Shairon Martis (L), Clay Buchholz (R)

With the UConn Huskies men’s and women’s basketball teams awaiting their NCAA fate, we now have a little more time to focus our efforts on the Boston Red Sox. Just because I haven’t been writing about them, doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention.

The Red Sox have gotten off to a nice start to spring training under new manager Bobby Valentine as the team is 3-1-1 in its first five games. They also won their two college exhibition games against Northeastern and Boston College.

The Red Sox will kickoff the weekend with the first of four straight games on television here in the Red Sox television market. They will take on the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight on NESN at 7:05 p.m. at JetBlue Park. Tomorrow night, they will take on the Tampa Bay Rays on NESN at 7:05 p.m., also from JetBlue Park. On Sunday, they’ll head north to Sarasota to take on the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m. on NESN.

And finally, they’ll take on the Miami Marlins Monday afternoon on ESPN at 1:35 p.m. from JetBlue Park. If you’re fortunate to live in the market where YES is available, you can make it five straight days of Red Sox baseball when they take on the Yankees on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. from Tampa, FL.

Tonight’s game is also available on the radio on WRKO 680 AM. Tomorrow’s game will be available on WEEI 93.7 FM/850 AM as well as Tuesday’s game against the Yankees. Don’t forget to check out when the Red Sox will be on television and the radio for the rest of spring training as well.

Click on the read more button below if you’re on the home page to see the lineups for tonight’s game plus links.

Pittsburgh Pirates Boston Red Sox
1. Jose Tabata RF 1. Mike Aviles SS
2. Clint Barmes SS 2. Kevin Youkilis 3B
3. Andrew McCutchen LF 3. Dustin Pedroia 2B
4. Garrett Jones 1B 4. David Ortiz DH
5. Nick Evans DH 5. Ryan Sweeney RF
6. Pedro Alvarez 3B 6. Cody Ross CF
7. Brandon Boggs LF 7. Kelly Shoppach C
8. Eric Fryer C 8. Lars Anderson 1B
9. Jordy Mercer 2B 9. Josh Kroeger LF
Shairon Martis SP Clay Buchholz SP

Buchholz will be followed by RHP Vicente Padilla, RHP Will Inman, RHP Michael Bowden and RHP Brandon Duckworth.

Martis followed by LHP Tony Watson, RHP Daniel McCutchen, RHP Chris Resop, LHP Doug Slaten, RHP Ryota Igarashi and RHP Tim Wood.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAME TIME AS THEY BECOME AVAILABLE

Papelbon’s Philly pandering is no big deal [Chad Finn’s Touching All The Bases]

Report: DNA test clears Ortiz in paternity case [Clubhouse Insider]

Andrew Bailey does not think Red Sox fans are dumb [Clubhouse Insider]

Tidbits on Crawford, Aceves as closer, Anderson as OF [Clubhouse Insider]

Report: Franklin Morales heart exams clear [CSN New England]

Sox questions: No. 5 starter just one [ESPN Boston]

Andrew Bailey: Red Sox fans are great [Extra Bases]

Morales checks out fine after scare [Extra Bases]

Who is going to be the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter? Bobby Valentine offers hints [Full Count]

Red Sox comfortable so far with rotation options [Full Count]

Randy Winn knows what it’s like to walk in Chris Carpenter’s shoes [Full Count]

Jenny Dell Sits Down With Lifelong Red Sox Fans Now Serving As JetBlue Park Employees [NESN.com]

Bobby Jenks, Ryan Lavarnway, David Ortiz Among MLB Players Who Dropped Most Weight in Offseason [NESN.com]

PawSox catcher Ryan Lavarnway does things the right way [PawSox.com]

Miller continues showing improvement [Projo Sox Blog]

Bailey throws BP, loves Boston fans [Projo Sox Blog]

Opening Day out of question for Crawford [Projo Sox Blog]

Follow Ian on Twitter @soxanddawgs. And be sure to like us on Facebook as well.

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo