Take a deep breath. For the first time since March, there’s no baseball to obsessively watch and no fantasy lineup to maintain. As much as major league players need a physical break from the grind of their daily schedules, we could use a mental break from our own daily grind.

Now, there’s a difference between taking a break and a leave of absence. Little news develops during the All-Star break, but there is still work to be done. This is a good time to reflect on where your pitching staff stands in relation to an innings or starts limit and figure out what needs to be done the rest of the way. Read more »

The Boston Globe is reporting that the Red Sox will call up starting pitcher Clay Buchholz and send Justin Masterson back to Triple-A Pawtucket to get some seasoning as a reliever. The Globe story also provides updates on David Ortiz in his recovery from a torn tendon sheath in his left wrist.

Buchholz won’t make a lot of waves in his return to the fantasy baseball player pool, not until he has a dominant outing anyway. Keeper leaguers should be on red alert, as there is a lot of incentive to buy into him early. With manager Terry Francona implying that this is a permanent move, Buchholz will have every opportunity to hit the ground running again in Boston.  Read more »

So, what do you take from Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester’s no-hitter on Tuesday night? Start with a great, congratulatory feeling for the kid, even if you don’t like the Red Sox or have Lester on your fantasy team.

But, if you do like the Red Sox and do have Lester on your fantasy radar, you obviously should be feeling pretty good about him right now. He just threw a no-hitter, in his first career complete game by the way, but he had been performing solidly and steadily in the month leading up to this start. Monday night’s brilliance was a nice culmination of his good work, mixed with the Royals’ offensive futility and a little bit of luck. Read more »

So, what do you take from Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester’s no-hitter on Tuesday night? Start with a great, congratulatory feeling for the kid, even if you don’t like the Red Sox or have Lester on your fantasy team.

But, if you do like the Red Sox and do have Lester on your fantasy radar, you obviously should be feeling pretty good about him right now. He just threw a no-hitter, in his first career complete game by the way, but he had been performing solidly and steadily in the month leading up to this start. Monday night’s brilliance was a nice culmination of his good work, mixed with the Royals’ offensive futility and a little bit of luck. Read more »

So, what do you take from Boston Red Sox left-hander Jon Lester’s no-hitter on Tuesday night? Start with a great, congratulatory feeling for the kid, even if you don’t like the Red Sox or have Lester on your fantasy team.

But, if you do like the Red Sox and do have Lester on your fantasy radar, you obviously should be feeling pretty good about him right now. He just threw a no-hitter, in his first career complete game by the way, but he had been performing solidly and steadily in the month leading up to this start. Monday night’s brilliance was a nice culmination of his good work, mixed with the Royals’ offensive futility and a little bit of luck. Read more »