Sorry this post has to be rushed but I just had something come up that will keep me away from the computer for the rest of the day. I should be back later this afternoon in time for everything tonight.

Let’s hope nothing big breaks like it always seems to do when I’m out or away from the computer.

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

And if you want to see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times websites.

UConn Women’s Basketball links

UConn lovefest continues [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Putting it all into perspective [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

Another big day for UConn in the WNBA [John Altavilla – Hartford Courant]

Other UConn related links

Princeton Finally Gets Something Right! [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

Field Hockey: UConn’s Cara Silverman Helps Lead USA to Silver Medal at Maccabi Games [UConnHuskies.com]

Josh Beckett had 10 strikeouts for the first time since opening day and Dustin Pedroia kick-started the Boston Red Sox with a solo homer on their way to an 8-3 win over the Oakland A’s in front of 37,955 at Fenway Park on Monday night.

With the win, the Red Sox (58-40) stay 2.5 games behind the New York Yankees who beat the Tampa Bay Rays. The lowly A’s fall to 41-57.

Beckett’s stuff was nasty on the evening. He had good command of all of his pitches and moved the ball all over the plate. He went 7+ innings, allowing 3 runs on 8 hits and a walk with the 10 strikeouts. The win for Beckett was his 12th and is the most in the American League. It also ties him with Jason Marquis of the Rockies and Matt Cain of the Giants for the most in MLB.

The bullpen continued it’s nice post All-Star break run as well.

Daniel Bard worked an inning and allowed a hit while striking out two. Manny Delcarmen finished it off with a perfect inning.

Rookie Trevor Cahill struggled for the second straight time at Fenway Park. He gave up 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. Santiago Casilla allowed a hit and a run with a strikeout in his inning of work while Edgar Gonzalez allowed 2 runs on 3 hits and 2 walks in 2 innings.

Pedroia ended up knocking in two on the night and had 2 hits. Jacoby Ellsbury had his 4th straight multi-hit effort with three hits and had an RBI. Adam LaRoche continues to impress the Fenway faithful as he had two hits and an RBI while J.D. Drew had two hits as well.

Jason Varitek had hit, 2 walks and a RBI as did Jason Bay. Jed Lowrie added a ground-rule double and 2 RBIs. All nine starters had at least a hit in the win.

This is what the Red Sox are supposed to do teams that are struggling and are at the bottom or near the bottom of their division.

Hopefully Clay Buchholz can follow the lead of his fellow Texan and give the Red Sox a quality outing tomorrow night. He’ll be opposed by Vin Mazzaro who has lost his last 7 starts.

After taking 2-of-3 from the Baltimore Orioles this weekend, the Boston Red Sox will host the Oakland A’s for a 4-game set at Fenway Park. The Red Sox took 2-of-3 from the A’s back on July 6-8 at the Fens.

The game tonight will start at 7:10 PM EDT and will be televised in the Red Sox television market on NESN. If you live in the A’s television market, you can catch the game on Comcast SportsNet California. 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.

Coming off of two straight complete games, Josh Beckett looks to make it three in-a-row for Terry Francona and the Red Sox. In 19 starts this season, he is 11-4 with a 3.42 ERA. Beckett has faced the A’s once this season back on July 7th. In that start, he allowed 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings to snag the win. He’s faced the A’s six times in his career and is 3-3 with a 4.50 ERA.

Trevor Cahill has made 20 starts this season for Bob Geren and the A’s. He is 6-8 with a 4.50 ERA. He’s faced the Red Sox once in his career back on July 8th, taking the loss. He allowed 4 runs on 4 hits in 5 1/3 innings.

Pregame: Red Sox Vs. A’s [Extra Bases]

Wakefield not allowed to throw [Projo Sox Blog]

Francona backs Rose for Hall [Projo Sox Blog]

Report: Theo on the Move After Indians Reject Offers [NESN.com]

My Hair: To Grow Or Not To Grow [Justin Masterson – Wicked Good Sports]

Which prospects should the Red Sox trade, and which ones should they keep? [Wicked Good Sports]

MLB Network Announces Live Games Through August 8 [Fang’s Bites]

The Surviving Grady Salute to Jim Rice, His Brilliant Career, and His Impeccable Sartorial Taste [Surviving Grady]

Dustin Pedroia’s true height revealed [Batter-up with Bruno]

And here is how the hitters have fared against tonight’s starting pitchers.

Red Sox Legend Jim Rice to “Swing Through”Game On! Fenway for Fan-Filled Afternoon Courtesy of RCN

Soon-To-Be Red Sox Hall-of-Famer to Make Special Announcement with Kids from Citywide Baseball League and Participate in Audience Q&A with NESN’s Tom Caron

WHO: Red Sox legend and soon-to-be baseball Hall-of-Famer Jim Rice; and NESN reporter Tom Caron; kids from Citywide Baseball League; and representatives of RCN.

