How badly did Toronto Blue Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos want to retain his hand-picked manager, John Farrell, last month?

Apparently, enough to reportedly shoot for the moon and demand young starting pitcher Clay Buchholz in return, no doubt realizing such an offer would be shot down by the Boston Red Sox, and it was.

A New York Times reporter tweeted earlier this week that the Blue Jays wanted Buchholz in order to release Farrell from his contract that runs through the 2013 season.

The 27-year-old right-hander was injured for most of last season after winning 17 games for Boston in 2010 and finishing sixth in American League Cy Young Award voting as its top pitcher.

He is under contract through the 2015 campaign, with team options in 2016 and ’17, as part of a four-year, $30-million US deal signed in April of this year.

FOXSports.com also reported this week that the Red Sox tabbed Farrell as a potential candidate for their managerial opening but “never considered it likely the Jays would engage in serious discussions about Farrell, and the conversations failed to progress.”

In late October, a Boston Globe report suggested the Red Sox were interested in bringing back Farrell, the team’s pitching coach from 2007 through 2010.

But Anthopoulos quickly sought to quash the report and any possibility of Farrell leaving by meeting with Blue Jays president Paul Beeston and amending the club’s employment policy to prevent those in baseball operations from making lateral moves.

Farrell, coming off an 81-81 performance as a rookie manager, beat out a long list of candidates to replace outgoing Toronto manager Cito Gaston following an exhaustive and secretive search that included interviews with 18 candidates.

Farrell pitched in 116 major league games, spending time with Cleveland, California and Detroit. He spent five years as assistant coach/pitching and recruiting co-ordinator at Oklahoma State University.

In 2001, Farrell returned to the Indians as director of player development until joining the Red Sox as pitching coach in 2007. Meanwhile, Buchholz’s earned-run average that stood at 2.33 in 2010 shot up to 3.48 in 14 starts during an injury plagued 2011.

It has already been an interesting off-season with personnel from the Blue Jays and Red Sox linked to each other.

Toronto reportedly has interest in free-agent designated hitter David Ortiz, while Blue Jays first base coach Torey Lovullo is in the mix to succeed fired Boston manager Terry Francona.

That’s all for today.

BOSTON — Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Monday that recently acquired left-hander Erik Bedard is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Cleveland.

Bedard, traded from Seattle to Boston in a three-team deal just before the non-waiver trade deadline Sunday, is expected to join the Red Sox on Tuesday.

In a pair of moves on Sunday, Boston first sent minor league right-handers Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Trayvon Robinson. The Red Sox then traded Robinson to the Mariners with Double-A outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang for Bedard and Josh Fields.

Boston had to bolster its starting pitching depth with right-hander Clay Buchholz sidelined with a back injury. The club already lost right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka for the season after he had Tommy John surgery in early June.

Francona said Buchholz saw specialist Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles today, but the team’s medical personnel still need to go over the results.

Various media reports have Buchholz possibly lost for the season with a stress fracture in his back.

“Now we need to let Dr. Watkins talk to the medical people and Theo (general manager, Epstein),” Francona said. “We’ll have an update tomorrow or maybe later tonight.”

Boston had acquired right-hander Rich Harden from Oakland last Saturday night, but the deal fell through when the Red Sox reviewed his medical records.

There is the quick update of the day.

BOSTON Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Monday that recently acquired Canadian left-hander Erik Bedard is scheduled to start Thursday’s series finale against Cleveland.

The Ottawa native, traded from Seattle to Boston in a three-team deal just before the non-waiver trade deadline Sunday, is expected to join the Red Sox on Tuesday.

In a pair of moves on Sunday, Boston first sent minor league right-handers Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Trayvon Robinson. The Red Sox then traded Robinson to the Mariners with double-A outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang for Bedard and Josh Fields.

Boston had to bolster its starting pitching depth with right-hander Clay Buchholz sidelined with a back injury. The club already lost right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka for the season after he had Tommy John surgery in early June.

Francona said Buchholz saw specialist Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles today, but the team’s medical personnel still need to go over the results.

