There was no shortage of news in the Red Sox farm system last week.

On Sunday alone, Casey Kelly tossed a scoreless inning for the U.S.A. in the Futures Game and the Red Sox announced that Clay Buchholz will start for Boston on Friday in Toronto. Junichi Tazawa was slated to start the Futures Game for the World team, but a lengthy rain delay wiped out his appearance.

Eastern League All-Star and Portland Sea Dogs closer T.J. Large was promoted to Pawtucket while 2006 first-round draft pick Jason Place was summoned to Portland. Stephen Fife, a third round selection in 2008, and left-handed reliever Armando Zerpa, were moved from Greenville to advanced Single-A Salem.

After a productive major league draft, the Red Sox continued an impressive international free agent signing period by inking Cuban defector Jose Iglesias to a reported four-year, $8.2 million deal. The 19-year-old Iglesias is a defensive whiz at shortstop.

Here is an update on who is hot at each Red Sox minor league affiliate:

Triple-A Pawtucket

• Jed Lowrie is slated to return to the Red Sox on July 18. Over the weekend, he showed signs of getting his timing back at the plate. Lowrie was 4-for-8 with two doubles, two walks and two runs on Saturday and Sunday. Lowrie will undoubtedly bolster the Red Sox roster since he can start at shortstop and spell Mike Lowell at third base.
• As mentioned earlier in this post, Clay Buchholz will start for Boston this Friday at Toronto. The right-hander started on Sunday for Pawtucket, allowing four runs and eight hits in 5.1 innings against Syracuse. Overall, he is 7-2 with a 2.36 ERA in 16 starts and 99 innings. Buchholz has allowed just 67 hits and has limited opposing hitters to a .188 average. He will return to Pawtucket after Friday's start, but chances are he will make more starts for the Red Sox later this year, possibly in September.
• Fernando Cabrera was once a highly regarded prospect whose career has been sidetracked by injuries. He is healthy now, and the 27-year-old right-hander has emerged as a dominant closer for the Paw Sox. In 30 games, Cabrera has a 1.17 ERA and 17 saves. Opposing hitters have a .164 average against him. Cabrera will likely join the Red Sox sometime in September, but he could get the call earlier if an injury arises or a Red Sox reliever is ineffective for a prolonged period.
• T.J. Large was a 46th round draft pick of the Red Sox in 2005 out of Alabama-Tuscaloosa. Now he is one step from the big leagues. The 26-year-old right-handed reliever was promoted to Pawtucket after posting a 1.08 ERA in 34 games for the Sea Dogs. Large's primary pitch is a cutter and he induces a lot of ground balls.
• Once a highly regarded prospect in the Padres organization, speedy outfielder Freddy Guzman could help the Red Sox when rosters expand in September. Guzman proficiently plays all three outfield spots and he can run. Boy, can he run. Now 28, Guzman has done little in parts of three seasons in the majors (with San Diego and Texas), but he exceeds 60 steals in the minors on an annual basis. This season, he has 18 thefts and is hitting .250 in 168 at-bats at Pawtucket. 

 Double-A Portland

• Junichi Tazawa continues to shine for the Sea Dogs. In 16 starts and 87 innings, the 23-year-old right-hander has surrendered 72 hits, struck out 79 and held opposing hitters to a .224 average. In his last three starts, Tazawa has allowed two runs and 10 hits over 15.1 innings. Known for his command and control, he has not walked a batter in his last two outings.
• A fifth round pick out of Texas Tech in 2006, 25-year-old left-hander Dustin Richardson was a starter until this season. Now he is a reliever, and an Eastern League All-Star. Richardson has a 2.61 ERA in 28 games and 48.1 innings, allowing 32 hits, recording 64 strikeouts and limiting opposing hitters to a .186 average. He has emerged as Boston's top left-handed relief prospect.
• The Red Sox liked Jason Place's five-tool potential when they made him a first round pick out of high school in 2006. His first full minor league season was a flop, but he showed flashes of success last year at advanced Single-A Lancaster. Place, now 21, opened this season at Boston's new advanced Single-A affiliate in Salem (Va.) where his numbers were not spectacular (.252 average, four home runs and 48 RBI in 302 at-bats), but his progress was noticed. Place was summoned to Portland last week and joins a talented Sea Dogs outfield that includes highly regarded prospects Josh Reddick and Ryan Kalish.
• Speaking of Kalish, the speedy 21-year-old is adjusting to Double-A pitching after a rough start in Portland. Kalish hit .3094 with five home runs and 21 RBI in 115 at-bats at Salem earlier this season. He struggled for several weeks in his first taste of Double-A, but he has hit the ball better in recent games. On Sunday, Kalish had three hits, including his third home run for the Sea Dogs. He also has seven stolen bases.
• Jorge Jimenez does not get mentioned among the organization's top prospects, but he has excelled at every minor league level since the Sox selected him in the 15th round in 2006 out of Porterville College. The 24-year-old Jimenez, who adequately plays the corner infield spots, is a sleeper. This season at Portland, he has a .289 average with nine home runs and 51 RBI. Jimenez was named to the Eastern League All-Star team and will likely open next season at Pawtucket.

Advanced Single-A Salem (Va.)

• One of my favorite unheralded Red Sox prospects is left-handed reliever Armando Zerpa. The 22-year-old Venezuelan was effective at Greenville, where he posted a 1.20 ERA in 22 games and 45 innings. He allowed just 19 hits, struck out 51 and held opposing hitters to a .125 average. Zerpa will now hone his craft at Salem after his recent promotion.
• Now that Stephen Fife has been promoted, Boston's top three pitchers drafted out of college in 2008 are in the Salem rotation. Fife, a third round choice out of the University of Utah, logged a 2.70 ERA in eight starts at Greenville. Bryan Price and Kyle Weiland are the other picks.
• Weiland, a third round selection out of Notre Dame last year, struggled earlier this season at Salem, but he has a 2.22 ERA in his last 10 starts. Before allowing three runs and five hits over six innings in his last appearance, the 22-year-old right-hander had a seven-game stretch that saw him surrender a total of three runs.
• Price has scuffled at Salem after dominating at Greenville earlier in the year. A first round pick out of Rice University, the right-hander has a 7.18 ERA in eight starts at advanced Single-A. The Red Sox are high on Price, Fife and Weiland, though it is uncertain whether they will pitch as relievers or starters as they ascend the minor league system.
• Tim Federowicz, a seventh round pick out of the University of North Carolina last year, has joined Mark Wagner and Luis Exposito as top catching prospects in the Red Sox system. Wagner was recently promoted to Pawtucket while Federowicz was called up to Salem from Greenville. It seemed like Exposito, who is hitting .292 with five home runs and 43 RBI for Salem, would be sent to Portland, but instead he is platooning with Federowicz. All three catchers are proficient on defense and productive with the bat, though Wagner is struggling in his first Triple-A stint (3-for-21, .143, in his first six games). One thing is certain. The Red Sox do not need to trade for a catcher of the future. There are three capable backstops in their own system.
• Yamaico Navarro is a slick-fielding shortstop who can also play second and third. The 21-year-old Dominican opened the season on the disabled list but is back and thriving at Salem. He is hitting .319 in 69 at-bats. Shortstop Argenis Diaz, who is currently at Portland, is known for his glove, too, but Navarro is a better all-around player. He has a future with the Red Sox, either as a starting shortstop or a utility infielder.
• Anthony Rizzo, the 19-year-old left-handed hitting first baseman who has recovered from cancer, is pounding the ball. In his last 10 games, he has a .333 average with a home run and six doubles in 36 at-bats. Rizzo opened the season at Greenville, where he hit .298 with nine home runs and 42 RBI. Like top prospect Lars Anderson, Rizzo is a defensively sound first baseman who is a contact hitter and run producer.

Single-A Greenville

• Power left-hander Nick Hagadone's return to the mound after Tommy John surgery is proceeding nicely. The 2007 first round pick out of the University of Washington tossed three perfect innings with five strikeouts in his last outing. Overall, he has a 4.50 ERA in six starts and opposing hitters have a .176 average against him. Hagadone is using the remainder of this season to regain his form and stamina. In 2010, he will likely begin the season in the Portland rotation. Hagadone features a mid-90s fast ball with a nasty slider and an effective change-up, all thrown with good command. 
• Stolmy Pimentel rebounded from a rare shaky performance (five runs, eight hits six innings) with a quality start (one run, five hits, six strikeouts, six innings) on Saturday. Overall, the 19-year-old right-hander is 8-3 with a 2.66 ERA in 14 starts.
• Caleb Clay, a first round pick out of high school in 2006, is working his way back to top prospect status after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2007 and returning to pitch just 2.2 innings at the end of last season. The right-hander is throwing the ball well for the Drive. He has allowed one run in his last four appearances, which have spanned 17.2 innings. Overall, Clay has a 2.94 ERA in 15 games, six of which have been starts.
• Little attention was given to the minor league pitcher Boston acquired from Seattle in the David Aardsma trade, but that arm - 20-year-old left-hander Fabian Williamson - is making a name for himself at Greenville. Williamson has a 2.61 ERA in 17 appearances and has held hitters to a .182 average.  

Short-Season Lowell

• The New York-Penn League is a place where pitchers have a chance to start opening eyes in their respective organization. The competition includes college and highly regarded high school draft picks and international free agent signings whereas the Gulf Coast League mostly features players just out of high school and the Dominican Summer League. Ryan Pressly is off to a hot start for the Spinners. The 20-year-old righty has a 0.86 ERA in four starts and boasts a .192 BAA (batting average against). Pressly was an 11th round pick out of high school in 2007.
• Alex Wilson, a second round pick in this year's draft out of Texas A&M, has pitched six scoreless innings to open his pro career. Wilson is a guy who can rise through the system quickly.
• New England high school phenom Ryan Westmoreland was a fifth round pick in 2008. An exceptional outfielder, he is Lowell's DH right now after having off-season surgery to repair a partially torn labrum.  Westmoreland is hitting .284 in 67 at-bats for the Spinners.

Gulf Coast League Red Sox

• Reymond Fuentes has an impressive baseball pedigree as Carlos Beltran's cousin. Boston's first round selection in this year's draft is off to an impressive start as a pro. Fuentes has hits in seven of his first eight games and has reached base in all eight contests. He is 12-for-28 (.429).
• Roman Mendez and Manny Rivera are two of Boston's top pitching prospects who started in the Dominican Summer League. So far, in the GCL, Mendez has a 1.42 ERA in four starts and Rivera owns a 1.00 ERA in four starts.
• They call 19-year-old Australian Michael Lennox "The Ox." The durable right-hander has allowed one unearned run in 9.1 innings and four appearances out of the bullpen.
• With Sunday's scoreless inning in the Futures Game, Casey Kelly's first minor league season on the mound is complete. The 19-year-old right-hander, who was Boston's first round pick out of high school last year, will now report to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox where he will play shortstop. Kelly had a 1.12 ERA in nine starts at Greenville and a 3.09 ERA in eight starts at Salem. Though he is  solid in the field as a shortstop and can hit, Kelly's future is as a pitcher. He turns 20 in October and will likely open next season in Double-A Portland's rotation with fellow top prospects Nick Hagadone and Kyle Weiland.

