After yet another loss last night, the Boston Red Sox look to even up the series in the middle game of a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at historic Fenway Park.

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 Angels television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports West. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

It’s becoming old hat for Clay Buchholz as he looks to get the Red Sox back on the winning side of things in his 22nd start of 2012. In his previous 21 starts, Buchholz is 11-3 with a 4.19 ERA. He last faced the Angels in 2011 when he picked up a win after allowing two runs in 6.2 innings. Buchholz has made seven career starts against the Halos and is 5-2 with a 3.95 ERA. Five of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 4-1 with a 3.98 ERA.

Jered Weaver looks to keep the Angels in playoff contention in his 23rd start of 2012. In his previous 22 starts, Weaver is 15-3 with a 2.74 ERA. He took the loss in his only start of 2011 against the Red Sox after allowing three runs in six innings of work. Weaver has made 11 career starts against the Red Sox and is 2-5 with a 4.41 ERA. Six of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 1-3 with a 7.16 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:

63-60		59-64
1. Mike Trout	CF	1. Scott Podsednik	LF
2. Torii Hunter	RF	2. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF
3. Albert Pujols	1B	3. Dustin Pedroia	2B
4. Kendrys Morales	DH	4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
5. Mark Trumbo	LF	5. Cody Ross	RF
6. Howard Kendrick	2B	6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
7. Maicer Izturis	3B	7. Ryan Lavarnway	DH
8. Erick Aybar	SS	8. Mike Aviles	SS
9. Chris Iannetta	C	9. Pedro Ciriaco	3B
Jered Weaver	SP	Clay Buchholz	SP

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

NOTES: 

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

Torii Hunter: No questioning Carl Crawford’s desire [clubhouse insider]

Dice-K hoping to finish the season on a high note [clubhouse insider]

Red Sox to open vs. Yankees in draft of 2013 schedule [csn new england]

Valentine: ‘Difficult’ for managers to police PED use [csn new england]

Dice-K says he’s healthy, ready to start [espn boston]

Walking men? Not the Red Sox [espn boston]

Ask Nick: Will Bobby Valentine be back next year? [extra bases]

Why ending the sellout streak at Fenway Park would be good for the Red Sox [extra bases]

Red Sox have themselves to blame for how far they’ve fallen [tony massarotti – boston globe]

Tim Wakefield Donates $10,000 to Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon in Honor of Johnny Pesky (Video) [nesn.com]

David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia Proud to Be Associated With Jimmy Fund (Video) [nesn.com]

Adrian Gonzalez Beginning to Cool Down as Angels’ Mike Trout Stays Red Hot [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Wishes Red Sox ‘Got That Loss Back’ From Bartolo Colon’s Outing Against Them [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Admires Mike Trout’s Skills During Rookie Season, Calls Him ‘A Special Player’ [nesn.com]

Bobby V: Not manager’s job to ‘police things’ [mike petraglia – weei.com]

R.I. orthopedic surgeon: Six months would be “early” for a Crawford return [projo sox blog]

Only one reason Albert Pujols avoided elbow surgery but Carl Crawford didn’t [projo sox blog]

No word yet on Cook, Doubront, Matsuzaka and the Red Sox rotation [projo sox blog]

Buchholz aims to continue his strong August [redsox.com]

Tender tendons take time to heal [redsox.com]

Phillips: Valentine not to blame for Sox [alex speier – weei.com]

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

photo credits: ap photo, getty images

If the Boston Red Sox even want to make a run towards the 2012 MLB Playoffs, they would need to beat the teams ahead of them in the AL Wildcard standings as well play well against the other teams.

But after another Aaron Cook stinker, it’ll probably take a miracle for it to happen. Cook allowed five runs (four earned) last night as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim beat the local nine 5-3.

It’s probably time for the Cook experiment to end. He’s won just one of his last seven starts with one no decision mixed in there as well. And with Daisuke Matsuzaka looking solid in a rehab outing last night what do the Red Sox have to lose.

