Boston Red Sox

Think about the mystique of leftfield at Fenway. Punctuated by the famous and historic 37 foot tall, 310 foot deep wall, the Green Monster.
Some of the greatest players to play the game. Williams. Yaz. Manny. Those are just three of the precious few who have had the pride and privalige of playing leftfield at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox.

If there is one player Red Sox fans will feel happiest for, and most proud of this Tuesday, it will be Tim Wakefield.

The 17-year veteran was one of six Red Sox players selected to represent the club at this year's mid-summer classic, joining Dustin Pedroia, Jason Bay, Kevin Youkilis, Josh Beckett, and Jonathan Papelbon.

With the notable exception of Wakefield, none of them is older than 30. Yet the elder statesman is the only first-timer among them.

Rumors have been swirling around Kansas City Royals infielder Mark Teahen, with most of them seem to have Teahen going to the Boston Red Sox.

Teahen could fill the third base role vacated by the recently injured Mike Lowell. Kevin Youkilis has moved across the diamond to his natural position of third, with Jeff Bailey and Mark Kotsay platooning at first.

If Lowell's laid up for an extended amount of time, Teahen can play both first and third, and provide a decent bat in the lineup. And when Lowell does return from his hip injury, Teahen would be a great bat off the bench.

Jon Lester (7-6, 4.16 ERA) takes the hill tonight against Brian Bannister (6-6, 3.87 ERA), as the Red Sox try to apologize to their fans for losing a 4-0 lead last night.

The bullpen, which until recently has been phenomenal, has been laying a few more eggs the past few weeks, especially during this home stand. It is almost single-handedly responsible for the Yankees catching up in the standings.

I know some of you won't agree with this trade. Nationals fans and Red Sox fans alike will probably not like this trade. But baseball isn't about making moves that people like—it's about winning. And I believe that this trade will make both the Nationals and Red Sox better.

So imagine—You're in your living room, watching SportsCenter when Scott Van Pelt says something like:

We’re 24 days away from the trading deadline.

Somehow, the Red Sox went from in dire need of a shortstop and a DH/power hitter in the four slot to questionable needs.