In early May, we were asking what was wrong with Josh Beckett. Now, we are wondering if he will win the American League Cy Young Award. Beckett ended the unofficial first half of the season with a complete game shutout of Kansas City this afternoon. The ace earned his 100th career win and improved to 11-3 with a 3.35 ERA.  Beckett needed just 97 pitches to record the complete game. He allowed three hits, struck out seven and did not walk a batter.

What started as a disappointing homestand that saw the Sox drop four of the first seven games finished on a high note with three consecutive victories over the Royals. Boston heads into the All-Star break with a 54-34 record and a three-game lead over the New York Yankees, which suffered a three-game sweep against the Angels.

The only run Boston would need was plated in the first inning when Dustin Pedroia doubled and Kevin Youkilis knocked him in with a base hit. The Sox chased Kansas City left-handed starter Bruce Chen in the fourth when Nick Green walked and Aaron Bates belted an RBI double. Robinson Tejeda relieved Chen and later in the inning Boston scored on a David Ortiz ground out and a bases loaded walk to Jason Varitek. Chen was charged with three runs and six hits in 3.0 innings.

Boston tacked on two more runs, including an RBI double by Rocco Baldelli in the eighth. The Royals only threatened to score twice. Beckett didn't allow a hit until David DeJesus opened the fourth with a double. He then retired nine in a row before allowing a single to Mitch Maier to lead off the seventh. Mark Teahen grounded a one-out single and Jose Guillen was hit by a pitch to load the bases, but Brayan Pena bounced into an inning-ending double play. Beckett sealed the complete game shutout by sitting down the final six batters.

It was a memorable afternoon at the plate for Bates and Jason Bay. Bates, who was raking at Double-A Portland and adjusting to his first taste of Triple-A pitching when he was called up for his major league debut last week, was 3-for-4 with two doubles, an RBI and a run. Bay had five plate appearances but no official at-bats, walking three times and getting hit by a pitch twice. Pedroia (2-for-4 with a run and a walk) and Youkilis (2-for-4 with an RBI) continued to hit the ball hard.

The All-Star break is timely for the Sox. It will give veterans like J.D. Drew, Varitek and Baldelli a chance to rest. Mark Kotsay gets a much-needed respite to heal his sore calf. The break will certainly help the bullpen, which has struggled the last two weeks, and the rotation. Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie, who is heating up at Pawtucket as he works to return from wrist surgery, will be back with the Red Sox in the second half. Lowell could return for the Blue Jays series. Lowrie is expected to be actived from the disabled list on July 18.

Terry Francona announced the rotation to open the second half. The Sox will travel to Toronto for a three-game set next weekend followed by a three-game series at Texas. Clay Buchholz will make his 2009 Red Sox debut on Friday. Here is the Sox rotation set-up for the series against the Blue Jays and Rangers:

• Friday - Clay Buchholz
• Saturday - Brad Penny
• Sunday - Jon Lester
• Monday - John Smoltz
• Tuesday - Josh Beckett
• Wednesday - Tim Wakefield

All five starters in the Red Sox rotation will get valuable rest. Buchholz will return to Pawtucket after Friday's start. Chances are, he will get more starts with the Sox, possibly in September.  

Thankfully, the Kansas City Royals are awful. Otherwise, the Red Sox bullpen might have coughed up a lead to rival the one they surrendered on June 30 when Baltimore rallied from a 9-1 deficit to claim a stunning 11-10 win. Last night, John Smoltz allowed one run over five innings, and departed with a 9-1 lead. Then Justin Masterson and Manny Delcarmen, who were part of the aforementioned bullpen implosion against the Orioles and also were responsible for squandering a lead versus the Royals on Thursday, were knocked around again. Kansas City cut Boston's lead to 9-7, but an unusual play you might never see again, an impressive performance by Daniel Bard and a Red Sox rally aided by atrocious defense from the Royals allowed the Sox to recover for a 15-9 victory.

Smoltz's first win in a Red Sox uniform was almost as bizarre as the blown 9-1 lead against Baltimore, and the contest the next night against the Orioles when the Sox tied the score with four runs in the ninth and then won in extra innings. It appeared that Boston would enjoy a laugher when it plated three runs each in the first and second. An RBI single by Kevin Youkilis, a sacrifice fly from Jacoby Ellsbury, an RBI double by Dustin Pedroia and a two-run home run from Youkilis were the key at-bats in those frames.

The Sox scored in each of the the first four innings. Jason Varitek belted a solo home run in the third (his 13th of the season) off Gil Meche and David Ortiz ripped a two-run dinger in the fourth (his 12th of the year) off left-handed reliever Ron Mahay. Boston led 9-0 at that point.

Smoltz threw more pitches than desires - 97 in five innings - but he struck out seven, walked one and allowed four hits. The Royals scored their lone run off him in the fifth when Ryan Freel lined a two-out double down the right field line. At the time, it seemed like a harmless run, but an inning later the Sox were reminded of the blown lead against Baltimore two weeks ago.

Masterson, who was charged with five runs in that infamous Orioles game and two runs when Kansas City rallied from a four-run deficit on Thursday, once again looked nothing like an effective major league reliever last night. He served up a two-run home run to Mike Jacobs and an RBI single to light-hitting Tony Pena Jr. Delcarmen, who relieved Masterson in the Orioles game on June 30 and allowed an inherited runner to score, did so again. He walked David DeJesus to load the bases, and then a play ensued that we might never see again.

Freel scorched a sinking liner to right field that a charging J.D. Drew played on a short-hop. The slow-footed Miguel Olivo, who returned to the third base bag to tag up, got a late break to the plate. Drew fired a perfect strike in the air to Varitek, who was standing on home plate for the force out. Instead of an RBI single, Freel was credited with a force play in the scorebook, and Delcarmen breathed a sigh of relief - for just a moment. Billy Butler followed Freel with a base hit up the middle to score two runs and trim Boston's lead to 9-6. Hideki Okajima ended the tension by striking out Mark Teahen.

Just like the Baltimore game on June 30, last night's game evoked a feeling that the Red Sox were going to lose. In the seventh, Jose Guillen led off with a line drive home run over the Green Monster. Suddenly, the once comfortable advantage was 9-7. Jacobs followed with a pop up that Mark Kotsay thought was heading for foul ground. The wind carried it back into fair territory in shallow right field and the ball dropped between Kotsay and Pedroia for a base hit. Alberto Callaspo grounded a base hit seconds later, giving the Royals runners on first and second with no outs.

Enter Bard, the flame-throwing rookie who has been impressive since his call-up from Pawtucket but has rarely pitched in pressure situations. He struck out Olivo on a nasty slider and then fanned pinch-hitter Brayan Pena on a 99 miles per hour four-seamer. DeJesus was retired on a routine grounder to Nick Green to end the inning. Bard allowed two unearned runs and one hit in the eighth, but his outing is just what the Sox needed. He was undoubtedly the most valuable player of last night's game.

The Sox gained some breathing room with three runs in the seventh when Jason Bay scored on a error by Olivo, who tried to complete a 3-2-3 double play with Varitek at the plate but delivered an errant throw to Butler at first base. NIck Green lifted a two-out, two-run single off Jamey Wright later in the inning for a 12-7 Boston advantage.

After Kansas City cut the lead to 12-9 in the top of the eighth, the Sox cuffed around Roman Colon for three in the bottom of the frame. Youkilis led off with his second home run of the game and his 16th of the season. Ellsbury grounded a two-out single and stole second (his 39th of the year). Colon intentionally walked Varitek in favor of Aaron Bates, who was 0-for-6 in his first taste of the majors. Bates lined a base hit up the middle to record his first major league hit and RBI. The single gave Boston a 15-9 advantage, and the Sox bullpen actually delivered a clean inning in the ninth when Takashi Saito retired the side in order.

The Royals actually outhit the Sox, 13-12, but their three errors contributed to Boston's 15 runs. To say that Boston's bullpen needs the All-Star break is an understatement. Once a major strength, the pen is a liability, at least for right now. Masterson and Delcarmen are the main culprits, though Saito has not been too sharp either. As Terry Francona said in an interview a few days ago, the bullpen was bound to enounter a rought stretch since every reliever was not going to last the entire season with a sub-2 ERA. Hopefully, Masterson and Delcarmen can rebound after four days of rest and relaxation. They are much better than their recent pitching lines indicate.

The good news resulting from last night's wacky win is that Boston now owns a two-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East. The Yankees' bullpen experienced a hiccup of its own as the Angels roughed up the Yankees, 14-8.

This afternoon, Boston will attempt to end the unofficial first half of the season with three straight wins over the Royals and a 54-34 record. Josh Beckett (10-3, 3.62 ERA) faces left-hander Bruce Chen (0-3, 6.88 ERA). This should be a slugfest for the Sox, but you never know what will happen when a pitching matchup is extremely lopsided. Let's hope Chen, who was once a highly regarded prospect in the Braves organization and spent time with Boston in 2003, does not pitch a complete game shutout.

If your team has had a Disney esque movie made about you, you are also eliminated from World Series contention. Consider these movies:

Angels in the Outfield
Little Big League
Rookie of the Year
The Rookie
Sandlot

Those five movies have single-handedly cursed five different franchises, to the point of having no prayer of winning unless they change their name. Angels in the Outfield's curse was broken because the California Angels changed their name to the Anaheim Angels. Now for good measure they are the LA Angels. Boom, they won the World Series in 2002.

Little Big League came out after the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and they haven't won since the movies' debut in the early 90s.

Rookie of the Year  has only added to a plethora of curses against the Cubs and it very well might take a pre-teen to pitch for Chicago for them to ever win it all.The Rookie starred a thirtysomething man making it onto the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. They changed their name in 2008 after never finishing even near .500 and all of a sudden reached the World Series that first season. Now they're set up for the future, too.

The Sandlot ends with Benny the Jet making it to the LA Dodgers. The Dodgers have not won since the movie came out, but since the movie wasn't focused on the team, they are the best prepared to break their curse. Seriously, this and extremely young starting pitching is the only reason I'd pick against the Dodgers this year, a team with a Hall of Fame middle of the order hitter, dynamic and young offense, and a great rotation and bullpen, and even more undervalued coaching of young talent.

However, speaking of the Rays, the only way Carlos Pena and his .218 BA (as of 7/8) would have deserved to make the All-Star team (and I am a Pena fan) is if he faced the Red Sox somehow before Tuesday.

Pena against his former team, the Red Sox: 9/34 (.265 and second highest against an opponent in the AL), .390 OBP, 3 HR (tied for second in the league), 8 RBI (tied for second in the AL). Who is the only team he beats up on more? Another former team, the New York Yankees.

Otherwise, nice shirt Carlos, nice personality, nice smile or whatever people gush over, but you hit long balls and that's it.

Jon Lester has thrown numerous gems in his young career, but it would be difficult for him to dominate a team as he has the Kansas City Royals. Tonight, the left-hander limited Kansas City to four hits over eight shutout innings, Dustin Pedroia ripped a two-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon retired the side in order in the ninth as Boston edged the Royals, 1-0.

In his last three starts against Kansas City, that have spanned 25 innings, Lester has allowed no runs and five hits. This includes last season's no-hitter. The Royals aren't exactly Murderer's Row, but they are a major league team, and it is rare for a pitcher to overwhelm an opposing lineup as Lester has Kansas City.

