Hindsight is 20/20 but the moves Boston Red Sox skipper Bobby Valentine made during the game last night almost cost his team the game.

Luckily for him, one of his later moves bailed him out when he had Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch-hit for Marlon Byrd in the 9th inning. All Salty did was deliver a two-run walkoff homer against Tampa Bay Rays closer Fernando Rodney to give the home team a 3-2 win in dramatic fashion.

Obviously the Red Sox are in a strange predicament having to have Adrian Gonzalez play right field to keep both Will Middlebrooks and Kevin Youkilis in the lineup. Nothing against David Ortiz at all but having him on the team hamstrings Valentine’s decisions as what to do with three of his better hitters. If Middlebrooks had struggled when called up for Youk, it would have been easy to send him back to Triple-A.

Instead, Valentine is now having to find ways to keep all of his bats in the lineup at the same time.

So last night, Valentine put Gonzo in right and had Youk play first with Middlebrooks at third. Gonzo had volunteered to play right last weekend and did so in Baltimore as well. Last night he made his first start in the cavernous Fenway right field. During his six innings out there, he didn’t see the ball once. But we all knew he would be taken out of the game in the later innings especially with the game was tight.

But in a tight pitcher’s duel between David Price and Josh Beckett, Valentine made the switch a little earlier than I think we all expected.

After Big Papi had single Dustin Pedroia who reached on a walk to start the 6th, Gonzo laced a single to center that we all thought would easily score Pedey. Instead, a great throw from B.J. Upton nailed him at the plate to keep the game scoreless. Then Valentine made his move and inserted Che-Hsuan Lin as a pinch-runner for Gonzo. Lin would only get to third base on a Middlebrooks single that scored Big Papi.

The Rays would respond back in the 7th with two runs off of Beckett who had been cruising through the first six innings. But then the questions arose of would this move backfire.

When Lin’s spot came up in the 8th, he didn’t even get a chance to bat. Instead, Valentine pinch-hit Scott Podsednik for him. That move didn’t work out as Pods popped out to third. And as I stated earlier, Valentine was bailed out by the Salty walkoff homer.

We know this isn’t an ideal situation for the Red Sox to be in. But you’re paying Gonzo $154 million over the life of his contract. You got him for both his glove and his bat. Youk hasn’t played first base in a year or so. Wouldn’t you rather see Gonzo at first base than Youk with the game on the line? I know I would. And I have nothing against Youk playing there especially since he won a Gold Glove at first base.

Gonzo’s just the better first baseman.

Something tells me this isn’t going to be the last time this happens either. But it’s obvious the Red Sox need to do something with the situation.

The problem is they just can’t trade Youk, at least not yet. With him coming off the injury, he needs to play to show possible suitors that he’s healthy and can play on a daily basis.

You don’t want Middlebrooks sitting on the bench. He needs to play every day. He’s proven he belongs. But right now, the Red Sox may be better served with having Middlebrooks going back to Triple-A until a possible Youk move.

And before you crazy kids say anything, the Red Sox ARE NOT going to trade Middlebrooks. That won’t happen with Youk in the final year of his contract even with the Red Sox holding a club option for next year.

So as the days go on, we’ll just have to sit back and watch to see what happens.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

After winning on a walkoff home run last night, the Boston Red Sox look to take the rubber game of a three-game set this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Rays at Historic Fenway Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Rays television market, you can catch the game on Sun Sports. And if you don’t live in either market, you are in luck as TBS will have national coverage of the game outside of the Red Sox and Rays television markets. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Clay Buchholz looks to give the Red Sox another series win in his 10th start of 2012. In his previous nine starts, Buchholz is 4-2 with a 7.84 ERA. He’s made two starts against the Rays this season and is 1-1 with a 5.25 ERA (7 ER/12 IP). Buchholz has made 10 career starts against the Rays and is 5-3 with a 2.48 ERA.

Last year’s AL Rookie of the Year, Jeremy Hellickson, makes his 10th start of the season for the Rays. In his previous nine starts, Hellickson is 4-1 with a 2.73 ERA. He’s made two starts against the Red Sox this year and is 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA (6 ER/11 IP). He’s made seven career appearances (six starts) against the Red Sox and is 3-1 with a 4.42 ERA. Four of those appearances (three starts) have come at the Fens where he is 2-0 with a 5.60 ERA.

