Dennis Eckersley feels very strongly that Clay Buchholz is not cheating, and he has not been afraid to make himself heard about that fact.

After dismissing Toronto broadcaster Dirk Hayhurst as a “career minor leaguer” before Thursday’s game, Eck showed no restraint in similarly going after Blue Jays television announcer (and former MLB pitcher) Jack Morris.

Check out Eckersley’s pointed comments directed toward Morris from Thursday’s Red Sox Extra Innings LIVE.

With Clay Buchholz accused of doctoring the baseball during his start in Toronto on Wednesday, there was no shortage of defenders coming to the Red Sox starter’s aid. Chief among them was manager John Farrell, who admitted that it bothered him “immensely” that someone watching on TV would try to stir up trouble for his ace.

“The fact is,” Farrell said before Thursday’s game, “the guy’s 6-0, he’s pitched his tail off and if people are going to point at cheating … unfounded.”

NESN analysts Jerry Remy and Dennis Eckersley agreed, quickly dismissing the claims made by former MLB pitcher and current Blue Jays broadcaster Dirk Hayhurst.

“I have faced guys that have thrown spitballs before and you know it right away,” Remy explained. “There was none of that going on here [Wednesday] night.”

Eckersley concurred, going so far as to call into question why Hayhurst’s criticism carries any weight.

“First of all, why are we giving this guy any play who said this, these accusations, to me is tired to begin with. He’s a lifetime minor league pitcher that’s watching the video and I don’t know what he saw,” Eckersley said. “To me, it’s a joke. [Buchholz is] so nasty, to take anything away from the way the guy is throwing the ball right now is absolutely ridiculous.

“To take that away from this kid right now is a crime because this is as good as I’ve seen anybody start a season off and he doesn’t need to cheat.”

Check out what else Eckersley and Remy had to say in the above video.

Jonny Gomes has been on three teams in the last five years, and all of those teams have gone to the playoffs.

Gomes looks to continue that trend with the Red Sox in 2013, and the team is already on the right track, beating the Yankees on Opening Day 8-2.

In Monday’s win, the left fielder gave justification for the Sox paying him $10 million for two years. His baserunning prowess and experience winning could be just what the Sox need to live to see October.

Gomes also brings some intangibles to the table. As Dennis Eckersley describes it, “This guy is a different cat.”

Check out the video above to see what else Tom Caron and Eckersley had to say about Gomes.

Dennis Eckersley accomplished a lot of great things throughout his baseball career, but the former big league pitcher can't help but be amazed by those able to read Braille.

Eckersley stopped by Perkins School for the Blind recently, and the NESN analyst was delighted to see a number of reading enthusiasts who were willing to spend some time reading Braille with him. Eck is proud to be part of NESN's partnership with Perkins, which began in 2010 and is now stronger than ever.

For more information about Perkins School for the Blind, visit Perkins.org.

Keith Cardoza and his wife Angela won NESN’s Viewer Survey Giveaway and received a personal tour of NESN’s studios.

The Manchester, NH couple won the contest after taking a NESN Red Sox viewer survey at NESN.com. The Cardozas got to watch Red Sox pregame coverage live from inside the NESN studio and then enjoyed the game with Dennis Eckersley and Tom Caron.

They even ran into another Red Sox legend inside the NESN halls. See what Keith and Angela were up to on Monday at NESN headquarters.

Click here to see what goes on behind the scenes at NESN >>

The Red Sox have once again been the talk of baseball in recent days, this time for the resurrection of even more dissension within the clubhouse.

But team owner John Henry sent out a letter on Wednesday to explain the root of the controversy and quell any of the lingering questions surrounding the team.

NESN's Dennis Eckersley discussed the letter with Tom Caron on Wednesday, explaining that it was necessary to settle some of the tension surrounding the team as well as within the clubhouse.

Check out the video above to see more from Eck and T.C.'s debate on the issue.

It’s just been that kind of season for the Red Sox.

Every time a key cog gets ready to return to the lineup, someone goes down with their own injury seemingly right on cue, and on Friday night — with David Ortiz‘ return to regular duty seemingly imminent — that somebody was rookie third baseman Will Middlebrooks.