Brian Bannister was the hard-luck loser. He held the Sox hitless until Jacoby Ellsbury led off the fifth with a base hit. Ellsbury was ejected later in that inning. With Ellsbury at third and Mark Kotsay at first with one out, Bannister threw a pitch in the dirt that skipped in front of catcher Miguel Olivo. Kotsay broke for second but was caught in a rundown. Ellsbury raced for home and replays showed that he slide safely across the plate, but home plate umpire Derryl Cousins called him out. Ellsbury was sent to the showers when he slammed his helmet against the ground in disgust.

Lester and Bannister were brilliant for most of the game. Lester struck out eight and walked two while his counterpart fanned seven and walked four. Boston scored its lone run in the eighth. Kotsay opened with a sharp single up the middle and advanced to second on Nick Green's sacrifice bunt with two strikes. J. D. drew, who is now 0-for-8 in the series, struck out. That is when Pedroia rifled a change-up from Bannister off the Green Monster for the game's only run.

Papelbon, who is now 23-for-25 in save situations this season but has often lacked command and has thrown more pitches than desired in many outings, looked impressive tonight. He retired all three batters he faced and threw just 11 pitches, so he will be available on Saturday.

Tomorrow night, John Smoltz (0-2, 6.60 ERA) will go for his first win in a Red Sox uniform. Right-hander Gil Meche (4-8, 4.14 ERA) gets the call for Kansas City. Josh Beckett (10-3, 3.52 ERA) opposes left-hander Bruce Chen (0-3, 6.88 ERA) in the finale before the All-Star break on Sunday afternoon.

Notes and observations

• I've written several times about the odd season to date for the Boston offense. The Sox are among the league leaders in runs scored, home runs, on-base percentage, OPS and walks, yet they have been shut down by decent but not outstanding pitchers. Tonight was a prime example. Brian Bannister is a promising starter, and he entered with a 3.87 ERA, but Boston made him look like Bret Saberhagen in his prime. Bannister carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning and Dustin Pedroia's game-winning double in the eighth was Boston's third hit of the game. In the Oakland series, left-hander Brett Anderson entered with a 4-7 record and a 5-plus ERA and departed with a complete game, two-hit shutout. Against Seattle, left-hander Garrett Olson (who is nowhere near the talent level of Anderson and Bannister) held Boston to two runs and four hits over 6.1 innings. Rookie Tommy Hanson threw six shutout innings versus the Sox. Florida's Ricky Nolasco allowed one run and one in five innings in a rain-shortened win. Texas right-hander Kevin Millwood permitted one unearned run over seven innings. Sometimes, you just gotta tip your cap to the opposing pitcher. Other times, it is a matter of the offense not delivering. When Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jason Bay, David Ortiz and Mike Lowell are producing, the Sox are potent at the plate. Right now, Pedroia is just now heating back up, Youkilis and Bay are struggling, Ortiz is hitting better than earlier in the season but is still inconsistent and Lowell is on the disabled list. No doubt that this team needs to acquire a bat. Mark Teahen, who had three more hits tonight for the Royals, or Cleveland's Victor Martinez, would be welcome additions. 
• If I was J.P. Ricciardi, I would definitely trade Roy Halladay if the right package was offered. Halladay is 32 and has thrown a lot of innings. The Jays have an array of promising arms like Ricky Romero, Brett Cecil and Scott Richmond, and Shaun Marcum, Dustin McGowan and Jesse Litsch should be healthy next season. Any package that Toronto gets for Halladay will include a top pitching prospect (at the level of a Clay Buchholz or a Phil Hughes) and likely a shortstop prospect and a minor league first baseman. The Jays are not going to win the AL East or contend for a wild card in the second half. Boston, New York and Tampa Bay look poised to fight it out. To me, it makes more sense to trade Halladay and get at least three top prospects in return instead of keeping him through the end of 2010, letting him leave via free agency and getting two draft picks. That said, it will be surprising if the Red Sox or Yankees acquire Halladay. Boston needs a bat, and tough the Yankees need starting pitching, they don't seem to be keen on including Hughes or Joba Chamberlain in a package for Halladay. Even if Ricciardi did get an enticing package of prospects offered to him, it would be a stunner if he opted to trade Halladay within the division.
• Jose Iglesias, a Cuban defector who as far as I know is no relation to Julio Iglesias, has signed with the Red Sox, according to Miami Spanish language publication El Nuevo Herald. Reportedly, the slick fielding Iglesias signed a four-year, $8.2 million deal which includes a $6 million signing bonus. Iglesias' listed age is 19, though you never know how old Cuban players really are. Regardless, he is do defensively talented that he he drawn comparisons to Ozzie Smith. Iglesias apparently has an average bat. Iglesias' debut in the Red Sox minor league system is not yet established, so it is unclear which affiliate he will play for or whether he will join the organization on the field this year or in 2010. 

Doesn't it seem like forever ago that the Yankees lost 4 out of 6 to the Nationals and Marlins. The Yankees had fallen to 5 games behind the Red Sox and were tied for the wild card lead. Well, 2 and half weeks later, the Yankees are back to a tie with the Sox, and are holding a 4 game lead over the Angels for the wild card. It's official, the sky is not falling (for now).

I don't generally believe anything is a given in baseball and if I didn't believe that going into 2008 than I do now after what the Rays accomplished last season. That said, in my mind, there are only 5.5 teams who can win the World Series this year. The Red Sox, Yankees and Rays are the three most obvious names. They're the current class of the AL, class of the AL East and all have playoff experience, solid pitching and good to scary offenses. Generally when you play the toughest teams the most all year, you're the best prepared for October and the postseason. That's why you have seen an AL East team reach the World Series the last two years along with winning the Wildcard. Ask any football team (college or pro) or any team in any sport, and playing tougher competition, though it may not give you terrific regular season numbers, better prepares you for your playoffs. The Florida Gators, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Giants, LA Lakers, and the afore alluded to MLB teams would all agree. They play the toughest competition all year and all of them are recent champions.

So when I say those three aforementioned teams are World Series contenders, I mean it. I would add the Phillies and Dodgers to the list too, not only because they also have playoff experience, but they have the usual tell-tale signs of a champion. Both teams have most of its roster in their prime, they have dynamic offenses and the Dodgers have a nasty pitching staff. Their competition is nothing special, but getting into the World Series gives you a chance to win a World Series by playing particularly well for a week and we saw the Phillies do it to the Rays last year. The Phillies, for all of their shortcomings this year (no definitive two starter, a weaker bullpen than last year, a weak division) have the offense, the aura of being champions and the upside of playing well at home on their side. They have been brutal at home, which should scare other teams because no team plays terribly at home in the postseason and the Phillies have been a lot better on the road this year.

So that's five teams who can win the World Series...Out of 30. Where does the half come from? The LA Angels have a good enough starting staff, good enough home field advantage, good enough bullpen (now) and good enough offense to win a World Series in my mind, especially if they stay healthy from now on. The problem is this: They suffer from the three strikes and you're out policy. The Red Sox have beaten the Angels three times in a row in the playoffs in recent memory dating back to 2004 ('04, '07 and '08). The last two years we've seen the Sox crush the Angels out of October. At the point of losing three times in a row in the playoffs in recent memory, you are now owned by that other team. The Yankees aren't there yet with the Angels because they only took them out in 2002 and 2005 and the statute of limitations is fading on those years, but the Angels are there with the Red Sox, much like the Bills with anybody they faced in the Superbowl in the early 90's.

So my reason for not seriously considering the Angels a contender is, if the Red Sox win the wildcard and not the division, barring severe underachieving or some central team getting its act together, LA would face Boston in the first round. Much like the Cubs when it comes to facing anybody, I cannot possibly pick the Angels to beat the Red Sox until it happens. I don't care if they are 8-1 like last year in the regular season, or win 150 regular season games one year, I can't pick them over the Red Sox. Therefore, in the event the Sox aren't taken out by whoever wins the central in the ALDS (Hint: It won't happen), the Angels stand a 0% chance of even making the World Series (even if they DO beat the division winner from the east).

To me, and I'm sure I'll catch some flack for this, that's what makes baseball great. Football fans will argue their sport is the most equal, and anybody can make the playoffs any year and to that I agree with half of it. Yes, any team can make the playoffs any year (except the Lions and the Texans for some reason) but only a couple can actually WIN it. That's why the Giants were such a good story, nobody included them in the discussion that year. Already, without paying too close of attention to the offseason or seeing any games played, I can tell you only the Giants, Steelers, Patriots and one wildcard can win the Superbowl next year.

Take last year for example. The Eagles couldn't win because they will never win the Superbowl. The Cowboys can't win because they can't win a playoff game. The Dolphins and Ravens couldn't win because the rest of the team wasn't good enough to compensate for a non SB caliber QB. The Colts can't win because Peyton Manning was only meant to win one Superbowl and he did it in the best season he possibly could have, by beating the Patriots along the way and facing a weak Bears team without a QB. The Cardinals were the one wildcard exception last year to join the Steelers, Giants and Panthers. Next year one will join the Steelers, Giants and Patriots, but that's it. So yes, there are probably 20 teams who can take 12 spots in the playoffs next year, maybe even 25, but only three or four can actually win it all.

In Baseball heading into 2009, we knew only the Rays, Red Sox, Yankees (two of three), one team out of five in the central (doesn't matter who, but for argument's sake we can say the Twins, Tigers and White Sox had a chance), one team in the west (Angels), two teams in the NL East (Mets or Phillies), three teams in the NL Central (Brewers, Cubs or Cardinals) and two teams in the west (Giants or Dodgers) were capable of making October baseball realistically. That's 14 out of 30 teams who on Opening Day, in my mind, weren't eliminated from the playoffs. Sure, Rangers, Indians, Marlins, Mariners, Royals and Astros fans could have plead their case, but plain and simple, nobody would believe them until it happened.

Of those remaining 14, we knew one of the Mets and Phillies would blow it (and we knew it would be the Mets), the Cubs can not win a World Series, only one central team was going to get a spot and they would be eliminated in the first round, and one of those east teams was the odd man out. So that left two of the Rays, Red Sox and Yankees, then the Phillies, Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals, Angels and Brewers capable of winning the World Series. Just by proxy, only one third of MLB teams could win the World Series by Opening Day. We're now halfway through and that number has been cut in half again to 5.5. Though that sounds awful and it's unfair to a lot of teams, it's the truth, and yet MLB still has more potential winners than the NFL.

 I'll take knowing where my team stands on Opening Day (and letting my Front Office handle the situation accordingly) over thinking I have a chance only to see the team with the best running game, capable of playing in cold weather, with either an overwhelmingly dominant defense or overwhelmingly capable QB and one who has faced tough teams in the regular season, being the only ones capable of winning my championship

While the Yankees keep winning, the Red Sox continue their disappointing homestand against teams they should be dominating. Tonight, the Sox raced to a 4-0 lead, but the Kansas City Royals rallied against Brad Penny and an ineffective bullpen to hand Boston an 8-6 loss in the first of a four-game series at Fenway Park. With Boston's defeat, the Yankees pulled even in the American League East with their victory over the Twins, which completed a three-game sweep.

