"Wow, this game is getting physical." Monday night offered Joel Hanrahan his latest connection to the Boston sports scene, watching the Bruins'Stanley Cup finals game on television with his 3-month-old from their Dallas-area home. In recent days, the pair also had taken in some Red Sox games ("I think he might have said 'Papi' for the first time," the Sox pitcher said), although that practice had been hit or miss because of a spotty Wi-Fi connection. Before the family hockey viewing party, however, Hanrahan's Monday had included another round of rehab on his recently surgically repaired right elbow (along with a few text messages from fellow Sox reliever Andrew Bailey.) Playing baseball no longer is part of the equation ... for now. Other than spending time with Ryan, few of these lifestyle alterations have come easy. Considering just a year before he was in the midst to pitching his way into his second All-Star Game -- and a few months ago he was living life as the Red

BALTIMORE -- Matt Garza. Cliff Lee. Yovani Gallardo. Ricky Nolasco. Bud Norris. These are some of the top-to-middle-of-the-rotation pitchers whose names have been circulating through the world of baseball lately as potential candidates to be dealt by the non-waiver trade deadline on July 31. And don't think for a second the Red Sox won't be keeping an eye on every single one of them. Right now, as we sit here with 44 days to go before the aforementioned deadline, finding the kind of pitcher who might be able to pitch in a playoff game with confidence could very well be atop the Red Sox' wish list. Late-inning reliever? Perhaps. Middle-of-the-order bat? Could help. But in a group of far-from-perfect postseason candidates, it might very well be the team with the most reliable 1-2 punch atop its rotation that separates itself. That's exactly the reminder the Red Sox received during their stay in Camden Yards over the past few days. The Red Sox have to figure out what they have atop that

BALTIMORE -- Jose Iglesias will start at third base for the Red Sox Saturday. It is one of the realities thought improbable 271 days ago, also known as what had to be considered the low-point for Iglesias. That, of course, was the afternoon in Toronto then-manager Bobby Valentine decided it was a good idea to send up Daniel Nava to pinch-hit for the shortstop with two strikes. But now, Iglesias' world has flipped upside-down. "In terms of what he's doing this year compared to last year," said Nava, "it's vastly different." Not only will he start against the Orioles Saturday in Camden Yards, playing what had been a foreign position up until a month ago, but he will be doing it carrying a far different persona as the one on display that day in Toronto. For the season, he is hitting .451 with a 1.080 OPS. In fact, since reentering the majors on May 24 no major-leaguer has a better batting average than Iglesias (.452). But what might have defined how far Iglesias has come,

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Will Middlebrooks is ready to go. It's still three hours before theRed Soxwill take on the Rays Wednesday night, but all the talk of what lies ahead -- for both the series finale and the coming months -- has the third baseman restless. "Dude, you're getting me fired up now," he said in mid-interview. The talk of what had taken place to date has set off Middlebrooks, the 24-year-old who came into the season considered a middle-of-the-order stalwart. It is part excitement, part frustration. He seems genuinely surprised that the recent development of having to contend withJose Iglesiasfor playing time might be considered the elixir for his struggles. Competition, he explained, wasn't the reason he found himself playing well enough to makeKevin Youkilisexpendable a season ago, and isn't what will pull his batting average. "Yeah, everyone has different buttons to push. I'm just a competitive person when it comes down to it. It doesn't matter if it's for a