Some noteworthy stories from around the web for Red Sox fans:
- In a season when it can be hard to remember sometimes why we’re still watching, the Providence Journal breaks down why September matters to David Ross, Koji Uehara, Craig Breslow, and other Red Sox players.
- ESPN’s Gordon Edes rounds up a bunch of stats from another ugly Red Sox month, like these:
- Xander Bogaerts‘ .123 AVG in August was the lowest by a Sox player in August since Glenn Hoffman batted .101 in 1981.
- The Sox were 13th of 15 American League teams in batting average (.231), 14th in OBP (.298), 14th in slugging (.335) and 14th in OPS (.633).
- Red Sox starters’ ERA in August was 5.08, 14th in the league, exceeded only by the Twins’ 5.76, though the Boston bullpen ranked 4th with a 2.57 ERA.
- Rob Bradford writes that James Shields may be the likeliest addition to the Red Sox in the offseason, especially if Lester is out of the picture. Describing Shields, his one-time boss, Rays manager Joe Maddon says, “I’m not saying arrogant, but outwardly confident,” which coming from Maddon may give cause for alarm.