Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

Jed Lowrie activated

And the odd man out is...

Oh, Randy Williams. It's been fun. But 10 hits and 5 walks over 8.1 innings does not a roster spot secure.

Meanwhile, the mighty Jed returns to our already potent lineup. Yes, that lineup that has three MVP candidates, plus a still mighty David Ortiz, plus a wildly underrated Kevin Youkilis, plus a Carl Crawford who somehow is hitting .260 despite being absolutely atrocious for all but the last two weeks.

Of course, the question is: How long before Jed walks under a ladder, tripping over a black cat and dropping his rabbit's foot into a canyon? 

Stay alert, Marco.

Taking Stock: Yankees - Sox series

After each series, we'll be taking stock in each player's...and maybe manager's...performance. If we like what we see, we're buyin'. If we don't, we're sellin'. Or maybe we'll just hold onto our stock until we see more next series

Carl Crawford: A ridiculous .750 average (9/12) against one of the best teams in baseball.  Crawford has bounced back and looked very comfortable at the plate. He finally stole a base, which will happen more that he is hitting well, and hit a couple of extra base hits. When Carl Crawford is going 4-for-4 off of CC Sabathia, that's a sign that things have turned around.

Jacoby Ellsbury: I know he only went 3-for-11 in the series, but the end of the hot streak is not near. Ellsbury hit a huge 3-run home run off of Sabathia in the 4th inning of game 2 to pull away from the Yankees. There will be much more to come from Ellsbury in the future.

Jason Varitek: Yeah, he only played in one game, but he will not give us much more that an occasional hit every couple of games. Swinging at the awful 3-0 pitch last night didn't help his cause. Maybe Tito is to blame, but that pitch was well out of the zone.

I was ready to sell Marco Scutaro, and should have a while ago, but he slapped me in the face with a 4-for-4 night in game 3. I get it Marco, Jed Lowrie's return scares you.

Adrian Gonzalez: He had a tough series, dropping his average to .348, but there is nothing to worry about. Along with the rest of the guys that had a sub-par series, lets wait to see what they do against the sub-par Twins.

Your Morning Dump...where the Sox step outside their comfort zone -- and lose

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

It may have happened in the 12th, but Scutaro missed a critical bunt sign from third-base coach Tim Bogar.

Josh Reddick opened the inning with a single, his third hit of the game, and advanced to third on a two-base error on an attempted pick-off throw by Royals reliever Louis Coleman. With one out, manager Terry Francona called for Scutaro to bunt, but he never saw the sign.

Reddick broke for home and was tagged out. Scutaro followed with a single, but was thrown out trying to go to second.

"I (bleeped) it up," Scutaro said of the blown squeeze play. "I was watching Bogey, but I didn’t see the squeeze. I was focused on getting a good pitch to hit to drive the guy in. It was my fault. I should’ve been more aware of the signs."

Said Francona, "Thought it was a good opportunity. We got half of it right. We didn’t get the whole thing right. Redd got it and Scoot didn’t. We had some other opportunities, too. We kind of let them off the hook. That will be a tough one. I know there will not be much sleep anyway, but it will be a tough one tonight."

Herald | Sox lack extra panache

This is exactly why we shouldn't bother with things like suicide squeezes...ever.

Not that I don't love old-school baseball. It's great. There's a big part of me that would like us to return to National League rules, to see fundamental plays more often.

But the Sox, from the top down, believe in a pretty safe, straightforward method of baseball. We don't bunt. And we don't bunt while people are careening down the third base line. That goes against the "take a pitch, get on base, wait for somebody to hit a home run" strategy that permeates the lineup. 

Not that Scutaro shouldn't have known better -- he's a veteran. He should be paying attention to the signs. But at some point, if you don't ask a guy to do something for two years, and then you throw the sign, I can see how he'd miss it. 

At least Lester looked good, pitching five scoreless. And Josh Reddick added three hits...but yes, let's please trade all our prospects for Carlos Beltran. This deadline can't pass fast enough.

On page 2, the first positive update about Clay Buchholz in a while.

