Beckett strains oblique; Sox limp into ALDS

For those of you who weren’t worried about the Sox offense because of Josh Beckett and the pitching staff, start worrying. Beckett strained his right oblique in a bullpen session yesterday, and has been pushed back to Game 3 starter for the ALDS against Los Angeles. Not good. He’s supposed to play catch tomorrow, then try a side session on Wednesday.

Clinched: Time to get healthy

The Red Sox finally did it tonight, with their 92nd win. They are in the playoffs for the 2nd straight season and the 5th time in the past 6 years. And they got the 5-4 victory against the Cleveland Indians’ best pitcher, Cliff Lee, handing Lee just his 3rd loss this entire season. That’s gotta feel good.

Ellsbury just letting it fly again

Jacoby Ellsbury electrified Red Sox Nation in a late season callup last year, and started off just as hot this year. Then came the summer months (and a wrist injury), when he slumped to a season-low line of .258/.323/.352 on August 2. But Ellsbury is back on fire, with a .309/.347/.471 September that has fans revved up again.

He attributes his extended slump to overanalysis and too much thinking at the plate; some minor adjustments plus a more relaxed attitude at the dish has helped him to regain his confidence. With the playoffs right around the corner, the Red Sox will need their sparkplug to be firing on all cylinders to beat some tough squads.

Is Lugo tradeable?

Jon Paul Morosi of the Detroit Free Press has this suggestion: trade Julio Lugo for Dontrelle Willis in a “change of scenery” (disappointment) deal. Both players have inflated multi-year contracts remaining, and both have been big disappointments with their new teams.

2008 Playoff redux

With eight games left (seven of them at home), the Red Sox have all but sewn up a playoff berth. The question remains, will the Tampa Rays slip enough for the Sox to take the division? At this point, the Sox would have to outplay them by 3 wins (Tampa has the divisional record advantage, so a tie isn’t good enough). That means if the Rays go 4-5, we have to go 7-1, and that will dictate a lot about the playoffs.

Schilling airs some dirty laundry about Manny

For those who haven’t heard the interview, Curt Schilling came on WEEI this morning and gave the most blunt statement of Manny-gate thus far. Pretty damning stuff; still think that the Sox shouldn’t have traded him away? Too bad Manny’s hitting so well in LA. Just wait till they sign him long-term.

Red Sox 2009 Schedule out

The 2009 schedule has been released. Thanks, ProJo!

Links: Four more years, Lowell toughing it out

The Red Sox are closing in on a contract extension for GM Theo Epstein, whose contract is up after next month.

Mike Lowell is playing through a partial tear in his right hip’s labrum. He thinks he’ll be fine through the playoffs. Ouch.

Link: The Tazawa Controversy

Young Junichi Tazawa has stirred the waters in Japan by asking not to be drafted by any Japanese team. He wants to come play ball in the States, and the Red Sox are rumored to be the frontrunners. MLB Trade Rumors has the scoop.

Red Sox 23rd in defense? I think not.

Got turned on to these team defense rankings through Beyond the Box Score. Normally I let these kinds of things go, but this one is pretty egregious. Thanks for the nice try, Justin Inaz, but your defense rankings are totally whack. Is there anyone who truly believes that the White Sox have a better defense than we do? Nick Swisher over Jacoby Ellsbury and Coco Crisp? Paul Konerko over Kevin Youkilis? Seriously? Have you seen these guys play?