Certainly, critics of the abysmal Sox offense have plenty of ammunition.  But, has anyone considered the fact that the Sox have been facing some of the toughest pitchers in the game in the last stretch? From the stretch of games from 8/4 to 8/14, consider the starting pitchers that the Red Sox hitters have had and will have to go up against:

• Matt Garza
• David Price
• Joba Chamberlain
• A.J. Burnett
• CC Sabathia
• Andy Pettitte
• Edwin Jackson
• Rick Porcello
• Justin Verlander
• Kevin Millwood

Certainly, any team that wants to succeed in October needs to be able to win against tough pitching (and the Sox were in a position to win during both of Lester's starts), but the recent lackluster hitting needs to be put in great perspective.

The USA Today is reporting hat the Red Sox have solidified a deal to send Victor Martinez (C-1B-DH) to the Red Sox in exchange for ___?  Rumors include Buchholz AND Bowden.

The Red Sox are about to acquire Victor Martinez from Indians19 minutes ago from web

I was REALLY hoping for Gonzalez or Halladay, but this trade is okay with me - excepting, of course, if the trade involved D Bard.  How about you?

Considering the production, or lack thereof, of the current Sox lineup, I am proposing a new lineup that takes advantages of our strengths and limits our weaknesses.

1. Ellsbury

2. Pedroia

3. Bay

4. Youklis

5. Ortiz

6. Lowell

7. Drew

8. Varitek

9. Green

This new lineup moves up the hot-hitting Bay and Lowell and takes advantage of Bay's ability to get on base through hits and especially walks while also keeping the lefties separated in the lineup.

This afternoon, the Red Sox are announcing the framework of their rotation for the ALCS.

Here's my hope for our rotation:

Game1@TB - Beckett
Game2@TB - Lester
*Day Off
Game3@BO - Dice-K
Game4@BO - Wake/Byrd
*Day Off
Game5@BO - Lester
*Day Off
Game6@TB - Beckett
Game7@TB - Dice K

This rotation gives us 2 Beckett and Lester starts each and also put Lester on the mound at Fenway in the pivotal game 5.

What are your thoughts?

Over at Sports Illustrated, Nate Silver has his stats-based "Top 50" baseball players to build a team around based on his PECOTA projection system, which produces seven-year projections for each player based on his historical comparable (Note: Nate's regression analyses have also made him a gamer in the political world as well).  Today, he released players #50 to #26 and only one BoSox made the list thus far:

No. 40. Dustin Pedroia, 2B, Red Sox, Age 25 (--)

For years, PECOTA had been touting Pedroia, while scouts would not take him seriously. When Pedroia started out his major league career hitting .182 in April 2007, I thought I could see exactly what those scouts were seeing -- with his short stature and his uppercut swing, he looked like a Little Leaguer trying to hit major league pitching. I promptly traded him in my roto league. For Yuniesky Betancourt.

I should have kept the faith. And let's give the Red Sox credit for sticking with the gameplan. In a lot of organizations, like the Cubs or the Dodgers, Pedroia would have been banished to Triple-A, gotten frustrated, and wound up working at a car dealership.

Tomorrow, they are going to release players #25 through #1.

As the Red Sox struggle to emerge from their toughest losing stretch of the season, Red Sox Nation is tackling a number of key questions:

1. How and when can we get rid of Julio Lugo?

2. What is the plan to replace Jason Varitek (in the short term or the long term)?

3. What changes need to happen in a bullpen that has seen meltdowns from Manny Del Carmen, Hideki Okajima, Craig Hansen and Mike Timlin?

What are your predictions for the trade deadline and/or additions that will be forthcoming from the PawSox?

I took my 2 year old out today and picked up a Jonathan Papelbon poster and we put it up in his room. 

Every hero has his low points.  Paps has now felt the pinch of his.  

Now, in the next few weeks, I feel confident that we will see the persistence and the strength that will put Paps in the HoF and keep Eric Gagne chewing cod in some NL team's pasture.

As for Jon Lester, I am not so sure....  Perhaps it's time to give Masterson another shot.     

The ProJo is reporting that Jonathan Papelbon will be the Sox closer, sending Tavarez back into the rotation.

The Sox are expected to announce after today's game with the Phillies that Papelbon -- one of the best relievers in baseball in 2006 -- was being reinstated as the team's closer.

Bad idea!

Papelbon could easily be a dominant AL pitcher for a decade. Why waste him in the pen?