Here are today’s lineups:

28-19		23-23
1. Carlos Pena	1B	1. Mike Aviles	SS
2. B.J. Upton	CF	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Matthew Joyce	LF	3. David Ortiz	DH
4. Ben Zobrist	RF	4. Kevin Youkilis	1B
5. Luke Scott	DH	5. Adrian Gonzalez	RF
6. Sean Rodriguez	SS	6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
7. Drew Sutton	3B	7. Will Middlebrooks	3B
8. Will Rhymes	2B	8. Daniel Nava	LF
9. Chris Gimenez	C	9. Scott Podsednik	CF
Jeremy Hellickson	SP	Clay Buchholz	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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

Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s blast gives Red Sox walkoff win [Boston Globe]

Injury epidemic a pain in the neck [Boston Globe]

Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine rips Tampa’s coaching staff [Boston Globe]

Josh Beckett strong again for Red Sox [Boston Globe]

Hometown winner Alex Cobb lost in Red Sox-Rays scuffle [Boston Globe]

Pinch of Salt for Sox [Boston Herald]

Beckett in nice groove [Boston Herald]

Atchison’s hard work helps turn around ‘pen [Boston Herald]

Gonzo feels the pinch [Boston Herald]

Sun could be setting on Gonzalez’ RF stint [Clubhouse Insider]

Salty gives Sox sweet walk off homer [CSN New England]

Beckett sounds like a leader [CSN New England]

Saltalamacchia savors first walk-off homer [CSN New England]

Gonzalez not happy to be pulled [CSN New England]

Gonzalez back in right field for Red Sox [CSN New England]

Sweeney (concussion) hopes to play tomorrow [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 3, Rays 2 [ESPN Boston]

Gonzalez roams RF at Fenway for first time [ESPN Boston]

Ryan Sweeney could return to the Red Sox on Monday [Extra Bases]

Closing Time: Jarrod Saltalamacchia only needs to see two pitches to deliver win for Red Sox [Full Count]

The reason why Bobby Valentine took Adrian Gonzalez out in the sixth inning [Full Count]

Josh Beckett offered another not-so-subtle reminder [Full Count]

Jarrod Saltalamacchia Fights Through Dehydration, Launches Walk-Off Home Run for Red Sox [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Knows Baseball, From Beanballs to Walk-Offs, and Red Sox Respond [NESN.com]

Adrian Gonzalez ‘Not Happy’ With Early Exit, But Bobby Valentine Defends Decision to Yank Him [NESN.com]

Report: Roy Oswalt Was Eager to Work Out for Red Sox, But Would Still Rather Play for Cardinals or Rangers [NESN.com]

B.J. Upton on a Tear, Looking to Maintain Hot Streak Against Clay Buchholz, Red Sox [NESN.com]

Carlos Pena, Rays Express Confidence that Former Teammate Carl Crawford Will Impact Red Sox Upon Return [NESN.com]

Nava lives, learns, draws key walk in ninth inning [Projo Sox Blog]

Sweeney passes test, could play Monday [Projo Sox Blog]

Adrian starts in right for first time at Fenway [RedSox.com]

Crawford resumes swinging; not throwing yet [RedSox.com]

Returns for Sweeney, McDonald imminent [RedSox.com]

Kalish opens rehab assignment with Salem [RedSox.com]

Valentine bashes ‘immature’ Rays coaches [RedSox.com]

Dice-K strong in second rehab assignment [RedSox.com]

Buchholz aims to put Sox above .500 [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

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

photo credit: Getty Images, AP Photo, AP Photo

After falling last night 7-4, the Boston Red Sox look to get back to .500 tonight in the second game of a three-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays at Historic Fenway Park.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 p.m. and the game will be nationally broadcast on FOX to 25% of the country. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Josh Beckett looks to keep his good pitching going in his ninth start of 2012. In his previous eight starts, Beckett is 4-4 with a 4.38 ERA. He picked up the win in his only start against the Rays this season when he allowed one run in eight innings of work on April 13th. He’s made 20 career starts against the Rays and is 10-4 with a 2.84 ERA. He has not lost to the Rays at home since 9/27/06 and has not lost a game to them since 4/30/09.

