Jon Lester got rocked by the Rangers on Tuesday. (AP)

When your ace pitcher needs 80 pitches to retire just six batters, you know you’re in for a bad night — an epically bad night.

That’s what happened to Jon Lester on Tuesday against arguably the best lineup in baseball as the Rangers belted six tape-measure home runs in an 18-3 destruction of the Red Sox at Fenway. It was the worst beating the team has taken since a 22-1 drubbing at the hands of the Yankees on June 19, 2000.

“I just flat-out stunk,” admitted Lester afterward.

But there was far more to it than that.

What the Rangers did to the Red Sox was what the Red Sox have done to opposing pitchers for the better part of the last two decades — wear pitchers down early, even ace pitchers, and then get to a bullpen that has no prayer of stopping the avalanche of offense.

[Click here to listen to Lester explain his bad night on the mound.]

After a very reasonable 14-pitch first inning in which he yielded a harmless leadoff single to Ian Kinsler, Lester needed 49 pitches to get through the second inning. He had 63 pitches through two innings and everyone — except the pitcher himself — knew he was in for a short night of work.

“I never think about a pitch count or worry about a pitch count when I’m on the mound,” Lester said after allowing eight hits and seven runs in two-plus innings of work. “That thought never crossed my mind as far as not being able to get out of the inning.”

Lester’s undoing Tuesday was former teammate Adrian Beltre. In a second-inning plate appearance, the Rangers third baseman fouled off seven straight pitches in a 12-pitch at-bat before singling up the middle.

“They’re good hitters. They fouled off some good pitches and hit some bad pitches and hit some good pitches. It’s just one of those deals,” Lester said. “I wasn’t very good. When I wasn’t good, they hit it. When I was able to make some adjustments to get to the bottom of the zone, they were still able to hit some ground balls and some [butt sticking out] singles up the middle. With that being said, when I didn’t make a pitch, they hit it hard.”

Earlier in the inning, Nelson Cruz drove a changeup to straightaway center for a double. Then Napoli hit Lester’s trademark cutter over the Monster in left-center to tie the game, 2-2.

“The at-bat to Cruz, I overthrew a changeup, left it up, and he hit it really well,” Lester said. “The at-bat with Napoli, I got two quick strikes and tried to go in with a cutter and hindsight is actually 20-20 when he actually hits it. Obviously, he was sitting on a pitch in there and I gave it to him and he didn’t miss it. That’s what good hitters do. Read the rest of this entry »

Adrian Beltre had the sixth three-homer game in postseason history on Tuesday. (AP)

The temptation is natural, even unavoidable.

While watching Adrian Beltre club one, two, three homers into the bleachers in Tropicana Field to lead the Rangers past the Rays in the AL Division Series (in the process becoming just the seventh player ever with three homers in a single postseason game), it seemed almost impossible not to wonder about the Red Sox’ decision to let him go last offseason.

Beltre, after all, delivered an excellent first season in Texas following the five-year, $90 million deal he signed last offseason. Though he was limited to just 124 games by hamstring injuries, he was highly productive while on the field, hitting .296 with a .331 OBP, .561 slugging mark, .892 OPS, 32 homers and 105 RBI.

His production did not come as a shock to the Sox, who saw him resurrect his career at age 31 in 2010, when he hit .321 with a .365 OBP, .553 slugging mark, .919 OPS, 28 homers, an AL-leading 49 doubles and 102 RBI in 154 games.

But while the Sox would have loved to have Beltre back in theory, the team instead set in motion the certainty of his departure when it traded for Adrian Gonzalez from the Padres. That deal, in turn, pushed Kevin Youkilis (coming off a three-year run in which he ranked second in the AL in OBP and slugging and third in OPS) from first to third, and meant that Beltre would be heading elsewhere.

For his part, Beltre liked playing in Boston, but he wasn’t entirely certain that he wanted to make his long-term home in Fenway Park. He was certainly open to the idea, but there were other factors that he had to weigh against a deal with the Sox. Read the rest of this entry »

Rangers manager Ron Washington wasn’t buying any suggestion that his team made a bold statement this weekend by pounding the Red Sox by a combined, 21-4, in two wins Friday and Sunday, claiming the three-game set as well as the season series, 6-4.

“It just means we took 2-out-3,” Washington said. “I’m not putting any more credence to it than we won the series. We did a good job of pitching in the two games we won. All three games we swung the bats, put some runs on the board, just [Saturday] they put more than we did. But it’s about pitching, and we came in for two games and pitched pretty good.

“You’ve got two teams that are potent, offensively. And once again, it’s about pitching. When you go against clubs like the Rangers, the Boston Red Sox and the Yankees and the teams that you know can swing the bat, you better bring your pitching. If you don’t, what happened today could happen.”

What happened on Sunday was John Lackey coming unglued in the sixth inning, throwing 16 pitches and not recording a single out in four batters faced. Then Felix Doubront came on in relief.

“They made him work real hard from the get-go, as they do,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “When he missed, he just missed, kind of bend and didn’t break. Then we get to the sixth, 16 pitches in, nobody out and run in, we go to Doubront to try and stop it right there and it unraveled. Almost identical what they did [Saturday] happened to us today.” Read the rest of this entry »

The Red Sox have four of the first 40 picks in Monday nights first round of the Major League Baseball draft. In the first round they pick at No. 19 and No. 26. In the sandwich round they have overall picks No. 36 and No. 40.

General manager Theo Epstein knows how hard it is to evaluate talent for the draft. “You are looking at 17-18 year old kids in high school who are off playing against very poor competition and trying to predict what they are going to look like, pitch like, and what they are going to be as people 10 years later when they are 27 years old,” he said.

“It’s just a fascinating process just getting to know the kids and getting a feel for projection of what you are looking for in high school and college kids and for what works and doesn’t work in the draft. Again, nine out of 10 of these kids don’t make it.”

Below is a look at who some of the top experts and websites are predicting the Red Sox will select on Monday night.

No. 19 (for Victor Martinez)- Baseball America: Josh Bell (OF, Dallas Jesuit HS, Texas), MLB.com: Blake Swihart ( C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Sox Prospects: Alex Meyer (RHP, Kentucky), Prospect Junkies: Alex Meyer (RHP, Kentucky), Mymlbdraft.com: Jed Bradley (LHP, Georgia Tech), Minorleagueball.com: Daniel Norris (LHP, Science Hill, Tennessee).

No. 26 (for Adrian Beltre)- Baseball America: Austin Hedges (C, JSerra HS), MLB.com: Andrew Susac (C, Oregon State), Sox Prospects: Josh Bell (OF, Dallas Jesuit HS, Texas), Prospect Junkies: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Mymlbdraft.com: Tyler Beede (RHP, Lawrence Academy, Massachusetts), Minorleagueball.com: Tyler Beede (RHP, Lawrence Academy, Massachusetts).

No. 36 (for Martinez)- Sox Prospects: Dillon Maples (RHP, Pinecrest HS, North Carolina), Mymlbdraft.com: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Minorleagueball.com: Austin Hedges (C, JSerra HS, California).

No 40 (for Beltre)- Sox Prospects: Blake Swihart (C, Cleveland HS, New Mexico), Mymlbdraft.com: Grayson Garvin (LHP, Vanderbilt), Minorleagueball.com: Anthony Meo (RHP, Coastal Carolina).

Many members of the Red Sox were thrilled to catch up with Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre this weekend...until he hit a grand slam on Saturday. (WEEI.com)

ARLINGTON, Texas — Reigning American League MVP Josh Hamilton had just seen new teammate Adrian Beltre enjoy his first true impact performance as a member of the Rangers. In Beltre’s second game with his new team, he hit a grand slam off of John Lackey in the fourth inning that sucked any drama out of the game.

And so, Hamilton was amused to deliver a playful message to the Sox after the Rangers beat Boston, 12-5.

“Shouldn’t have let him go!” Hamilton joked with reporters in the Rangers clubhouse.

It’s a bit early for such a pronouncement, particularly given why the Sox let Beltre leave as a free agent. Once the Sox made the trade for Adrian Gonzalez, they were going to shift Kevin Youkilis back to third. That, in turn, gave Boston a ferocious tandem of corner infielders and took the team out of the market for Beltre.

