When the Boston Red Sox acquired Billy Wagner in a trade with the New York Mets, they knew they weren’t going to re-sign him. Sox GM Theo Epstein planned on offering Wagner arbitration so that if Wags declined and signed somewhere else, the Red Sox could get two draft picks.

Now it appears that might not happen at all as Wagner told the NY Post on Monday that he was thinking about retiring rather than chasing the elusive 400 save mark.

“I don’t plan on talking to nobody,” Wagner said, when asked where he might pitch next season.

Does that mean retirement?

“Why wouldn’t I?” he said. “I’ve got nothing else to [accomplish].”

This will be something to watch during the offseason as well given the fact the Red Sox were counting on getting those two draft picks. Now they may get nothing.

Wagner eyes retirement, not 400th career save [NY Post]

UConn Football links

Missing: One four-star wideout with big-play potential and a bushy tail [TheUConnBlog.com]

Coach’s intuition? [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Big East notebook: USF, Cincinnati in key tussle [Connecticut Post]

UConn Football: Recap Monday’s Chat With Desmond Conner [Hartford Courant]

Big East Notebook: No Quit In Louisville’s Kragthorpe [Hartford Courant]

Late-game ‘D’ needs to step it up [The Daily Campus]

Louisville hoping to build momentum against UConn [AP via Newsday]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Simmons headed to Rutgers [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Tina Shines/Eye On The Past [Rich Elliott – Connecticut Post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Countdown: 31 [TheUConnBlog.com]

Thabeet’s first start [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Return of a Champion; Ray Allen’s basketball journey brings him back to Hartford Wednesday night a champion [Middletown Press]

Other UConn related links

Men’s Soccer: Ford, Alvarez Earn BIG EAST Weekly Honors [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey: Melissa Gonzalez named BIG EAST Field Hockey Defensive Player of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

When Boston Red Sox GM Theo Epstein traded for Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians, it was expected that this would be more than a rental player. And after meeting with the media this afternoon, Epstein made it clear that VMart will be the catcher in the 2010 season.

In 56 games with the Red Sox, VMart hit .336 with 8 home runs, 41 RBIs and a stolen base. Overall in 155 games with the Indians (99 games) and Red Sox, he hit .303 with 23 home runs, 103 RBIs and a stolen base.

The Red Sox hold a $7.5 million option on Martinez and now that we know it will be exercised, what will Theo do with Jason Varitek.

The Captain has been the heart and soul of this team for the better part of this decade. What he brings to table with the pitching staff is unparalleled. But with his defensive skills on the decline and his offense mostly non-existent, Epstein went out and got VMart.

The Red Sox hold a $5 million team option on Varitek while he holds a $3 million player option. He can also earn $2M in 2010 performance bonuses ($0.4M each for 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 games started) if he exercises his option.

Epstein said on Monday afternoon that he will sit down with Varitek and his representative Scott Boras to discuss the Captain’s future. With VMart all but entrenched as the starting backstop in 2010, it will be interesting to see if Varitek will take to a backup role or look to move on with another organization.

Epstein looks ahead to the winter [Extra Bases]

The Big East Conference and ESPN announced on Monday that the game between the UConn Huskies and West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, WV on October 24th will kickoff at 12 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Robert Vaughn was all over the field making plays during the UConn Huskies loss to the Pittsburgh Panthers on Saturday afternoon. And now for his efforts, he’s been rewarded by the Big East as he was named the Big East Defensive Player of the Week.

Vaughn had ten tackles, including one for a loss and two interceptions. One of those interceptions of Pitt QB Bill Stull he returned for a 20 yard touchdown. The interceptions, the 11th and 12th of Vaughn’s career, are enough to be the most in the Big East among active players. The 12 interceptions is also good for fourth best in FBS.

UConn returns to action this Saturday when they will host the Louisville Cardinals at 12 p.m. at Rentschler Field in their annual homecoming game.

Pardon me for being a little quiet on here today. It’s been a rough weekend for me as the UConn Huskies football team lost on Saturday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox lost to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and then the student beat the teacher in the New England Patriots/Denver Broncos game.

All hope in Red Sox Nation yesterday rested on the right shoulder of Clay Buchholz. He went out and did his job as the offense broke out of it’s shell and gave him a lead. While he left the game after loading up the bases, his bullpen buddy Daniel Bard came in and bailed him out.