David Price makes his 10th start of 2012 for Joe Maddon’s Rays. In his previous nine starts, Price is 6-3 with a 2.88 ERA. He was matched up with Beckett in that April 13th start and took the loss after allowing three runs in three innings of work. Price has made 11 career starts against the local nine and is 6-4 with a 3.43 ERA. Five of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 3-1 with a 2.51 ERA.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

28-18		22-23
1. Carlos Pena	1B	1. Mike Aviles	SS
2. B.J. Upton	CF	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Matthew Joyce	DH	3. David Ortiz	DH
4. Ben Zobrist	RF	4. Kevin Youkilis	1B
5. Luke Scott	DH	5. Adrian Gonzalez	RF
6. Drew Sutton	3B	6. Will Middlebrooks	3B
7. Sean Rodriguez	2B	7. Daniel Nava	LF
8. Jose Molina	C	8. Kelly Shoppach	C
9. Elliot Johnson	SS	9. Marlon Byrd	CF
David Price	SP	Josh Beckett	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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

Maddon: A lot of respect for Red Sox players [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Valentine quite unhappy with Rays coaches: ‘Unprofessional’ & ‘immature’ & ‘out of control’ & more [Clubhouse Insider]

Maddon tweets about Fenway fracas [CSN New England]

Gonzalez in RF Saturday night [CSN New England]

Red Sox Notes: Crawford, Sweeney, and Kalish [CSN New England]

Daniel Nava again has improbable impact on Boston Red Sox [ESPN Boston]

Valentine calls Rays coaches ‘immature’ [ESPN Boston]

Gonzalez to roam Fenway’s right field [ESPN Boston]

Bobby Valentine lashes out at Rays’ ‘immature and out of control’ coaching staff [Extra Bases]

Alfredo Aceves’ Ability to Lock Down Ninth Inning Makes Him Amica Pitcher of the Week [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Looking to Get Back on Track After Some Recent Struggles [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Rips Tampa Bay’s Coaching Staff, Calls Them ‘Immature And Out of Control’ [NESN.com]

Maddon, Valentine exchange salvoes about professionalism of coaching staffs [Projo Sox Blog]

Gonzalez starts in right field at Fenway Park for first time [Projo Sox Blog]

Podsednik was bunting for a base hit in the sixth inning Friday [Projo Sox Blog]

Facing Rays, Beckett looks to keep rolling [RedSox.com]

Kalish to begin rehab assignment tonight with Salem [SoxProspects.com]

Kalish: ‘It’s been such a long process’ [SoxProspects.com]

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

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images

The only thing hotter than the Tampa Bay Rays bats against Boston Red Sox starter Jon Lester were the tempers of the coaches of both teams in the 9th inning of the 7-4 win by the visitors.

After Franklin Morales hit Luke Scott in the 9th on the fourth pitch after throwing one behind him, another for a strike and another inside, Scott tried to make his way to the mound only to be stopped by Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Those two shared a shove with each other as the benches cleared but must of the jawing came between the coaches.

One of the Rays players, Carlos Pena, was seen having a verbal confrontation with Red Sox pitching coach Bob McClure. Most of the rest of it was the coaches of both teams having words with the players trying to keep the coaches from killing each other.

As I said in the post with the video, it was a scene at a baseball game I’ve never seen before.

As for the game, the Rays hit three homers off Lester and those ultimately proved to the difference in the game.

Matthew Joyce‘s grand slam in the 3rd was the big blow for Lester while the other two homers he gave up were of the back-to-back variety by Elliot Johnson (two-run HR) and Pena (solo shot).

Lester admitted he stunk after the game which he did. He had fallen behind Joyce 3-1 in the count and grooved a fastball for him. Even I probably could have taken that one deep (okay, maybe in my younger days when I took BP in New Haven on semi-regular basis).

The one thing that really seemed to hurt Lester though was the tight strike zone. Two of the runners who came around to score on the grand salami had reached base via walks by Lester. It did look as though he was getting squeezed.

The big problem out of all this though is that when Lester is getting the calls to go his way, he seems to get unnerved a smidge. And when that happens to him, usually bad things happen ie the grand slam last night.

There’s no doubt Lester is a great pitcher. His consistent numbers over the years prove that. But for him to become an elite pitcher, a true “ace”, he needs to be able to put those moments where he doesn’t get the calls behind him. And instead, use that anger in his pitching. So what I am saying here is, he needs to stay focused at the task at hand and that’s to get runners out without letting them cross the plate for a run.

The bullpen for the Red Sox was once again solid after Lester only went four innings. Scott Atchison allowed two hits over three innings while Matt Albers and Morales each went an inning with Morales striking out two.

The Red Sox offense did get the team back in the game scoring a run in the 5th on an Adrian Gonzalez double and two more in the 6th on a Marlon Byrd single and Mike Aviles sacrifice fly. The big problem was that they only managed four hits off of six Rays pitchers.

Three of them came off of Rays rookie starter Alex Cobb and the other one came off the third Rays pitcher Burke Badenhop.