Various media reports have Buchholz possibly lost for the season with a stress fracture in his back.

“Now we need to let Dr. Watkins talk to the medical people and Theo (general manager, Epstein),” Francona said. “We’ll have an update tomorrow or maybe later tonight.”

Boston had acquired right-hander Rich Harden from Oakland last Saturday night, but the deal fell through when the Red Sox reviewed his medical records.

The Associated Press

Subscribe to our feed!.

(Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

If you like reading our blog, remember to bookmark it.

BOSTON (AP)—Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Monday that
recently acquired left-hander Erik Bedard(notes) is scheduled to start Thursday’s
series finale against Cleveland.

Bedard, traded from Seattle to Boston in a three-team deal just before the
non-waiver trade deadline Sunday, is expected to join the Red Sox on Tuesday.

In a pair of moves on Sunday, Boston first sent minor league right-handers
Stephen Fife and Juan Rodriguez and catcher Tim Federowicz to the Los Angeles
Dodgers in exchange for outfielder Trayvon Robinson. The Red Sox then traded
Robinson to the Mariners with Double-A outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang for Bedard
and Josh Fields(notes).

Boston had to bolster its starting pitching depth with right-hander Clay
Buchholz(notes) sidelined with a back injury. The club already lost right-hander
Daisuke Matsuzaka(notes) for the season after he had Tommy John surgery in early June.

Francona said Buchholz saw specialist Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles
today, but the team’s medical personnel still need to go over the results.

Various media reports have Buchholz possibly lost for the season with a
stress fracture in his back.

“Now we need to let Dr. Watkins talk to the medical people and Theo
(general manager, Epstein),” Francona said. “We’ll have an update tomorrow or
maybe later tonight.”

Boston had acquired right-hander Rich Harden(notes) from Oakland last Saturday
night, but the deal fell through when the Red Sox reviewed his medical records.

Feel free to leave your comments below.

TORONTO – Extra rest for Clay Buchholz and a little sleep for most of his teammates added up to a seventh straight win for the Boston Red Sox.

Despite arriving at their hotel at about the same time the morning rush hour was beginning, the Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.

“I think everybody’s tired, I know I was, but I thought it was a workmanlike night,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said of his team that played a rain-delayed game in New York until 1:43 a.m. on Friday. “We’ve got to show up tomorrow after a quick turnaround and play good again.”

Francona credited Buchholz (5-3), who was given an extra two days’ rest to help him deal with a sore back.

The right-hander allowed three hits over seven innings while striking out six and walking two.

“When you’ve got something nagging, you don’t want to mess it up any more than it already is so you sort of try to favor it a little bit,” Buchholz said. “Tonight I wasn’t favoring it and I was able to get some good extensions on some pitches that I needed to be extended on. It definitely felt a little different than it has the last couple of starts out.”

Buchholz, whose planned early flight to Toronto ended up getting canceled, said fatigue became less of a factor once the game began.

“Once you step between the lines everything usually just stops for you and you can run on some adrenaline, especially at this level,” he said. “So that’s what I went out there doing.”

Jacoby Ellsbury went 3 for 5 with three runs scored and AL RBI leader Adrian Gonzalez drove in two runs to lead the Red Sox.

Gonzalez’s fifth-inning single gave the first baseman seven consecutive games with at least one run driven in. He drove in another run with a ground-rule double off reliever Shawn Camp in the ninth that made it 5-1.

“It’s just guys in front of me are getting on base and giving me opportunities every time,” Gonzalez said. “RBIs are not a personal thing.”

Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia drove in a run each for Boston, which improved its league-best record to 37-26.

Pedroia, who returned to the lineup after missing Thursday’s series finale in New York so doctors could examine his sore right knee, finished 3 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored.

The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for Toronto starter Jo-Jo Reyes and dropped the Blue Jays to .500 (32-32).

Reyes (2-5) had gone a record-tying 28 starts without a win before beating Cleveland 11-1 on May 30 in the first complete game of his career.