After another inning of work, Billy Wagner came on with a 5-2 lead and got into a little bit of trouble. Jonathan Papelbon came in to try and bail out Wagner but instead gave up a 2-run single to Juan Rivera. Papelbon got out of the inning after that and the offense added another run to make it 6-4.

With the way Papelbon had pitched during the season, a little scare while on the mound became normal to us. Only three times during the season did Papelbon blow a save and had a perfect ERA during the postseason.

So as he got into trouble during the 9th, the thought of him blowing the game came to everyone’s minds. But when it happened, you could hear the collective breath of all of New England and Red  Sox Nation be held. Kind of like seeing something and not believing what you had just witnessed.

Papelbon came off the fields to boos, which may have been appropriate at the time but were totally uncalled for. How many times has Papelbon saved the game and he’s been cheered. I really thought Red Sox fans were better than that.  But for those who booed, it made them no better than New York Yankees fans.

Julio Lugo deserved the booing. Papelbon simply didn’t. I’m sure if you asked anyone in the Red Sox clubhouse if they’d want Paps out there in the same situation again, I’m sure you won’t find one person who wouldn’t. He’s human, he had a bad outing. It happens. It’s just unfortunate that it happened during the playoffs.

So where do Theo Epstein and the Red Sox go from here? There are lots of questions to be answered.

The main one being what will it take to keep Jason Bay in a Red Sox uniform? Will the Red Sox pickup the options of Victor Martinez and Alex Gonzalez (no brainers to me)? Have we seen the last of Jason Varitek in a Red Sox uniform?

All of these questions will be answered in the coming weeks.

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

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the LA Times, Orange County Register and LA Daily News websites.

UConn Football links

Edsall: Post-Pitt [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Does UConn Need Highly Regarded QB? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Maybe Two More Wins This Year? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Time For A New Coach To Take Program To Next Level? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

What we learned in the Big East, Week 6 [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Week 6 review/Week 7 preview [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Big East power rankings, Week 7 [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Sunday update [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Finishing Pittsburgh loss [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

Lutrus Watch, Redux: And so it begins (again) [TheUConnBlog.com]

Pittsburgh 24, UConn 21: Can we just not play the fourth quarter from now on? [TheUConnBlog.com]

Sunday best [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Edsall wants UConn to get tough in the second half [Connecticut Post]

UConn’s Lutrus Doubtful To Play Against Louisville [Hartford Courant]

Fourth-quarter failures haunting Huskies [New Haven Register]

Injuries take toll on UConn football team [New London Day]

UConn’s loss at Pitt hard to understand [Waterbury Republican-American]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

USA rolls to title [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Auriemma’s USA team completes sweep in Ekaterinburg [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Husky Run details [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

UConn By Numbers [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Watch Out Where Those Huskies Go … [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

Women’s Soccer: Two Goal Second Half Leads USF Past Huskies 2-1 [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Volleyball: Syracuse Volleyball Blocks UConn from Weekend Sweep on Sunday [UConnHuskies.com]

Field Hockey: Cara Silverman Scores Two Goals to Lead No. 7 Field Hockey Past Yale 5-3 [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball: LePage Featured on CollegeBaseball360.com [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Lacrosse: Huskies Lacrosse Has a Challenging Season Ahead in 2010 [UConnHuskies.com]

Women’s Ice Hockey Freshman Named Hockey East’s Bauer Rookie of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

It’s pretty simple for the Boston Red Sox this afternoon against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Win and live to see another day. Lose and it’s off to the golf course or some sort of vacation.

This afternoon’s game, scheduled to start at 12:07 p.m., will be broadcast nationally on TBS. NESN Red Sox play-by-play man Don Orsillo will have the call while Buck Martinez will handle the color commentary. And if the television isn’t your cup of tea, you can catch the game on one of the many affiliates of the Red Sox Radio Network.

Clay Buchholz will make his postseason debut for Terry Francona and the Red Sox with absolutely no pressure on him at all (/sarcasm). Buchholz didn’t face the Angels at all during 2009 and has faced them three times in his career. In those three starts, he is 1-2 with a 6.35 ERA. He is 1-1 with a 5.84 ERA against the Halos at Fenway Park and started opposite John Lackey all three times.