With today’s game being just the seventh of 18 this season, we’ll see if this bad blood between the two teams lasts. There’s parts of me that wants it to and there’s parts that don’t. The only thing I really don’t want to see is something get hurt.

After that, have at it boys.

We’ll be back later on today with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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

Sox square off, but fall to Rays [Boston Globe]

Gonzalez at first; Middlebrooks odd man out [Boston Globe]

Maddon: Scrum was ‘cowardly’ [Boston Globe]

Rays light up Lester [Boston Herald]

Franklin Morales pitch sparks brawl [Boston Herald]

‘Pen pals do their job [Boston Herald]

Pena shows wisdom of unconventional ways [Boston Herald]

Maddon tweets Sox actions ‘idiotic, cowardly’ [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

Rays shell Lester, 7-4 [CSN New England]

Tensions boil over between Sox, Rays [CSN New England]

Lester lays egg; home struggles continue [CSN New England]

Rapid Reaction: Rays 7, Red Sox 4 [ESPN Boston]

Boston Red Sox get Joe Maddon, Tampa Bay Rays fired up with brawl [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Rays blast Jon Lester and the benches clear [Full Count]

Bobby Valentine: ‘Ghost of Fenway Past’ hit Luke Scott [Full Count]

Joe Maddon: A ‘weak, cowardly effort’ on the Sox’s part [Full Count]

Jon Lester calls performance ‘unacceptable’ after serving up three homers [Full Count]

Anthony Ranaudo on Fast Track to Fenway With Impressive Work in Red Sox Minors (Video) [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Makes Right, But Risky Call in Possibly Playing Adrian Gonzalez in Fenway’s Tricky Outfield [NESN.com]

Bobby Valentine Hoping ‘Ghosts of Fenway Past,’ Bench-Clearing Brawl Will Motivate Red Sox [NESN.com]

Red Sox-Rays Brawl Draws Joe Maddon’s Ire, While Franklin Morales Denies Wrongdoing [NESN.com]

Latest Chapter in Red Sox-Rays Rivalry Shows How Far Teams Have Come From Pedro Martinez-Gerald Williams Days [NESN.com]

Joe Maddon Calls Red Sox Ninth Inning Madness ‘Cowardly Behavior’ on Twitter [NESN.com]

Will the Rays Retaliate This Weekend for Friday Night’s Brawl With the Red Sox? [NESN.com]

Luke Scott Clarifies Fenway Park Comments, Says He Respects Ballpark [NESN.com]

Joe Maddon Annoyed With Red Sox Following Bench-Clearing Scuffle, Wonders ‘Who Put Out the Hit’ (Audio) [NESN.com]

Dice-K to start second rehab stint Saturday [RedSox.com]

Middlebrooks gets a rest; Adrian back at first [RedSox.com]

Ross feels he’s ahead of schedule [RedSox.com]

Benches clear after Morales drills Scott [RedSox.com]

Lester surrenders three homers in loss to Rays [RedSox.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the Tampa Bay Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

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

photo credit: AP Photo

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as the other sports the student-athletes engage in. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

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

UConn Football links

DC answered a question in his mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Mark Hinkley heading to Bryant [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

Jasper Howard’s Parents File $5 Million Claim Against UConn [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Maya Moore among players in limbo due to Ros Casares’ situation [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

2012 Paradise Jam Travel Package Information is Available! [UConnHuskies.com]

The Other Dream Team [Grantland]

Breanna Stewart named Parade’s national player of the year [Parade]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Carrier Classic Will Go On Without UConn [Dom Amore – Hartford Courant]

UConn transfer Roscoe Smith headed to UNLV [Jeff Goodman – CBSSports.com]

2012 Paradise Jam Travel Package Information is Available! [UConnHuskies.com]

Other UConn related links

W. Lacrosse. Lapham Named First Team All-Region For Second Straight Season [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Marzi Shuts Down Louisville in BIG EAST Second Round [UConnHuskies.com]

M. Track. DelliCarpini Reaches NCAA Championships Quarterfinals [UConnHuskies.com]

W. Track. Wilson Stamps Ticket To Iowa For NCAA Championships [UConnHuskies.com]

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

After enjoying a day after 20 straight games, the Boston Red Sox return home to kick off a seven-game homestand at Historic Fenway Park. They’ll begin tonight with the first game of a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays.

