RED SOX GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!

I love the smell of Grand Slams in the morning. Smells like... Victorino.

This is crazy. I'd say that I don't believe it, but with this team I can believe anything. The Red Sox are back in the World Series, a year after being a shambolic travesty.

This team finds different ways to win. They're like a Swiss Army knife, employing the necessary tools to get the job done. Clay Buchholz didn't go deep into the game, so the bullpen stepped up for him. Brandon Workman got 5 outs. Junichi Tazawa only got 1 out but it was Miguel Cabrera.

Sidebar: Tazawa totally owned Cabrera in this series. Cabrera had several big at-bats with runners on in the late innings, and Tazawa neutralized him. Tazawa deserves an honorable mention for ALCS MVP.

After Taz, Breslow pitched a scoreless 8th, and Koji Uehara threw 11 straight strikes for his third save of the series. That's what Koji Ueharas do.

Shane Victorino has not had a good series. He was 2 for 23 in the ALCS when he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the 7th. He was down 0-2 in the count. Then he smacked a hanging curveball into the Monster seats.

In the top of that same inning Stephen Drew, who has struggled at the plate in these playoffs, got to a Cabrera grounder up the middle and prevented Detroit from adding to their lead. He was 1 for 20 in this series, but he did his job defensively.

The maturity of Xander Bogaerts staggers me. He started the season in AA Portland, last year he was in High-A Salem, now he's in the ALCS and having quality at-bats like a veteran. I'm so happy he is the short-stop of the future and not Jose Iglesias. Iglesias had a chip on his shoulder as if he were already an established Major Leaguer. Bogaerts just plays like an established Major Leaguer. Brandon Workman remarked to Bogaerts post-game about being a "Long way from Portland." He certainly looks like he's a long way from AA.

John Farrell has managed superbly in the playoffs. He's been patient with guys like Victorino, and that's paid off. He's been willing to acknowledge his mistakes and adjust his tactics. He's been selectively aggressive. And you can tell from the general attitude of the team that he instills confidence in his players. If the Sox are a Swiss Army knife, he is the one who decides which tools to utilize in different situations.

This team makes you proud. The way they fight and claw for every base and every out. The way they're able to win in different ways. The way they don't quit. A year ago we were ashamed of our baseball team in Boston. Now we beam with pride when thinking about them.

Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday night in Boston.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo - Matt Slocum

Red Sox Trade for Jake Peavy

The Red Sox have acquired Jake Peavy in a three team trade. The Sox sent Jose Iglesias to Detroit, and a trio of spellcheck challenging minor leaguers (infielder Cleulius Rondon and pitchers Francelis Montas and Jeffery Wendelken) to the White Sox. The Red Sox also acquired reliever Brayan Villareal.

Peavy is one of those guys who look like great players around the trade deadline. In actuality he's just good. He's 8-4 with a 4.28 ERA. He's never really succeeded in the American League. Apart from last year's 3.37 ERA. I'd completely forgotten that he won the NL Cy Young in 2007. He was once a great pitcher.

He, however, is still a good pitcher, and the Red Sox needed a good pitcher. Clay Buchholz's status remains a mystery. Brandon Workman has pitched well but it's risky to rely on a 24-year old to keep your rotation stable. Peavy fits snugly in the middle of that rotation, behind Lester and Lackey, ahead of Dempster and Doubront.

Losing Jose Iglesias hurts. He was hitting .330, and was getting on base (.376 OBP). He provided depth and options on the left side of the infield. Then again, he was hitting .205 in July, with only 1 extra-base hit all month. Even when he had been hitting well, he hadn't been hitting for power.

You have to make this move. Pitching is so much more valuable than an infielder.

One reason the Red Sox could fail during this playoff push is lack of pitching. They're not going to fail because they lack a light-hitting left-infielder. Peavy solidified their rotation. Getting 11 starts from a pitcher like Jake Peavy is worth Jose Iglesias. Peavy is also under contract for next season.

Peavy doesn't push them over the top, but he fills holes that might have sunk the ship.

Why You Choose Offense Over Defense at Short-Stop

Jose Iglesias is a defensively sound short-stop, but the Red Sox simply couldn't afford risking another hole in their lineup. They'll be breaking camp without Crawford, Cody Ross hit .240 last year, Saltalamacchia hit .235 in 2011 and is a career .244 hitter. So that's three holes in the lineup already. Also known as an easy inning.

