Red Sox player moves

July 7. Masterson out, Bailey in, Buchholz coming.

BOSTON -- The Red Sox optioned starting pitcher Justin Masterson to Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday, with plans to convert him into a relief pitcher. Manager Terry Francona said the team is preparing to recall right-hander Clay Buchholz, who will take Masterson's spot as the fifth starter. Buchholz was sent to the minors to work on his fastball command after spending the last two weeks of May on the disabled list. "We think getting Justin getting acclimated to the bullpen has a chance to really help our ball club," Francona said. "There's a couple of ways to do it. You could just give him the ball and send him out there. I don't think that's the best way to develop somebody to pitch meaningful innings. So we sat him down and talked about it."
Buchholz, who threw a no-hitter in his second major league start on Sept. 1, against Baltimore, struggled in his first eight starts this season for Boston. He was 2-3 with a 5.53 ERA before tearing the nail on his right middle finger.

For now, the Red Sox recalled first baseman Jeff Bailey from Pawtucket to take Masterson's place on the roster. "We wanted to, at some point, get Clay back here and get him in the rotation and I think we've been alluding to and talking about that," Francona said. "We'll go from there.
"There's not a firm timetable but the idea is to get him acclimated to where he can help us. In the meantime, Jeff Bailey will be here until we can activate Clay."

Tough Week ahead for Sox

Hopefully, it'll be a tougher week for the Tampa Bay Rays and the N.Y. Yankees.

The Red Sox have come to a critical juncture this coming week. Having tail-spinned into second place, 1/2 game behind the Rays and 5 games ahead of the week, the Red Sox are in what amounts to must-win situations. They Rays just will not go away and apparently, they are for real. The Yankees are close behind and making a run at the Red Sox, who will play 4 important games in Yankee Stadium

Monday's matchup:

Boston Red Sox (50-34) at Tampa Bay Rays (49-32) .... Rookie Justin Masterson (4-1 3.43) goes up against James Shields (5-5 3.76) for the Rays. Big Papi is still on the DL, where it looks like he will remain until after the All Star break. Pedroia is smokin, J. D. Drew has done a great job taking Ortiz' place in the 3 spot and has had a great month...Youk has been hot at times. Manny has cooled off the past couple weeks, but he put one out today and our pitching staff is okay at times, middle relief being the big problem right now.

Red Sox rally to beat DBacks 5-4

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 BOSTON Behind 4-1 in the eighth inning, the Red Sox pushed across 4 runs to take a 5-4 lead. Varitek began working his way out of a long slump and the Boston Red Sox emerged from a short one, beating the Dbacks 5-4 Tuesday night with a four-run eighth inning capped by the captain's go-ahead single. Varitek was mired in a 1-for-30 slump before driving in the go-ahead run for the Red Sox.

"Tek's been a little bit unlucky," said Mike Lowell, whose two-run double tied the game at 4. "He's hit better than just those numbers, but it always feels good for a ball to drop, especially in a big situation." They were dropping all over the place in the eighth. Boston had six hits in the inning, one more than it totaled in the first seven and two more than the Red Sox managed in Monday night's 2-1 loss in the series opener. The win maintained their one-game lead in the AL East over Tampa Bay, which beat Florida 6-4.

"Any comeback win is big," Lowell said, "especially when I saw Tampa Bay won and we can stay atop our division." Chris Smith (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings in relief of another rookie, Justin Masterson, for his first major league win. Arizona led 4-1 going into the bottom of the eighth behind the pitching of Davis and the hitting of Chad Tracy, who singled home a run in the second and hit a three-run homer, his third of the season, in the third.

"We had a good feeling going into that inning," Diamondbacks manager Bob Melvin said. "A couple of guys get on and it unraveled on us." Dustin Pedroia's seventh homer in the first was the only run off Davis through seven innings. But the left-hander allowed singles to the first two batters in the eighth, Julio Lugo and Jacoby Ellsbury, and was replaced by Chad Qualls (1-6). Pedroia singled in Lugo, but Qualls nearly got out of the jam by striking out Drew and retiring Manny Ramirez, who has one RBI in 11 games, on a grounder to third.

