Tim Wakefield went out and pitched a gem for the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon and left with a chance to get his first win of the season. Instead, the bullpen imploded and the Red Sox finished up their 10-game homestand with a 7-6 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

And that’s not even the best part.

After the game, skipper Terry Francona made the official announcement that Wake will be heading to the bullpen to make room for Daisuke Matsuzaka in the starting rotation. Francona did say this was a “temporary move” and that Wakefield is still a starter.

As I said the other day, I’m surprised the Red Sox didn’t send Clay Buchholz to Triple-A as he still has an option left. The Red Sox must have felt that Buchholz in Triple-A would have hurt his development as he showed last year he had nothing left to prove at the level.

Someone had to go though from the rotation and it’s unfortunate. You have to think part of the reason behind adding Dice-K to the rotation are financial. They have over $100 million invested in him. Let’s just hope that Dice-K can return to his form of the 2008 season when he won 18 games.

There are reports this morning that the Red Sox have signed Cuban free agent catcher Adalberto Ibarra to a major league deal. It’s believed to be a 5-year deal worth $4.3 million with a signing bonus of $1.5 million.

Ibarra has played first, second and third base for the Cuban club Camagüey but the Red Sox see him as a future catcher. Interestingly enough, the Red Sox already have prospects Mark Wagner, Dusty Brown, Luis Exposito and Tim Federowicz in the minors.

We’ll be back later with the lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day.

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

And if you must read the enemy paper, head over to the Baltimore Sun website. Or you can check out our Bloguin brother, the Oriole Post.

We’re trying something new… Each Monday, fellow Red Sox bloggers Matt (Fenway West) and Rob (The Bottom Line) will discuss the upcoming matchups for the Sox. You’ll get three different opinions on the key topics for the week and we want you to join the discussion too. Leave your thoughts in the comments and tell us what you think of this new feature.

The Week Ahead

April 26, 27, 28 @ Toronto Blue Jays
April 28 – Off Day
April 29, 30, May 1 @ Baltimore Orioles

1. Vernon Wells is carrying the Blue Jays offense on his back right. He leads the team with a .344 BA, 7 HRs and 13 RBI. He hits Josh Beckett well: 10 for 33 (.303) with 5 HRs, but had not fared well against Buchholz (2 for 12, .167) or Lester (4 for 18, .222). In other sports, coached often try to take the top performer out of the equation and make the other guys beat you… could that work for the Sox this week (i.e. don’t give him anything to hit)?

S&D: One man doesn’t make the team. Yes he’s off to a hot start but what’s to say that doesn’t change against Red Sox pitching. You have to pitch to him. Why put him on base with the ineptitude of our catchers to throw runners out. One less runner on base is one less stolen base.

FW: I think the Red Sox still need to pitch to Wells. Walking anyone is as good as a triple with the way Martinez has been going.

2. We’re likely to see who young lefties in Toronto in Dan Eveland and Brett Cecil. David Ortiz did not play again on Saturday night with another young lefty in Brian Matusz. Matusz probably has better stuff that the other guys, and Eveland has horrible numbers against the Sox (0-2, 17.36 ERA). He also owns a career BAA of .299 when facing lefty hitters. Cecil isn’t any better: 0-2, 12.00 ERA vs BOS and .281 BAA vs lefties. Both guys have pitched well so far this year, but should Lowell continue to get the start over Ortiz at DH in these games… or are these guys mediocre enough to give Big Papi another shot?

S&D: Let’s go to the numbers. Ortiz is 1-for-5 against Cecil with one home run and two RBIs while Lowell is 2-for-5 with a home run and 2 RBIs. Ortiz is 2-for-6 with a double and a walk against Eveland while Lowell is 4-for-5 with a 2 RBIs. I think I give Ortiz a shot against Cecil especially given the fact that he batted against Mark Hendrickson on Sunday and had a double. I would definitely have Lowell in the lineup against Eveland.

FW: I think Francona is now committed to a platoon situation at the DH and Ortiz will sit when a lefty is on the mound. Once Ortiz starts hitting well against RHP’s then Tito might rethink this, he has already made the move so I don’t see why he would go back to a situation that was not working.

3. Josh Beckett has been inconsistent so far the year and Jon Lester has been just plain bad. Lester had a solid outing his last time out, blanking the O’s through 5 2/3 IP, but he needed 113 pitches, walked 4 and couldn’t close out the 6th. He’s 4-3, with a 3.03 ERA and .202 BAA in 9 starts against the Blue Jays and will get his last start in April this Wednesday… is the worst behind him? Given his career numbers in the months of April and May, I don’t think his worst is behind him per say. I think as the month of May goes on, he’ll continue to get better but I expect to see a few rough outings along the way.

Beckett will get the nod on Monday. He seemed to be turning a corner after a rough Opening Night against the Yanks, but imploded against the Rangers for 7 runs on 7 hits, 1 HR and 5 walks. He’s a modest 3-5 with a 6.62 ERA in 12 starts against the Jays… which Beckett are you expecting on Monday: The guys who blanked the Rays and fanned 8 or the guy who coughed up 7 runs to the Rangers?

S&D: I think every time Beckett takes the mound, I’m expecting Commander Kickass Beckett. Honestly though, if he can go out and give the Red Sox a quality start I’d be happy right now.