Right now, this Red Sox team is frustrating to watch. Even though the Sox have won seven of their last eight series, it doesn't feel like they have momentum. When this 10-game homestand started, it seemed like Boston would win each series and head to the All-Star break on a high. Instead, the Sox dropped two out of three against Seattle, won two hard-fought games in the three-game set with Oakland and fell in the opener of a four-game series against the Royals, a ballclub that is now 37-48.

Though Dustin Pedroia appears to be emerging from his slump - he had a home run and three hits overall tonight - the Sox still seem flat on offense. It is evident that a change is needed to spark this team. Could it be Mark Teahen, Kansas City's third baseman who had three hits and two runs this evening? According to media reports, Boston's interest in Colorado's Garrett Atkins is waning. Teahen plays the corner infield and corner outfield positions and would be a solid addition to the roster.

Pitching was Boston's cheif problem tonight. Penny was given a 4-0 lead in the third when Jason Bay  lined an RBI single to score Kevin Youkilis, who doubled earlier in the inning. Instead of bearing down and preserving the four-run cushion, he served up three runs in the top of the fourth.

Pedroia's solo home run in the fifth lifted the Sox ahead, 5-3, but the Red Sox bullpen made sure that advantage was short-lived. The Royals knocked around Manny Delcarmen and Justin Masterson in a four-run sixth. Each run was scored with two outs. Delcarmen served up a leadoff double to Teahen, but retired the next two batters. Then he allowed an RBI double to Alberto Callaspo. Terry Francona called upon Masterson, who was of little use tonight. No. 9 hitter Ryan Freel forced an eight-pitch at-bat that ended with an RBI bloop single to center that a sliding Jacoby Ellsbury could not snare. Moments later, Masterson surrendered a towering two-run home run to David DeJesus.

Ramon Ramirez permitted a key run in the eighth. He struck out Callaspo, walked Freel and fanned DeJesus. That is when Willie Bloomquist ripped a run-scoring triple to give Kansas City an 8-5 advantage.

In the bottom of the eighth, David Ortiz and Bay started what appeared would be a rally by walking against reliever Juan Cruz, but the Sox could not get a big hit. Jacoby Ellsbury grounded into a force out, and Boston loaded the bases with Jason Varitek's apparent force play grounder turned into a throwing error by Callaspo. Mark Kotsay had the key at-bats. The Sox needed a base hit. Instead, Kotsay lifted a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 8-6. Closer Joakim Soria entered and struck out Nick Green on three pitches to thwart the rally. Soria retired the Sox in order in the ninth to record his 14th save of the season.

Several Red Sox players contributed to the loss. Delcarmen and Masterson were each charged with two runs. Penny labored through five innings, throwing 97 pitches and allowing the three runs in the fourth after the Sox claimed a 4-0 lead. His pitching line was three runs and six hits in six innings, but the start was nothing impressive. J.D. Drew (0-for-5) and Ellsbury (0-for-4) certainly did not help the offense.

David Ortiz did line an opposite-field three-run home run off Kansas City starter Luke Hochevar in the first. It was Big Papi's 300th career dinger, and he now has 11 on the season. Daniel Bard was Boston's lone effective reliever, retiring all four batters he faced, striking out three.

On Friday, the Sox will try to rebound when Jon Lester (7-6, 4.16 ERA) faces right-hander Brian Bannister (6-6, 3.87 ERA). Boston needs to win the final three games of this series to salvage what has been a poor homestand. The Sox are 3-4 so far.

It is my overwhelming belief Roy Halladay gets traded before the trade deadline on July 31st. The Blue Jays have no prayer at finishing even in third place in the division, they have plenty of young and talented pitchers (when healthy, which five of them aren't right now), and yet a lot of their money is or has been tied up in bad contracts and either washed up or under-performing players (Scott Rolen, Vernon Wells, Alex Rios, Troy Glaus). Halladay will be worth far less this time next year when he becomes a rental player, in the off-season it will get trickier to get him to waive his no-trade clause without getting an extension first (and the Blue Jays will have less leverage) and teams are most desperate this time of year when they think they will be a contender but still need one more piece to put them over the top (the Phillies, Angels and possibly Brewers and Cardinals fit under this category).

This is the most ideal and perfect time to deal the 32-year-old Halladay who will cost too much to resign longterm and has probably pitched his best years already with Toronto. It's Halladay at his highest value, period. Regardless of what anybody says, the Yankees and Red Sox will not acquire the ace right hander. They may release statements claiming they are interested, or may say they want him, and they may even have the pieces and payroll (specifically the Red Sox) to get the deal done, but ultimately the Jays won't deal him within the division and the teams don't honestly need him all that much. The Yankees could use a Wang insurance policy is they aren't comfortable with Sergio Mitre, if they need Hughes and Aceves in the bullpen and if they aren't comfortable with Joba's inconsistency as a starter, but they aren't exactly dying one game out of the east, in the wild card lead and 15 games over .500 before the All Star break. Would trading for Halladay probably cause Theo Epstein to jump out a window? Yes, and vice versa for Cashman, but it's not something mandatory for the Yankees like Sabathia was. Plus, there are too many bidders not to find a match elsewhere.

Toronto's focus is to make a trade which can potentially set it up to make the playoffs, trading Halladay to a division rival does a great deal to damper those attempts, even if the bounty is the best. The Jays will take a slightly less impressive bounty from the Phillies or Angels than they would for the Red Sox and Yankees even if it meant Buchholz, Ellsbury and a high prospect or Cano, Jackson and Montero.

So let's just eliminate the Red Sox and Yankees from discussion. In my mind the options are: the White Sox (who could use a move like this to win their division outright), the Angels (who could use this move to put them directly in the middle of World Series discussion), the Phillies (who need a two starter behind a struggling Hamels), the Cardinals (same as Phillies but with Carpenter who is not struggling in a division without a clear-cut winner), the Brewers (who need something to replace Sheets and Sabathia), the Cubs (who need help with anything past Zambrano, especially with Dempster on the DL now), the Giants (who could use a starter to add to their biggest strength in an attempt to pitch the Dodgers into submission in the West) and the Mets (who could use a big name to trick fans into watching that awful team).

Those are the only teams in my mind with any legitimate shot at Halladay. Right away we can eliminate the White Sox, Cubs and Mets because they have no farm system capable of pulling this deal off. So they're out.

The Brewers, even if they have the prospects and young talent (Prince Fielder) probably don't have the payroll regardless of how badly Ryan Braun would love Halladay, plus the Cardinals make a better fit anyway. Goodbye Milwaukee.

I say the Cardinals aren't terribly interested right now and they have to save all the money in that franchise to resign Pujols when he's a free agent. Having two 20-plus million dollar contracts (Pujols might be 30-plus million) could cripple that team financially.

That leaves us with the Giants, Phillies and Angels. The Giants are interesting because Lincecum, Halladay and Cain in the post-season probably beats an All-Star team regardless of San Francisco's offense. This move would make the Giants go from somewhere between the 4th-8th best team in the NL to the first or second. It would make the NL West the NL's answer to the AL East. The problem is the Giants faced this exact scenario in the offseason and all they had to do was add money by purchasing Manny Ramirez. They didn't bite. All of his troubles this year aside, on paper, San Fran would have been adding the bat they needed to balance that team and make them NL pennant caliber AND would have taken away the Dodgers' best hitter down the stretch. It would have been addition by addition and subtraction and they didn't do it. Now we're supposed to believe just because Halladay has a better personality they would empty the farm and give someone Bonds money to add to their only overwhelming strength to begin with? I'll believe it when I see it, no more Giants.

To me the two most obvious choices are the Phillies and Angels. Again, when was the last time you saw a major player under contract get traded within the division in the AL East? 10,20,30 years ago? Red Sox and Yankees aren't happening even if either team badly wanted it to which I don't believe they do.

The Phillies have the MLB ready talent they would need with J.A. Happ and guys like Rollins, Werth, and a bunch of players in their prime already on the team. They have a strong farm system though I don't believe it's as good as people think, regardless, it's good enough for this deal to happen. I don't know what kind of financial resources they have right now, but they did just win a World Series, but more importantly, in order to repeat they will need help. Cole Hamels has been hurt and not ace caliber all year. Their pitching is suffering from deep October hangover. They are by all accounts, only the clear-cut second or even third best team in their own league. They need SOMETHING to get them past the Dodgers and to separate them from the surging Cardinals, both of whom have the offense to compete with their own. The team has gone on record as saying they would be willing to trade for a top of the rotation pitcher, in other words, a front end guy like Halladay, in other words, they'd probably be willing to pay him. Halladay is a groundball guy who can strike out over 8.00 K/9 so Citizen's wouldn't effect him. He might have a sub 2 ERA in the NL this year. He is the perfect fit for a Phillies team so in need of pitching they have publically announced it to all who would listen.

Though I have no real reason to discount the Angels, the fact of the matter is they have Lackey, Santana, Saunders, Weaver and Palmer. It's a full rotation and a healthy one. There can be improvements, any rotation can improve, but the Angels aren't do unbelievably desperate they NEED to make it work, plus the Phillies have the added benefit of being in the NL, far away from anything the Blue Jays would need to worry about. Not to mention, unlike the Angels, the Phillies don't have someone like Kelvim Escober possibly healthy by the stretch run. The Angels could afford Halladay, they have the leftover Tex money and make the playoffs almost every year, but their need isn't nearly as strong as the Phillies. SoCal fans are for the most part content with their team competing every year, they would like a World Series but the pressure isn't nearly as high as rowdy Phillies fans with a taste of success in their mouths. My bet is Roy Halladay is visiting the Liberty Bell by August 1st and if that happens, the Dodgers won't be the only game in town any longer and we might be on our way to round two of last year's NLCS.

• On a sidenote, if the Yankees want to go after a pitcher, how about Jon Garland? The D Backs' front office has already said they would be willing to part with their players, Garland is affordable for the Yankees, he's a solid five starter in the AL and he can be had for cheap with an uninspiring 4.80 ERA in the NL West. That's mediocre for a starter and hideous for a contact pitcher. But the fact of the matter is I wanted Garland in the offseason in the event of an inevitable injury and an insurance policy to Hughes and now I still want him as a veteran arm. Garland is a former World Series winner, he knows how to win on teams with good offenses, and he would almost certainly surge with new life if he was traded to a contender. We saw it with a guy like Shawn Chacon and we'd see it again. Signing Garland can be Wang insurance, then Aceves and Hughes can stay in what has become a dominant bullpen and Wang and Mitre can be the new insurance policies in case Garland doesn't work out or Chamberlain falls apart. And let it be known, if Garland pitches like I think he would (a solid back of the rotation pitcher), he will be the fourth starter in a postseason game if Wang can't get fully healthy by the end of the year. That means a bullpen of Chamberlain, Hughes, Aceves, Coke, Rivera, Bruney, Robertson. That also means game over after six innings. With Sabathia, Burnett, a gamer and seasoned playoff pitcher like Pettitte and another one with Garland, and you're looking at a team build well enough to make the playoffs and specifically made for October baseball.