Old friend/foe Scott Kazmir will look to put the Red Sox away this afternoon. He hasn’t faced the Red Sox as a member of the Angels but was 2-0 against them as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays. Kazmir has appeared in 23 career regular season games against the Red Sox and is 8-7 with a 3.59 ERA. In thirteen career regular season starts at Fenway, he is 6-4 with a 3.05 ERA. He’s faced the Red Sox in the playoffs twice, both with the Rays, and has no record with a 4.35 ERA (5 ER/10.1 IP).

Sunday morning coming down [Extra Bases]

Every little bit counts [Extra Bases]

Scioscia talks about pregame butterflies [ESPN Boston]

Have Angels learned from Fenway blues? [Amy K. Nelson – ESPN Boston]

If Game 4, then it’s Lester on short rest [Clubhouse Insider]

Red Sox Struggles Against Top Pitchers Continue [Full Count]

Francona: ‘We Know What’s At Stake’ [Full Count]

If Buchholz struggles, Dice-K’s the man [Projo Sox Blog]

Gonzalez’s name etched in playoffs lore [RedSox.com]

Bad News For Sox: Kazmir Likes Fenway [Hartford Courant]

Breakfast With Buchholz [Surviving Grady]

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

UConn Football links

UConn-Pitt: Postgame Mailbag [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Report Card [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Big East helmet stickers: Week 6 [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

Brad Lidge of college football [John Silver – Journal Inquirer]

Pitt 24, UConn 21: instant reaction [TheUConnBlog.com]

Not the ending they hoped for [Neill Ostrout – Connecticut Post]

Pitt defeats UConn in heartbreaker [Connecticut Post]

UConn football notebook: Lutrus out again [Connecticut Post]

Pitt Comes From 15 Down To Beat UConn [Hartford Courant]

When It Comes To Finishing, The Mind-Set Is All Wrong [Hartford Courant]

Stull Is As Good As Advertised [Hartford Courant]

Lutrus Injured Again [Hartford Courant]

Wrapping It Up [Hartford Courant]

This is the Pitts: UConn blows 15-point lead [New Haven Register]

Huskies fall to Pitt in Big East opener [Waterbury Republican-American]

A bitter end [Journal Inquirer]

UConn folds in 4th quarter, drops Big East opener to Pitt [New London Day]

It’s the ‘pits’: Huskies lose to Pittsburgh on last-second field goal [Mansfield Today]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

What To Look For Along UConn’s Journey [Hartford Courant]

UConn Women: Mark Your Calendar [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

New Roles For Everyone [Hartford Courant]

Key Dates For The UConn Men [Hartford Courant]

Alumni Profile: Caron Butler [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Price, Gay, Gordon and others Preseason Highlights [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Ray Allen bringing back memories to Hartford [Waterbury Republican-American]

Other UConn related links

Men’s Soccer: Huskies Battle Mountaineers To 0-0 Tie [UConnHuskies.com]

Huskies’ Women’s Ice Hockey Suffers 4-0 Shutout at No. 7 Clarkson [UConnHuskies.com]

It’s the day of reckoning for the Boston Red Sox. Win and live to see another day. Lose and it’s off to the golf course until it’s time to get ready for spring training.

To get us going this morning, I think this video is an appropriate way to jumpstart your morning and take away that nervous energy that you have (I know I’ve got some).

The eyes of Red Sox Nation will be on Clay Buchholz in a few hours as he makes his postseason debut. He knows the stakes and will be ready for the game.

Like I said, nothing of this magnitude I’ve ever been able to be a part of. You know, just stay calm. I know the nerves are going to be there in the first and second inning. I think after the first pitch and first couple of batters I’ll try to take it back to where I was in the middle of the season. Just rely on fastball to get ahead and going from there. Try to mix pitches and not let them sit on any one pitch. I think that’s just the name of pitching. You have to go out there and try to match up your stuff as well as you can against the guys that are hitting.

For the Red Sox to be successful, they’ll need to get the bats going against Scott Kazmir. If they don’t, they’ll need to Buchholz to match Kazmir and hope they can get some hits off the Angels bullpen. Otherwise,  it’s going to be a long offseason.

Francona tells team to keep it simple [ESPN Boston]

Fenway Park Road Closures for Game 3 of ALDS [Full Count]

Buchholz Left It All on the Field: A Look at the Pitcher’s Biggest Game [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Can The Sox Beat Good Pitching? A Season Hangs on the Answer [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

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

And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the LA Times, Orange County Register and LA Daily News websites.