Neither Dice-K or Cook are under contract with the Red Sox next season and Cook isn’t doing anything special to show he deserves another chance. Dice-K’s tenure in Boston has been a roller coaster ride with lots of ups and downs. I’d also put the chances of him coming back next year at 0%.

But why not give him a chance given the amount of money that was invested him. The Red Sox should try and squeeze every last dollar out of him.

As we’ve come to expect when a starter has a stinkfest on the bump, the bullpen has been there to keep things stable.

Clayton Mortensen was solid in two innings of work while striking out three. Vicente Padilla returned from the disabled list with a clean inning and Alfredo Aceves kept the game close in the 9th.

Against a pitcher in Ervin Santana, who has strugged in his career against the Red Sox, they weren’t able to get much done offensively.

They left Cody Ross at second after his one out double in the 2nd inning. Santana struck out Adrian Gonzalez with runners on first and third in the 3rd inning. They finally got to him in the 6th inning after Ross worked a two out walk and Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 5-2.

The Red Sox would add another run in the 7th when Scott Podsednik scored off a wild pitch by Jordan Walden. They had runners on first and second in the 8th against Scott Downs only to see Mike Aviles ground out.

The clutch hitting the Red Sox have shown at times this season failed to show up yet again. They left eight men on base and were 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position. And when you get a craptastic start from your starter and combine that with those statistics, you aren’t going to win ballgames.

In the beginning I said the Red Sox would need to go on a run and beat the teams ahead of them. That was the positive side of thinking. The reality is that this team will not make the playoffs for the third straight year. They last made the playoffs in 2009 when the Angels swept in them in the ALDS.

Something needs to change with this team. I don’t know what that is. But something has to happen. For all the talent this team has, there’s just something missing. And if it doesn’t change over the offseason, we can expect the same thing next year as well.

Yup, we are at that point people.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

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

No traction [boston globe]

Trout’s rookie year goes swimmingly [boston globe]

Pitching change to Niemann is made [boston globe]

A vocal response from Pedroia [boston globe]

Aaron Cook out of sink in loss [boston herald]

Bobby Valentine explains firing [boston herald]

Carl Crawford a sensitive subject [boston herald]

Randy Niemann era off to familiar start as Sox fall to Angels [boston herald]

2012 Sox go against all Johnny Pesky stood for [boston herald]

Holy smokes: Angels beat Sox at Fenway, 5-3 [csn new england]

Cook struggles with Red Sox while Matsuzaka rolls in Pawtucket [csn new england]

Niemann ready to ‘go forward’ with pitching staff [csn new england]

Valentine: Cook’s sinker was working, just wasn’t placed well [csn new england]

First pitch: Time to look ahead in the rotation [csn new england]

Rapid Reaction: Angels 5, Red Sox 3 [espn boston]

Ross: ‘An honor to wear No. 6’ [espn boston]

Who’ll get September call? [espn boston]

Boston Red Sox struggle to figure dismal season out [espn boston]

Bobby Valentine on Randy Niemann: ‘What he brings is what is needed… a stabilizing force’ [full count]

Bobby Valentine is happy Carl Crawford showed fans he’s still ‘a very good player’ [full count]

Closing Time: Red Sox, Aaron Cook have sinking feeling in loss to Angels [full count]

As Felix Doubront, Daisuke Matsuzaka near return, Aaron Cook may lose rotation spot [full count]

Mike Aviles has a pretty good idea when we might see Carl Crawford playing again [full count]

Pedro Ciriaco, Daniel Nava Will Be Relied Upon to Fill Carl Crawford’s Void at Top of Red Sox Lineup [nesn.com]

Johnny Pesky Respected, Remembered by Visiting Angels as Proof of Ambassador’s Impact Across Baseball [nesn.com]

Fenway Park’s Outfield Poses Special Challenges to Visitors Unfamiliar With Odd Dimensions, Tricky Bounces [nesn.com]

After latest rehab start, Dice-K nearing return [redsox.com]

‘Rest in peace, No. 6’ — Pesky honored at Fenway [redsox.com]

Ellsbury starts at No. 3 spot for first time in career [redsox.com]

History repeating: Steve Phillips on Bobby Valentine’s ‘familiar’ situation [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.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the LA Daily News, LA Times and Orange County Register websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother Monkey With a Halo.

