Andrew Moran's Boston Red Sox fan blog

John Smoltz was a great signing indeed and it is a win-win situation for both sides of the table.  If Mr. Smoltz performs well as he did throughout his career then he receives bonuses, the Red Sox get wins and the fans are happy.  If Mr. Smoltz does not perform well then he does not receive bonuses but the Red Sox will have had one of the greatest pitchers of all time on their team, whether win or lose. John Smoltz was (is) a great pitcher for starting and in relief.  I would not care what age he was playing, if I was a general manager I would sign him to my team just out of respect for what he has accomplished in his 21-year pitching career. I don’t know the former Braves pitcher but with his work ethic you can tell he is a classy guy with a lot of respect f

Continue reading "Smoltz; a Red Sock"

It is hard to decide who was more charismatic for the Boston Red Sox through the 2004’s World Series run and 2007’s. They were the self-proclaimed idiots in 2004 by Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon and in 2007 they were the team to reckon with.

In 2004 it was obvious that the 1B Kevin Millar, now with the Baltimore Orioles, was the team leader with the entire energy, relaxation and confidence builder. As the years move on it is quite obvious that 1B Kevin Youkilis is filling that role.

Kevin Millar was a fun guy to watch and same goes with Kevin Youkilis. They each had interesting batting stances, they each led the team, they each performed well and they each helped the team win the World Series.

Obviously Kevin Millar is not performing for the Orioles as Mr. Youkilis is for the Red Sox; Millar is batting .248 with eighteen home runs & sixty-six RBIs, while Youkilis is batting .318 with twenty-four home runs and eighty-nine RBIs.

Continue reading "Kevin Millar (2004) vs. Kevin Youkilis (Present)"

The New American League East For next few Major League seasons, the American League East standings will be similar to this:
Tampa Bay Rays 96-66
Boston Red Sox 94-68
New York Yankees 91-71
Toronto Blue Jays 83-79
Baltimore Orioles 69-93

Whether Red Sox or Yankees fans like it or not, the Tampa Bay Rays will get better every season. Why not? Their team are full of young and talented ballplayers. Their pitchers have not even reached their prime, starting pitchers anyway, their offence is full of young hitting machines and defense is very good.

While the Yankees and Red Sox spend hundreds of millions of dollars, the Rays will be spending a fraction of that, just like the Florida Marlins however, after this season the Rays will be spending a bit more because of their success.

Continue reading "The New American League East"

I have been a Boston Red Sox fan since 1997 when they acquired Knuckleball throwing starting Pitcher Tim Wakefield and the tremendous team captain catcher Jason Varitek.  Tim Wakefield, believe it or not, really made me start liking the Red Sox. 

It is hard to put into words but everything Mr. Wakefield does on the field gives me a sense of excitement and a form of originality unlike most pitchers who have to throw 100mph fastball.  

The 11-year veteran just throws a 75mph knuckleball and fools the hitters, most of the time.   

Who is your favorite Red Sox pitcher whether it’s currently or from the past?

Continue reading "Who is your Favorite Red Sox Pitcher?"

That is what I am trying to get through my mind this Wednesday morning, out of all the pitchers to sign, why Paul Byrd? He is 7-10 with a 4.23 ERA but the excuses I am hearing is that he has been dominant since the all-star break.  That does not bode well enough with this Red Sox fan.

There are dozens of other free-agent starting pitchers available and would be, in my opinion, a better fit than Mr. Byrd.  Esteban Loaiza is one starter that comes to mind and possibly even cheaper than the ace in the ALCS for the Cleveland Indians.     

Another starting pitcher and former top ace for the Seattle Mariners and the Chicago White Sox Freddy Garcia would be a good fit in the injured Red Sox rotation.  All these pitchers want to pitch again in the majors and, like most other free-agents, Barry Bonds namely comes to mind, would take a massive pay cut.  Paul Byrd, in my opinion would not.     

Continue reading "Why oh Why Byrd?"

