Little Shame in Boston's Lost Season
by Ed Price
BOSTON -- Between day/night doubleheaders at Fenway Park, the entire Red Sox front office -- even team president Larry Lucchino and general manager Theo Epstein -- help pick up trash from the first game so the stadium is clean when fans arrive for the second.
But they have not been able to clean up the mess of this season.
Sunday's 7-5 loss, finishing a sweep at the hands of the White Sox, embodied Boston's season as a whole: scrapping to stay in it, then, short-handed, running out of gas at the end.
"It's tough," said Victor Martinez, whose two-run homer in the seventh had put the Red Sox ahead. "Time is running out. We're still trying.
"Obviously, things aren't going the way we wanted. What can you do?"
by Josh Alper
If the Red Sox want to keep Victor Martinez in Boston, it looks like they'll need to find a place for him on their 2013 roster.
Martinez, who can become a free agent after the season, told WEEI that he won't be accepting the two-year contract offer that the Sox sent his way last week. He didn't sound insulted by the offer and didn't salt the Earth or anything, but Martinez made it abundantly clear that he's looking for a bit more length on his next contract.
"That's a business part of this game," Martinez said. "They're trying to do one thing, and we'll see what happens. I don't really have to do it. They came with something, and that might just be where the negotiations start, but I don't see myself signing a two-year deal. I'm young enough. I work so hard and I give it all. I just want to be treated fair. It wasn't hard because it was something I wasn't expecting. I wasn't expecting a two-year deal, anyway. I wasn't expecting for them to come to me during the season anyways." 
by Tom Fornelli
The Detroit Tigers found themselves in a bit of a bidding war with the Chicago White Sox this winter over Johnny Damon before signing the free agent, but now that they find themselves out of the playoff picture, they may be looking to move him.
The Tigers placed Damon on waivers on Thursday, and as of Monday afternoon, one team had placed a claim on Damon.
That team happens to be the one Damon helped win its first World Series title in 86 years back in 2004: the Boston Red Sox.
"It's probably as tough of a decision for me to make right now as it was for me to leave Boston for New York," Damon told reporters Monday. "It's something that, fortunately, we have some time to think about." 
On Sunday afternoon we saw Minnesota Twins manager Ron Gardenhire faced with the tough decision of what to do with his starting pitcher Kevin Slowey. Slowey had a no-hitter going through seven innings, but had thrown 106 pitches and had missed his last start thanks to elbow tendinitis.
In the end, Gardenhire pulled Slowey, the bullpen gave up the no-hit bid, and then the Twins went on to win anyway. Right or wrong, it's just another example of the way organizations treat their pitchers these days compared to the way they used them in days of yore.
Which could basically be summed up as "go out there and throw until your arm falls off."
Bill Lee pitched during that era, and pitched quite well, and it seems that he may be a testament to the theory that the more innings a pitcher throws, the stronger his arm becomes. After all, Lee just signed a deal to pitch for the Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League on Monday.
He's 63 years old. 
by FanHouse Staff
Dustin Pedroia received a pretty nice present from the Red Sox on the day of his 27th birthday. The All-Star second baseman was activated from the disabled list in time for Tuesday night's game against the Angels.
Pedroia had spent the previous 44 games on the 15-day DL with a fracture in his left foot suffered on June 25 in San Francisco.
The Red Sox have been victim to rash of injuries this year, with high-profile names like catcher Victor Martinez, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, catcher Jason Varitek, right-handed pitcher Josh Beckett and outfielder Mike Cameron all missing significant chunks of time and first baseman Kevin Youkilis now out for the season.