I love the New York Yankees. They are indisputably my favorite baseball team. In hockey I'm a Rangers fan but I don't mind rooting for the Devils because I grew up in New Jersey and they won a few Stanley Cups during my childhood. In football I love the Giants, but I'm not afraid to admit I don't hate the Jets and I pull for the Colts, Dolphins and Steelers. In basketball I'm a non-practicing Knicks fan waiting until the last traces of Isiah are gone and in the meantime rooting for players like Andrew Bynum, Lebron James, D Wade, and though he's an alleged former rapist, Kobe Bryant. Baseball is the only sport where I root for the Yankees and once they're done playing the most I can muster up to root for anybody is about 55% on the passion meter. I care slightly more than being completely impartial. I rooted for the Phillies and Dodgers in the playoffs last year because they weren't the Red Sox, they weren't the Angels, I knew the Cubs would drop the ball and my brother-in-law was a Phillies fan, and I love Shane Victorino and Cole Hamels.

But that's the extent of it. I have no definitive second favorite team, only teams I despise like the Angels, White Sox and Red Sox. The Twins are consistently making their case to be my second favorite team. Not only did the Yankees sweep them out of the Bronx earlier in the season hitting three walkoffs in the process. Not only did they pummel Minnesota 10-2 last night behind dominant starting pitching and a relentless offense, but Minnesota even has the bonus reasons for me to like them as a punching bag:

They had a terribly enjoyable movie "Little Big League" starring their team in the 90's which cameo's Ken Griffey Jr. and I want to say either Ron Coomer or Denny Hocking, they have cool logos, they won the World Series the year I was born, they have a solid top to bottom broadcasting crew, their main symbol is a "M" which matches my last name, they're going to have the most absurd stadium in North America when they play outdoors next year, they have never beaten the Yankees in a postseason in my lifetime, they beat the Moneyball A's in the playoffs when the Yankees couldn't in 2002, they traded their best player to the Mets and got him out of the American League and left him to rot in a joke of a franchise, and perhaps most importantly, Ron Gardenhire has an awesome "here we go again" look on his face whenever his team faces the Yankees. The Twins are a great fundamental team, enjoyable to watch if you love fundamentals, but they seem to make terrible defensive plays (minus Gomez and his incredible Grand Slam robbing catch last night), weird baserunning decisions and lack pitching anywhere on their staff when they face the Yankees. Even Joe Nathan, the most underrated closer in the game, has had his meltdowns against Yankees' bats.

It's truly a terrific experience to face Minnesota a solid 80 percent of the time. They are the only team where year in and year out the Yankees enjoy beating the hell out of them. They are the anti-Angels (minus the same terribly enjoyable movie factor). But here's the top three reasons I might start to really pull for them to always win the Central: They are 13-13 against the Red Sox since the end of 2005, and now that Torii Hunter and Carl Pohlad have no connections to the team (Hunter is on the hated Angels and Pohlad is dead and no longer the worst penny-pinching owner in MLB), there is nobody left from those dominated early decade Twins teams to release hateful statements about the Yankees. This team is full of players who I'm sure hate the Yankees, but it's no longer a "they're overpaid" type of hatred, it's a "I wish I was paid as much and can beat this team" type of hatred, and that's slightly more fun.

Just as a cherry on top, when I move to Meriden next month to be closer towards Bristol where I work, my new housemate is a huge, huge Twins fan and he started loving them when he went to Fenway and saw them destroy the Red Sox at a young age. He liked their uniforms. I completely respect Twins fans and he will probably experience nothing but misery if we watch any games between the two teams together.

Care to see the Red Sox surrender a package like Clay Buchholz, Daniel Bard and Lars Anderson for Roy Halladay? These are the type of prospects it will take to land one of the top starting pitchers in baseball. Boston might even have to add another big name, like outfielder Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish, or a shortstop like Yamaico Navarro, to entice Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi.

Let's weigh the pros and cons of Boston dealing for Halladay.

Pros

• Adding Halladay to a rotation that includes Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Brad Penny and Tim Wakefield would give the Red Sox an obvious advantage in 2009. The rotation is already strong, but with Halladay the Sox would be especially difficult to beat in a seven-game series. With Halladay, runs scored would be less critical. The offense is formidable enough to win since it is among the league leaders in runs, on-base percentage, OPS, walks and home runs. Halladay's presence would give Boston three shutdown starters (including Beckett and Lester), meaning that it would require fewer runs to win games.
• Halladay would also make the Sox even more formidable in 2010. He is signed through 2010, so if the team that acquires him does not lock him up long term, it would risk dealing away top prospects for just two years of the ace. Of course, if Halladay walks after 2010, the team that would acquire him this year would at least receive two draft picks when he signs elsewhere.

• The Sox are loaded with high-ceiling prospects, and the team has a proven track record in the draft. I think the Sox are Major League Baseball's equivalent to the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers in understanding how to draft and develop players that contribute. That said, the Sox could afford to let go of Buchholz because of top starting pitching prospects like Michael Bowden, Junichi Tazawa, Casey Kelly and Stolmy Pimentel are on the horizon. Though Anderson looks like he will be a productive major league first baseman, the Sox have a similar left-handed hitting first baseman at advanced Single-A Salem in Anthony Rizzo. If Josh Reddick or Ryan Kalish would be part of the deal, Boston is loaded with other outfield prospects like Ryan Westmoreland and the recently drafted Reymond Fuentes, who is off to a fast start for the Gulf Coast League Red Sox.

Cons

• Halladay is 32, and he has thrown a lot of innings in his career. It would be a risk to surrender an array of high-ceiling prospects for a guy whose right arm can break down at any moment.
• There is no doubt that Halladay is an ace, but he does not have post-season experience. How will he perform in a big game?

• Sure, the acquisition of Halladay would likely give Boston a World Series title in 2009, but would the long-term implications hurt the competitiveness of the team? Take, for example, the speculative package of prospects I mentioned earlier. Buchholz has shown that he can retire major league hitters. His confidence is back, and he has the chance to become a top of the rotation starter for several years. Anderson is a Justin Morneau-type hitter and flashes a nifty glove at first base. His left-handed swing would fit in nicely at Fenway Park. Or he could eventually replace David Ortiz as the DH. Bard has shown that he belongs in the majors, and he has given the Sox a glimpse of their future closer if Jonathan Papelbon's salary demands are outrageous when he reaches free agency. Navarro might be major league ready by 2010, and he is a gifted shortstop who can hit. Reddick and Kalish are talented defensive outfielders who can swing the bat.

This debate is a case a deja vu. We had it on Sox and Pinstripes in December 2007 when it was reported that the Sox had offered Minnesota two packages of prospects, including names like Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Justin Masterson and Jed Lowrie. All four of these players have significantly contributed to Boston's success in 2007 and 2008. Just say the Sox dealt Ellsbury, Lester and Masterson for Santana. It is doubtful that they would have reached the ALCS last season because depth is what guided them through an injury-filled year.

I respect Halladay. Though Beckett is a proven post-season starter, Halladay is probably a step above him as an ace, at least in the regular season, because the veteran is a throwback who usually gives his team eight or nine strong innings every game. Still, I would rather see the Sox keep their stockpile of prospects. The rotation is formidable as it is. Beckett, Lester, Wakefield and Penny are pitching well. I believe that Smoltz will rebound from his shaky debut and give the Sox another quality arm. Don't forget Daisuke Matsuzaka. He is in Ft. Myers getting the spring training he did not get this spring because of the World Baseball Classic. Nothing is structurally wrong with his shoulder. He just needs to build strength and stamina, and he should return sometime in August.

Since the rotation and bullpen are deep, the Sox would be better off trading for a bat. Victor Martinez is worth giving up Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden. A less costly acquisition would be Colorado's Garrett Atkins, a right-handed hitter who can play first and third. According to the Denver Post, the Red Sox have called the Rockies about Atkins, who perhaps can be had for Takashi Saito, a reliever in which the Rockies have expressed interest. The power hitter is batting just .225, but he posted a .327 average in June.

It would be surprising to see the Jays trade Halladay to the Red Sox or Yankees. The Angels are a possible destination. So is Philadelphia. Or maybe Halladay will remain in Toronto and he will be traded in the off-season. Perhaps the Jays will even keep him through 2010 since they have Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum and Jesse Litsch returning from injuries, and young arms like Ricky Romero, Scott Richmond and Brett Cecil are promising. If the Jays have a healthy rotation anchored by Halladay, they can contend in 2010.

The idea of Halladay, Beckett and Lester composing three-fifths of Boston's rotation is interesting to say the least; however, the cost in prospects will be too prohibitive. Thus the reason Epstein will likely pass. 

There is no pitcher in baseball who is better suited to start a critical post-season game than Josh Beckett. For the Red Sox, it helps to have him take the mound when they need a regular season victory, too. Tonight, Beckett limited Oakland to two runs and five hits over 6.2 innings, Jason Bay belted his 20th home run of the single and Jason Varitek added a key two-out single to fuel the Red Sox to a 5-2 win over the A's. Boston's ace is now 6-0 this season following a Red Sox loss.

Oakland actually held an early lead. With two outs in the first, Scott Hairston (who was just acquired from San Diego), clubbed a drive over the Green Monster. The Sox chased A's left-hander Dana Eveland with Bay's home run and David Ortiz's run on Nick Green's double play grounder in the second, and Varitek's two-run single in the third. Eveland, who started in place of talented rookie Dallas Braden (who is on the bereavement list), lasted just 2.2 innings, throwing 71 pitches and serving up four runs and six hits.

Beckett allowed his second run on Adam Kennedy's two-out double in the fifth. Then he encountered a jam in the seventh when Mark Ellis beat out a high bouncer to give the A's runners on first and second. Terry Francona summoned Hideki Okajima, who retired Kennedy on an inning-ending ground out.

Boston plated an insurance run in the seventh on Dustin Pedroia's RBI single off reliever Russ Springer. Justin Masterson tossed a scoreless eighth and Jonathan Papelbon struck out the side in the ninth (along with allowing a single to Kurt Suzuki) to secure his 21st save.

Now 50-33, the Sox maintained their one-game American League East lead over the Yankees, which routed the Twins. Boston will try to win the series on Wednesday when All-Star Tim Wakefield (10-3, 4.30 ERA) faces right-hander Trevor Cahill (5-7, 4.55 ERA).

Notes and observations

• Aaron Bates pounded the ball at Double-A Portland, and he was still trying to figure out Triple-A pitching when the Sox called him up a few days ago. So far, the 25-year-old Bates looks overwhelmed by major league pitching. He was 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and a walk on Tuesday and is 0-for-6 in two games. It was surprising that the Sox did not recall Chris Carter to replace Jeff Bailey. Instead, they opted for Bates, who is a defensively sound first baseman. Carter is average with the glove.
• It was nice to see Jason Bay rip a home run and a double. His average has plummeted in recent weeks. It now stands at .265. Dustin Pedroia (.290) and Kevin Youkilis (.291) have also seen their batting average take a nosedive. Pedroia did have an RBI single on Tuesday, but Youkilis was 0-for-4. Jacoby Ellsbury (.303) is the only Red Sox regular hitting above .300. Chances are, this team will go on a tear when Bay, Pedroia and Youkilis start consistently hitting again.
• From now until the July 31 trade deadline, Clay Buchholz will probably see his name arise in rumors. Toronto would demand him in a Roy Halladay deal and Cleveland would likely want him in a trade for Victor Martinez. On Tuesday, Buchholz allowed two runs and four hits in six innings against Lehigh Valley (Philadelphia) and improved to 7-1 with a 2.11 ERA. Regarding Halladay, chances are he will be traded out of the division (if he is traded at all), but if the Red Sox or Yankees offer an enticing package of prospects, he could end up with either team.

