Kuzul

David Ortiz has authored some of the greatest hits in Red Sox history and holds the team's single-season home run record of 54.Still, Big Papi has never performed at a level closer to that of former Boston slugger Ted Williams than he is doing right now.Including his home run in Friday night's 7-3 win over the Astros—his second straight game with a homer—Ortiz is batting .500 (11-for-22) with an OPS of nearly 1.500 since returning from a heel injury that sidelined him most of spring training and the first 16 games of this season.While most hitters return from major injuries looking rusty at the plate, Papi looks hotter than ever.It is a trick that the Hall of Famer Williams, acknowledged by many to be baseball's greatest all-time hitter, performed often during his career.Injuries, military service, and a few self-imposed "retirements" often kept Ted away from spring training and/or early-season action, ...

In a day marked by emotion and remembrance for the victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombings, David "Big Papi" Ortiz made a memorable return to the lineup this Saturday afternoon when the hometown Boston Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals for their sixth straight win.As the longest tenured Red Sox player, Ortiz gave a heartfelt speech prior to the game in front of a sellout crowd of over 37,000 fans.  And though his statement was quick, it was clear and directly to the point.  Not only that, but it included some very colorful language as he described who the city of Boston belonged to (NSFW video can be seen here).And while his choice of words may not have been the most appropriate thing to say in front of a large group of attendees that surely included its fair share of children, you have to admire his emotion ...

Over the last several years, the famous Red Sox and Yankees rivalry has been said to be dead, or at the very least, diminished. But no matter where the rivalry stands today it remains—and has always been—one of the greatest, longest-standing rivalries in sports.So when I heard that the Yankees would be playing Sweet Caroline following the third inning of their game Tuesday as a tribute to Boston—their most hated, deeply-seated rival—I was moved.Of all the amazing stories that have come out of the Boston Marathon tragedy, I was especially touched to see such a compassionate action, however small, come from "the enemy."Admittedly, along with many Red Sox fans, I have loosely thrown that term around at the Yankees for years. But suddenly, it seems so horribly wrong.New York and the Yankees aren't the enemy. Whoever inflicted such immense pain on the city of Boston, the victims and their families of ...

Usually there isn’t much hype for the Boston Red Sox’s first game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but with John Farrell making his first appearance in Toronto since he left the Canadian organization, there were plenty of storylines. Aside from Farrell’s return, it marked the first time the Red Sox would face the recently restocked Blue Jays. The Red Sox managed to go on the road and get their third win of the season. Here is my "Three Up, Three Down" for Boston's first game against the Blue Jays.Begin Slideshow

New Red Sox manager John Farrell has his work cut out for him as he tries to pick up the pieces from last year's horrendous showing under Bobby Valentine. He's been tasked with patching up the leaking holes that led to the Red Sox' worst season in nearly 50 years—and then some.If he can take anything away from his predecessor, it's a long list of don'ts.When thinking about all of the things Farrell should approach differently this year than Valentine, the short answer is everything. But here are five crucial lessons to be learned for a guaranteed turnaround in 2013.Begin Slideshow

The Boston Red Sox are in the midst of a challenging offseason, as they work to improve on a team that went 69-93 in 2012. Although it may be a tiny blip on baseball’s radar, they made an excellent preliminary move earlier today by signing free agent catcher David Ross. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reported that the Red Sox and Ross agreed to a two-year, $6.2 million contract. Rosenthal later indicated on Twitter that Ross is expected to see extended playing time in 2013. This means the team will start to shift away from incumbent catchers Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Ryan Lavarnway, which should be seen as a good thing. Last season Saltalamacchia and Lavarnway combined to hit a paltry .204 and threw out only 16.3 percent of attempted stolen bases. This type of production is unacceptable, especially given the kind of expectations the Red Sox have as a team every ...

This article by Beth Healy at Boston.com isn't good news.Healy's article details that principal Boston Red Sox' owner John Henry "has shut down his investment firm in Florida after a period of poor performance."In Healy's report it states about the firm: "its assets have declined from more than $2.5 billion to less than $100 million."Wow. That doesn't bode well for people like me that were expecting an interesting winter of Hot Stove action.This story immediately lends credence to the report from Charlie Gasparino at the Fox Business website that the Boston Red Sox are potentially for sale.And it also puts into question the Red Sox trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer where the Red Sox traded Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Josh Beckett and Nick Punto in order to remove over $262 million from their payroll.At the time, the trade was viewed as a chance for Boston to reset its roster and ...

As the Boston Red Sox now sit at home for the third consecutive postseason, it feels like decades ago since the storied franchise was one of baseball's elite teams.While remaining relatively competitive since the 2009 campaign, it is evident that the Red Sox have lost their way since their last World Series triumph. Finishing last place in the AL East for the first time since 1992, the Boston Red Sox must now endure a rebuilding process that is several seasons in the making.Following the collapse of September 2011 and the departure of Red Sox staples Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, a decade of dominance came to a disappointing conclusion.Pitching was nowhere near the level it once was, and Boston was primarily focused on "feeding the monster" as opposed to making smart baseball decisions. As a result, Ben Cherington took the reins as the new general manager, and Bobby Valentine was ...

The Boston Red Sox need a leader.This isn't breaking news. This isn't going to change your day. Heck, it definitely didn't even phase you to read that.That doesn't change the fact that if it doesn't happen now, the Red Sox will be headed toward a colossal meltdown that stretches beyond missing the postseason three seasons in a row. If things don't turn around, they could be looking at a snowballing stretch of misery that spans at least a decade or more.Dustin Pedroia, it's time to step up.After being dubbed the "de facto captain" following the 2011 departure of catcher Jason Varitek, 'C'-sporter since 2005, Pedroia failed to initiate the kind of order in the clubhouse that was necessary after the chaotic way last season ended.Needless to say, the tall order shouldn't fall on one man's diminutive shoulders and Bobby Valentine was expected to be the broom to Pedroia's dustpan, but ...

It’s been 20 years since Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd pitched in the big leagues, but he can still bring some heat when it comes to conversation. I met up with Boyd for a book signing at New England Mobile Book Fair in Newton, Mass., last weekend, and then stayed after for a few hours to talk with one of my all-time favorite Red Sox pitchers. His book, They Call Me Oil Can (written with Mike Shalin) is a no-holds-barred, colorful look at his career and life, and he's just as open—and outspoken—in person as in print. From our chat, here are the Can’s reflections on… How he got his nickname: “Everybody says it's because I drank a lot of beer and they called beer “oil” down in Mississippi, but that's not true. It was rot-gut whiskey. Everybody in Meridian, where I grew up, drank it. You got it from a ...