's no doubt Alex Gonzalez has endeared himself...
Projecting the Playoffs, The Case for Kotchman
September 15, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Projecting the Playoffs
With just 20 games remaining in the regular season, the Sox' hunt for October is getting stronger by the day. At this juncture, with this team, a 4 ½ game lead in the Wild Card is a considerable advantage. Don't get cozy though, as one hot or cold...
Wholesale Keychain TRIVIA: Rookie start with 2 XBH
September 14, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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Josh Reddick's debut start for the Red Sox earlier in the year netted him two extra bases hits. Who was the last Red Sox rookie to have such a debut and in what year?HONOR CODE: No search engines, keyword searches.Check out the trivia leaderboard here.Previous
trivia question...
Red Sox's road record cautions playoff success
September 14, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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With Sunday's extension of the wild card lead to four games on the back of the doubleheader sweep [Jon Lester is the beast of all beasts], Boston's entrance into the playoffs as the wild card winner is all but assured. (But at seven games behind New York, it ain't over...
6/13 G2: Evening delight
September 13, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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GAME NOTES: Jon Lester takes the mound. Let's hope he starts off better than the canceled Friday affair, when he got the bases drunk in the first and only had one out before the torrential rain come. He'll go against 'Big Game James' Shields, who is looking to move...
Jays turned down Sox's 6-for-1 offer on Halladay
September 13, 2009 by
Fire Brand American League
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I'm on the Rotoworld.com beat, and this just came across my desk:Bob Elliot of the Toronto Sun reports that the Red Sox offered the Blue Jays six pitchers for Roy Halladay at the trading deadline. The names: Daniel Bard, Michael Bowden, Clay Buchholz, Felix Doubront, Nick Hagadone...
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