Terry Francona Excited to Have Erik Bedard Join Rotation As Red Sox Complete 20-Win July

by NESN Staff on Sun, Jul 31, 2011 at 7:58PM

While the Red Sox were taking care of the White Sox en route to their 20th win of July, general manager Theo Epstein was busy pulling the trigger on a deal for starting pitcher Erik Bedard.

Manager Terry Francona spoke with NESN's Heidi Watney after the game and expressed excitement over the Sox' acquisition. Francona said that the Sox are getting a solid major league pitcher, who has pitched well in the AL East in the past and is a left-hander to boot.

The move should help improve the team's rotation, although the Sox enter August on the heels of the best July in franchise history.

The Sox went 20-6 in the month. During the successful stretch, they racked up a .298 team batting average, scored 6.7 runs per game and blasted 40 home runs. The pitching staff, even before the arrival of Bedard, compiled a solid 3.70 ERA.

To hear more about the Red Sox' historic month, as well as Francona's reaction to the Bedard trade and Andrew Miller's start on Sunday, check out the video above.