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

photo credit: getty images

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

Video: UConn defense [andrea adelson – espn.com]

S Gilbert St.louis Has Re-Joined UConn Football Program [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Holines decommits from UMass and commits to UConn [jim fuller – new haven register]

2012 Team Preview: Connecticut Huskies [bigeast.org]

Who to Watch Wednesdays: Connecticut RB Lyle McCombs [bigeast.org]

2012 Syracuse football opponents: A look at the Connecticut Huskies [syracuse.com]

College football recruiting 2012: Sha-ki Holines of Commerce to decommit from UMass Minutemen, pledge to UConn Huskies [Springfield Republican]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Women’s Hoops to Participate in Inaugural Basketball Hall of Fame Challenge [uconnhuskies.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Recruiting Spotlight: E.C. Matthews [kevin duffy – ct post]

Other UConn related links

Field Hockey. Huskies Picked No. 6 in 2012 Penn Moto/NFHCA Preseason Poll [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. No. 4 Men’s Soccer Hosts Media Day; On the Radio Wednesday [uconnhuskies.com]

M. Soccer. UConn Soccer Team Back, Confident This Season Could Be Even Better Than Last [hartford courant]

M. Soccer. Tyler Leeman ready to contribute for UConn [norwich bulletin]

M. Soccer. Huskies put all the elements together [soccer america]

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

After losing two-of-three in New York and going on 4-6 on the 10-game road trip, the Boston Red Sox return home for a seven-game homestand. They’ll kick it off tonight with the first game of a three-game set with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at historic Fenway Park.

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 Angels television market, you can catch the game on Fox Sports West. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Aaron Cook looks to get back on track in his 11th start of 2012. In his previous 10 starts, Cook is 3-6 with a 4.58 ERA. He last faced the Angels as a member of the Colorado Rockies back in 2010. All of three of his career starts against the Halos came as a member of the Rockies where he was 2-1 with a 2.86 ERA (7 ER/22 IP).

Ervin Santana makes his 24th start of 2012 for the Angels. In his previous 23 starts, Santana is 6-10 with a 5.59 ERA. He last faced the local nine in 2011 when he was 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA (5 ER/11 IP). Santana has made 10 career starts against the Red Sox and is 2-3 with a 4.27 ERA. Seven of those starts have come at the Fens where he is 1-2 with a 4.12 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:

62-60		59-63
1. Mike Trout	CF	1. Pedro Ciriaco	3B
2. Torii Hunter	RF	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. Albert Pujols	1B	3. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF
4. Kendrys Morales	DH	4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
5. Mark Trumbo	LF	5. Cody Ross	RF
6. Howard Kendrick	2B	6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia	C
7. Alberto Callaspo	3B	7. Daniel Nava	DH
8. Erick Aybar	SS	8. Mike Aviles	SS
9. Chris Iannetta	C	9. Scott Podsednik	LF
Ervin Santana	SP	Aaron Cook	SP

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

NOTES: As you can tell from the lineup, Nava has been activated from the disabled list. To make room on the 25-man roster for him, Carl Crawford has been placed on the disabled list.

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

Thoughts on Johnny Pesky [boston herald]

Bobby Valentine: Randy Niemann will provide “a nice, stabilizing force” [clubhouse insider]

State of the Red Sox notebook: Tuesday, August 21 [csn new england]

Valentine on McClure dismissal: Time for a new voice [csn new england]

Ellsbury to hit third for first time vs. Angels [csn new england]

Nava activated, will DH; Podsednik in left field [csn new england]

Notes: Red Sox to all wear No. 6 to honor Johnny Pesky [csn new england]

Red Sox return home to take on Angels [espn boston]

Ortiz not writing off rest of season [espn boston]

Nava back from DL, starting as DH [espn boston]

Valentine on McClure: Seeking new voice [espn boston]

Daniel Nava set to return from disabled list [extra bases]