When the Boston Red Sox signed Short Stop Julio Lugo, I had mix reactions.  So far, I have been feeling those exact feelings still.  He has not done much for the Red Sox in terms of Defense and Offense that a man like Alex Cora could do.    

If the Red Sox wanted to blow money on a free-agent Short Stop, they could have picked up Bloomquist or try to get a kid like Yunel Escobar (Atlanta Braves) from the minor league system.    

During the 2007 season, Julio Lugo hit .237 with only eight home runs and seventy three RBIs in 147 games, while Alex Cora hit .246 three home runs and eighteen RBIs in just 83 games.  Now if the Boston Red Sox could give Mr. Cora more playing time, I would guarantee his game would change dramatically.    

Continue reading "The SS Problem"

After paying nearly sixty million dollars just to speak to Daisuke Matsuzaka, the question that should be asked: has the pricey conversation worked out?   

In the first season of Mr. Matsuzaka’s season with the Red Sox, it did not go as well as people hoped.  Boasting a 15-12 record, 4.40 ERA and zero shut outs, the Red Sox fans, or maybe myself, had questioned this deal.   However, after seeing the gyro ball thrower play an amazing post-season, I had a feeling that he would be one of the top starters in the American League for the 2009 season.  So far, I’ve been correct in that prediction.   

Of his nineteen starts, he has won twelve of them and only lost twice.  A much lower ERA with 3.04 and has allowed only eight home runs and has ninety-four strikeouts.  Not to mention he is undefeated on the road with a 5-0 record.   

Continue reading "Has Dice-K Boded Well?"

Even though I was not too happy with the three-team trade between the Los Angeles Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates and the Boston Red Sox but Jason Bay has been a perfect fit for the defending world champions.

The reason why I was not happy with the trade was because I felt that the Dodgers could have given up a bit more and the Red Sox should have received a relief pitcher in return.  With the great coaching of the pitching staff in Boston, Scott Proctor would have been great to have.   

Nevertheless, the Left-Fielder Jason Bay has boded well for the Red Sox.  Since becoming a Red Sock he has hit safely in each of his five games. In that time-span he has hit six RBIs, hit two doubles, a triple and one home-run, while walking thrice and striking out three times. 

Continue reading "A New Bay Era"

I certainly do not think so.  Manny Ramirez is getting on years (36?) and supposedly the Red Sox management like to keep their team young and do not like to keep re-signing guys who are older than 33 (Mike Lowell was the exception).

  The Red Sox could get a lot of great prospects and some relievers for the left-fielder.  The only thing that could possibly go wrong with the trade is if the only teams interested in the slugger is an American League opponent (I.E. Tampa Bay Rays, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, etc.). 

There is no doubt that the Boston Red Sox need to pick up the slack they have been putting on for the last couple of weeks.  They lost the recent series to the New York Yankees, they are losing to, what could be a play-off matchup, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and they are losing ground against the Tampa Bay Rays (whom, which, are facing the Yankees and Red Sox throughout September).  Do teams really want to give away their top prospects to a 36-year-old with a bad attitude but has one of the best swings in baseball?  Do teams want to give up an ace that could possibly turn out to be a bust in another uniform? 

Continue reading "Is it a bad thing to trade Mr. Ramirez?"

The first half has been terrific for the Boston Red Sox and there is not much to criticize the World Champions.

 As I have previously reported back in June, the Boston Red Sox have pretty much a perfect team.  With the season-ending and possibly career-ending surgery to Red Sox starting pitcher and hero, Curt Schilling, and as well starting pitcher Josh Beckett not being completely himself, they have not missed a beat. Daisuke Matzusaka is having a stellar of a season, as I predicted.  The back-end of the rotation, Lester, Colon and Wakefield are doing their duties quite well.  Justin Masterson has performed wonderfully when he has to fill-in for the number five spot. Without David Ortiz, Curt Schilling and not having Josh Beckett perform at his usual level; the

Continue reading "Good first half. What's next?"