Your Morning Dump...Where Pedey is hot

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

He went 2-for-5 with a single and a home run to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. It’s his longest hitting streak since a 16-gamer in September of 2009.

“I feel good,” Pedroia said. “I’ve felt good for a while. I’ve got to continue to stay patient and try to get my pitch to hit and let it rip.”

He’s also hit six homers in the last eight games, and is currently hitting .379 (22-for-58) with 12 RBIs during his streak. With his solo home run in the top of the seventh inning during Saturday’s 9-5 win over the Tampa Bay Rays, Pedroia now has hit three home runs in as many games. It’s the first time he’s homered in three straight outings.

“I’m not a home-run hitter, by any means,” he said. “When I hit them, it’s nice. It’s extra, but I’m not trying to hit home runs at all. It might look like it, but I’m not trying, trust me I’m not.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said before Saturday’s game that he believes Pedroia is beginning one of his typical hot streaks.

“Pedey has the rare ability to get hotter than anybody I have ever seen,” Francona said. “Fortunately, it looks like he wants to do that. He can go on these runs where it doesn’t matter what you throw him and it looks like he’s starting to get to some balls that he didn’t earlier. Even when he’s not hitting he impacts the game, but when he starts getting hot, that’s really good.”

ESPN Boston: Power-hitting Pedroia on a hot streak -- again

Pedey is on a tear right now. In his 14-game hitting streak, Pedey has a .379 batting average, 7 homers, 12 RBI, 22 hits, and an 1.256 OPS. He is also inching toward .300 for the season, currently standing .291 with 13 homers. That's nuts, more than half of his home runs have come in his last 13 games.

Pedey is humble and doesn't give himself much credit as a power hitter, but he is starting to resemble one. I don't think the power will last, but we may see Pedroia's first 20 home run season.

Related: Herald: Healthy Pedey powers up

On Page 2, Scutaro played with injured finger

Grading the infield

Since we're at the halfway point of the season, the brain trust at Ted's Army decided we'd give out grades for the Red Sox players. Crazy idea, huh? When it was first brought up, I said, "You guys, this is just too revolutionary, they'll never be able to handle it." 

But we decided eventually that our readers can grasp the concept. I'll start with the infield; the outfield and pitchers will be covered in future posts.

1. 1B Adrian Gonzalez

I was trying to think of an appropriate grade, because obviously, A+ isn't enough. So instead, I've giving Adrian Gonzalez a t-shirt to tell him how I feel.

That covers it.

You want stats to back me up? 64 runs, 128 hits, 17 homers, 77 RBI. .354/.414/.591/1.006. Ho-hum.

Atchison, thanks for coming up!

To make room for Marco Scutaro's return from the DL, the Sox are sending Scott Atchison back down to Pawtucket.  And Atchison is not too happy about it.

Via WEEI:

"Obviously it's frustrating. It's always frustrating. I feel like I belong here and this is where I feel like I should be pitching. In turn, I know it's part of it," Atchison told WEEI.com. "I have the option. We talked about it before, it is what it is. I like being here. I like being part of this team when I come up and playing with these guys, so there's no real reason to raise any beef with it.

"I feel like I threw the ball well while I was up here this time, which is good. I just wanted to show them I'm still the same guy. I felt like I did that. I'll go down there and stay sharp and the next time they need me I'll be ready to go."

I actually feel kinda bad for the guy.  He was pitching his ass off in Pawtucket (12 games, 1.25 ERA with 23 K's and just one walk).  And while he certainly wasn't phenomenal after getting called up (he's given up at least one run in 4 of his 7 appearances), he surely wasn't a disaster.  With the way our bullpen has been revolving it probably won't be Atchison's last stint with the club this season, so let's not get too emotional about it.

Also curious that Drew Sutton gets to hang on with the club with Scutaro's return.  Not sure how many middle infielders a team can carry, but we're about to find out. 

Gammons Speaks, We All Listen

Peter Gammons made his weekly appears on the Mut & Merloni show today.  Today's topic was focused around the financial situation of the Sox, and the MLB in general.  As always, he had some interesting insights to share.