A night to remember Johnny Pesky [extra bases]

Red Sox podcast: Late changes [extra bases]

Fenway Park Cuts No. 6 Into Grass Behind Shortstop to Honor Johnny Pesky (Photo) [nesn.com]

Terry Francona Would Like to Manage Again, But Only Under Right Circumstances [nesn.com]

Adrian Gonzalez, Mike Trout Face Off in Red Sox Homestand That Calls for Plenty of Offense [nesn.com]

Johnny Pesky’s Memory Still Very Much Alive at Fenway Park Beyond Tuesday’s Ceremony [nesn.com]

Mike Trout Makes First-Ever Visit to Fenway Park as Angels’ Phenom Takes in Unparalleled Rookie Success [nesn.com]

Bobby V: Fired McClure ‘was my choice’ [mike petraglia – weei.com]

As call-up to majors nears, Bard still fighting inconsistency [projo sox blog]

What was wrong with McClure? [projo sox blog]

Red Sox open homestand in 12th place [projo sox blog]

Valentine elaborates on dismissal of pitching coach McClure [projo sox blog]

With Crawford undergoing surgery, Nava activated [projo sox blog]

Ellsbury batting third [projo sox blog]

Red Sox honor Pesky in pregame ceremony [projo sox blog]

Cook up first as Red Sox play host to Halos [redsox.com]

Nava, Padilla activated, Crawford to DL [alex speier – weei.com]

Bobby V: Ellsbury’s ‘mis-hit a lot of balls’ [alex speier – weei.com]

Sox will be fine when Beckett, Bobby V. go [touching all the bases]

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

photo credits: getty images, getty images

While I was in a battle with technology the past few days (it won obviously), let’s recap what I missed.

The Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Yankees on Sunday night 4-1. The Red Sox announced that they had fired pitching coach Bob McClure on Monday afternoon. And later in the day, the world’s worst kept secret of Carl Crawford needing Tommy John surgery was made official.

Well, I can’t talk about the game on Sunday because I didn’t see a lick of it. I can tell you the loss pretty much kills any hope the Red Sox had. They needed to have a successful 10-game road trip. They didn’t as they went 4-6 with four of those losses coming to teams they were battling with (Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees).

The firing of McClure shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone. Besides the injuries, the Red Sox pitching, especially from the starters, hasn’t been there all season long. Yes there are bright spots in there but when you look at the overall picture, it’s been subpar.

But is McClure the real reason why the pitching has stunk? Not really.

He’s not the one out on the mound executing the pitches. He’s the one helping them make adjustments when something isn’t working right. So despite the fact he isn’t on the mound, the Red Sox needed a fall guy for the bad pitching and it was McClure.

Sure it’s not probably fair to him but coaches are usually the first one to go when something doesn’t go right.

As far as Crawford goes with the TJ surgery, I wish they hadn’t waited this long. With a potentional recovery of nine months, it’s likely Crawford could miss the first month of the season. Had they not waited, Crawford would have been ready for 2013 because yes folks that’s where we are at in regards to the 2012 season.

There are going to be some fans out there that are pissed that Crawford is going to miss the rest of the 2012 season. I am not one of them.

While I have my reasons above for wanting him to have gotten the surgery earlier, you have to admire him for trying to play through the injury. Obviously his poor 2011 season, his first with the local nine, may have factored into it a little. But he went out there and tried his best to get through things but unfortunately the injury won out.

He was able to get 31 games in this year hitting .282 with three home runs, 19 RBIs and five stolen bases. Basically, he showed us what he can do. Had he been healthy for the entire season, there’s no doubt in my mind that we would have seen the Crawford of old. We saw glimpses of it in the 31 games and remember he was playing hurt.

