Red Sox crush Blue Jays

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Last night's Red Sox looked like an entirely different team than the one that got demolished by the Yankees on Thursday. Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino are back in action, and their presence helped the offense score eight runs on the hapless Blue Jays.

Jake Peavy pitched seven innings and gave up just a single run, then Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller each pitched a scoreless frame to finish out the contest.

Every Red Sox batter had at least one hit - and the seemingly hopeless A.J. Pierzynski had three. It was a game that triggered pleasant memories of last season, a fantastic romp through Rogers Centre that was almost enough to wipe away the rotten taste from the loss to the Yankees the night before.

Was yesterday's game the harbinger of things to come? Have the Red Sox turned the corner on their horrible start? The return of Middlebrooks and Victorino certainly won't hurt - and now that we know about secret knuckleballer Mike Carp, things are looking up.

Peavy sidelines himself

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Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy will be on the bench for the next few days while he waits for a self-inflicted knife wound to heal.

Peavy is hardly the first player to suffer a strange injury unrelated to baseball activities during spring training. Indeed, with a team full of avid hunters and fishermen, it's practically a miracle that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often.

The most interesting part of the whole saga might be Peavy's immediate reaction to the blood gushing from his hand: instead of heading to a medical facility, he made his way over to John Lackey's place - prioritizing swapping his bloodstained clothing and fulfilling a promise he made to his children.

While it's certainly a concern that Peavy didn't seek medical attention, the anecdote certainly is a testament to his toughness, and the closeness of the players in the rotation - I don't have many friends I would turn to when bleeding profusely.

2014 Bill James Projections - Jake Peavy

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2011: 7-7, 18 starts, 111.2 IP, 4.92 ERA, 24 BB, 95 SO
2012 projection: 8-5, 19 starts, 123 IP, 3.51 ERA, 29 BB, 121 SO
2012: 11-12, 32 starts, 219 IP, 3.37 ERA, 49 BB, 194 SO
2013 projection: 14-9, 31 starts, 211 IP, 3.20 ERA, 47 BB, 200 SO
2013: 12-5, 23 starts, 144.2 IP, 4.17 ERA, 36 BB, 121 SO
2014 projection: 11-7, 25 starts, 163 IP, 3.31 ERA, 39 BB, 150 SO

It's been a long time since Jake Peavy won his Cy Young Award, and he hasn't been able to come close to matching the dominance of that 2007 season since. Nevertheless, he's a solid starter, and despite the howling from some corners of Red Sox Nation when we sent Jose Iglesias to Detroit in the three team deal that brought us Peavy, his short time in Boston has been successful.

There always seem to be murmurs of a trade surrounding Jake Peavy, and this year has been no different. The Red Sox have six legitimate starters on their roster right now, so somebody is likely to be the odd man out, and Peavy could be a free agent as soon as next season. (His contract includes a $15 million player option, but it will only vest if he reaches certain unlikely milestones.)

Assuming Peavy sticks around through 2014, and he lives up to Bill James' projections, he'll be a reliable starter. Whether he's actually worth the $14.5 million he'll be paid is another question entirely, but I'd hazard a guess that the Red Sox ownership is perfectly content to pay him for his contributions for the 2013 World Championship - I know I am.

Mike Napoli gets white girl wasted

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Mike Napoli really, really enjoyed the Red Sox rolling rally on Saturday morning. The Red Sox first baseman didn't even make it to Hynes Convention Center before stripping off his shirt, to the delight of everyone in the crowd (and Jonny Gomes).

But even after the hours long duckboat ride, Napoli wasn't ready for the festivities to end. Jake Peavy may have celebrated by purchasing a bright green duckboat, but Nap didn't want to be outdone - so he became a Red Sox legend.

If you're a Twitter regular, you probably saw the #DrunkNapoli hashtag popping up on Saturday night, and unlike hashtags like #LaserShow, this wasn't hyperbole, but reality.

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Napoli made his way around the city, hitting up bars left and right. The photo progression shows that he wore at least two different shirts over the course of the evening, but most often returned to his element: half naked.

But where were his teammates? Napoli was short a wingman, stumbling around Boston all on his own. I can't speak for all of Nap's fellow champs, but Shane Victorino decided to celebrate in a more reserved fashion - by grocery shopping at a local Shaw's.