Here's a big hunk 'o' text via WEEI:

"I think the question is going to be: Do the Red Sox feel they need to clear his money to be able to get a catcher or another pitcher in time if they need one... the Mets would love to have Scutaro play second base, but they don't want to pay him."

Asked if the Red Sox have extended themselves close to their financial limit, Gammons said: "I think so. And I think that will change in the middle of the season. The Phillies are going through the same thing. [Phillies general manager] Ruben Amaro said last week — the question was posted actually  about Scutaro... The thinking was Scutaro's the perfect guy. And Ruben said, 'I have no more money. We can't make any moves.'

"I think a lot of teams went right to the luxury tax threshold and spent a lot of money and said, 'OK, we're not spending any more until we desperately need something. So, figure out what's wrong."

Gammons also touched on the catching situation.  Essentially, the Sox' are married to Salty for the time being.  Their hope, with letting Varitek play so much, is that sitting Salty will get 'back' to where he was earlier this Spring.  They don't have an answer in the minors, and there's no one available on the market that can catch as often as they need.

He also brought up  the ghost of Russell Martin (who Gammons says the Sox docs claimed was 'unsignable' due to medical reasons this offseason).  The same Russell Martin that's batting over .300 with 6 homers and 16 RBI's for the Yankees.

Awesome.

Your Morning Dump...where Bard is the stopper.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

(Photo: Getty Images)

"That was the game right there,'' marveled Terry Francona after the 5-3 win was in the books. "You've heard me talk about it, time and time again - the game can be won in the sixth or seventh. For me, that was it. He came in and stopped it. That's what he's there for.

"It's a big weapon. That's what it is. We have the ability to pitch him with the game on the line and he's one of the best in the league. He can get left-handers, he can obviously get right-handers. He holds runners . . . With runners on base, that's who we want to bring in.''

Whenever Papelbon falters, fans clamor for a job switch in the Red Sox bullpen, clamoring for Bard to become closer with Papelbon shifted to a set-up role.

But that ignores the fact that each is probably better suited for their present role. And it also glosses over how demanding Bard's job is.

While Papelbon often has the luxury of starting an inning clean -- i.e., with no baserunners -- and in possession of a two- or three-run lead, Bard can be summoned, as he was Wednesday, with a mess in progress, asked to perform cleanup duty.

CSNNE:Bard saves the day

This role that Bard has been delegated to makes the most sense even if many (myself included) feel like he should close the game and get the save. But Bard has this flexibility to come into the game from the sixth inning on and save the game when it's on the line. It's one of the dillemmas of the 21st century closer: they're pidgeonholed to stay in the bullpen in the ninth to get the final three outs because those are the hardest to get. It doesn't matter if the game is on the line, the supposed best pitcher in the bullpen won't be used.

Perfect example is yesterday in the sixth inning with the bases loaded. Papelbon wasn't even considered.So who do you go to? Okajima? He already had a rough go in the first game, coming into that situation would've been the worst thing possible for his career and his trade value.

Enter Bard. Gets the strike out and an infield pop up. Then he holds down the seventh, only allowing a single making it easier for Jenks and Pap who made it difficult on themselves to finish the job. Papelbon gets the save, Bard gets the hold. It's a cruel world sometimes but Bard's efforts will not go unnoticed.

Related Links:Bard's work is crucial in Sox win|Bard quiets the A's|

On Page 2, the Scutaro-Lowrie competition is a healthy one

Player preview: Marco Scutaro

Baseball is finally here. Everyone is ready to dedicate themselves for the grind that is the baseball year. While Spring Training can hold people off, many are fiending for the season to start. We're right there with you. May we suggest some player previews to help you cope until then?

2010 stats:

695 PA, 92 R, 38 2B, 11 HR, 56 RBI, .275/.333/.388

2011 PECOTA projections (via Baseball Prospectus, based on math):

554 PA, 63 R, 9 HR, 51 RBI, .262/.334/.366, 1.6 WARP

2011 Ted's Army projections (based on nothing):

425 PA, 48 R, 6 HR, 40 RBI, .274/.339/.360

A lot is made of Theo's seeming inability to adequately fill in the shortstop position.

