Boston Red Sox

Come again when there’s not two games to play. Alfredo Aceves arrived late to Fenway but arrived in time to make the start. It was close enough that Franklin Morales was sent to the bullpen to get warmed up to replace Aceves if need be. It wasn’t an attitude issue

The website Althon Sports claims to have exclusively conducted an "off-the-record" survey that received responses from "more than a fifth" of all MLB players. For those of you who are statistically-challenged, that's around 20%—and around 80% who did not respond. Nevertheless, that's a pretty good response rate. Althon asked a range of questions, but the most telling response centered on the issue of PED use. The majority of players (53.0%) said between 1% and 5% of their compatriots are using PEDs right now, while a scant 6% said no players are using. More than one-quarter of those responding (25.6%) say the percentage of PED users is at least 6% or higher—with 5.5% saying the percentage of use is between 11% and 20%. Most of the other questions in the survey are trivial, silly (or both), but these results are chilling.

The Fraudulent OneA figure associated with the disgraced Biogenesis Clinic in Florida says Alex Rodriguez met with the clinic's owner (Anthony Bosch) during last year's American League Championship Series. Porter Fischer, the former Marketing Director of Biogeneis, says Rodriguez sought out Bosch's help in the middle of his atrocious 1-9 slump during the ALCS. This obviously deepens A-Rod's problems—as reports already suggest he could be suspended for 100 games by MLB. Again, all of this could not happen to a more deserving guy.

Top 1st: Rays 2, Red Sox 0 - Ryan Dempster wasn't fooling Rays hitters here in the first. Matt Joyce flied to deep center and that was followed by desmond Jennings' solo homer. After Evan Longoria singled to right, James...

RemDawg Back At Ya!The best news The Nation has received in a long time came today with word that Jerry Remy will be returning to the broadcast booth with Tuesday's interleague game against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park. The Red Sox icon had been out due to illness since May 28th. NESN has been filling in with Jim Rice, Dennis Eckersley and a whole host of lesser lights since then. Of course, no one can touch the RemDawg or match the rapport he has with play-by-play man Don Orsillo. All of us look forward to Jerry's return!

Photo by Kelly O’Connor Among the great Red Sox Victories In Playoff Series We Eventually Lost, game six of the 1975 World Series perhaps stands tallest. And that makes sense. But right below that–and certainly before any indignities suffered in 1986 and 2003–I’d put game five of the 2008 ALCS. In the list of Rays-Sox battles, I’d even put it above Pedro getting attacked by Gerald Williams then almost no-hitting Tampa Bay. Again, it’s tough to cast a positive eye on it, knowing how the series ended. Especially since, at the time, the Rays were one of our most hated rivals, far removed from the chew toys they’ve become for us this season. I was watching it at The Fours down on Causeway, packed in with all the other drunks and diehards who knew that, in the wake of the 2004 ALCS, nothing was impossible. But in the seventh inning, we were down 7-0 in the game and 3-1 in the series. So the beers were draining faster and with extreme prejudice. Then the Elf knocked in a run. Then Papi cracked a three-run bomb. And we headed to the eighth down by 3. And one inning later, we had those runs too, courtesy of a JD Drew two-runner and a Coco RBI. By now, the crowd was frenzied. And I’ll be damned if I didn’t try to get a spirited call of “WHEN I SAY KOTSAY, YOU SAY F$#K YEAH” going. By the time Drew pulled another rabbit out of his hat, knocking in the winning run with a walk-off double, the full grip of 2004 Mania was upon us. While we can never take away the magnitude of what the original band of “Idiots” achieved that magic post-season, that game five comeback in the 2008 ALCS was the second-biggest in playoffs history. And the possibility of going to the World Series in consecutive years, and the accompanying thought that we may be witnessing a dynasty in the making, was almost too much for my beer-soaked brain to process. Let’s just say I spent the rest of the night roaming the streets of Boston–literally–unable to sleep, unable to contain my feelings, unable to wait for the first pitch of game six. While I still can’t watch the Aaron Boone game, even knowing what happened the following year, I’ll roll tape on game 5 of the 2008 ALCS every now and then. Because it really was a f%^king magic show. And while we’re on the subject, check TJ Connelly’s blog entry about that game. He was spinning the music at Fenway and offers a unique perspective on the hugeness of that comeback. The post Game 5 of the 2008 ALCS: Best Sox-Rays Battle Ever appeared first on Surviving Grady.

By Peter Abraham, Globe Staff A few pregame Red Sox notes: ? NESN's Jerry Remy says he will be back on Tuesday. ? Mike Carp is available as a pinch hitter. ? John Farrell said Jarrod Saltalamacchia feels fine after...

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Rays: Ellsbury CF Nava RF Pedroia 2B Ortiz DH Napoli 1B Saltalamacchia C Gomes LF Drew SS Iglesias 3B Dempster SP Game time is at 7:10pm EST.

Say what you will about Jarrod Saltalamacchia' plate approach or skills behind the plate. There's no questioning his endurance. One day after playing catching 18 innings of baseball, Saltalamacchia is back behind the plate for nine more as the Red Sox go for the sweep against the Tampa Bay Rays. Boston Red Sox (44-29) Jacoby Ellsbury, CF Daniel Nava, RF Dustin Pedroia, 2B David Ortiz, DH Mike Napoli, 1B Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C Jonny Gomes, LF Stephen Drew, SS Jose Iglesias, 3B Starting Pitcher -- Ryan Dempster Tampa Bay Rays (36-35) Matt Joyce, LF Desmond Jennings, CF Ben Zobrist, 2B Evan Longoria, 3B James Loney, 1B Wil Myers, RF Kelly Johnson, DH Jose Molina, C Yunel Escobar, SS Starting Pitcher -- Jeremy Hellickson Noticeably absent is Shane Victorino. Typically having Jonny Gomes in against a right-handed pitcher would be cause for concern, but after blasting a game-winning homer off of a righty last night, he has perhaps earned the benefit of the doubt for the night. While it almost feels like it's been a rough run for Ryan Dempster of late, Boston's starter for the night has actually allowed just 10 runs in his last 27.2 innings, good for a 3.25 ERA. With five walks in his last outing, there are some issues that need to be ironed out, but suffice it to say he's stemmed the mid-May bleeding. The same cannot be said for Jeremy Hellickson, who just coughed up eight runs in less than six innings against the Royals. Read more Red Sox: Jonny Gomes hits walk-off homer, punts helmet Andrew Bailey’s closer role shouldn’t be in danger Jose Iglesias has majors’ longest hit streak Finding time for Jose Iglesias' Glove MLB All-Star Game 2013: Will Daniel Nava make the All-Star team?

The Red Sox have signed their first-round draft pick, lefthander Trey Ball of New Castle, Ind. He was the seventh overall selection.