The left-hander gave up eight hits and two walks before Blue Jays manager John Farrell replaced him with Luis Perez with one out and a runner on first in the seventh.

Perez hit a batter but escaped the inning without further damage, leaving the 27-year-old Reyes charged with four runs in 6 1-3 innings.

Both teams went hitless for two innings before Jarrod Saltalamacchia led off the top of the third with a bloop single to shallow right field. Ellsbury’s ground-rule double down the left field line put runners at second and third before Pedroia’s infield single scored Saltalamacchia to make it 1-0.

Boston went ahead 2-0 when Ellsbury scored on a double play ball hit by Gonzalez.

Corey Patterson had Toronto’s first hit — a single to left leading off the fourth. He moved to third on a double by Jose Bautista before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Juan Rivera that trimmed Boston’s lead to 2-1.

The Red Sox got two runs in the fifth on RBI singles by Gonzalez and Youkilis.

Reliever Daniel Bard took over from Buchholz to start the eighth and pitched a scoreless inning. Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon finished up what had become a non-save situation with a shutout ninth.

Notes: Bautista, the AL home run leader with 20, failed to go deep for a 12th straight game, the longest drought for the outfielder since a 13-game run last season when Bautista hit a majors-best 54. … Blue Jays SS Yunel Escobar missed his second straight game and is day-to-day because of soreness in his left quadriceps. … Saltalamacchia played his first game since being taken to a New York hospital on Wednesday because of a stomach ailment that required the catcher to receive several doses of intravenous fluids. “He might not be his most energetic self, but sometimes you’ve just got to play,” Francona said. Saltalamacchia’s illness forced 39-year-old Jason Varitek, who on Wednesday teamed with 44-year-old Tim Wakefield to form the oldest battery in Red Sox history, to play in consecutive games. “I told him ‘I owe you a steak dinner,’” Saltalamacchia said. “But he told me `I’ve caught two days in a row before, so that’s not the issue.’” … Gonzalez previously had three streaks of six games with at least one RBI.

Thanks for visiting our blog =).

Before the season began, one question with the Boston Red Sox involved where -or if – Tim Wakefield would fit in.

To the analysts, he looked like a man without a role, but the 44-year-old veteran knew better, and he was right.

Two months into his 17th season with Boston, Wakefield’s role is not much different than it has always been. Having opened the season in the bullpen, ultimate pitching handyman is now in the rotation, where his biggest start of the season comes on Wednesday night in New York.

The Red Sox expected to send Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz and Josh Beckett to the mound for their three-game series against the Yankees. An ailing back has pushed Buchholz back two days, and Wakefield will face A.J. Bunnett in the middle game of the series.

The unsettled nature of Boston’s rotation makes Wakefield’s presence useful and significant. Daisuke Matsuzaka is done for the year with elbow problems, John Lackey returned from elbow woes Sunday and Buchholz is delayed until Friday’s series opener at Toronto.

In Wakefield, they have an experienced hand to handle a pressure situation He is 2-1 with a 4.25 ERA in five starts this season.

In the last 10 years, he is 7-13 with a 4.58 ERA against the Yankees.

In theory, Wakefield is jockeying for position with Alfredo Aceves for the No. 5 rotation spot. In reality, his longstanding reputation and past success likely gives him the edge over Aceves, who showed what long relief is all about on Saturday.

In Boston’s 14-inning win over Oakland, Aceves got the win with four innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He held the A’s off the scoreboard for his last three innings.

Aceves was brought to Boston with the idea of long relief and the option of being a starter. As long as Wakefield is competitive in the No. 5 rotation spot, it’s hard to see Aceves replacing him in the rotation.

Manager Terry Francona has spoken of possibly giving each pitcher spot starts, depending on the opponent, but that is a decision for the future.

Before Wakefield takes the mound, the Red Sox will see if an eight-day break helps Lester’s performance. The left-hander has had only one really strong start in his last five.

Francona said Lester has been relying too much on his cutter. The pitcher said that was only because he had lost command of his other pitches.