Obviously this isn’t the way that Crawford and the Red Sox thought how the 2012 would go. But it is what is and now we move forward.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

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

McClure fired by Red Sox [boston globe]

Communication gaps bedeviling Red Sox [boston globe]

Season is over for Crawford [boston globe]

Players, family give their final cheer to legend Johnny Pesky [boston herald]

Club finally facing up to grim reality [boston herald]

Red Sox GM knows bigger fixes needed [boston herald]

Carl Crawford surgery Thursday [boston herald]

Hello, Randy Niemann [boston herald]

Examining the reason the Red Sox fired their pitching coach [rob bradford – weei.com]

First pitch: End of the road for Red Sox [csn new england]

Crawford set for Tommy John surgery Thursday [csn new england]

Red Sox fire pitching coach Bob McClure [csn new england]

Schilling: Social media isn’t helping Sox [espn boston]

McClure out as pitching coach [espn boston]

Highlights from Ben Cherington’s conference call discussing Bob McClure, Carl Crawford [full count]

Deep-sixing the Red Sox [tony massarotti – boston globe]

Bob McClure Not to Blame for Red Sox’ Struggles, But Firing Pitching Coach Is Right Move [nesn.com]

Johnny Pesky’s Passing Honored One Last Time by Red Sox Family (Video) [nesn.com]

Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Will Middlebrooks Among Red Sox With Unique Charitable Endeavors [nesn.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.

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

photo credit: getty images

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

Preseason 2012 top 25 countdown: No. 10 Lyle McCombs [andrea adelson – espn.com]

DC answered a few questions in his mailbag [desmond conner – hartford courant]

Christen set to kick-off UConn football season [the hour]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Ann Strother Is Back In The Game [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Strother And Hartley Talk A Little 3 on 3 – USA Basketball Style [john altavilla – hartford courant]

ESPN Hoop Gurlz: Engeln To Boston College [john altavilla – hartford courant]

Why Is Diana Taurasi Not Playing In Phoenix? [john altavilla – hartford courant]

U18 Team Wins Gold at FIBA Americas Championship [uconnhuskies.com]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Recruiting Roundup: August 20 [kevin duffy – ct post]

For a mere $10 million you can name UConn’s basketball practice facility [the uconn blog]

Player Profile: Niels Giffey [uconn huskies basketball]

UConn Basketball: The Tradition Continues… [youtube.com]

Other UConn related links

W. Soccer. Skogerboe Leads UConn to 4-2 Win Against Vermont in Season Opener [uconnhuskies.com]

Softball. Alex Gray Announced As New Assistant Softball Coach [uconnhuskies.com]

Baseball. NYC’s top pitcher Zapata verbally commits to UConn [ny post]

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

How often do you go to a wedding in Charlotte, NC and there has to be a television so that people are able the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees? Well it happens when one half of the family involved in the wedding are Red Sox fans.

Unlike Friday night when everyone was coming to me for updates, it worked out on Saturday watching the game as Jon Lester continued his resurrection from his career-worst season as the visiting nine beat the Evil Empire 4-1.

After Adrian Gonzalez had gotten the Red Sox a 2-0 lead in the top half of the 1st with a two-run blast off of David Phelps, Lester took to the Yankee Stadium bump and got off to a rough start. He walked Derek Jeter and then allowed a single to Nick Swisher. But he recovered and struck out Robinson Cano, got Andruw Jones to ground out and then struck out Casey McGehee to end the inning.

Lester was strong after that though. The one big mistake he made was when he left a pitch out over the plate that Curtis Granderson blasted out of the park to cut the lead in half at 2-1.

He was tested once again in his final inning of work when Granderson doubled to lead off the 7th. Russell Martin grounded out to move Granderson up 90 feet but Lester got Nix to fly out to short right field keeping Granderson at third. He got out of any further trouble when Ichiro Suzuki grounded out.

The Yankees had another chance in the 8th when Nick Swisher singled off of Andrew Bailey. But Craig Breslow came in and got Cano to ground into a double play to end the inning. Alfredo Aceves worked around a leadoff single by Eric Chavez to preserve the win for Lester and pick up his 25th save in the process.

Before we talk about anything else, here’s an interesting tidbit for you. It had been 125 years since two members of the Yale Bulldogs made up the battery in an MLB game. Well it happened yesterday when Breslow and Ryan Lavarnway made up the Red Sox battery in the 8th inning.