WHAT: To celebrate his enshrinement into the coveted Baseball Hall-of-Fame, Rice will kick back at Game On! Fenway, sign autographs and school his fans on the game of baseball as he takes questions from the crowd. Caron will work his way through the restaurant to seek out those with a burning desire to soak in the former Red Sox outfielder’s knowledge and knowhow of the game.

In addition to a Q&A session with the legend, Rice will join kids from Boston Centers for Youth and Family (BCYF) Citywide Baseball League to announce its new RCN sponsored initiative.

WHEN: Wednesday, July 29, 2009

3:30–5:30 p.m.

WHERE: Game On! Fenway

82 Lansdowne St

Boston, MA

HOW: Admission is FREE. For more information log onto GameOnBoston.com or call 617.351.7001

ABOUT BCYF

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year and is the City of Boston’s largest youth and human service agency offering programs and services for people of all ages at 46 facilities across the city.

ABOUT RCN BOSTON

RCN in Boston serves the communities of Allston, Arlington, Boston, Brighton, Brookline, Burlington, Dedham, Framingham, Hyde Park, Lexington, Milton, Natick, Needham, Newton, Roslindale, Somerville, Stoneham, Wakefield, Waltham, Watertown, West Roxbury and Woburn.

ABOUT GAME ON! FENWAY

Game On! Fenway is a multimedia entertainment destination that broadcasts every game that’s on from anywhere in the world, showcased on more than 52,000 square inches of SONY plasma & LED High Definition televisions. With more than 90 screens, patrons can enjoy an unobstructed view in a unique environment. Guests can enjoy athlete-sized portions of exceptional American grill classics prepared by Game On!’s team of experienced chefs. Game On!’s menu appeals to both the casual fan and upscale diner. The eclectic mix of all-American favorites features everything from our famous Steak Tips, to house made appetizers and chef-inspired daily specials.

According to Gordon Edes of Yahoo! Sports, the Boston Red Sox could be.

The one team the Phillies fear could trump their offer, according to a team source Monday, is Boston. The Red Sox potentially could offer a package featuring pitchers Clay Buchholz(notes) and reliever Daniel Bard(notes) from the big-league roster, and a menu of attractive prospects, including pitchers Michael Bowden(notes), Junichi Tazawa(notes) on the Triple-A level and 19-year-olds Casey Kelly and Stolmy Pimentel. The Blue Jays have told the Red Sox and the Yankees they would have to pay a premium – an extra player – for Toronto to trade Halladay within the division.

I just don’t see the Red Sox giving up that much in any deal. Plus I would think that any deal wouldn’t include both Buchholz and Bowden.

Like I said this morning, take this with a grain of salt. There’s still a lot of time before the 4 PM trade deadline on Friday afternoon.

Phillies still hoping for Halladay [Yahoo! Sports]

The Baltimore Orioles came into yesterday’s game having lost 11 straight games to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. By the end of the afternoon, Nick Markakis had lifted his Orioles to a 6-2 win to snap the skid.

The Red Sox had to face another rookie pitcher in David Hernandez and were unable to solve him. That seems to be the problem of the Red Sox when they face a rookie pitcher. There’s not much they can do about other than rely on the advance scouting reports and watch video on them. If teams were smart, they’d just trot out rookies every time they face the Red Sox.

While the Red Sox have no plans to pull John Smoltz from the rotation, it’s obvious if he continues to struggle they won’t be able to count on him. He seems to struggle most when there are two outs in the inning. He seems to try and get too careful with his fastball and misses his spots, leaving the pitches out over the plate for the opposing hitters to take advantage of.

This problem can be fixed though in bullpen sessions. Hopefully Smoltz can figure it out, otherwise we may see the Red Sox deal for a pitcher before the trade deadline on Friday. The Red Sox are hoping he does come around because they need him and Brad Penny to pitch well down the stretch run as the annual pennant race between the local nine and Yankees along with the Rays starts to heat up.

Congratulations to Jim Rice on his induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame yesterday. It was a long time coming but he’s finally in and now can call himself a Hall of Famer. The Red Sox will be retiring Rice’s No. 14 in a pre-game ceremony on Tuesday night at the Fens.

Also I’m sure we’ll start to hear trade rumors involving certain members of the Red Sox this week. Take them with a grain of salt for now. While we hope that our favorite players and minor leaguers don’t get traded, it’s a part of the business of baseball and something we just need to live with.

Continue reading →

UConn Football links

Preseason predictions: Connecticut [Big East Blog – ESPN.com]

WVU opponent preview: Connecticut [Charleston Gazette]

Walker Sports: 2009 Big East Preview [Gridiron Goddess]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

U.S. Beats Canada/Faris Scoreless [Rich Elliott – Connecticut Post]

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Rudy Gay on trying out for the Team USA [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Majok, Okwandu have formed a strong bond [New Haven Register]

Rudy Gay on making NBA 2K8 [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Other UConn related links

Back to The ROC [Thoughts From a Fat White Guy]

Incoming Field Hockey Player Loren Sherer Named to England’s U-21 Junior World Cup Team [UConnHuskies.com]