First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Rays television market, you can catch the game on Sun Sports. If you don’t live in either the Red Sox or Rays television market, you’re in luck as MLB Network will also have coverage of the game. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester toes the mound for the 10th time this season tonight. In his previous nine starts, Lester is 3-3 with a 3.95 ERA. He has not faced the Rays in 2012 and was 1-3 with a 4.32 ERA in four starts against them last year. Lester has made 20 career starts against the Rays and is 10-6 with a 3.91 ERA.

Alex Cobb makes just his second start of the season for the second place Rays. He picked up the win in his first start after allowing two runs in seven innings against the Atlanta Braves. Tonight will mark Cobb’s first career start against the Red Sox and at Fenway Park.

Click on the read more button below to see today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are today’s lineups:

27-18		22-22
1. Carlos Pena	1B	1. Mike Aviles	SS
2. B.J. Upton	CF	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Luke Scott	DH	3. David Ortiz	DH
4. Ben Zobrist	RF	4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
5. Matthew Joyce	LF	5. Kevin Youkilis	3B
6. Sean Rodriguez	2B	6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
7. Drew Sutton	3B	7. Daniel Nava	LF
8. Chris Gimenez	C	8. Marlon Byrd	RF
9. Elliot Johnson	SS	9. Scott Podsednik	CF
Alex Cobb	SP	Jon Lester	SP

And here is how the hitters have fared against today’s starting pitchers:

REFRESH OR CHECK BACK OFTEN AS MORE LINKS WILL BE ADDED BEFORE GAMETIME IF/WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE AND WILL BE BOLDED

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

Day off for Middlebrooks, but just a day [Clubhouse Insider]

Bag Guy Chronicles [CSN New England]

Lester and Pena [CSN New England]

Podsednik grateful for chance with Sox [CSN New England]

Middlebrooks staying at third [CSN New England]

A-Gon may play right at Fenway [CSN New England]

Podcast: Lucchino talks Bobby V [ESPN Boston]

Podcast: Bobby V checks in [ESPN Boston]

Gonzalez back at 1B; Middlebrooks to bench [ESPN Boston]

Pregame notes from Fenway Park [Extra Bases]

The world according to Joe Maddon [Extra Bases]

Kevin Millar on M&M: Have to praise Bobby Valentine’s creativity [Full Count]

Buddy Cianci on D&C: Curt Schilling situation ‘a comedy of errors’ [Full Count]

Bobby Valentine: ‘There’s a chance’ Adrian Gonzalez will see Fenway right field tomorrow night [Full Count]

Daniel Nava Looks to Continue Hot Hitting, Red Sox Hope to Cool B.J. Upton’s Booming Bat [NESN.com]

Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s Defensive Presence Major Factor in Success of Josh Beckett, Red Sox Pitching (Podcast) [NESN.com]

How Many AL East Teams Will Finish This Year Above .500? [NESN.com]

Roy Oswalt, Ryan Dempster Remain Options to Bolster Red Sox Rotation [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz Hoping to Reward Red Sox Offense With Better Outings Down the Stretch [NESN.com]

Pimentel getting different results in second crack at Double-A [Projo Sox Blog]

A Series Matter: Red Sox-Rays and Nerds [Projo Sox Blog]

Gonzalez likely to play right field at Fenway Park on Saturday [Projo Sox Blog]

Much-improved bullpens common bond between Rays and Sox [Projo Sox Blog]

Facing Rays, surging Sox look to move past .500 [RedSox.com]

Nick Fury Presents: The Fantastic Adventures of the League of Former Red Sox Managers! [Surviving Grady]

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

Photo credits: AP Photo, Getty Images

“Sunday MLB on TBS” continues on May 27 with an American League East match-up featuring David Ortiz and the Boston Red Sox hosting B.J. Upton and the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:30 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. Clay Buchholz (4-2) is scheduled to start for the Red Sox against Rays’ probable starter Jeremy Hellickson (4-1). Calling the action will be Dick Stockton (play-by-play) and Ron Darling (analyst).

In October, TBS will exclusively televise the American League (AL) and National League (NL) Wild Card games and will once again provide exclusive coverage of all four MLB Division Series (DS) and the American League Championship Series (ALCS).

TBS also is the exclusive home of the 2012 MLB All-Star Selection Show airing Sunday, July 1. The network will announce future games on its schedule coinciding with its selection windows. The games included in the TBS MLB package will not be televised in the team’s home television territory.

TBS has broadcast MLB games for more than 30 years, serving as the exclusive home of the MLB Division Series (DS) and one League Championship Series (LCS) since 2007 and home of Atlanta Braves coverage from 1977 to 2007.

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS SCHEDULE:

SUNDAY MLB ON TBS UPCOMING SCHEDULE: 

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

So far in 2012, the Boston Red Sox are 22-22 after 44 games. For comparison’s sake, they were 24-20 at the same point last year.

So what’s different about 2011 and 2012?

Well obviously the new faces and new manager. In both years, the Red Sox got off to horrible starts with the difference being that they got to .500 faster this year. The only problem being they haven’t been able to get over the hump.

Last year and this year as the weather has gotten warmer the Red Sox have played better. Lately, they have been playing some good ball with all the facets of the game working in their favor. Last year when they got over the .500 mark, it was the same thing.

One difference from last year was that when one of the facets wasn’t going their way, the others would step up and get the job done. While that wasn’t the case for the early part of the season this year, it has been lately.

The Red Sox are a good baseball team. They are not a great baseball team. They didn’t come in to this year with the same expectations placed on them. Although, here in Red Sox Nation, we expect them to win the World Series every year.

The one thing to me that has really cured the woes of the early part of this season is the bullpen.

The bullpen was a big reason for the slow start of the 2012 season. But collectively as a group, they have been pretty much lights out. Sure there has been a bump in the road or two but those little hiccups were nothing like what we saw early on.

Given the Red Sox have been battling injuries to key players, things could be a lot worse. Instead, they are 5.5 games behind the first place Baltimore Orioles and just 1.5 games out of one of the two coveted AL Wild Card spots.

I think we fully anticipate things getting even better for the Red Sox. Hopefully that starts tonight with the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town, a team the Red Sox have already taken 4-of-6 games from this season including 3-of-4 at the Fens.

One thing to watch for tonight is to see what Bobby Valentine does with his lineup.

When Kevin Youkilis returned from the disabled list, Bobby V moved Adrian Gonzalez to right field and put Youk at first base. That allowed Will Middlebrooks to stay with the club and man the hot corner.

But with the spacious right field at the Fens, Gonzalez could end up back at first with Youk at third and Middlebrooks on the bench. It’s not ideal for the Red Sox to keep Middlebrooks on the bench here and while he deserves to be up here, it may serve his development better by going back to the PawSox for the time being.

I know alot of people don’t want to hear this but I do think the Red Sox will move Youkilis sometime in June. They are not going to trade Middlebrooks even if he could bring a high yield or caliber of players. They can save money and get almost if not better production from Middlebrooks.

Youk is a fan favorite here in Boston so I think we’d all take it a little hard. But Ben Cherington needs to do what is best for this ballclub. And that is not to have Middlebrooks sitting on the bench here.

We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take at look at the overnight links from the media by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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

A trusty closer emerges [Boston Globe]

Matsuzaka cleared for a start [Boston Globe]

Bradley gets notice, but no promotion [Boston Globe]

Wary of fan anger, athletes largely avoid political fray [Boston Globe]

For all the troubles, Red Sox remain in chase [Boston Herald]

Adrian Gonzalez must turn on power [Boston Herald]

After awful start, Red Sox relievers getting outs [Boston Herald]

Power outage [Boston Herald]

Red Sox Role Players Carrying The Load, Keeping Team Trending in Right Direction [Tom Caron – NESN.com]

Lay off Bobby V. [CSN New England]

.500 at Fenway? [CSN New England]

Bobby V’s proclamation [CSN New England]

Jenny Dell Joins Red Sox Players at Hard Rock Cafe to Promote Commemorative Album [Jenny Dell – NESN.com]

Math backs Bobby V.’s ‘championship’ talk [ESPN Boston]

Boston Red Sox are the best last-place team in baseball [ESPN Boston]

Video: Cafardo on Ortiz, Sox back at .500 [Extra Bases]

How Che-Hsuan Lin became the most famous defensive replacement in the world [Full Count]

Debunking myths about Daniel Bard’s velocity [Full Count]

Opinion: In the end, Curt Schilling was only about Curt Schilling [Full Count]

Will Middlebrooks Recognizes Father With Stevie Ray Vaughan At-Bat Music, Ryan Sweeney Gets Down With Drake [NESN.com]

Kevin Youkilis Pays Visit to Patriots, Brother-in-Law Tom Brady During Practice [NESN.com]

Carl Crawford, Kelly Shoppach Enjoyed Joe Maddon’s Road Outfit Costumes, Loved Miami Vice Attire [NESN.com]

Beyond the radar gun: The evolution of Josh Beckett [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSN New England,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

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photo credit: Getty Images