We have to be realistic here. The Red Sox are a longshot to make the playoffs. There’s no doubts about that. Given how the races have gone in year’s past, you can’t rule out anyone within 10 games. The Red Sox are still 6.5 games out of the second wild card but aren’t dead in the water.

They’ll need to play good baseball over the final 41 games of the season. If they do, you can’t rule anything out. A win tonight against the first place team in the division would could go a long way. And it’s up to Josh Beckett to do just that.

We are going dark until tomorrow night since I’ll be in area today and most of tomorrow where there’s no cell service or internet until I fly back tomorrow night. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

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

Sox find some cheer in the Bronx [boston globe]

Farrell not one to discuss speculation [boston globe]

Crawford wants surgery [boston globe]

It’s always sunny side up for Marrero [boston globe]

Ciriaco keeps up clip [boston globe]

By looking better, Lester improves image [boston globe]

Jon Lester all aces as Red Sox win in NY [boston herald]

The need for speed [boston herald]

Report: Shoppach sent text [boston herald]

Red Sox’ Yale contingent helps Jon Lester break through [boston herald]

Daniel Bard battling to return to majors [boston herald]

Red Sox plenty Lucky to have him [boston herald]

Bobby Valentine says he’s not doing a good job [boston herald]

For starters, Sox’ finish not reliant on Carl Crawford [boston herald]

Agent says Carl Crawford will follow club doctor’s orders [boston herald]

Yanks have done it better than Sox [boston herald]

Scary start for Brian Johnson [boston herald]

Pitching woes have ‘X’ in spotlight [boston herald]

Resurgent Lester leads Sox past Yankees, 4-1 [csn new england]

Amid losses and dysfunction, Ross wants to come back to Sox [csn new england]

Red Sox notes: Valentine, Doubront, Johnson, Ortiz [csn new england]

Where was this in the first half from Lester, Gonzo? [csn new england]

Ciricaco (4-for-4) solidifies reputation as Yankee-killer [csn new england]

Report: Shoppach sent text on Gonzalez’s phone [csn new england]

Rapid Reaction: Red Sox 4, Yankees 1 [espn boston]

Sox supportive if Crawford picks surgery [espn boston]

Cherington ‘not itching’ for more trades [espn boston]

Cherington: Sox will recall Bard this season [espn boston]

Ciriaco makes good with bad (pitches) [espn boston]

Results starting to show for Lester [espn boston]

Yale Bulldogs alumni Craig Breslow and Ryan Lavarnway induce key double play as Boston Red Sox beat New York Yankees [espn boston]

Closing Time: Jon Lester dominates, Pedro Ciriaco unstoppable as Red Sox beat Yankees [full count]

David Ortiz Backs Bobby Valentine, Claims Outside Controversy Affecting Red Sox [nesn.com]

Carl Crawford Could Shut Himself Down Soon to Undergo Tommy John Surgery [nesn.com]

Jon Lester Paves the Way for Complete Effort From Red Sox Pitching Staff [nesn.com]

Faith, Hope and Pixie Dust May Not Be Enough to Save Red Sox’ Season [nesn.com]

How Pedro Ciriaco (with an assist from Robinson Cano) became an unlikely Yankees killer [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.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.

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

photo credit: reuters pictures

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

Mike Osiecki glad to be back at UConn; St.Louis leaving [jim fuller – new haven register]

It didn’t take Osiecki long to return to UConn football [ct post]

Safety Stlouis To Leave UConn, Pasqualoni Says [hartford courant]

Brief respite does world of good for Mike Osiecki [new haven register]

Sea alum McCombs to lead UConn in sophomore season [ny post]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Ann Strother named the U.S. 3×3 squad [jim fuller – new haven register]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Lamb, Drummond Learning About The NBA Life, On and Off The Court [dom amore – hartford courant]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. No. 4 Men’s Soccer Ends Preseason With 0-0 Draw Against Stony Brook [uconnhuskies.com]

Now as good a time as ever to end UConn-Boston College cold war [new haven register]

M. Ice Hockey. Participation In NHL Camps Likely To Boost UConn Hockey [hartford courant]

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

After falling last night 6-4, the Boston Red Sox look to make a statement in the middle game of a three-game set with the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast to 72% of the country on FOX. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to it on the Red Sox radio network.