Red Sox 20 Top Prospects?

Red Sox Top 20 Prospects as rated by Josh Poore of Hardball Scouts
The Boston system is a strong one. Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury are household names to anyone who follows prospects and both should be impact players for years to come. However, those two players are just a taste of the talent that the Red Sox have waiting in the wings.

Clay Buchholz, RHP Righty phenom with fine change and curve looks to be in the Boston rotation for years to come.
Jacoby Ellsbury, OF Speedster showed he is ready for the big stage and should be able to provide a steady presence at the top of the lineup this year.
Lars Anderson, 1B Power prospect should mash in Lancaster this season. A candidate to be at the top of this list a year from now.
Jed Lowrie, SS In a great bounce-back year, he continued to show great plate discipline while adding power.
Justin Masterson, RHP Big bodied groundball specialist moved from the 'pen to the rotation and showed no ill effects.
Michael Bowden, RHP Breezed through the Cal League, which is no small feat. Fly ball pitcher with great control.
Nick Hagadone, LHP Lefty had a great pro debut, with a 0.00 ERA over his last nine appearances at short-season Lowell.
Ryan Kalish, OF A broken hamate cut his season short, but at 19 years old in the NY-Penn League he put up a .368/.471/.540 line against older competition to go along with 18 steals in just 23 games.
Oscar Tejeda, SS Toolsy shortstop held his own at just 17 years of age, showing the ability to hit for average and steal bases. Huge upside.
Josh Reddick, OF Flashed power in his pro debut in the SAL while playing all three outfield spots. Will Middlebrooks, SS/ 3B Signed over slot and too late to see action. Has a good arm and was considered a much better talent than his 5th round draft status may indicate.
Brandon Moss, OF Profiles as a solid backup OF at the MLB level. Strikes out a lot, but has some pop. Could see time in Boston this year.
Devern Hansack, RHP Ranked this high because he is Major League ready. Highly doubtful he will ever be better than he is right now, but he has posted strong numbers in the high minors and could see time in Boston this year if injuries strike the BoSox staff.
Zach Daeges, OFDemolished the Cal League with a .330/.423/.579 line. Granted, it was in Lancaster, a hitting paradise, but he is still a player to watch.
Craig Hansen, RHP Needs to find a more consistent slider and build mental toughness. Still too young to give up on.
Dustin Richardson, LHP Overlooked prospect strikes out a hitter per inning while giving up very few gopher balls.
Aaron Bates, 1B A good mix of power and patience. Playing at Portland this year will tell us if he is for real.
Ryan Dent, SS Showed speed in his pro debut but needs to sharpen up his strike zone. Another exciting young middle infielder in this system.
Jason Place, OF Toolsy outfielder who needs to make more consistent contact. Looking like an overdraft at this point.
George Kottaras, C Once promising catching prospect has slipped badly. Bat has gotten worse as he has aged and now profiles as a backup at best.

Justin Masterful again...Drew's HR beats Mariners 2-1

Masterson pitched six strong innings and J.D. Drew hit a go-ahead homer for Boston, lifting the Red Sox to a 2-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Sunday. "Every time he takes the ball, the organization's got their chest out a little, as they should," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "This isn't a fluke. He's been prepared very well how to pitch, how to act and how to compete. It's exciting."

Masterson (3-0) gave up one run on three hits and struck out four for Boston, which has won 15 of its last 16 at home and eight of 10 overall. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 18th save.

Papi-less Sox down Rays 7-4

The Red Sox pulled to within a half-game of the suprising Tampa Bay Rays with a 7-4 victory in their return to Fenway Park. The Red Sox kept winning at home even without David Ortiz. Coco Crisp hit a tie-breaking double and Boston won the matchup of the AL East's top two teams with a 7-4 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night.

Crisp snapped a 1-for-25 slump with the two-run double in a four-run sixth inning and Jacoby Ellsbury followed with a sacrifice fly.

Justin Masterson (2-0) allowed four runs in six innings and Craig Hansen got out of a first-and-second jam with no outs in the eighth by retiring the next three batters. Jonathan Papelbon struck out two in a perfect ninth for his 17th save in 19 opportunities.