Playing nine innings while humming the "This Week In Baseball" theme song for no apparent reason (except that it is awesome) . . .

1. An Alex Gonzalez sequel? Eh, I suppose it's an upgrade over Nick Green and Chris Woodward, though at this point the other Alex Gonzalez might be an improvement, and he's been out of baseball since 2006. As we learned first-hand in 2006, Gonzalez has never been much with the bat -- his career-best adjusted OPS is 99, set in 2007 with the Reds -- and he's having an awful year this year, batting .210 with three homers. Of course, we know why the Sox brought him back: He's always been one of the most graceful fielders in the game, and that hasn't changed, though there is some debate as to whether he's lost a significant amount of range since 2006, when he played the best defensive shortstop most Sox fans can recall. (Full disclosure: I thought Pokey was better.) My man Kilgore passes along this tidbit: Fangraphs rates Gonzalez's range as being worse than . . . Nick Green's. Green's biggest weakness is his erratic arm, so if anything, Gonzalez should provide defensive stability in the late innings. I think we're wise enough not going to expect much more than that, though.

2. I'm a little stunned by all the gripes I've heard (particularly in the chat this afternoon) regarding Tito's decision to sit Dustin Pedroia yesterday against Justin Verlander. I sometimes get accused of being a Francona apologist, and I do probably go too far in his defense on occasion simply because it seems he's a permanent target of the miserable I'm-Never-Happy-Unless-I'm-*$(#))ing-About-The-Red Sox-Manager crowd. But Pedroia has been struggling lately (he was hitting .167 over the previous five games), he hasn't had a full day off since early July, and besides, isn't it a good idea to give your hitters a mental health day against an elite pitcher every now and then?

3. I'm a little late on this, but I loved White Sox general manager Kenny Williams's decision to claim overpaid underachiever Alex Rios off waivers from the Blue Jays for a couple of reasons. 1) Williams is one of the few GMs with the daring to make deals that don't jibe with the conventional wisdom (the Jake Peavy swap was another). He has the courage of his distinctive convictions, but more importantly as far as fans are concerned, he has a knack for generating some interesting baseball discussion. 2) I have this completely unjustifiable hunch that Rios, who is only 28, is going to be worth the gamble despite his lackadaisical reputation. 3) If I recall correctly, Williams was mocked by Billy Beane in "Moneyball," so there's some irony in him bailing out J.P. Ricciardi, a former Beane underling, by taking Rios's bad contract off his hands just a few years after the outfielder's value was so high that there were rumors he'd be dealt to the Giants for a kid named Tim Lincecum.

4. Justin Masterson, who makes his second start for the Indians tonight after being dealt at the deadline in the Victor Martinez trade, has a 1.29 in his previous two appearances (one start) with Cleveland. I think that is enough evidence to rest my case that the Sox should have parted with Clay Buchholz, he of the .250 winning percentage, instead. See, now that's how you cherry-pick stats to make an argument. In all seriousness, Buchholz's last couple of starts have been cause for optimism, particularly his gutsy (if losing) effort in New York when the Sox were in the final stages of their disastrous trip. My questions about Buchholz have had little to do with his ability and just about everything to do with his makeup and grace under pressure. If he can continue to pitch consistently well in the bad times as well as good, then that is beyond encouraging concerning his future with the Red Sox.

5. In retrospect, the seemingly puzzling Casey Kotchman acquisition at the trading deadline probably shouldn't have been relegated to afterthought status, though that was easy enough to do after the Victor Martinez deal grabbed the headlines. While he hasn't hit for the 25-homer power that was projected for him when he was the Angels' No. 1 prospect a few seasons ago, he's an adequate hitter (career 97 adjusted OPS) who plays an outstanding first base, and there's certainly some value in that type of player. I thought it was interesting that Theo Epstein, who was surprisingly candid during his interview with WEEI's "Dale and Holley" yesterday, indicated that Kotchman, who is just 26, might be a bigger part of the Red Sox' future plans than we have realized. I wasn't sure why they made the deal when they did, but after watching Kotchman and hearing the Sox' explanation, I like it a lot. Now, if I could just forget that notorious second-half slugger Adam LaRoche has an 1.122 OPS for the Braves since the deal.