Was born in Boston and graduated from West Roxbury High School in 2000...Led all Red Sox players in community appearances in 2006...during the last 2 winters, has hosted the Manny Delcarmen "Bowlin' Strikes for Schools" charity event at Ron's Gourmet Ice Cream and Bowling in Hyde Park, where Manny bowled as a kid...proceeds benefit the Boston Public Schools...is actively involved with the Sox Talk program, speaking to children at Little League fields in Brighton, East Boston, and West Roxbury...participated in the 2006 Holiday Goodwill Tour and 2005 Red Sox Holiday Caravan, and has appeared at the last two Christmas at Fenway events...in 2006, made an appearance at the Diamond Dinner in Spring Training to benefit the Children's Hospital of Southwest Florida...also signed autographs for fans as part of the Canine Companions for Independance (CCI) calendar promotion...in 2005, attended the Hyde Park Lions Club's 33rd Annual Sports Night as well as the 16th Annual Jolgorio Navideno, which supported several educational and cultural programs aimed at Latino youth.

Played his first full season at the major league level after spending parts of 2005, 2006 and 2007 in the minors...Finished tied for 6th in the American League with a career-high 73 appearances, the most for a Red Sox reliever since Mike Timlin's 81 outings in 2005...Was 11th among A.L. relievers with a career-high 72 strikeouts including 55 K's in his last 51.1 innings pitched, a 47-game span that began June 3...Logged a career-high 13.2 scoreless inning streak over 11 games from May 27-June 27, the longest scoreless inning streak by a Red Sox reliever in 2008...Went 11.1 scoreless frames over his final 8 appearances with a 0.40 ERA (1 ER/22.2 IP) in his last 18 games to lower his season mark from 4.53 to 3.27.

DECISIONS, DECISIONS: Lost on April 24 vs. the Angels at Fenway Park, his first decision since a win on August 31, 2006, a span of 64 appearances, including a single-season club record 44 in 2007...Won on September 19 vs. Toronto for the first time since August 31, 2006, a span of 122 outings...Was the longest drought by a Sox reliever since 1956 and the A.L.'s longest stretch since C.J. Nitkowski's 127-game span from June 27, 2000 to August 21, 2004...Set a career high with 2 saves, both in his last 16 games of the season after logging one in his previous 161 contests.

THE RIGHT STUFF: Held righthanders to a .218 clip, 13th in the A.L. among righthanded pitchers with at least 50 outings...Righties went 5-for-39 (.128) against him in his final 20 games beginning August 14...He allowed 2 extra-base hits to righthanders from August 1 onward, both of them homers: Carlos Quentin on August 8 at Chicago and Taylor Teagarden on September 7 at Texas.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Allowed runs in 8 of his first 16 games through May 4 before posting a 0.87 mark (2 ER/20.2 IP) over his next 19 appearances from May 8-June 27...Gave up a season-high 3 runs twice within a span of 3 outings from June 28-July 2 before posting a 2.03 ERA (10 ER/40.0 IP) over 35 games to close out the year...Surrendered runs in 18 of 73 games overall...Was stingier at home than on the road, keeping opponents to a .188 (26-for-138) average and one long ball at Fenway Park compared to a .223 (29-for-130) clip and 4 round trippers everywhere else.

MORE 2008 HIGHLIGHTS: Earned his 2nd major league save on August 24 at Toronto, his first since July 23, 2007 at Cleveland...Worked a season-best 2.0 innings 6 times, including 5 in his final 12 games...Had 16 K's in 10.1 innings over a span of 10 outings from June 4-July 1...Struck out 2 or more in a game 20 times, 2nd among Red Sox relievers behind Jonathan Papelbon (24)...Retired the side in order in the 7th inning on June 4 vs. Tampa Bay, the 2nd time in his career he has done so and first since August 12, 2007 at Baltimore...Had 2 losses: April 24 vs. the Angels and June 28 at Houston.