There has been no such concern about Beckett, whose ERA crept over 2.00 for the first time in a month.

His 2.01 ERA leads the American League and makes Thursday’s game a prime-time matchup against CC Sabathia ((7-3, 2.80), who has already lost twice to Beckett this year.

In two starts against the Yankees, Beckett has yet to allow a run in 14 innings. In those games, Beckett has allowed six hits with 19 strikeouts.

Beckett has been a big reason for Boston’s 5-1 edge over the Yankees this season. They swept a three-game series at Yankee Stadium in May, their first such sweep in New York in 25 years.

David Ortiz was named American League player of the week for the May 30-June 5 period. Ortiz went 12-for-22 with four doubles, two home runs, six RBIs and five runs.

He is the third Red Sox player in four weeks to win the honor, following Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford.

Despite their head-to-head success against New York, the Red Sox enter the series with one-game deficit against the Yankees in the American League East.

Activating Lackey caused the Red Sox to sent outfielder Josh Reddick to Pawtucket. That created a 13-man pitching staff, one higher than the norm, but they may keep all those arms for an opponent known to wear out pitching staffs.

Leave any suggestions in the comment box.

Not much else going on in the MLB planet today.

BOSTON – Nothing like the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox to take the shine off a four-game winning streak.

Just ask the Oakland Athletics.

The A’s had a four-game winning streak when the Yankees visited last week. After being swept at home, Oakland limped to Boston and were swept again in a three-game series, finishing with a 6-3 loss Sunday.

“We ran into a couple of good teams and they beat us up pretty good,” second baseman Mark Ellis said. “I feel like we can compete. We just need to find a way to do it.”

Oakland starter Brett Anderson (3-6) struggled for the second straight game, allowing five runs and nine hits in five innings. He gave up nine earned runs over 5 1-3 innings in his previous start, a 10-3 loss to New York on Tuesday.

“Today was pretty much terrible. It’s pretty much as bad a job as I can do,” Anderson said. “It was really frustrating. You want to go as deep as you can to give your guys some rest. Obviously, I didn’t do that.”

The Red Sox got off to a fast start behind Carl Crawford, who hit his fifth homer after David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie started the second inning with consecutive singles.

Kevin Kouzmanoff led off the third with his fourth homer and Daric Barton added a run-scoring single in the fourth, but Boston responded in the bottom half.

Adrian Gonzalez’s drive into the Green Monster seats above left field made it 5-2 and gave him 50 RBIs just 59 games into the season. It was the second homer in as many games for the big first baseman, who has 12 for the season after hitting just one in his first month with the Red Sox.

“He just hasn’t been as crisp and sharp with his pitches,” Athletics manager Bob Geren said of Anderson.

John Lackey pitched into the sixth inning in his first start in nearly a month for Boston, who swept the A’s to salvage a split of a six-game homestand that started with three losses to the White Sox.

Lackey (3-5), who was coming off a stint on the disabled list with a strained elbow, gave up three runs and three hits. In his first start since May 11, he struck out two, walked two and hit three batters.

Oakland’s Fautino De Los Santos, who struck out the only batter he faced in his major league debut on Saturday, had a more difficult time in his second appearance. Jacoby Ellsbury singled off De Los Santos with one out in the sixth, then advanced on two wild pitches and scored on Dustin Pedroia’s single to left.

That put Boston up 6-3 and the bullpen held it, something it failed to do the day before when the Red Sox blew a 7-3 lead in the ninth and needed 14 innings to win.

Matt Albers, Tommy Hottovy and Dan Wheeler combined for 2 1-3 innings of two-hit ball before Daniel Bard worked the ninth for his first save of the season — one day after regular closer Jonathan Papelbon blew a save opportunity and was ejected in the ninth inning of Boston’s 9-8 victory.

Boston now heads to New York for a three-game series with the first-place Yankees starting Tuesday. The Athletics’ road trip continues against the Orioles — the last team they beat.

