Red Sox vs. Rays (July 17, 2011)

Red Sox (56-36) @ Tampa Bay Rays (50-42)

SP - Josh Beckett (8-3, 2.27) vs. Jeff Niemann (4-4, 4.53)

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Adrian Gonzalez, 1B
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. David Ortiz, DH
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Josh Reddick, LF
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Marco Scutaro, SS

Three Strikes:

1. Carl Crawford comes off of the disabled list tomorrow and that will force Terry Francona to make a very important decision.

Crawford's return puts the immediate future of J.D. Drew into question.  Drew has not had a good season and the general consensus is that he will sit in favor of Josh Reddick or a player that the Red Sox trade for, such as Carlos Beltran of the Mets.

Drew has never lived up to the 5-year/$70-million contract he signed before the 2007 season and with that deal set to expire, his time in Boston is probably coming to an end. 

I would like to see Theo Epstein go after Beltran, who will become a free agent after this season, to add a productive bat to Francona's daily lineup.  Reddick has had a nice couple of weeks but a team with a $160-million payroll that has serious World Series aspirations should be going after a premium talent like Beltran instead of relying on a minor league replacement.

2. Josh Beckett's start tonight is critical for the ailing Red Sox starting rotation.

Clay Buchholz does not look likely to return anytime soon and Jon Lester is out until at least next week so it will be worth watching if Beckett's knee - which cut his last start before the All-Star Break short and kept him from pitching in the All-Star Game - is 100% healthy.

Even if Beckett's knee is good going forward, the Red Sox might need to explore a trade for a starting pitcher.  Matt Garza of the Cubs would be a logical target based on his success against the A.L. East when he was with the Rays.

3. If Crawford got 7-years and $142-million, what is Jacoby Ellsbury worth?