FW: Lester always seems to be a slow starter and Beckett had stretches where he did not pitch well last season. Both of these guys are much better pitchers than they have been and should look more like aces this week. I am expecting Beckett to have his best start of the season on Monday. There is nobody on the team that will be more focused when the game begins. I wouldn’t want to facing Beckett if I were on the Jays, he’s going to make them pay.

4. Who do you guys think will be the MVP of the upcoming week?

TBL: I’m going with Youk… he seems to be coming out of the mini-slump he’s been in since week 1, with a few doubles and a big homer on Saturday. He’s a .261 career hitter against TOR, but he crushed them in 2009 with a .339 BA, 5 doubles, 5 ding dongs and 12 RBI. Then he gets the O’s again on the weekend… he was even better against them, hitting .394 with 6 HRs and 17 RBI in 2009 (and .424, 4 HR, 11 RBI in 9 games at Camden Yards).

S&D: I think Dustin Pedroia will be the MVP of the week. Since moving back into the two hole, he’s been the Pedey we all know and love.

FW: I am going to go with Beltre. He is starting to make some great plays in the field and the power numbers are going to come. He has yet to hit one out and is beyond due.

5. Matsuzaka makes his MLB debut against the O’s later this week. Make your prediction…

TBL: I say 5.0 IP, 3 R, 6 H, 3 BB and the win thanks to the bullpen.

S&D: I think Matsuzaka surprises us all and goes 7 innings, 2 runs on 4 hits and 1 walk with 7 strikeouts. Gets the win.

Make your prediction for Dice-K’s return to the Sox, tell us how you think the Sox should handle the Ortiz situation, or simply chime in with any thoughts you have about The Week Ahead. See you in the comments section!

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

UConn Football links

Hicks Heading To Detroit, Ryan To Miami [SOX & Dawgs]

Big East in the NFL draft [ESPN.com – Big East Blog]

Bills kept quiet about interest in Easley [Buffalo News]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

History may be on line at Maples [San Francisco Chronicle]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

UConn Men’s Only Hope Is C.J. Leslie [SOX & Dawgs]

Other UConn related links

Softball: Huskies Drop Sunday Matinee 5-1 To Syracuse [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Lacrosse: Hauswirth Lifts Huskies over Cincinnati Lacrosse, 12-11 in Overtime [UConnHuskies.com]

Desmond Conner of the Hartford Courant is reporting that UConn Huskies offensive tackle Mike Hicks is heading to Detroit to the Lions’ rookie mini-camp this week on a tryout.

Conner also reports that offensive tackle Dan Ryan is heading to the Miami Dolphins rookie mini-camp this week.

We’re still waiting to hear official word on where running back Andre Dixon and defensive end Lindsey Witten are going to end up.

There’s been a lot of misinformation out there as to Dixon as it was reported that he had signed as a UDFA with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This wasn’t the case as Conner reported on Sunday afternoon that Dixon had not signed with the Steelers and the reports were hurting Dixon’s chances with teams.

The UConn Huskies men’s basketball team has been missing out on the top recruits left and right during the spring signing period.

And now their only hope to land one comes in C.J. Leslie, a 6’9″ power forward from Holly Springs, NC, after Cory Joseph gave Rick Barnes and the Texas Longhorns a verbal commitment late Friday.

Joseph had been considering UConn, Villanova, Minnesota and UNLV in addition to Texas. He joins his Findlay Prep teammate Tristan Thompson with the Longhorns. An AAU teammate of theirs, Myck Kabongo, has given an oral committment as well as a junior.

Leslie, who is ranked No. 11 in the ESPNU 100 rankings, was in Storrs this weekend for an official visit and we can only hope that he decides that Storrs is the place for him to hone his skills.

He is also considering NC State, Florida, Oregon and Kentucky.

Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox 1:35 p.m. Fenway Park – Boston, MA SP: David Hernandez vs Tim Wakefield TV: NESN, MLB.tv Radio: Red Sox Radio Network

Afternoon Red Sox Delight – 4/25 [SOX & Dawgs]

As everyone knows by now, Texy over at Center Field is no longer doing gameday threads. Since I was a frequent visitor to there and know how much everyone enjoyed them, I decided to host them this year.

So for those who haven’t been here before, welcome. For those, who have, welcome back!! I hope you enjoy my new home here at Bloguin.

The Boston Red Sox mastery of the Baltimore Orioles continued on Saturday night as a they roughed up the O’s bullpen and then held in a 7-6 win. Today, the Red Sox look for a clean sweep of the O’s at Fenway Park.

First pitch for this afternoon’s game will be at 1:35 p.m. and will be shown on NESN in the Red Sox television market. The game will be broadcast on MASN in the Orioles television market. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2010 Red Sox radio network.

Tim Wakefield makes what is to be believed his final start as a starter for now. The rumors he’ll be heading to the bullpen to make room for Daisuke Matsuzaka in the rotation. Wake is making his fourth start of the year and is 0-1 with a 6.38 ERA. He didn’t face the O’s during the 2009 season. He’s made 46 appearances (33 starts) against the Orioles in his career and he is 15-13 with a 4.10 ERA and four saves.

David Hernandez is also making his fourth start of the year and is 0-3 with a 4.67 ERA. He’s made four starts against the Red Sox and is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA, with all of them coming in 2009 at Fenway Park.

Keep reading for lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and pregame links.

Here’s the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers in their careers:

The Red Sox made a trade yesterday with the Pittsburgh Pirates to bring back Jonathan Van Every for a player-to-be-named-later.

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