“We just gotta get it going tomorrow,” Geren said. “Can’t look back.”

NOTES: Red Sox manager Terry Francona said before the game that Clay Buchholz has been pushed back in the rotation in order to give his back some more rest. Tim Wakefield with take Buchholz’s spot on Wednesday against the Yankees and Buchholz will start Friday at Toronto. … Geren gave slumping DH Hideki Matsui the day off. Matsui broke a career-worst 0-for-19 slump with an 11th-inning single Saturday. … The Red Sox last swept the A’s in August 2008.

That’s all for today guys, i’ll be back to blog you tomorrow.

Published: Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 3:12 p.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 3:12 p.m.

Gotta run!.

Thanks for reading! .

What do you guys think about this.

BOSTON (AP) — Carl Crawford blooped a go-ahead, two-run single to center field in the seventh inning and the Boston Red Sox ended a four-game losing streak with an 8-6 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

Boston rallied from a 4-0 deficit in the first and were trailing 6-5 when leftyBrian Fuentes came in to face lefty Crawford, who came through with a broken-bat hit just beyond second base.

Joey Devine (0-1) loaded the bases in the seventh on a double byAdrian Gonzalez and then he hit Kevin Youkilis and walked David Ortiz.

Bobby Jenks (2-2) got the win and Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save in 12 opportunities.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia added a solo homer, his fifth of the year, for the Red Sox in the eighth.

The Red Sox ended their longest losing streak since they began the season 0-6. The A’s dropped their fourth straight after winning four in a row.

Before his hit, Crawford was batting just .103 (7 for 68) against lefties this season. And of his 21 RBIs before Friday, only six were atFenway Park although two came from walkoff hits.

The A’s rippedClay Buchholz for four runs and five hits in the first, but the Red Sox came back to take a 5-4 lead after the third. Oakland tied it with a run in the fourth before taking a 6-5 lead on Daric Barton’s RBI single in the fifth.

David DeJesus started the first-inning rally with a single, took second on a single by Josh Willingham and scored when Hideki Matsui grounded into a fielder’s choice for the second out. Then Buchholz have up three straight hits — a single by Kurt Suzuki that sent Matsui to second, an RBI single by Barton and a two-run single by Mark Ellis.

The Red Sox began chipping away at the 4-0 lead with two runs in the bottom of the first.Jacoby Ellsbury led off with a single, took second on his 20th stolen base of the season and third on a wild pitch then scored on Gonzalez’s groundout. Youkilis followed with a double and scored on Ortiz’s single.

Ellsbury’s sacrifice fly made it 4-3 in the second and Boston took the lead in the third when Ortiz doubled in one run andJed Lowrie singled in another off starter Josh Outman. After retiring the next batter, Outman was replaced by Guillermo Moscoso, who pitched 2 1-3 scoreless innings.

Oakland tied the score at 5 whenKevin Kouzmanoff singled, took second on a wild pickoff throw by Buchholz and third on a wild pitch before scoring on Coco Crisp’s groundout.

Buchholz kept struggling in the fifth. Willingham led off with a double, moved up on a flyout by Matsui and scored on a single by Barton that drove Buchholz from the game.

Notes: The Red Sox transferred RHPDaisuke Matsuzaka from the 15- to the 60-day DL and placed LHP Rich Hill on the 15-day DL. Both are likely to have major surgery on their pitching elbows. … The Athletics placed RHP Grant Balfour on paternity leave and recalled RHP Fautino De Los Santos from Triple-A Sacramento. … In his other appearance this season against Oakland, Buchholz allowed one run in 5 1-3 innings in a 5-3 win on April 20. … Tommy Hottovy, a 2004 draft choice by Boston, made his major league debut, retiring the only batter he faced to end the sixth. … Fuentes was 0-4 with two saves in his previous seven appearances.

Subscribe to our feed!.

Boston, Mass. —

Thanks for reading! .

A’s pitcher Josh Outman delivers against the Boston Red Sox during the first inning in Boston Friday night. (Winslow Townson/AP)

Gotta run!.