First he traded the franchise guy. Then he let Orlando Cabrera go in free agency because of...something behind the scenes (still unclear on that one). Theo was probably waiting for Hanley Ramirez to get to the majors, but a catfight and a gorilla suit later, Hanley's in Florida and were back to square one. 

Edgar Renteria and Julio Lugo took turns being terrible, and Alex Gonzalez had a couple of injury-plagued, bat-free stints. 

And then there's Marco. He was only signed because every time Jed Lowrie wakes up in the morning he sprains something, but Scutaro was quite useful last year. Can you believe he had 38 doubles? 92 runs? It's easy to forget that Scutaro was very accomplished last year -- and not just for being the subject of the greatest Red Sox hashtag of the Twitter era: #scuscuscutaro.

I don't expect him to repeat last year's success for the usual reasons: He's getting older, he was hurt at the end of the year, Lowrie is expected to take some PAs away (until he comes down with Rocco Baldelli Syndrome), etc.

But I appreciate Marco's contributions to last year's team, and think he'll be useful this year as well.

Game of the year:

July 15, vs. Tampa Bay. In the first game after the All-Star break, Jed Lowrie returns to action and gets the nod at shortstop, after a six-week battle with carpal tunnel syndrome. In the fourth inning, Lowrie singles to the gap, but comes up lame rounding first. In comes Scutaro, who goes on to double twice and make a keep double play to get Jonathan Papelbon out of a jam in the 9th, preserving a 6-5 win for Boston.

Biggest question:

Will he even be with the team at the end of the year? Much like Mike Cameron, Scutaro now appears to be an extra piece. I've made a lot of fun of Lowrie's injury history -- but what if the trade deadline rolls around and Jed has been completely healthy and hitting like he did the end of last year? Couldn't we move a useful player like Scutaro for a bullpen piece, or a more typical bench player (more of a speed/fielding specialist)?

If Scutaro remains here, I think we know what to expect from him. He's a good, solid baseball player, and he'll play hard and put up decent numbers.

Your Morning Dump...where Scutaro is trying to forget about last year

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
 

“It feels good,” the shortstop said following the Red Sox’ 4-3 loss to the Braves. “People ask me are you looking forward to showing what kind of player you are now? It’s not like, look at me, I’m healthy, I’m going to hit 50 homers with 199 RBIs. It’s just a matter of waking up and feeling energy, strong, no pain, and feeling like you can compete. Even if you don’t do good that day, next day you wake up and feel like you can compete once again.”

Scutaro finished the 2010 season with decent numbers, hitting .275 while playing in 150 games, he will be the first to admit the production wasn’t what he had hoped when signing his two-year, $12.5 million deal with the Sox.

The injury problem, while not keeping the shortstop off the field, first forced the throwing-motion alteration, then began to affect his swing, and finally made a move to second base (for the shorter throw to first) necessity.

“To be honest, there were some days when I woke up like, ‘Damn, I don’t have any chance of playing today.’ I had to go through a lot of stuff just to play a game – ice, hot tub, anti-inflammatories, all of that kind of stuff just to play a game. Sometimes it was frustrating. What was the most frustrating is that it would feel good for a couple of days, then bad for a week and a half. It was never consistent. It was just up and down. That was kind of frustrating. Also, all year it was pretty much something. We’ll see what happens this year.”

WEEI: Scutaro feels a lot better

Scutaro hasn't been giving much credit for being one of the few players who were able to play through the pain and stay on the field during last year's injury filled year. And it's a little slap in the face that he's competiting for his starting job with Jed Lowrie, a person who has so much potential yet seemingly has the bones of a 75 year old. Yesterday, Scutaro cranked out a first inning homer in a 4-3 loss to the Braves and showed off some of his range as well. Now that he's healthy, he should be ready to start off the season.

Globe:Officially, Lester the 1|Notes:Albers a viable option in pen Herald:Scutaro set to forget painful 2010 season|Prospects for Dominican leaguers look good|New lineup has much better shot at making Jordans pay CSNNE:Notes: Scutaro's arm is healthy again|In Sox bullpen battle, past could determine future| WEEI: