By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
It is their worst start since 1996, their second worst in 25 seasons. It is the first time the Sox have been swept by the Rays in a four game series. It is the first time the Sox have lost 6 straight at Fenway in 16 years. They let Tampa steal 10 bases in four games, and the Rangers steal nine in five innings (the most since 19-f’ing-13). With the Celtics and Bruins actually doing awesome in playoffs, it’s like the Red Sox took to their old ways.
But, I think it’s time to start looking at the glass half-full, not empty. And hey, we may have sucked tonight against the Rangers, but at least we did pull out a win, after losing six straight at Fenway.
So among a string of disappointments, who’s actually doing well?
Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek: Only four Red Sox are batting about .300. Two of those, are none other than bench newbies, Lowell (.333) and Varitek (.385), both of which have been close to being traded before this season. Granted, they’ve only played in 3 and 4 games, but in that time, Tek managed to hit 3 homers. Only Dustin Pedroia (.346) [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Spring Training is finally upon us.
And what does that mean? Plenty of excitement, plenty of worried Sox fans and plenty of questions.
Only this time, it also means plenty of answers.
And that’s because of the 50-some-odd questions I’ve been emailed, texted, sexted, facebooked, i-chatted (and every other form of communication you can think of) over the past week, I’ve taken the top 20 and thrown them all down here.
Ranked bottom to top, here are the top 20 things, you, the fans, want to know as we roll our calendars into April.
So here goes: the first five, starting with 20, counting down to 16 heading into the 2010 season. The rest will be about shortly, don’t you worry. But in the meantime, you can rest easy knowing that at least these five worries have been addressed. We don’t want to overwhelm you with all the answers at once (still a couple weeks ’til opening day). It’s the least I can do.
20. Did Boston win or lose this offseason? (Ben; Tyngsboro, MA)
Considering what their options were, I’d say they won out. There really weren’t any big shiny names out there, aside from Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, both [...]

By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Defense wins championships.  You mostly hear that statement uttered by football experts and fans alike.  Alabama just won a national title with a powerful defense.
This philosophy can also apply many sports.  The Celtics won the title in 2008 with the best defense in basketball.
And now, the Red Sox are going to try to win it all with defense.  In baseball it’s more specifically defense and pitching and the Sox have loaded up on both this offseason.
The surprising signing of Angels ace John Lackey added another great arm to its starting rotation.  Lackey joins Josh Becket and Jon Lester, and all of them could be aces on many teams around the majors.  Add a continuing to improve Clay Buchholz, a hopefully healthy Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Tim Wakefield as the wildcard and you’ve got a tremendous starting rotation.
Defensively the Sox added Mike Cameron to the outfield.  He will take over center and Jacoby Ellsbury will shift to left.  While the signing of a 37-year-old outfielder was a bit troubling, Cameron is still a top outfielder defensively.
And finally, the recent signing of Adrian Beltre to play third base gives the Sox perhaps the premier defensive third baseman in [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies editor
What’s buzzing on that yawkey talkie today?

Tom Brady defends Moss’ honor. Carolina defense accussed Moss of quitting on the Pats on Sunday. While admitting he had one of the worst games of his career, Brady reminded fans that Moss is still one of the best players in the NFL: ”He’s one of the top receivers in the league right now.  ”He is up there in yards and catches and touchdowns. Every game plan that the defense comes up with is trying to stop Randy Moss. … It’s not like they don’t have respect for him when their game plan is built around stopping him… Randy is one of the best players in the history of the NFL. When it doesn’t go perfect out there, everyone wants to jump on Randy. It’s all of us, and we all have to do a better job.”

Sox send Lackey in for a physical, possible signing? He’s part of the reason our season ended in an embarrassing Divisional Series sweep. Former Angels right-handed pitcher John Lackey reportedly had a physical for the Sox, suggesting that an agreement is close. Reaching a deal with Lackey could mean the Sox will terminate their pursuit re-signing of [...]