Anyone who complains about the Sox "sacrificing defense for offense" is failing to see the larger picture that Iglesias would be hole #4 in that lineup.

And with the bottom of the rotation as shaky as it is, the Sox need to be able to have big innings and score runs in bunches. It can't just be Ellsbury-Pedroia-Youkilis-Gonzalez-Ortiz doing the production. There need to be hitters at the bottom of the order that can at least make an opposing pitcher work to get them out.

And if Iglesias is as great as some believe that he is, he'll do well enough in AAA to force his way onto the MLB roster. Playing time isn't given, it's earned.

Jose Iglesias to AAA Pawtucket

A day after the media suggested there was a rift between Sox manager Bobby Valentine and GM Ben Cherington, the Sox responded by sending Jose Iglesias to AAA Pawtucket. That was what Cherington wanted to do all along. And finally, it happened this morning.

Valentine added that there was never a debate about Iglesias. "We've had discussions, never a debate. I never knew what side he was taking, and I don't know if he knew what side I was taking."

That quote seems to suggest that Valentine and Cherington once had differing views on Iglesias' development. However, the manager did agree that Iglesias probably needed more time to work on his swing. Iglesias was 5 for 25 (.200) this spring. Valentine even said "I like to think it was partially my decision."

So while Valentine assures us that there is no conflict between he and Cherington, it does appear that Round 1 has gone to the GM. Iglesias' struggles in spring training certainly made it an easy argument to win.

It's the smart move. Iglesias needs confidence and needs consistency. He can get that in Pawtucket. Bringing him to the Majors at this tentative stage might shatter what little confidence he has left if he struggles.

Feuding between Valentine and Cherington is inevitable. Valentine doesn't just think he knows best, he's 100% certain he knows best. And only in cases like this one, with Iglesias clearly struggling, will he give up the fight.

So on your scorecards, give Round 1 to Cherington.

Boston's Black Hole of Media Attention

A Black Hole is a cosmic phenomenon that has such a strong gravitational pull that not even light can escape its grasp. It's a focused and powerful concentration of unimaginable density that literally sucks in and absorbs everything around it. No matter what is going on, if a Black Hole is in the area, it becomes the center of attention. Black Holes are the Bobby Valentines of the Universe.

Every story that centers on or even remotely involves the Red Sox this season will ultimately be about Bobby Valentine. He's an egomaniac and an attention whore. He tries to control the entire sports media.

When was the last time that (in Spring Training) there was a very public spat between the Red Sox manager and the manager of another team? How about two spats? Valentine just had stand on his platform to voice his opinions on Ozzie Guillen a few weeks ago. And more recently he took a run at Joe Girardi for not wanting to take a Spring Training game into extra innings.

He enjoys creating these meaningless nothing stories.

The marriage of Bobby V and the Boston sports media is perfect. In theory. We have one of the hungriest medias in the country here, and Bobby Valentine will feed them three meals a day, plus snacks. The media is hungry and Bobby V loves to cook.

That marriage might need some counseling, though. After Chris Gasper pointed out differences of opinions between Valentine and GM Ben Cherington, Valentine lashed out at the media. He called it "lazy journalism."

And after he denied the rift about 3 times, that's when his denials became less and less believable.

What does Valentine expect? More fluff pieces about wrap sandwiches? More Girardi vs. Valentine crap that he initiates?

The thing about Black Holes is that they suck up everything around them, without the ability to pick and choose what it absorbs. Bobby V likes to control the media, to use it as a tool to motivate players, or even just to placate his own starving ego. Sometimes, however, the media actually does their job. They report that the egomaniacal manager is having disagreements with the inexperienced pawn of a GM.

Bobby Valentine loves a circus, so long as he's the Ring Leader. That's how he feels like life and the Universe should work, with him in the center, controlling everything.

For now, that's not a terrible thing for the Sox. He is drawing all the media's scrutiny. All the pressure from the press is falling on him. The Sox have Cody Ross as a starting outfielder, no idea who their short-stop will be, and can't seem to find a 4th or 5th starter.

Yet everyone is talking about Bobby Valentine.

His egomania is protecting the team. Today. When they play meaningful games, they'll have to fend for themselves. And Circus Ring Leader Bobby Valentine will find out that the media aren't his minions. They will be his assassins.