This is not how the Boston Red Sox envisioned their 10-game homestand leading to the All-Star break opening. After dropping two out of three to a Seattle Mariners team that features solid pitching but a lackluster offense, the Sox were blanked by an Oakland A's team that has subpar pitching, offense and defense.

Last night, left-hander Brett Anderson looked like the seasoned veteran and John Smoltz morphed into an inexperienced rookie. While Anderson overmatched Boston hitters with well-located heaters and breaking balls, Smoltz showed little command of his pitches. The result was a 6-0 win for the A's. Oakland cuffed around Smoltz for five runs and 10 hits over six innings. Anderson limited the Sox to two harmless singles, one by Jason Bay and the other from Nick Green. He struck out nine and walked two.

Fortunately, Toronto salvaged the finale of its four-game series with the Yankees with a win. Now 49-33, the Red Sox still hold a one-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East.

Though last night was the first time Boston did not score a run this season - and though the Red Sox are third in runs in the American League - this team needs to acquire a bat. Too many times this season the Sox have been held to no more than three runs in a game. Remember the three-game stretch last month against the Marlins and Braves when the Sox scored one run, two runs and three runs? How about the recent three-game series in Atlanta that saw Boston score a total of six runs, including four in one game.

Boston will get a boost when Mike Lowell returns from the disabled list after the All-Star break. Yet he will need periodic days off to rest his hip. Mark Kotsay has been hitting well, but right now he is hampered by a sore calf. Kevin Youkilis, Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay have not been on fire for awhile. Chances are, they will start to hit again, which will strengthen the Sox lineup. Jed Lowrie's return could help, but his rehab from wrist surgery continues at Double-A Portland. He also suffered a setback late last month when he was hit on the knee during a game at Pawtucket.

Rumors about a Boston trading for Cleveland's Victor Martinez are swirling again. Martinez would definitely cost the Sox Clay Buchholz or Michael Bowden. If Bowden is in the deal instead of Buchholz, another prospect would need to be included. With the emergence of Junichi Tazawa as a prospect on the level of Buchholz and Bowden, and the performance of 19-year-old phenom Casey Kelly (a first-round pick last year), the Sox can more easily part with Buchholz or Bowden. Daisuke Matsuzaka is in Ft. Myers for his summer version of spring training to build shoulder strength. Justin Masterson has proven himself as a starter. The Sox will still have talented depth if Bowden and Buchholz is dealt.

As Sox and Pinstripes readers know, I am a strong advocate of building a deep farm system and promoting players from within, but as I have also written, it is worth trading a top prospect when the Sox can get a difference-making veteran in return. Martinez is undoubtedly a difference maker. He hits for power and average, catches and plays first base. If Boston acquired him, chances are he would either replace George Kottaras or Rocco Baldelli on the roster. If he replaces Kottaras, he would have to catch Tim Wakefield, and I am not sure if he has ever been behind the plate with a knuckleballer on the mound. If he replaces Rocco Baldelli, that would leave Boston without a right-handed hitting outfielder off the bench since Mark Kotsay would be the fourth outfielder. Of course, with Kotsay's calf injury, releasing Baldelli would be a risk.

Theo Epstein faces a decision. Does he wait for Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie to return, and see if the offense is productive enough? Does he deal a top prospect for a difference-making veteran like Martinez, who is 30 and could take over at DH when David Ortiz leaves? Or does he make a trade for someone like Colorado's Garrett Atkins, who would cost the Sox Takashi Saito or a prospect less heralded than Buchholz or Bowden?

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game is supposed to feature the best players in both leagues facing off against one another. However, fan voting for the All-Star Game has ruined this in some ways. Usually, the more well known players get into the game without even producing well, or well enough. Some of the players are injured most of the first-half of the season and still get to participate in these festivities. It's just mind boggling how fans vote these players in, and then the guys who actually do deserve the honor get left out. How stupid does that sound?

Now let's look through a few players who got the nod for the All-Star Game who aren't very deserving. You can see the rosters here: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/all_star/y2009/roster_league.jsp.

I'm only looking at the starting lineups since those are the only players fans vote into the game. Here are the names I came up with after doing the research: Josh Hamilton, and Dustin Pedroia in the American League, and Yadier Molina in the National League. You can even make an argument that David Wright and Carlos Beltran don't deserve to start, but they both have put up excellent batting averages with good statistics overall. Beltran is declining his invitation anyway because of an injury that will keep him out of the All-Star Game. Ryan Zimmerman or Mark Reynolds probably deserve to be the starting third basemen's for the National League, but you can't really argue the decision of fans voting for Wright.

Dustin Pedroia statistics: 3 HR/30 RBI/.290/.368/.393/BA/OBP/SLG

Robinson Cano statistics: 13 HR/43 RBI/.303/.335/.489/BA/OBP/SLG

I would've posted Ian Kinsler's batting statistics, but he is leading the Final Vote ballot for the All-Star Game. As you can see Robinson Cano is much more deserving of an All-Star appearance this season. Pedroia has a minuscule slugging percentage of .393 this season, while Cano is slugging at a .489 clip. It's is such a drastic difference, that it doesn't make any sense whatsoever for Pedroia to be the starting second baseman in the All-Star Game.  This fits perfectly with an average fan's thinking "he won the MVP award, so he deserves to be in the All-Star Game." Pedroia might be an excellent defender to help his case, however Cano has been a pretty good defender this year as well, showing off his range and making some good plays at second. That plus Cano's offense should have gave him the edge over Pedroia. I wonder how Red Sox fans will react to this.

Yadier Molina statistics: 73 games, 5 HR/27 RBI/.281/.347/.381/BA/OBP/SLG

Brian McCann statistics: 63 games, 8 HR/ 33 RBI/.304/.388/.495/BA/OBP/SLG

Brian McCann battled an injury earlier in the year, and is arguably the most underrated catcher in baseball. McCann has probably been the best offensive catcher in the national league for the past few seasons, and he's proving that once again this season. Although McCann has played in 10 less games than Molina, he has 3 more home runs and is slugging .114 points higher than him. Molina is a gold glove defensive catcher, but McCann isn't awful defensively either. In the end who would you rather have representing your team? McCann or Molina?

Josh Hamilton's statistics: 6 HR/24 RBI/.240/.290/.456/BA/OBP/SLG

Jermaine Dye's statistics: 20 HR/51 RBI/.291/.364/.571/BA/OBP/SLG

Dye clearly deserves to be in the All-Star Game, but he's getting snubbed by not even getting a chance to be on the Final Vote ballot. Hamilton has been injured most of the season, and is a direct example of what I was speaking about.  Players should have a certain amount of plate appearances to be allowed to participate in fan voting.  Dye is tied for second in the league in homeruns and is slugging at a .571 clip.  This one isn't even close, Dye overwhelmingly beats out Hamilton for a starting outfield spot in the All-Star game.  The problem with fan voting, is that you have many average baseball fans who don't much of anything except for well known players.

Average fan: I'm going to vote for Joshy Ham-Ham *gulp gulp gulp*

Intellectual fan: But he hasn't done anything this season, are you drinking??

Average fan: WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, HE WENT CRAZY AT THE HOME RUN DERBY LAST YEAR!!! *gulp gulp gulp*

Intellectual fan: Yeah, but were supposed to vote for players who have played well this season...

Average fan: Ah what do you know! HAMMY-HAMMERING HAMILTON WOOHOO!

Intellectual fan: WTF!

As you can see, your average fan isn't very knowledgeable and is at best a crazy psychopathic alcoholic. I think Major League Baseball should put the voting for the All-star game into baseball analysts hands, either that or expand each teams rosters. I would probably prefer both. On another note who would you rather see in the All-Star game? Is your favorite player getting snubbed? and how do you think MLB should approach fan voting?

Once the face of the Boston Red Sox - even moreso than teammates Mo Vaughn, Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez - Nomar Garciaparra had to go in 2004. He had rejected a four-year, $60 million deal after the 2003 season, which was a red flag that he really didn't want to remain with the Red Sox. Then he became a distraction during the season, sulking in the dugout in the same game that Derek Jeter dove into the stands catching a foul ball. It all led to Theo Epstein trading Garciaparra in a deal that brought Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz to Boston and sparked the team on a historic run. Tonight, Garciaparra returns to Fenway Park, hitting sixth as the DH for the Oakland A's. Will he receive embracing applause as guys like Trot Nixon, Kevin Millar, Derek Lowe and Cabrera have in their first time back in another team's uniform? Or will he be serenaded with catcalls a la Johnny Damon?

Garciaparra accomplished a lot in a Red Sox uniform. Rookie of the Year in 1997. American League MVP runner-up in 1998. Two batting titles. Five All-Star appearances. Before his decline which was caused by injuries, Garciaparra was one of the best shortstops in baseball. He hit for power and average, and flashed a solid glove. His demeanor changed, though, after the 2003 season. He was clearly affected when he learned that the Sox were set to deal him to the White Sox for Magglio Ordonez once the Manny Ramirez (and Jon Lester) to Texas for Alex Rodriguez trade was completed. Of course, the A-Rod deal was not allowed by the MLBPA, and the damage was done in Garciaparra's mind.

Garciaparra will have a special place in Red Sox history for what he did during his tenure with the team, yet his Boston legacy is stained because of his actions in his final season. Sounds familiar, huh? Manny Ramirez is in the same category. Without him, the Sox would not have won the 2004 and 2007 World Series, but it is hard to fondly remember his days with the organization because of how he behaved in his final days. It's hard to forget him quitting on the team just as it is difficult to erase Garciaparra's decision to turn down a fair contract offer and pout in the dugout on multiple occasions, most notably in the Jeter game referenced earlier in this post.

Does Garciaparra deserve a reaction from the Fenway Park crowd? Maybe a round of polite applause. I don't think he should be booed. It is hard to look at him in the same light as Millar, Lowe, Cabrera and Nixon, though.

One player who is worthy of applause is Aaron Bates, who was recalled today to replace Jeff Bailey, who was placed on the disabled list with a sprained ankle. Bates, who is 25, was a third round draft pick out of North Carolina State in 2006 and was once considered Boston's first baseman of the future. Then Lars Anderson was drafted, and Bates' career stalled in the minors. He made a few hitting tweaks last off-season and pounded the ball at Double-A Portland this year, batting .340 with seven home runs and 39 RBI in 206 at-bats. He had seen only 88 at-bats at Triple-A Pawtucket, where he was hitting .188 and was mired in an 0-for-27 slump when he was summoned to Boston for his major league debut.

Bates - who hits from the right side and is an imposing figure at 6-foot-4 and 230 - is above average on defense at first base. He can also play left field. Tonight, he is hitting ninth and starting at first base. Mark Kotsay's availability is uncertain since he is struggling with a calf injury. Here is tonight's starting lineup for the Red Sox:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Kevin Youkils, 3B
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jason Varitek, C
7. Rocco Baldelli, RF
8. Nick Green, SS
9. Aaron Bates, 1B

Starting Pitcher - John Smoltz

I'm going to write about some interesting Yankee prospects that are on the rise in this post. There is no specific order in case you were wondering. I will likely do this once a week to see how these prospects are doing in the minor leagues.

