Boston Red Sox

As being reported on Hardballtalk.com, J.D Drew's hamstring (the one that nagged him all last season) is nagging him once again.

Drew is 35 and is entering the final year of his six-year $72 million contract, and it might just be time for him to call it quits after this season.

Drew has had a somewhat injury plagued career.  Since making his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1998, he's finished eight of his 12 Major League seasons on the the disabled list (DL).

During my current series, I will be examining the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the American League East, on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players. 

Today, the series continues with a look at the second basemen.

Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe who writes, "The Red Sox are looking into Aceves, who was shut down by the Yankees May 8 after hurting his back. Aceves is 14-1 in his career, including 10-1 in 2009 with the Yankees. He was 3-0 last season until his back injury flared up. He would be an injury rehab project, but is working out and could provide protection in the bullpen or as a starter."

We here at Baseball Professor think about our readers first and ourselves second—albeit a close second. That’s why we decided to reach out to other bloggers (who follow their respective teams more closely than we do) to give you a deeper look into the important issues every fantasy owner has to come to grips with this season. Our seventh installment is with the Boston Red Sox and comes courtesy of Mike Silver from Fire Brand of the AL.

The Boston Red Sox agreed to terms with left-handed pitcher Dennys Reyes on a minor league deal earlier today.

Earlier this offseason, Reyes had a $1.1 million deal in line with the Phillies, before it was nixed for unknown reasons.

The 33-year old and 14-year major league veteran posted a 3-1 record, 3.55 ERA, and 1.45 WHIP in 59 appearances with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2010. He owns a 4.18 ERA and 1.55 WHIP over his lengthy career.

It's almost the start of spring training, as another baseball season will begin. It's time to start breaking down how things may look this season.

Looking at the AL East, things might be totally different from years past with some big turnover on a few rosters. Unlike the last decade, where this division has been called the toughest in baseball, it may not be too tough in 2011.

The Red Sox made some huge moves, bringing in two star hitters, while the Yankees are searching desperately for starting pitching.

In The Fantasy Fix's newest series, 2011 Fantasy Baseball Great Debate, our writers discuss two positional players and try to convince you which player to pick first on draft day. In this article we compare the two second basemen, Dustin Pedroia and Dan Uggla.

Why to go with Uggla:

The Boston Red Sox are stacked.

When the New York Yankees' GM says his rival has the better team, as Brian Cashman did last month, something must be working in Boston.

They have a solid team returning, and added two All-Star hitters and a number of bullpen arms. Fans are expecting full-throttle effort—it's truly World Series or bust in 2011.

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Over the next two weeks, I’ll examine the relative strengths and weaknesses of the teams in the AL East, on a position-by-position basis.

The players at each position will be ranked in relation to their peers within the division, with each team being assigned points based on where their player ranks in comparison to the other players.

Today, the series continues with a look at the first basemen.

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Jonathan Papelbon's recent "struggles" in Boston have been well documented. Between his increasing contact and walk rate, and his penchant to occasionally melt down in dramatic fashion, Papelbon looked (gasp) downright hittable at certain points during the 2010 season.