Will Middlebrooks News

JUNE 13-16 Jacoby Ellsbury: 3-for-17, RBI, 0 BB, 2 SB, CS, .176/.176/.176 David Ortiz: 2-for-16, 3B, HR, RBI, 1 BB, .125/.176/.438 Shane Victorino: 3-for-13, BB, SB, .231/.286/.231 Dustin Pedroia: 2-for-13, RBI, SB, .154/.154/.154 Jarrod Saltalamacchia: 2-for-12, BB, .167/.231/.167 Will Middlebrooks: 3-for-12, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, .250/.250/.583 Mike ... (more)

Last week, we examined the bottom-five teams in each league, and the parts they may look to sell as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.

It has become an annual baseball rite to wonder whether the current version of the Yankees has devolved into their 1965 forefathers.

Today's links include thoughts on Xander Bogaerts' position among best prospects, how Will Middlebrooks can build on his performance from Sunday, and a moving Father's Day story.

You can now purchase the Hardball Times Baseball Annual 2013 , with 300 pages of great content.

After Boston finished in last place in the AL East in 2012, Red Sox fans don't have too much to complain about as their team now sits in first place for 2013.

Manny Machado extended his hitting streak to a career-high 14 games and drove in a run for the Orioles, who took three of four from first-place Boston to move within 11 2 games of the AL East lead.

Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli traveled back to Boston to determine why he is experiencing dizziness and nausea, but manager John Farrell hoped the first baseman would be back with the club Tuesday.

Lester opened his career 14-0 against the Orioles the longest winning streak to open a career of any pitcher against them but it finally appears the team has figured him out.

Dustin Pedroia is getting the day off. Whether or not this required him to be sedated/restrained is not yet known.

One of the most enviable things in Major League Baseball is depth. Especially depth that is young, talented, and cost-controlled for years and years, quality depth is something that often separates the good teams from the great ones.

The Red Sox' scoring drought had lasted 1813 innings, more than two games worth, when Mike Carp came up for the second time against Freddy Garcia yesterday afternoon.

Uber-prospect Xander Bogaerts got promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket on Thursday bringing him one step closer to Boston.

The war of attrition that defines a major league baseball season is grinding away at the Red Sox.

Let's take that a step further; some wins are grinding, and some are not. On Thursday the Birds defeated the BoSox 5-4 in a 13-inning affair that just seemed to not want to end.

The Red Sox scored two runs in the seventh inning on Thursday night before losing a game that went 13 innings.

The Padres acquired infielder Pedro Ciriaco from the Red Sox on Friday. In return, Boston will receive a player to be named or cash considerations.

His baseball card numbers aren't too impressive , but he leads AL rookies with a 1.3 WAR on the young season, thanks largely to fanning more than seven batters per inning, according to fangraphs.com.

Since Mr. Halpin is on vacation, I'm doing my best to provide you with eligible free agents for your fantasy baseball team.

Today's links include stories on Stephen Drew's defense, Xander Bogaerts' reaction to his promotion and the advent of a new baseball-oriented drinking game.