Pawtucket Red Sox: George Kottaras hit a walk-off homerun to win it for the PawSox on Monday night. Kottaras' homerun beat out Barry Bonds 747th homerun and a blast by Ryan Howard for ESPN's top play on Monday night. Team Stats International League Standings Pawsox website Portland Sea Dogs: Team Stats Eastern League Standings Sea Dogs website Lancaster Jethawks: The Jethawks won their 5th straight game on Monday night. Team stats California League Standings Jethawks website Greenville Drive: Daniel Bard and Ryan Phillips combined on a rain shortened no-hitter. Team Stats South Atlantic League Standings Drive website Lowell Spinners: The Lowell season gets underway in 7 days. Lowell Spinners Blog Spinners website If you would like to listen to any of the games from your favorite Red Sox minor league team, head over MILB.com Gameday Audio. It's free to sign up. no comments

With the Red Sox off yesterday and the Colorado Rockies coming into Beantown for a 3-game set, you can bet there was some talk about Todd Helton and the almost trade to the Red Sox. So let's take a look at what the Boston area and Denver media has to say about this and other things. What if Todd Helton was traded to Boston in the offseason. [Boston Globe] Todd Helton is in Boston but as member of the Rockies. [Rocky Mountain News] The Red Sox recovered after an 0-3 start to the road trip. [Hartford Courant] Can you imagine if Todd Helton was playing in Boston?[Denver Post] Here is a look at the Red Sox pyramid scheme. [Boston Herald] Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta grew up a Red Sox fan. [Denver Post] With Julio Lugo, there has been a drop-off at leadoff. [Pro Jo] The Green Monster is a place for romance too. [Rocky Mountain News] No trade has been worked out for J.C. Romero yet. [Rotoworld] It would be stupid not to stand up and rip Barry Bonds this weekend. [Boston Herald] Curt Schilling is now on Facebook. [The Red Sox Times] For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News websites. no comments

at Tuesday June 12^th Aaron Cook (R) (4-2, 4.54) vs Tim Wakefield (R) (5-7, 4.22) Wednesday June 13^th Josh Fogg (R) (1-5, 5.06) vs Curt Schilling (R) (6-2, 3.49) Thursday June 14^th Jeff Francis (L) (5-5, 3.81) vs Josh Beckett (9-0, 2.88) no comments

Nick Cafardo from the Boston Globe had a very interesting article on Sunday saying that the Red Sox should get an extension done with Curt Schilling. I definitely have to agree with him on that one. To me while Schill hasn't been as consistent as he has liked, he has pitched like a champion. His work ethic is second to none and he makes sure he corrects what was flawed in his last start. It would be a smart decision for the Sox to sign him and keep a great rotation together. Say Tim Wakefield stays next season and the Red Sox re-sign Schill, the Red Sox would enter the season with Schill, Wake, Josh Beckett, Dice-K and most likely Jon Lester. If Wake retires, you still have a solid core of 4 strong pitchers. As Cafardo states in his article, Carlos Zambrano, Mark Buerhle, Dontrelle Willis are all available at the end of the season as free agents. And besides Lester, you also have Kason Gabbard and Clay Buchholz waiting in the wings. My best guess is that Gabbard could be used in a trade given his value as a lefty starter. Adding any one of those free agents to the last group of four I mentioned would make this rotation one of the best again. But with Schill signed for next season (hopefully), the Red Sox already know they will be getting a workhorse who will not hurt the team and give them solid starts night in and night out. If it were up to me, I'd have him signed now so that Curt and the Red Sox can focus on what matters. Another World Series win. no comments

A while back I had started to write about the happenings of the Red Sox minor league system on a weekly basis. I kind of forgot about it as the time went by. But the draft got me thinking about this again. The minor league system should be written about an almost daily basis. After all the guys who play in the Red Sox system could be on the big stage in Boston one day. Pawtucket Red Sox: Kasan Gabbard is showing he's in command. Brandon Moss is gathering momemtum at the plate. Team Stats International League Standings Pawsox website Portland Sea Dogs: Portland wasted a strong outing from Tommy Hottovy on Sunday. Team Stats Eastern League Standings Sea Dogs website Lancaster Jethawks: The Jethawks are still tied for first in the California League South standings with one week to go. Team stats California League Standings Jethawks website Greenville Drive: Greenville exploded for 21 hits in a 15-3 win over Rome on Sunday. Team Stats South Atlantic League Standings Drive website Lowell Spinners: The Lowell season gets underway in 8 days. Lowell Spinners Blog Spinners website If you would like to listen to any of the games from your favorite Red Sox minor league team, head over MILB.com Gameday Audio. It's free to sign up. no comments

Well what is their to say about the past road trip for the Red Sox. They didn't play all that well as they went 3-4 on it. Dice-K went up against Randy Johnson yesterday and both pitchers were impressive, both tallying 9 strikeouts each. The Red Sox are off today as they get ready to host Colorado and San Francisco in the upcoming 6 game interleague homestand. With that being said, let's take a look at the headlines and stories making news in the Boston area and Phoenix newspapers. Big Papi helped a fan propose to his girlfriend before the game on Sunday. [Extra Bases] The Diamondbacks held off the Red Sox on Sunday. [Arizona Republic] The Red Sox stumbled on this road trip. [Boston Globe] Daisuke Matsuzaka was impressive even though he suffered the loss. [Arizona Republic] Mike Timlin lost his grip on the ball he threw away. [Boston Herald] Randy Johnson won the duel in the desert. [Hartford Courant] There may be some second guessing in Boston today. [Pro Jo] Mike Lowell is feeling the heat at third base after making his 11th error of the season. [Boston Globe] Dice-K was not looking forward to hitting against Randy Johnson yesterday. [Hartford Courant] The Red Sox are not rushing things with Jon Lester. [Boston Herald] A rare interview with Manny and his hairstylist. [NESN] For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, and Arizona Republic websites. no comments

A decent outing by Julian Tavarez and a great performance by the Sox bullpen got the job done for the Red Sox on Saturday in Phoenix. Oh yeah, Jason Varitek's bat helped out too. Dice-K takes the hill against the Big Unit as the Sox go for the sweep of the Diamondbacks. But before that, let's take a look at what the headlines and stories from Boston area and Phoenix media. The Red Sox rallied to victory last night. [Boston Globe] The Diamondbacks couldn't stop the Red Sox on Saturday night. [Arizona Republic] Mike Lowell and Papelbon slayed the Diamondbacks in the 10th inning. [Boston Herald] The Red Sox are enjoying their winning ways. [Arizona Republic] The Red Sox are regulars at coming from behind to win. [Hartford Courant] A rusty Jonathan Papelbon recorded the save last night. [ProJo SoxBlog] Mike Lowell says what Julio Lugo did wasn't a true hidden ball trick. [Boston Globe] Dice-K gets to take his first hacks at the plate in today's game. [Boston Herald] Big Papi will take a seat on the bench against Randy Johnson today. [Pro Jo] For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, and Arizona Republic websites. no comments

