AL Baseball

BOSTON - Bouncing back from a disastrous September is something the Red Sox have had to do before.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - At the end of an afternoon of hits and giggles Saturday, with UC Riverside's baseball alumni having put the finishing touches on a 7-4 victory over the 2012 varsity at the Sports Center, the old guys stormed the field as if they'd just won the World Series.

Well, uh, one of their number had done just that a few months ago.

BOSTON - Remember how easy things were last spring?

The Red Sox had added first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and outfielder Carl Crawford. They had, in the words of a rival general manager, won the offseason, becoming the hunted in the American League East.

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Brad Pitt was nominated for an Academy Award as best actor for playing A's general manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball."

And Beane will be there in person to cheer Pitt on, he said. Beane and his wife, Tara, plan to attend the Oscars on Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Jim Leyland has a plan for Jacob Turner. The young pitcher may have a different plan.

But one approach that should be scrapped is any that might include trading the 20-year-old hurler, a first-round draft pick less than three years ago.

Why would the Detroit Tigers consider that?

Andrew Bailey became a relief pitcher because he needed a mental break from starting.

That mental break has lasted three-plus years and counting -- three-plus years during which Bailey has become one of the best relief pitchers in the major leagues.

FORT MYERS, Fla. - JetBlue Park was bustling with sounds of pneumatic drills and dump trucks the week before Christmas. But with a little imagination you could almost hear the bellows of vendors hocking Fenway Franks and hot clam chowder while a Dropkick Murphy's song blasts from the loud speakers.

The St. Louis Cardinals got the best 11 years of Albert Pujols' baseball life.

What are the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim getting for the $254 million they'll pay him across the next 10 years?

BOSTON - Sixty-one days after Terry Francona's reign as Boston Red Sox manager came to an unsavory end, Bobby Valentine rode into town as the 45th manager in franchise history.

Just who are the Red Sox getting in Valentine?