Before I begin there is some interesting news on International signing Gary Sanchez. It has been reported that Sanchez will be heading straight to pro-ball in the GCL league for the Yankees in about two weeks. This is interesting because most of these players signed in the international period usually start they're careers the following year in the Dominican Summer League.  I'm not sure if I can remember the last time a Yankee prospect reported to the GCL at age 16, a few weeks after he was signed. The Yankees must think that Sanchez is very advanced for his age.

Now it's time for prospect updates!

SS-Ramiro Pena, 23 years old (AAA)

In 2 games Ramiro Pena is 3 for 8 playing for Scranton. I wouldn't consider Pena a top prospect, but I'm sure he's probably someone people want to know about.

SS-Eduardo Nunez, 22 years old (AA)

66 Games: 6 HR/33 RBI/.316/.335/.431/BA/OBP/SLG

Nunez is probably having his best offensive season of his minor league career. Nunez is a strong defender, with decent batting statistics this year.  I don't think he's gotten as much raves as Pena has, but Nunez is younger by almost 2 years.  Nunez definitely has to work on his plate discipline if he wants to be a legitimate starting shortstop or back up infielder in the big leagues.

CF-Austin Jackson, 22 years old (AAA)

74 games: 3 HR/30 RBI/.318/.381/.438/BA/OBP/SLG

Jackson needs to cut down on the strike outs, 76 strike-outs in 74 games isn't something people want to see. On a good note, Jackson stroked 2 homeruns last week.

RP-Mark Melancon, 24 years old (AAA)

24 Games: 2.70 ERA/36.2 IP/42 SO/8 BB

Melancon continues to have a solid season. He will likely get another chance with the Yankees sometime later this year.  The league is only hitting .183 against this guy, that's nasty.

SP-Ivan Nova, 21 years old (AAA)

12 Starts: 2.36 ERA/ 72.1 IP/ 47 SO/ 31 BB (in Double-A)

1 Start: 0.00 ERA/ 5.1 IP/ 5 SO/ 3 BB (in Triple-A)

Nova was recently promoted to Scranton and pitched well in his debut, allowing 0 runs in 5.1 innings pitched. Nova is someone who I think will have an impact on the Yankees team some time next season. He is the pitching prospect that intrigues me the most when it comes to potential, and how close he is to major league ready.

C-Jesus Montero, 19 years old (AA)

23 Games: 5 HR/15 RBI/.329/.400/.553/BA/OBP/SLG

Montero has been scorching hot lately, hitting 5 homeruns in a four game span ( June 28th-July 2nd).  That gives Montero 13 Homeruns between Single-A and Double-A this season. HE'S A MONSTER!

RP-Michael Dunn, 25 years old (AA)

24 Games: 4.07 ERA/ 48.2 IP/67 SO/ 30 BB

The lefty-reliever known as Michael Dunn has some electric stuff. He has had some control issues, but his strike out totals are hard to ignore.  There aren't many Yankee reliever prospects that have more upside than this guy.

SP-Zach McAllister, 21 years old (AA)

14 Starts: 1.79 ERA/ 80.2 IP/ 66 SO/ 23 BB

McAllister's beat expectations this season putting up some very good numbers in Trenton (Double-A), making him a valuable prospect or trading piece as some have said. I think McAllister should get a chance to pitch in Scranton soon. He has dominated enough in Double-A.

SP-Jeremy Bleich, 22 years old (AA)

14 Starts in Single-A: 3.40 ERA/ 79.1 IP/ 56 SO/ 22 BB

2 Starts in Double-A: 6.35 ERA/11.1 IP/ 10 SO/ 5 BB

Bleich was the Yankees supplemental first round pick in last year's First Year Player Draft. He pitched well enough in Tampa to get a promotion to Double-A recently. In his first start after being called up he didn't pitch well, allowing 5 runs in 5 innings, however he bounced back with a quality start (3 earned runs) yesterday.  Bleich has been rising through the farm system quickly as expected. He is probably on pace to make his debut next season for the Yankees. I'm still not very impressed with Bleich either way.

SP-Mannuel Banuelos, 18 years old (low A)

14 Starts: 2.20 ERA/ 73.2 IP/ 66 SO/ 15 BB

Bannuelos was picked for the Futures Game not too long ago. Bannuelos has exceeded expectations, pitching very well for the Charleston River Dogs in A-ball. The reason this is very surprising is because he is only 18 years old dominating competition that on average are around 2 years older than him. He will likely crack the top 10 Yankee Prospects list at the end of this season.

C-Austin Romine, 20 years old (High A)

71 Games: 11 HR/46 RBI/.287/.317/.489/BA/OBP/SLG

Romine has continued where he left off last season, playing solid defense as a catcher and showing promising power hitting 11 homeruns so far. The only thing that worries me is Romine's lack of plate discipline. Granted players plate discipline usually gets better with age, so maybe there is nothing to worry about.

3B-Brandon Laird, 22 years old (High A)

71 Games: 6HR/44 RBI/.252/.313/.378/BA/OBP/SLG

Laird has been a dark horse prospect since entering the Yankees farm system.  I still think he is someone to at least pay attention to, although he hasn't played well this season, it finally looks like he's ready to turn it around after hitting .355 in his last 10 games with 2 homeruns.

SP-Dellin Betances, 21 years old (High A)

11 Starts: 5.48 ERA/ 44.1 IP/ 44 SO/ 27 BB

Betances has a big frame standing at 6'8, which has hurt his mechanics. For the past few seasons it's been difficult for him to repeat his delivery consistently, resulting in a lot of walks and an awful ERA. Betances has a lot of talent, but I'm beginning to doubt he will ever meet his potential. If he ever max's out his potential, your talking about a very, very dangerous pitcher. Betances is on the DL right now, maybe we can just call this a bad year.

SP-Andrew Brackman, 23 years old (Low A)

15 Starts: 5.35 ERA/ 72.1 IP/70 SO/52 BB

Brackman like Betances is very tall, and has the same kind ofpotential and mechanical problems. Brackman is coming off of TJ surgery, and it usually takes players another year to make a full return. I think he will likely pitch much better next season, I'll give him a pass this year.

SP-Brett Marshall, 18 years old (Low A)

15 Starts: 5.59 ERA/ 77.1 IP/51 SO/ 32 BB

Marshall is the youngest Yankee pitching prospect to go from the First Year Player Draft to Single-A Charleston since Phil Hughes did it a few years ago. Sadly he has pitched nothing like Phil Hughes. The statistics tell the story, a 5.59 ERA is not getting the job done.

SP-Arodys Vizcaino, 18 years old (Staten Island)

4 Starts: 3.31 ERA/ 16.1 IP/ 24 SO/ 7 BB

It's is finally time that I can say Vizcaino is a legitimate prospect. Vizcaino has a very high ceiling, and is probably the most exciting pitching prospect the Yankees have in their farm system. He is far from major league ready though, I'd say give him 3-4 years. He didn't pitch very well today allowing 3 runs in 4 innings, striking out 3.

OF-Neil Medchill, 21 years old (Staten Island)

14 Games: 3 HR/8 RBI/.347/.377/.633/BA/OBP/SLG

Medchill has some big time power from the left side of the plate, and he has shown us that this season blasting 3 homeruns in his first 14 games. Medchill was the Yankees 11th round pick in this year's draft. It should be interesting to see how he progresses through the minors. He seems to be too advanced for this league.

C-Kyle Higashioka, 19 years old (Staten Island)

12 Games: 0 HR/5 RBI/.273/.340/.341/BA/OBP/SLG

Higashioka is one of several talented catchers in the Yankees farm system. He hasn't quite hit his stride yet, but I'm sure his numbers will look much better before the season's over.

OF-Kelvin De Leon, 18 years old (GCL)

8 Games: 2 HR/ 4 RBI/.345/.406/.586/BA/OBP/SLG

Kelvin De Leon is another prospect who I would now consider legit. After having a very good season in the DSL (Dominican Summer League) he seems to be providing the Yankees with something they need in their farm system, a power bat corner-outfielder. Hopefully he can continue to develop and become one of the better prospects in baseball.

CF-Eduardo Sosa, 18 years old (GCL)

7 Games: 1 HR/6 RBI/.286/.346/.571/BA/OBP/SLG

Sosa, like De Leon is coming off of a very good year in the DSL, and is picking up where he left off.  Sosa probably doesn't have the same potential as De Leon from a power hitting stand point, but he does project to have decent power. Sosa is an above average defender with plus-plus speed in centerfield. If him and De Leon continue they're production, we should see two very good players in the future.

OF-Ramon Flores, 17 years old (GCL)

7 Games: 0 HR/ 0 RBI/.167/.231/167/BA/OBP/SLG

Flores was one of the Yankees top signings in the international signing period in 2008. At the moment Flores is the Youngest player on the GCL Yankees. He hasn't hit well in his first few games after being promoted from the DSL league, but I think his numbers will improve before the season is over.

OF-Yeicok Calderon, 17 years old (DSL)

22 Games: 1 HR/12 RBI/.329/.451/.429/BA/OBP/SLG

Calderon was the other top signing from last year's international signing period. He has played well in the dominican summer league up to this point. Hopefully Calderon keeps it up, so we can have another good prospect in the minors.

There are a few more interesting names like D.J Mitchell and Garrison Lassiter, but I like the players I've mentioned above more.  Also if you were looking for Jairo Heredia or George Kontos on this list, you won't find them because they are on the disabled list.

The Red Sox are perennial World Series contenders and boast one of the game's deepest and most talented farm systems because of their superb player development personnel and their commitment to spending money on high schoolers and college players in the major league draft, and on international free agents. Better to open your wallet for prospects you can develop and keep under cost-effective team control than take a risk at spending $80-plus million per deal and committing long-term contracts for established major leaguers.

The major league draft is an exciting time for the Red Sox because of all the shiny new presents that are placed under the tree. The international free agent signing period, which opened last week, is reason for more exhilaration among Red Sox die-hards who closely follow the farm system. According to multiple media outlets, the Sox will sign Dominican shortstop Jose Gregorio Vinicio to a $2 million bonus and Dominican left-handed pitcher Victor Payano to a $900,000 bonus. Jorge Arangure of ESPN The Magazine reported that Boston has reached an agreement with Dominican right-handers Raul Alcantara and Mario Alcantara.

