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Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Lester's win; do the Sox need a trade?

Sean McAdam is back for another edition of projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the audio file. Sean talks about Jon Lester's winning performance last night, Coco Crisp's blazing-hot streak, the Red Sox' bullpen situation (Do they still need help, give the emergence of Manny Delcarmen, the addition of Julian Tavarez and the improvement of Mike Timlin?), and tonight's matchup of Daisuke Matsuzaka and C.C. Sabathia.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments.

On Lester: "He was able to get himself out of some jams with a double play and some strikeouts, got some swings and misses, and just seeing him out there healthy on the mound last night was an achievement and a step forward. ... To get him that 4-0 lead right out of the chute in the first gives him some breathing room. It's nice for any pitcher to have that lead before he takes the mound, but given all the things that I'm sure Lester was battling and trying to keep himself on an even emotional keel, to have that backing going out in the bottom of the first must have given him a sense of security."

On Crisp: "The thing I see at the plate is that he's back to becoming a very aggressive guy who is very difficult to throw a fastball past. That was one of the things they liked about him when they made that trade, was Coco was able to get around on just about any fastball -- very quick wrists -- and you see him up there now being aggressive and driving the ball."

Do the Red Sox still need bullpen help? "There's less necessity to overpay. It doesn't mean they couldn't improve themselves by going out and getting another experienced arm, because I think there's still some issues about Delcarmen's experience ... until Delcarmen has some September or even postseason experience, you wonder how he's going to respond to the pressure cooker. And though Timlin has pitched well, I think they have to be worried a little bit about his durability. He's been on the DL with shoulder issues twice in the last year, and given that he's 41 with a ton of innings under his belt."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:59 AM to McAdam | Permalink