Jake Peavy: Impulse Buyer

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A few weeks ago on Intentional Talk, we learned that Jake Peavy can't always control himself when he sees something he wants.

But today's purchase was rather more expensive than a cigar shop Native American statue. Peavy enjoyed his championship ride today so much that he bought the duck boat he was riding in.

Personally, I'm hoping he drives it to Fenway for every game next season, and/or works as a duckboat tourguide on off days.

The Red Sox have more fun than your team

Things I learned from Intentional Talk this week:

• Ryan Dempster described Junichi Tazawa’s locker as “a warehouse to a Costco.”
• Clay Buchholz does NOT want to share an ice bath with Josh Beckett.
• Will Middlebrooks says Mike Napoli (sunbathing on the pitchers mound) spends the most time looking in the mirror.
• Jarrod Saltalamacchia says he kissed Skip Schumaker’s wife.
• Jake Peavy would sing “My Heart Will Go On” with Celine Dion at her concert
• Jonny Gomes really wants to take a cross country roadtrip with Peavy, and Peavy was like, “Aiight.”
• Peavy bought the Indian Chief statue from a cigar shop in San Francisco.
• Peavy has vowed that the entire team will take a cross country roadtrip on a duckboat if the Red Sox win the World Series, and the Indian Chief statue is going to drive, and they’ll stop in Vegas to see Celine Dion.
• David Ross has purchased “feminine products” for his wife, and found the experience embarrassing.
• Jonny Gomes on Mike Napoli’s celebration antics: “If you had that body, why would you wear a shirt?” Gomes suggested Napoli play all nine innings shirtless.
• Gomes offered Kevin Millar a job as his “man-nanny.”
• Millar then invited Gomes to a “sleepover” at his hotel.
• This team shares a beard brush.

Shortstop of the future - for somebody else

I'll admit it: I was one of those people howling in rage and sadness when I heard Jose Iglesias was getting shipped off to the Tigers. I didn't want Peavy, and I didn't want to lose Iglesias. Late last night, I didn't immediately see the wisdom of Ben Cherington's latest move.

Though I am still somewhat sad to see Iglesias go, I'm on board with the Jake Peavy trade. By all accounts, Peavy is a fighter. He's competitive and talented, and when he can keep himself healthy, he's a guy you want on your side.

As the inimitable Chad Finn put it, between Peavy and Clay Buchholz, we're getting a "heck of a pitcher for 32 starts."

But despite my acceptance (and even happiness) with having Peavy join the Red Sox, I'm sorry to see Iglesias go. I know his batting average has been falling faster than investment in his new home city. I know that same average is partly due to flukey infield hits. I know Xander Bogaerts is waiting in the wings. None of that changes how I feel about seeing Iglesias go - emotions don't care about logic.

Iglesias is fun to watch, and he'll continue to be fun to watch, but spectacular plays are never as great when they're made by a guy in another team's uniform. Jose Iglesias is going to win a Gold Glove someday, and it's going to be for some other team, in some other city. Is it possible to feel nostalgic for something that hasn't even happened yet?

Peavy's Sox staying White

I've seen some Red Sox fans howling on Twitter today about Jake Peavy's two-year, $29 million dollar deal with the White Sox.  It seems that some of you were hoping he'd be wearing Sox of a different hue come spring training - but Peavy is a much better fit for Chicago than Boston, and it's actually a blessing that he's staying put.

Peavy's psychological background does not peg him as a man who would or could embrace the unique pressures and stresses that come with playing in Boston, and for obvious reasons, the Red Sox brass is (thus far) steering clear of any big name free agents.  Hopefully they keep this strategy with the other big name free agent out there, Josh Hamilton, another guy who has a questionable makeup as far as Boston is concerned.

Far better for the Red Sox to focus on retaining players who have proven that they can perform in Boston, such as David Ortiz (who reprotedly has a deal in the works) or the pleasantly surprising Cody Ross (no word on a deal with him).

I think we can all be pretty confident that the Red Sox won't be handing out many blockbuster contracts in the near future; the Dodgers won't always be foolish enough to take every failed contract off our hands.  What do you all think will happen this offseason? Who do you think might end up in Fort Meyers come February?