Clay Buchholz and Michael Bowden, both of whom were selected in the major league draft, are Boston's top two pitching prospects. However, an assortment of highly regarded pitchers within the organization were signed as international free agents. Here are seven names you should get to know:

1. Junichi Tazawa - The 23-year-old right-hander, who was signed by the Red Sox last off-season as an amateur out of Japan, was coveted by the Braves and Rangers. Both teams offered him more money, and chances are he would be pitching in the majors right now had he signed with Atlanta or Texas. Yet he chose Boston because of his admiration for Daisuke Matsuzaka. Tazawa impressed Terry Francona and John Farrell in spring training with his command and poise, and he has been so consistent in his first season of professional baseball that he was recently selected to pitch for the World team in the upcoming Futures Game, and he was named an Eastern League All-Star. At Double-A Portland, Tazawa is 7-5 with a 2.85 in 15 starts and 82 innings. He has allowed 70 hits, struck out 77, walked just 25 and limited opposing hitters to a .230 average. With Buchholz, Bowden, Tazawa and Casey Kelly, the Sox have four premiere starting pitching prospects.
2. Stolmy Pimentel - The organization's 2007 Latin Program Pitcher of the Year, Pimentel is 19 and pitching well at Single-A Greenville. The Dominican right-hander is 7-3 with a 2.77 ERA in 13 starts and 68.1 innings. Pimentel has served up 82 hits and opposing hitters have a .301 average against him, but he has limited the damage, as his ERA suggests. He was roughed up in his last start (five runs and eight hits in five innings), but he recently had a string of nine starts that saw him allow no runs three times, one run four times and three runs twice. Remember, Pimentel is only 19 and is pitching at a higher level than most arms his age. He features a low 90s two-seamer and a plus change-up and curve. Like Tazawa, Pimentel doesn't issue many walks. Pimentel has a high ceiling, and he has the potential to climb Boston's minor league ladder like Felix Doubront.
3. Felix Doubront - At 21, the left-handed Doubront pitched just three games in advanced Single-A last season after a solid campaign at Greenville. This year, the Sox opted to put him in the rotation at Double-A Portland rather than advanced Single-A Salem. Doubront has responded nicely. Using a deceptive delivery, he throws a fast ball that ranges from 87-91, a curve and a change-up. Selected out of Venezuela in 2004 and named the Red Sox Latin Program Pitcher of the Year in 2005, Doubront is 5-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 15 starts and 63 innings. He has allowed 64 hits, fanned 62, walked 29 and held opposing hitters to a .257 average. Next year, Triple-A Pawtucket's rotation could include Bowden, Tazawa and Doubront, giving the Red Sox ample insurance.
4. Manny Rivera - Like Pimentel and Doubront before him, the 19-year-old Rivera received Red Sox Latin Program Pitcher of the Year honors. The left-hander was recognized for his performance last year. Selected out of the Dominican Republic in 2006, Rivera has moved from the Dominican Summer League Red Sox last season to the Gulf Coast League Red Sox in 2009. He has not allowed a run in two appearances and nine innings. The GCL just recently started its season. Rivera has averaged more than a strikeout per inning in his two DSL seasons. He has nine punchouts in his first nine GCL frames. Rivera combines velocity, command and control. Perhaps he will get a taste of the New York-Penn League with Lowell before the summer is over.
5. Roman Mendez - The Dominican right-hander turns 19 later this month. He was so impressive in his first Dominican Summer League season last year that the Sox moved him to the Gulf Coast League this summer. Mendez has continued his dominance. In three games and 14 innings, he has surrendered one run and four hits for a 0.64 ERA and an .089 batting average against. His fast ball ranges from the high 80s to 94, and his change-up and slider are still in development. 
6. Raynel Vellete - The 18-year-old righty is thriving in his second DSL season. So far, he has a 2.33 ERA in six starts and 27 innings, allowing 18 hits and striking out 23. Likely, either Vellete (signed out of the Dominican Republic last year) or Nestor Lastreto (a 19-year-old lefty out of Venezuela who has a 1.78 ERA in seven starts this season) will earn Red Sox 2009 Latin Program Pitcher of the Year honors.
7. Armando Zerpa - The lone reliever on this list, Zerpa is a lefty who was signed out of Venezuela in 2004 and is in his sixth season in the Red Sox organization. He struggled with control problems, thus the reason it has taken him awhile to ascend through the system, but he has improved in that area. Zerpa is especially effective against lefties, though this season he has held righties to a .144 average. Overall, he has limited opposing hitters to a .121 average while posting a 0.86 ERA in 20 games and 47.1 innings at Single-A Greenville. The 22-year-old Zerpa has 49 strikeouts and 13 walks. It will be interesting to see how he performs when he gets a promotion to advanced Single-A Salem where he will face more age appropriate competition.

Let me start by saying, a win is a win. I could not care less how sloppy the game was. And truth be told, the Yankees weren't sloppy, Joba was. I was at the game yesterday (sitting in section 208), and it was clear from the start that Joba did not have it, again. He started off the game with a walk, and that was it for the first, but it took him around 25 pitches. You just knew that it was going to be one of those games. Joba breezed through the second inning, but then the 3rd inning was when things really started to unravel. He got an out, then gave up a double, then got the second out, but then gave up a single then a 2 run HR. This closed the Yankees lead to just 4-3 (this game was no better for Brett Cecil, who last just 3 2/3 innings also.) Then in the 4th, Joba could have gotten out of the inning cleanly had it not been for Cody Ransom booting an easy double play ball. Instead of getting out of the inning, Joba became unglued and gave up 5 unearned runs (unearned runs count on the scoreboard, and that's all that matters.) Joba came out after throwing 86 pitches in just 3 2/3 innings. By the middle of the 4th, the Yankees' 4-0 lead had turned into an 8-4 deficit. However, it was early, and you knew the scoring wasn't done.

That the Red Sox rallied for a win this afternoon to salvage the finale in a three-game series against the Mariners offers some consolation. After all, you never want to see your team get swept, especially at home. Today's comeback erased the frustration of Friday and Saturday, when the Sox had a chance to win both games but lost when the normally reliable bullpen faltered.

On Friday, Boston plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game at 5-5. Nick Green's two-run double caromed off the top of the Green Monster, less than a foot from being a go-ahead home run. The Sox saw Ramon Ramirez serve up two runs in the top of the 11th and then, after George Kottaras ripped his first career home run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th, J.D. Drew singled but Dustin Pedroia grounded into a game-ending force out.

Yesterday, the Red Sox offense was hapless against Garrett Olson and two Seattle relievers, but Boston remained in the game because of another quality start by Brad Penny, who limited the Mariners to two runs and six hits over six innings. Takashi Saito provided the bullpen letdown on this day, walking the bases loaded in the ninth before allowing an RBI single to Chris Woodward. Former Boston reliever David Aardsma retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal a 3-2 Seattle victory, marking the fourth time in five games that the Mariners defeated the Sox in 2009. Each win was of the one-run variety.

This afternoon, it appeared that the Red Sox offense would continue its listless habits. Seattle carried a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the sixth, when Jacoby Ellsbury belted his sixth home run of the season. Dustin Pedroia (3) and David Ortiz (9) launched solo dingers in the first inning off power right-hander Brandon Morrow, who surrendered three runs and six hits in six innings.

Boston broke out of its funk in the seventh inning, and as has been the case for much of this season, the runs were scored with two outs. With two on and two outs, Ortiz lined a two-run single off Miguel Batista to tie the game at 4-4. Hard-throwing righty Mark Lowe was summoned, and he struggled to throw strikes. Jason Bay walked to load the bases. Then Ellsbury walked to give the Sox a 5-4 lead. Mark Kotsay followed with a two-run single, chasing Lowe in favor of Sean White. A passed ball permitted Ellsbury to score, giving Boston an 8-4 cushion.

Jon Lester was not spotless. He allowed four runs (one earned) and eight hits over 6.2 innings, but he did retire seven in a row before walking Ken Griffey Jr. with two outs in the seventh, when Terry Francona called upon Justin Masterson. Unlike Friday and Saturday, the bullpen was unblemished today. Masterson (1.1 innings) and Hideki Okajima (one inning) did not permit a base runner.

Boston's win allowed it to remain atop the American League East by one game over the Yankees, which won their third consecutive game over the fading Toronto Blue Jays. Now 49-32, the Sox prepare for a three-game series against Oakland. Here are the pitching matchups:

• Monday - John Smoltz (0-1, 6.00 ERA) versus LHP Brett Anderson (4-7, 5.45 ERA)
• Tuesday - Josh Beckett (9-3, 3.67 ERA) versus LHP Dallas Braden (6-7, 3.13 ERA)
• Wednesday - Tim Wakefield (10-3, 4.30 ERA) versus RHP Trevor Cahill (5-7, 4.55 ERA)

Notes and observations

• The batting averages of Jason Bay (.260), Kevin Youkilis (.301) and Nick Green (.267) continue to swoon. At least Dustin Pedroia (who was 3-for-5 today with a home run and a double and is hitting .290), David Ortiz (who had a home run and a two-run single today and has a .225 average) and Jacoby Ellsbury (who belted a solo home run and worked a key bases loaded walk in the seventh and is hitting .303) are producing. Bay has been striking out quite a bit lately. Ortiz looks comfortable at the plate. He clubbed the home run off Brandon Morrow's 96 miles per hour fast ball and lined the two-run single off Miguel Batista's 94 miles per hour heater.
• Not only is Jacoby Ellsbury hitting north of .300, but he continues to swipe bases. Ellsbury's stolen base yesterday gave him 35 in 2009 and made him the first Red Sox player to record 35 stolen bases in back-to-back seasons since Tris Speaker accomplished the feat from 1912-1914. Ellsbury is also the first American Leaguer to reach 35 or more stolen bases before the All-Star break in consecutive seasons since Rickey Henderson did so from 1988-1990. Tommy Harper owns Boston's single-season stolen base record with 54. Ellsbury swiped 50 bags last year and is poised to break Harper's mark in 2009.
• It's no surprise the the Red Sox are sending an array of player to next week's All-Star Game in St. Louis. Six Boston players were selected. Jason Bay and Dustin Pedroia were voted in as starters. Kevin Youkilis was chosen as a reserve. Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon were selected. When watching the All-Star selection show, the most gratifying feeling for many Red Sox fans surfaced when Tim Wakefield's name was announced. It will be the 42-year-old knuckleballer's first career All-Star Game. Wakefield, who is 10-3 with a 4.30 ERA, surpassed Roger Clemens for the most career starts in Red Sox history with his no-decision on Friday. No doubt that Wakefield deserves this honor, which was bestowed upon him by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, who is the American League skipper. Though Beckett and Jon Lester are pitching well now, and Brad Penny is delivering quality starts, Wakefield was the lone member of Boston's rotation to provide consistently good outings earlier this season. He has been consistent all year, giving the Sox quality starts in most appearances.
• Former Boston Globe baseball writer Gordon Edes, who is now with Yahoo! Sports, reports that the Red Sox are one of four teams that have contacted the Kansas City Royals about Mark Teahen. On paper, the 27-year-old Teahen appears to be a good fit for the Sox. He plays the corner infield and outfield spots, and he would give Boston another option since Mike Lowell will need periodic off days in the second half. Teahen also has some pop. He has nine home runs in 280 at-bats this year. However, Teahen hits from the left side, and if Boston brings him in, Rocco Baldelli is likely the odd man out. Mark Kotsay, who is a left-handed hitter, would serve as the fourth outfielder. With the switch-hitting Jed Lowrie likely to return after the All-Star break, (including Teahen) Boston's bench would feature the left-handed hitters Teahen, Kotsay and George Kottaras and one righty - Lowrie or Nick Green (Lowrie is likely to reclaim the starting shortstop job). Chances are, the Sox will acquire a right-handed bat (like Colorado's Garrett Atkins) if they want insurance in case Lowell's hip does not cooperate. Lowrie can play third, but that would leave the Sox without a backup shortstop, and there is no guarantee that Lowrie will be at full strength this season since he is recovering from wrist surgery. Of course, since Kotsay plays a solid first base, Kevin Youkilis is proficient at third and the right-handed hitting Rocco Baldelli is producing when called upon, the Sox do not have to make a trade.