The real Boston rotation stands up

As we come down the stretch, four games ahead in the wild card race and seven behind the Yankees, the Red Sox are in a familiar and strangely comfortable place. All they have to do is continue doing what they’re doing, which right now happens to be playing winning baseball. Josh Beckett seems to have shaken off his rough stretch, Jon Lester has shown himself to be perhaps the top lefty in all of baseball this season, and Clay Buchholz is piling up the quality starts. Daisuke Matsuzaka is back in shape and will take the ball tomorrow against the Angels, and you have to think, apart from losing Dice-K for most of this year, this was the plan all along. Well, more or less.

A look at the rotation heading into September

As we head into the stretch, it’s nice to know that the rotation is in better shape than a month ago. Here’s a player-specific look at some of the issues.

On Junichi Tazawa’s debuts

I have to say I’m really pleased with the first two appearances of Japanese phenom Junichi Tazawa. Yes, he gave up the game-winning bomb to Alex Rodriguez in that 15-inning game, but with the way the home plate ump was squeezing him, I was surprised it took that long for someone to jack one out. Let me tell you what I saw from watching him that night and in his first start on Tuesday:

Prospect tidbits: Bard’s slider, Fuentes, Kelly, Tazawa

Daniel Bard credits his recent lights-out-ness to a change of grip and approach on his slider.

Reymond Fuentes is being aggressive and having fun in the Gulf Coast League. He’s been able to show some hitting ability and athleticism down there, but has been caught on 4 of 10 steal attempts. Hot dog.

The same article cites Casey Kelly and Junichi Tazawa as among the best fielding pitchers in the Red Sox farm system. That’s a nice plus. Kelly has been switched out from pitching into a positional role for the rest of the year at Single -A Greenville.

On the Farm: Trade deadline update

Some of the goings on in the Red Sox farm system as we approach the trade deadline:

Links: An outside view of Sox prospects, Ellsbury

Jim Callis, a noted scout for Baseball America, talks about the Red Sox pitching depth in the minors. For those of you clamoring for us to deal for Roy Halladay, sometimes it helps to get an outside perspective on what we already have in our farm system. And if that’s not enough pitching prospect Kool-Aid for you, Amalie Benjamin runs down Junichi Tazawa, Nick Hagadone and Casey Kelly here.

Linkage: Milestones all around, minor leaguers recognized

Congratulations to these Red Sox, who achieved notable milestones this past week:

• David Ortiz, who collected his 1,000th RBI
• Terry Francona, who won his 800th game as a manager
• Tim Wakefield collected win number 10 already! Is this guy ever gonna stop pitching?

In case you missed it, here is the video of Nick Green’s narrow escape from a flying broken bat last week. My heart almost stopped during this play, thinking, “oh no, this means we have to play Julio Lugo!”

On the Farm: May 2009 update

A lot of things going on in the minor league system this past month. Here’s an update:

On the Farm: May 2009 report

With the minor league season in full swing, it’s time to take a look to see how the Red Sox prospects are doing:

2009 Spring Training: Links

Good news on the injury front – Mike Lowell could take the field in two weeks, he says. That means he’ll be ready to go probably within a week of Opening Day, and maybe on the day.