It looks like Middlebrooks will miss the rest of the season with a broken right wrist, and that means the Red Sox will go the entire 2012 campaign without ever being able to field their projected preseason lineup. In the here-and-now, however, the Sox need options at third base, and among those are Nick Punto, the newly acquired Danny Valencia and Pedro Ciriaco, who started at third on Saturday.

Watch the video above to hear Bobby Valentine on Middlebrooks’ injury, in addition to Dale Arnold and Dennis Eckersley‘s take on those hot corner options.

NESN called in a new level of analysts before the Red Sox' game against Toronto on Sunday.

The J.G. Lord softball team from Alfred, Maine, packed into the studio. The young players asked Dennis Eckersley some hard-hitting questions and even had their own special send-off cheer for the Sox.

See what they had to say with Tom Caron and the Red Sox First Pitch crew.

The red Sox will see Jonathan Papelbon on Friday for the first time since the All-Star closer left during the offseason.

Papelbon had some interesting things to say about his former club on Thursday and he appears to have even developed a new alter-ego, "Cinco."

NESN Red Sox analyst Dennis Eckersley broke down Papelbon's attitude and overall pitching style during Thursday's segment of NESN Daily.

Check out the video above to see more from Eck.

Dennis Eckersley is a Hall of Fame pitcher who is never afraid to give his opinion when working as an analyst for NESN. But did you know that he can also bake a mean pumpkin pie?

Or how about the fact that Jim Rice can rock out on the drums? You probably had no clue that Don Orsillo knows his way around a saxophone. And when it comes to Christmas trees, is there anyone better than the duo of Jerry Remy and Tom Caron?

Well, none of this may actually be true, but in the JibJab video featured on Red Sox Hot Stove Live, it all comes to be as the group of NESN analysts wish you a happy holiday.

Check it out in the video above.

Most parents will tell you that watching their kids play is often difficult to watch. You want your kid to succeed so badly, yet you have no control whatsoever on whether they actually do once they take the field.

NESN's Dennis Eckersley thinks that watching the Red Sox lately falls under the same category. It's been difficult to watch the Sox struggle throughout September knowing that he and the rest of Red Sox Nation can't do anything about it.

Eckersley said he also felt that way in 1978, when the Sox saw a big late-season lead slip away. That season, he last pitched on the Saturday before the season ended, and then had to watch while the Sox' fate was determined over the course of the next two games — without him having any control.

To hear more from Eckersley about that season and the anxiety that Red Sox Nation is currently feeling, check out the video above.

The Red Sox have struggled throughout September, which has allowed the Rays and Angels to hang around in the American League wild-card race. And while the Sox have remained confident throughout it all, David Ortiz admits that pressure is part of the game.

"Whoever has told you that we haven't been feeling pressure these past three weeks is lying," Ortiz said. "Because that's part of the game, that's part of what's going on…That's why this game's so good, because the pressure's right there, right? You've got to learn how to deal with it."

To hear what else Ortiz had to say, as well as whether NESN's Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley think players should show more intensity on the field, check out the video above.

The Red Sox bullpen came up huge in the second game of the team's doubleheader with the Yankees on Sunday.

After relieving John Lackey, the pen delivered eight shutout innings, during which it allowed only one hit. This was crucial in keeping the Yankees offense at bay until Jacoby Ellsbury could eventually deliver the game-winning blow in the 14th inning.

Alfredo Aceves gave up the lead upon entering, but after that, he and the rest of the bullpen pitched admirably. Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon, Franklin Morales and Felix Doubront were among those who pitched.

Morales and Papelbon even got out of major jams, which extended the game and gave the Sox a chance to pick up the victory, ensuring they'd head into the final series of the season with a one-game lead in the AL wild-card race.

To hear more about the Red Sox bullpen from NESN's Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley, check out the video above.

Tim Wakefield entered Wednesday night's start against the Blue Jays for his seventh crack at win No. 200. And for the seventh time, he failed to pick up the milestone.

Wakefield went five innings before exiting with the lead. But the usually lights out Daniel Bard gave up five runs, as the Blue Jays mounted a rally and came away with the 11-10 victory.

After the game, Wakefield said that not recording the milestone isn't going to take away from what he's done throughout his career, although he'd certainly like to reach No. 200. The knuckleballer said that his focus is on the team doing what it needs to do to get into the postseason.

To hear what else Wakefield had to say, as well as hear NESN's Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley's take, check out the video above.

