The Boston Red Sox are sending 1B Adrian Gonzalez, DH David Ortiz, CF Jacoby Ellsbury and righty starting pitcher Josh Beckett to the All-Star Game next week. Lefty swinging Adrian Gonzalez has been awesome for the Red Sox this year and the fans elected him to start. Gonzalez has played in 84 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 120 for 345 (.348 avg, .990 OPS) with 59 runs scored, 16 homers, 75 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Lefty swinging David Ortiz got off to a rare fast start this year and the fans have voted him in to start this game too. Ortiz has played in 81 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 85 for 282 (.301 avg, .947 OPS) with 49 runs scored, 17 homers and 49 RBIs. Lefty swinging Jacoby Ellsbury has had a great bounceback year for the Red Sox. He has played in 83 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 104 of 336 (.310 avg, .835 OPS) with 58 runs scored, 9 homers, 42 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. Finally, Josh Beckett has been incredible for the Red Sox this year. Beckett has started 16 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 7-3 with a 2.12 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. He has only given up 65 hits in his first 106 innings so far this year, as he has been downright nasty. The Red Sox are going to be represented well in next week’s All-Star Game.

It didn’t look like a big deal when the Red Sox sent lefty reliever Dustin Richardson to the Marlins for 26-year old lefty starting pitcher Andrew Miller. After all, Miller pitched in 79 games (54 starts) in his first five years in the majors and he was 15-26 with a 5.84 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. Miller was once a top prospect but he was rushed to the majors before he was ready and he looked like a deer in headlights. But, the Red Sox brought Miller up a couple of weeks ago and he’s pitching pretty well for them. Miller has started 3 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 2-0 with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Red Sox might have stole Miller from the Marlins.

26-year old righty reliever Daniel Bard is a closer in waiting. He is blocked by Jonathan Papelbon in Boston, so he might have to wait a while before getting a chance to close. Until then, Bard will have to settle for being a dominating set-up man, which he is. Bard has pitched in 38 games (0 starts) for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 1-4 with 1 save, a 2.25 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. He has only given up 22 hits in his first 40 innings this year while whiffing 39 batters as he has been almost unhittable. He also has outstanding control as he has only walked 11 batters so far this year. Bard has now pitched in 160 games (0 starts) in his first three years with the Red Sox and he is 4-8 with 5 saves, a 2.52 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. When Jonathan Papelbon gets too pricey (that’s coming soon) and the Red Sox let him leave town or they trade him…..that’s when Bard will finally get his big shot.

44-year old righty starting pitcher Tim Wakefield has really stepped up lately for the Red Sox. In his last six starts, Wakefield is 4-1 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Wakefield has only given up 28 hits in his last 40 innings and he is showing uncanny control of his knuckleball as he has only walked 12 batters. Wakefield has now pitched in 17 games (8 starts) so far this year for the Red Sox and he is 4-2 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Wakefield now has 183 wins in his 17 years with the Red Sox. He is only 9 wins behind the all-time leaders in Red Sox history (Cy Young & Roger Clemens).

26-year old righty starting pitcher Clay Buchholz got off to a slow start for the Red Sox in April. But, in May he turned things around big time. Buchholz pitched in 6 games (all starts) for the Red Sox in May and he was 3-0 with a 2.08 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. He only gave up 29 hits in his 39 innings in May, while whiffing 29 batters and walking only 8. Buchholz has now pitched in 11 games (all starts) for the Red Sox this year and he is 4-3 with a 3.41 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. The Red Sox need Buchholz to keep up the good work as the back end of the rotation is a little iffy right now.