Jon Lester will toe the rubber for the 25th time in 2012. In his previous 24 starts, Lester is 6-10 with a 5.20 ERA. He’s made two starts against the Skanks this season and is 0-1 with a 6.97 ERA (8 ER/10.1 IP). Overall in his career, Lester has made 19 starts against the Evil Empire and is 8-4 with 4.42 ERA. 11 of those starts have come in the Bronx where he is 6-2 with a 3.95 ERA.

David Phelps makes just his fifth start but 24th appearance of 2012 for the Empire. In his previous 23 appearances (four starts), Phelps is 3-3 with a 2.53 ERA. The rookie’s only two career appearances against the Red Sox have come this season where he has no record with a 4.50 ERA (3 ER/6 IP).

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:

58-62		71-48
1. Jacoby Ellsbury	CF	1. Derek Jeter	DH
2. Carl Crawford	LF	2. Nick Swisher	1B
3. Dustin Pedroia	2B	3. Robinson Cano	2B
4. Adrian Gonzalez	1B	4. Andruw Jones	RF
5. Cody Ross	DH	5. Casey McGehee	3B
6. Ryan Lavarnway	C	6. Curtis Granderson	CF
7. Scott Podsednik	RF	7. Russell Martin	C
8. Pedro Ciriaco	SS	8. Jayson Nix	SS
9. Nick Punto	3B	9. Ichiro Suzuki	LF
Jon Lester	SP	David Phelps	SP

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

NOTES: Mauro Gomez has been called up from Triple-A Pawtucket. He takes the place of Felix Doubront who has been placed on the DL.

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

Valentine: “I’m not doing a good job” [clubhouse insider]

Bard will rejoin Red Sox this season; Doubront to DL [clubhouse insider]

Cherington says Crawford hasn’t requested Tommy John [clubhouse insider]

Gomez called up; Doubront to DL [csn new england]

Cherington: Crawford ‘hasn’t asked’ about surgery [csn new england]

Amid losses and dysfunction, Ross wants to come back to Sox [csn new england]

For the Red Sox, tough road to .500 [extra bases]

Source: Crawford will ask to get elbow surgery [extra bases]

Opinion: Jason Varitek would be wrong choice to replace Bobby Valentine [full count]

Cherington: Crawford hasn’t requested Tommy John surgery [full count]

Red Sox Place Felix Doubront on Disabled List, Will Likely Activate Him Next Week [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Assesses His Managerial Performance, Admits ‘I’m Not Doing A Good Job’ [nesn.com]

Dustin Pedroia’s 12-Game Hitting Streak Makes Him Boston’s Hottest Hitter As Red Sox Look to Bounce Back [nesn.com]

Cherington: Crawford has not asked for TJ surgery [projo sox blog]

Doubront to DL; Gomez recalled [projo sox blog]

Back in Bronx, Lester looks to take down Yanks [redsox.com]

Sox prospect Johnson hit in face by liner [alex speier – weei.com]

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

photo credits: getty images, getty images

I may be in Charlotte, NC right now for my cousin’s wedding but I can honestly say that I’m surrounded by Boston Red Sox fans. So much so, that everyone was coming to me asking for updates on the game last night at the rehearsal dinner.  You see, the lovely young lady my cousin is marrying is from Massachusetts and so is her family.

Naturally everyone wasn’t too pleased when Franklin Morales forgot about Red Sox fans not digging the long ball against them and gave up three solo home runs in the first two innings of the game. They were very pleased to hear that the Red Sox had taken the lead when Dustin Pedroia hit a three-run blast in the 3rd to put the visiting nine out front.

Of course once again, I had to deliver some bad news when Derek Jeter hit a solo johnson to tie the game up in the 5th. And they were all none too pleased when the Yankees took the lead for good on a Jayson Nix bloop single. The last update they got from me wasn’t any better when I had to tell them that Nick Swisher had hit his second home run of the game.

