7 Indians, 3 Sox

Erik's 1st start wasn't bad, but it was pretty evident that the Sox are easing him back into starting deep in games. Tito only allowed him to throw 70 pitched in his Red Sox debut and he went 5 innings, let up 7 hits, 3 ers and 5 Ks. Not bad, we will let him get his feet wet though.

After Franklin Morales pitched a good couple innings the other day, he let up 2 runs in a 1/3 of an innings and that's all that Justin Masterson needed.

The former Sox long reliever went 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 9 K and is 3-0 against his former club.

The Yanks also one, making us dead even going into another great rivalry series.

Indians @ Red Sox Preview

Ellsbury has been the hero the last two nights, but all eyes will be on Bedard tonight, as the Red Sox sit back and wonder if he can be the missing #3 pitcher the Red Sox have been looking for since Buchholz went down. I cautioned the other day not to read into this start too much as it's only his 2nd sine coming off the DL, but it will still be a very interesting game.

Bedard is only 4-7 on the season, but he was playing for Seattle so that is forgivable. Plus, on look at his 3.45 ERA and you would know that record means nothing. Bedard did get lit up in his first game off the DL allowing five runs and four walks in 1 1/3 innings against the Rays. Bedard was 4-2 with a 1.77 ERA in his previous 11 starts though.

Trying to black Bedard's first win as a Red Sox is our old friend Justin Masterson, who is way better as a starter then I ever thought he would be. I also thought he would be a great reliever, but having him be a starter was a mistake. I was wrong as he is 8-7 on the season with a 2.56 ERA. On top of that he has crushed the Sox in his career going 2-0 with a 1.25 ERA in three starts against his former team. Masterson is 0-1 in his last three overall despite allowing three earned runs over 22 2/3 innings, receiving four total runs of support. I think that's what will cost him the win tonight as well.

Boston wins 5-4
Player of the Game: Gonzalez
Game starts at 7:10pm

Let's Get Bedarded in Here

How long before we start seeing "Can't Spell Erik Without a 'K'" T-shirts?

After the Rich Harden deal fell apart due to concerns over his health, the Sox went after another Canadian born pitcher. As part of a three team deal, they acquired Erik Bedard. They dealt C Tim Federowicz, RHP Juan Rodriguez and RHP Stephen Fife to the Dodgers in exchange for minor leaguers OF Trayvon Robinson and OF Chih-Hsien Chiang. The Sox then sent Robinson and Chiang to Seattle for Bedard. Righty Josh Fields was packaged along with Bedard.

Fields was drafted by Seattle with the 20th overall pick of the 2008 draft. He's a 25 year old reliever just promoted from AA to AAA Tacoma.

Bedard is obviously the main event of the deal. The Sox need pitching to fill out their rotation. Buchholz was just placed on the 60 Day DL and his recovery has hit some roadblocks.

Bedard's been plagued by injury problems the past few years. He hasn't tossed a full season of work since 2007. He hasn't even thrown 100+ innings since 2007. He missed the entire 2010 season. And he was sidelines for a month with a sprained left knee. He made his return to Seattle's rotation Friday night, struggling through 1.1 innings and allowing 5 runs.

However, when healthy, he is a legitimate frontline starter. On the season, he has a 4-7 record (remember, this is Seattle, who have saddled Felix Hernandez with a 9-9 record) and a 3.45 ERA. But those numbers don't tell the whole story. He struggled in April, starting the season 0-4 with a 7.71 ERA. Since April 27th, he's gone 4-3 with a 2.34 ERA. That ERA includes his 1.1 inning, 5 run debacle on Friday.

Nine of his last 11 starts have been Quality Starts.

This is a good move. Bedard may end of on the DL by early September, but if he doesn't... Well, he's not just an upgrade over Andrew Miller. He solidifies the top of the Red Sox rotation.

His first start is slated to be Friday night against the Yankees. Welcome to Boston, Mr. Bedard.

-The Commodore

Red Sox Looking To Deal For Erik Bedard

"The Red Sox, reports FOXSports.com, are "all over" M's lefty Erik Bedard and will scout his first start off the disabled list Friday. Boston is not alone, however, as the rival Yankees have interest, too (ESPN)."

Bedard would really help this team right now if he can stay healthy, but that always is a question with Bedard. If the Red Sox could eventually get Buchholz back to 100% and bring in Bedard they would have one filthy rotation heading into the playoffs.

Lester
Beckett
Buchholz
Bedard
Lackey

And since you don't need a 5th starter in the playoffs I would feel fantastic about their chances of winning it all. I agree with what DP said earlier, this might be the best Red Sox team I have ever seen, and they can get this rotation right they will be unstoppable.