Justin Verlander has been hands down the best pitcher in the American League this season and will likely have some hardware to show for it at season's end.

But NESN's Dennis Eckersley thinks Jon Lester could help ensure that the Cy Young Award is the only hardware that Verlander obtains, as he feels the Sox lefty provides a formidable opponent for the Tigers ace if the two match up in the postseason.

Eckersley said that he believes the duo of Josh Beckett and Lester is the best 1-2 punch in the American League, making the Sox a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs.

To hear what else Eck had to say about a potential Lester versus Verlander postseason showdown, check out the video above from Red Sox First Pitch.

Peter Gammons said it must be like "a dream come true." Dennis Eckerlsey claimed "this is the greatest situation he's ever found himself in." Were they talking about a lottery winner? Well, in a baseball sense, yes.

Gammons and Eckersley talked about what Conor Jackson must be thinking after coming from Oakland to Boston in a trade on late Wednesday night. The outfielder will be "rejuvenated" as Eckerlsey pointed out, by not only moving into a pennant race in one of the best baseball cities in the bigs, but also by being able to play in a hitter's ballpark in a hitter's lineup.

See more in the video above.

There's no denying that Jacoby Ellsbury is an MVP candidate. But baseball statistician Bill James' newest statistical category shows that the Red Sox center fielder might be the front-runner.

The new stat, called "total runs," takes into account a number of factors that relate to a player's performance on offense, defense and on the basepaths. When you take it all into account, Ellsbury is tops in Major League Baseball this season.

NESN's Peter Gammons is particularly impressed by Ellsbury's defensive prowess, which is reflected in James' statistic. In fact, Ellsbury is way ahead of Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson, who is also considered to be an MVP candidate.

To hear more about the new statistic and how Ellsbury compares to the rest of the league when it comes to it, check out the video above from Red Sox Gameday Live Presented by UNO.

Josh Beckett has been tremendous for the Red Sox this season, which has been fantastic to see after a rocky 2010 season, a season shortened because of injuries.

But the right-hander has hit a slight rough patch as of late — at least compared to his early-season dominance. He's still pitched well, but his ERA has risen from 2.07 on July 3 to 2.46 entering Wednesday's start against the always-dangerous Texas Rangers.

NESN's Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley talked prior to Wednesday's game about the season that Beckett has had so far, particularly his 10-5 record despite receiving the least run support of any Sox starter (by far) — except for Erik Bedard, but he's only had four starts with the Sox since being acquired from Seattle.

Eckersley and Caron discussed the pride that the right-hander has. To hear their conversation, check out the video above from Red Sox Gameday Live Presented by UNO.

Tim Wakefield's third attempt for win No. 200 was overshadowed a bit by the Red Sox' showdown with the Yankees this past weekend. Josh Beckett was solid in the series finale against the Yanks, but the Sox couldn't generate enough offense for him to pick up the win.

Instead, Beckett received a no decision, which has been common this season, as the Sox average only 3.17 runs per game in his starts.

Dennis Eckersley said that it's no secret that Beckett's been the team's best pitcher this season. He also said that the Sox are fortunate to have their offensive struggles come when their ace is on the hill because whatever they do muster up is still usually enough to get the job done.

In fact, the Sox are 16-6 when Beckett starts, although six of the team's eight extra-innings games this season have come in games that he's started.

To hear Eck and Tom Caron's breakdown of Beckett's season so far, check out the video above from Red Sox Gameday Live Presented by UNO.

Josh Reddick's 10th-inning heroics against the Yankees on Sunday night are only a sample of how good the young outfielder's been this season.

Reddick entered Monday's game in Minnesota hitting .338 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in 47 games. While manager Terry Francona might still spread playing time around when it comes to right field, especially when J.D. Drew returns, the 24-year-old is making it difficult for his manager to take him out of the lineup.

Francona also faces some difficult decisions when it comes to who his starting shortstop is. With Jed Lowrie returning to the lineup on Monday, and Marco Scutaro and Mike Aviles also in the fold, the Sox skipper will be faced with the difficult task of deciding who to go with on a nightly basis.

In the end, though, it could prove to be a luxury, as it should allow for more starters to get some needed rest down the stretch.

To hear what NESN's Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley think Francona will do with the Sox lineup going forward, check out the video above.