Beltre’s departure as a free agent also meant that the Sox would receive a pair of compensatory draft picks in what is viewed by evaluators as an exceptional class of amateur talents.

So, the Sox had few regrets when Beltre left for Texas on a five-year, $80 million deal. To the contrary, almost everyone in the organization was happy for a player who was considered an exceptional teammate, a tremendous worker and an outstanding performer in 2010, when he recovered from an injury-riddled 2009 season with the Mariners to hit .321 with 28 homers, 102 RBI and a .919 OPS while playing excellent defense at third base.

“I just sent him a note like, way to go,” Sox manager Terry Francona said of his contact with Beltre after he signed his deal with the Rangers. Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Gammons

Peter Gammons of the MLB Network and NESN joined Minor Details for the latest episode to discuss the growing importance of player development in baseball and a number of key Red Sox prospects whose springs bear watching. Among the highlights:

–Gammons believes that the cost of acquiring players in free agency, at ages when they are typically entering their decline, suggests that player development and prospects are more valuable than ever.

“The Red Sox couldn’t have made the Adrian Gonzalez deal, and would have had to risk five years on Adrian Beltre in his 30s, with his leg problems, or would have had to wait to try to spend $30 million on [Albert] Pujols,” he said. “Having three really good prospects and getting Adrian Gonzalez so they won’t have to pay him past the age of 35, I think that’s part of it.

“The Yankees, who have done a great job with their development system as well, could end up – if Oakland doesn’t get off to a really good start – they could turn around and go and get one of those young left-handed pitchers. I can see Gio Gonzalez, I can see [Brett] Anderson. It’s going to cost them three pretty good prospects, really good prospects. But that’s better than waiting around for a year and spending a ridiculous amount of money on whoever might be a free-agent pitcher.

“The value to the Yankees of having all those guys is, they’re going to have to give up three of them. Okay, they give up, I don’t think [Jesus] Montero would probably go, but let’s say they give up [Gary Sanchez] and Adam Warren and [Dellin] Betances or one of their young pitchers. If that gets them a guy who’s 25, 26 years old who they can hold onto for four years, it’s worth the weight in gold.”

–Gammons believes that both shortstop Jose Iglesias and outfielder Ryan Kalish are, without question, projected as lineup regulars for the Sox by 2012. Gammons went on to suggest that comparisons of Kalish and former Sox right fielder Trot Nixon might underestimate how good Kalish can be.

“I have great respect for Trot Nixon, but Ryan Kalish is a totally different athlete. He is a great athlete,” said Gammons. “I see him being a guy, he doesn’t swing and miss a lot, who’s going to hit somewhere between .280 and .300, hit 25 home runs, he can run. I think he’s going to be a really exciting player.”

He also noted that manager Terry Francona had to force himself not to judge other prospects against Kalish, whose approach to the game allowed him to fit in immediately in the Sox clubhouse after his July 31 call-up last year.

–The Red Sox have developed a pair of front-of-the-rotation starters in Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz, but have not developed a 30-home run hitter under GM Theo Epstein (though it is worth mentioning that Kevin Youkilis developed into one of the elite producers in the game under the current Sox front office after being drafted under former Sox GM Dan Duquette in 2001). Gammons suggested that the Sox are not alone in finding it more challenging to develop middle-of-the-order power hitters than top starters.

“I think it’s more difficult to develop power. I remember in the first year of the full drug testing, in 2005, before the draft, Theo said to me, ‘We better be aware that drug testing is going to change the game, and it’s going to be a new game over the next five to 10 years.’ And they drafted Jacoby Ellsbury. That was the beginning,” said Gammons. “With all their draft choices this year, I’d bet they try to find a couple of guys who can hit the ball a long way. But I think it’s very difficult. … I think finding power is going to become more and more difficult.”

–Gammons said he feels that Lars Anderson could still develop into a power hitter.

“When I first saw him play in Portland, I thought he was born to play in Fenway Park,” said Gammons. “I think this is a critical year for him. If he goes to Pawtucket, uses left-center, right-center, hits 25 home runs, he’ll be on his way to being an important piece. Obviously Adrian Gonzalez is going to be here for six years or so, but Lars could be a DH or he could end up being traded. But I’d love to see him get the chance to be a first baseman/DH at Fenway Park, because I think that’s a natural place for him.”

To listen to the complete podcast, in which Gammons discusses several other players as well as broader issues related to player development, click here.

PREVIOUS EPISODES

Ep. 9: The winding path of Andrew Miller: A look at the unique sets of career choices that the 25-year-old left-hander has run into during his baseball career, and how he ended up signing a minor league deal with the Red Sox.

Ep. 8: Key prospect issues in spring training: Five key spring training storylines of note for Red Sox minor leaguers.

Ep. 7: The Red Sox’ Cuban connection: A look at the talent base that has inspired the Sox to spend heavily on players who defected from Cuba, along with the professional and cultural challenges that those players face once in the U.S. Guests are Red Sox minor league outfielder Juan Carlos Linares, minor league hitting coach Alex Ochoa (who spent 2010 helping prospect Jose Iglesias adjust to professional baseball in the U.S.) and agent Edwin Mejia of Athletes Premier, an agency whose stable of clients includes some players from Cuba

Ep. 6: Why the Red Sox draft football stars, with Red Sox scouting director Amiel Sawdaye and Red Sox minor league outfielder Brandon Jacobs, who was recruited to play football at Auburn and could have taken part in the 2011 BCS title game

Ep. 5: The human side of the Adrian Gonzalez trade, with Padres (and former Red Sox) prospect Anthony Rizzo, Sox scout Laz Gutierrez and Sox farm director Mike Hazen. The episode also includes a discussion with Baseball America’s Jim Callis about the state of the Sox farm system following the trade for Adrian Gonzalez

Ep. 4: Evaluating prospects and making blockbusters, with former Diamondbacks GM/Red Sox Assistant GM Josh Byrnes and former Red Sox manager Butch Hobson (who was Jeff Bagwell‘s manager in the Red Sox system when he was traded to the Astros)

Ep. 3: Red Sox catching prospects, with Sox roving catching instructor Chadd Epperson, as well as a conversation with Arizona Fall League manager Mike Sarbaugh about the Sox’ prospects in the AFL

Ep. 2: Red Sox trade chips with Keith Law of ESPN.com

Ep. 1: Baseball America’s list of the Top 10 Red Sox prospects, with Mike Hazen and Jim Callis

Jacoby Ellsbury won't look back on 2010.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Without even being in the room, you could almost hear superagent Scott Boras applauding with every word his client Jacoby Ellsbury spoke Wednesday morning.

The Red Sox center fielder was asked two things repeatedly in various forms. Does he feel healthy? Does he resent the criticism he received time and time again for playing just 18 games in 2010 due to broken ribs suffered in the first week of the season?

After a while, even Ellsbury had to smile, realizing reporters wouldn’t let the issue go without several attempts.

“I’ve put it in the past, moving forward and excited about 2011. I’m moving on, moving on to 2011,” said Ellsbury.

He was even asked if he heard and saw the criticism laid at the feet of Bears quarterback Jay Cutler for coming out of the NFC Championship due to a knee injury.

“Yeah, yeah I did,” Ellsbury conceded. “No real comments on that either. I’m going to sound like a broken recorder.”

He also said he ‘feels good’ several times in his 12-minute chat, adding he isn’t worried about his ribs and is completely recovered from the collision with Adrian Beltre in Kansas City last April 11 that wreaked havoc with his season and landed him on the DL three times, with his last game coming on Aug. 13.

He batted just .192 in those 18 games, with more steals (7) and RBIs (5) than runs scored (10).

And like Beckett on Tuesday, he didn’t want to look back to the sub-par 2010 or the criticism of his toughness that came with it.

Instead, Ellsbury wants Red Sox Nation to know that he’ll play with the same wreckless abandon that was his trademark prior to last season, diving for fly balls in center and head-first slides into bases.

“I’ll be able to play with natural aggressiveness, just like I’ve always played,” Ellsbury said. “I’m not worried, I’m not worried at all. It’s not like I’m coming off a major surgery or anything like that. If anything, they should be stronger. Anytime you break something and let it heal, it’ll be stronger.”