Ryan Lavarnway News

When major-league veteran Daisuke Matsuzaka has taken the mound for the Pawtucket Red Sox in his journey back to Boston, the club has managed to take two out his previous three outings.

At the beginning of every baseball season, several prestigious sites and writers take the time to list the top prospects in the game as well as in each organization.

In the last month or so, with trips to New Hampshire, New Jersey and North Carolina, we've touched base with just about all of the top prospects in the Red Sox system.

The Pawtucket Red Sox' Daisuke Matsuzaka warms up in the visitors bullpen at Durham Bulls Atheltic Park, May 17, 2012.

Another Matsui headline? Get used to it. Any other Rays minor leaguer would need to hit 3 home runs or toss 6 no-hit innings to have a chance at a headline right now.

The Boston Red Sox have a surplus of players whom the Washington Nationals are in need of, pure and simple.

DURHAM BULLS ATHLETIC PARK There's plenty of excitement around the Durham Bulls as they return home from a decent road trip and will now be starring a celebrity guest of sorts.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe tweeted Monday night that the Washington Nationals had a scout at the Red Sox/Mariners game with an interest in watching the Red Sox catchers.

"If [Kevin Youkilis] returns in a week and is ready to go, he plays third base. He's been here.

Boston's Will Middlebrooks, right, is congratulated by teammate Daniel Nava after hitting a third-inning home run today.

His 2011 campaign made him look ready for the majors, but Ryan Lavarnway is off to a slow start in 2012.

Firstly, the ability to start and finish their 34th game of the season was a victory in itself, as the humidity percentage reach 96 percent, according to Weather.com.A Secondly, due in large part to the solid pitching of Justin Germano and the slick bats of Mauro Gomez and Daniel Nava, the PawSox were able to maintain their slim lead over the ... (more)

Carl writes: "In 1925, Wally Pipp lost his job to a young Lou Gehrig. Is it possible that "Wally the Green Monster" is soon to be joined by Kevin "Wally" Youkilis, as it appears that with a chronic ailing back, he may also have just lost his job.

Checking in with some linkage to this week's Red Sox podcast, where the topics of the day were the emergence of Will Middlebrooks, Clay Buchholz's generous attempt to make John Lackey look capable, and the short memories of fans who are turning on Adrian Gonzalez.

New York Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte made his final minor league start before he's scheduled to join the Yankees later this week in front of 13,584 fans, a record for a regular season baseball game in Rochester.

New York Yankees lefty Andy Pettitte made his final minor league start before he's scheduled to join the Yankees later this week in front of 13,584 fans, a record for a regular season baseball game in Rochester.

LSU's Raph Rhymes is making a run at .500 with a "flat stroke, singles and doubles," Kentucky coach Gary Henderson said.

At one point a power-hitting catcher looking like he was on the fast track to the big leagues, Exposito seemed to plateau at Triple-A Pawtucket and was relegated to part-time duty once Ryan Lavarnway established himself as the type of catcher the Red Sox wanted to get repetitions every day.

Gibson was drafted back in 2008 by the Red Sox , a second-round selection who made his professional debut as an 18-year-old back in Rookie League and then Low-A Lowell.