Morales has done well for the Red Sox this season in ta starting role. But this is the second time the Yankees have light him up like the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in NYC. What that tells me is that Morales isn’t quite there yet. But he can get there, he’s got the stuff.

But for now, he’s just another average pitcher on a mediocre pitching staff.

Sure injuries have taken their toll on this team as a whole. But short of the turnaround by Clay Buchholz, it’s been the starting pitching that’s killed the Red Sox this season.

Too many times we’ve seen the Red Sox fall into a big early deficit and unable to fight back. We’ve seen the early leads for the opposing teams that the offense battles back from only to see the starter give it right back.

Because of this, the Red Sox haven’t been able to get on any type of roll. At the end of the July, the local nine closed out the month with four straight wins. The last time they had that many straight wins was when they won five in a row in the middle of June. During that stretch, it looked like they might be able turn things around.

Judging by the fact they are four-games under .500 in the middle of August, that hasn’t happened yet. And if I were a betting man, I’d say it probably won’t.

The Red Sox entered the final six games of this road trip with a chance to make a statement. Instead, they lost 2-of-3 in Baltimore and start out the Bronx portion of the trip. Couple that with losing three-of-four in Cleveland along with the mediocre starting pitching and there’s no chance the Red Sox make the playoffs this year.

That’s the only way the Red Sox have any chance of making it. The pitching needs to turn around and it needs to make that U-turn immediately. Last year I wrote the Red Sox were a virtual lock to make the playoffs holding a 9.5 game lead in early September. Obviously we all know how that turned out. That’s why I won’t say NEVER.

But it’s hard to stay positive about a team when the dirty laundry of this team is aired out in public on what seems to be a daily, if not weekly, occurrence. How can we expect them to stay positive when someone has a grudge with this team.

One thing to remember. Some of this guys are playing for their jobs. Not only for this year but for next year and beyond. And while some of them might not stay with the Red Sox, they aren’t going to give up.

But if things don’t turn around quickly, most of this fan base will have given up, if they haven’t already.

We’ll be back later with today’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. So for now, let’s take a look at the overnight links from the media.

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

Yankees hit five homers to beat Sox [boston globe]

They’re hard to believe [boston globe]

Ortiz standing by Valentine [boston globe]

Morales can’t conquer Yankees [boston globe]

Sox go in deep end [boston herald]

Situation takes its toll [boston herald]

Yanks have Franklin Morales’ number [boston herald]

Sox-Yanks: Rivalry? What rivalry? [boston herald]

Red Sox still can’t match misery of ’01 [boston herald]

Club paying for David Ortiz’s absence [boston herald]

Red Sox lethargic in 6-4 loss to Yankees [csn new england]

Valentine: ‘(Morales) just wasn’t good enough’ [csn new england]

Sox folds becoming routine [csn new england]

Varitek floated as Valentine successor [espn boston]

Rapid Reaction: Yankees 6, Red Sox 4 [espn boston]

Takeaways from Sox’s loss in the Bronx [espn boston]

Boston Red Sox’s David Ortiz says Bobby Valentine shouldn’t shoulder blame [espn boston]

Closing Time: Yankees pummel Franklin Morales, Red Sox [full count]

Red Sox Could Place Felix Doubront on Disabled List With Minor Knee Situation to Provide More Rest [nesn.com]

Bobby Valentine Keeps From Blowing His Top Despite Mounting Pressure From Critics [nesn.com]

Franklin Morales Finding Yankees To Be His Achilles Heel After Second Tough Outing Against Them [nesn.com]

Red Sox’ Insistence on Finding Silver Lining Wearing Thin as Evidence to Contrary Piles Up [nesn.com]

Absence of Vicente Padilla-Mark Teixeira Matchup Stunting Excitement of Red Sox-Yankees Rivalry [nesn.com]

As Red Sox stagnate, time to play the kids for some fresh air [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.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over to the ESPN New York, New York Daily News, New York Post, New York Times and The Journal News websites. You can also check out our Bloguin brother, NYY Stadium Insider.

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