On a night where Chase Field seemed more like Fenway Park, it was the bat of Jason Varitek and a strong performance by the Red Sox bullpen that did in the Diamondbacks, as the Sox won 4-3 in 10 innings. Julian Tavarez pitched well for the Red Sox but it was 4 strong innings by the bullpen that allowed the Red Sox to battle back. Brendan Donnelly, Hideki "Darkman" Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon combined to give up 1 hit in the 4 innings they pitched. Darkman got the win and Papelbon got his 14th save in 15 tries. Arizona got on the board first with a run in the second inning. Stephen Drew reached on an infield single and was then retired on a Carlos Quentin fielder's choice. Miguel Montero lined a double off of Tavarez that drove in Quentin, giving the Diamondbacks a 1-0 lead. Tavarez then got his counterpart Micah Owings to ground out and he retired Eric Byrnes on a strikeout. The Diamondbacks put up another 2 runs in the 4th inning when Drew took Tavarez deep. Mark Reynolds led off the inning with a double and he came around to score on the Drew 2 run blast. Friday night it was his brother, J.D., who did the damage and this game it was him. Tavarez then settled in and retired the next three batters. The Sox finally got to Owings in the 6th inning. After Owings retired Big Papi and Kevin Youkilis, J.D. got on base with a single. Vartiek then took a Owings offering out of the ballpark, cutting the deficit to 3-2 Diamondbacks. Vartiek drove in his third run of the game against former Sox closer Brandon Lyon. Youk drew a walk to lead off the inning and was retired on a J.D. fielder's choice. Varitek crushed a Lyon offering to deep center for a double, driving in J.D. with the game-tying run. Lyon got out of the inning by striking out Cora and Hinske. The Red Sox got the winning run off of Juan Cruz in the 10th inning. Big Papi led off with a walk and advanced 90 feet on a Youk single. J.D. lined a single to center loading up the bases for the hero of the game for the Sox, Varitek. Unfortunately, 'Tek struck out. With two strikes on him, Mike Lowell, pinch-hitting for Darkman, drove a ball to right field that brought in Big Papi to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. The Diamondbacks appealed that Papi left early but TV replays clearly showed he didn't. Cora had a chance to give the Sox some more insurance but he struck out to end the threat. Jonathan Papelbon, pitching for the first time since Sunday, came in for the 10th. He struck out Byrnes and then hit Chris Young with a 2 strike fastball. Papelboner then blew a fastball by Orlando Hudson. Young hit an infield single to Lugo at short but Papelbon got Reynolds to line out to end the game. The Sox now turn to Daisuke Matsuzaka on Sunday afternoon to hopefully put the finishing touches on a sweep in Arizona. He will be opposed by Randy Johnson. no comments

Ok Red Sox fans.

It's nearly the middle of June the team has a double-digit lead while other teams are starting to fall by the wayside. These less than stellar entries into the world of major league baseball will very shortly be casting aside some carcasses in effort to reload for "the future".

So my question to you is if you were Theo Epstein (I wonder why my parents didn't name me Theo?) What would you do, if anything, to "improve" the Sox? Do you see a hole in this team?

If so what is the hole and what do you do to try to fix it?

We all remember in 2004, the hole was the defense. Theo and The Trio knew they had to get better defensively. That lead to the trade of Nomar Garciaparra (along with his wife, Yoko Ono and future considerations, twin daughters) to the Cubs as part of the three way deal that brought us Doug Mientkiewicz, Orlando Cabrera and Dave Roberts all who played significant roles in winning the World Series.

So who is this years Nomar? Who is this years Cabrera, Mientkiewicz or Roberts? Or do you stand pat and roll with the team as it sits right now?

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Is this the start of J.D. Drew breaking out of his slump? Is interleague play making it easier for him because of the familiarity? I sure as heck up so. It was nice to see him break out of his slump last night with the three hits, 2 of which were 3-run homers. Hopefully, Julian Tavarez pitches well again in what could possibly be his last start in the rotation before Jon Lester returns. Before we take a look at what the Boston area and Phoenix media has to say about the game and other things this morning, be sure to check out Curt Schilling's blog entry about the almost no-no on Thursday. It simply amazes me how he can remember each fine detail without writing it down until he sits down to write the post. Awesome job Curt!!! J.D. Drew drove the Red Sox to a victory last night. [Boston Globe] The Red Sox throttled the Diamondbacks on Friday night. [Arizona Republic] The Sox slumping bats got hot in the Arizona desert. [Boston Herald] Dustin Pedroia's old coach at Arizona State is impressed with Pedroia's play. [Arizona Republic] J.D. Drew feasted on National League pitching when he was in the National League. [Hartford Courant] Terry Francona spoke about some things before the game on Friday. [Arizona Republic] Julio Lugo pulled off the hidden ball trick on Friday night. [Pro Jo] Big Papi says the Red Sox should sign Schilling for next season. [Boston Herald] J.C. Romero was designated for assignment after the game, making room on the roster for Mike Timlin. [Boston Globe] Neither Drew is having a good year at the plate. [Pro Jo] It was a night of reunions in the Sox first regular season visit to Phoenix. [Boston Globe] For more headlines and stories, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant, Providence Journal, and Arizona Republic websites. no comments