Projo Sox Blog

The Texas Rangers, point out Tony Massarotti of the Boston Herald, can't pitch. And if you're looking for a reason why they're 0-6 so far this season in Boston, look no further.

The Red Sox made it six in a row over the Rangers with an 8-4 win last night, mainly because they had someone who can pitch: Jon Lester (above). Paul Kenyon has the story of how Lester raised his record to 11-4, and lowered his ERA to 3.25, with 7 1/3 strong innings, and how Sox hitters feasted on the flotsam and jetsam sent to the mound by beleaguered Texas manager Ron Washington. And the news just gets worse for the Rangers: One of their few good ones, Vicente Padilla, had to be scratched from tonight's start after receiving a cortisone injection in the sternum/clavicle area. (Dallas Morning News) Tommy Hunter will get the call, instead.

Unarmed. It's a tough way to play in Boston.

BOSTON'S NEWEST BYRD: He won't reach the heights of the other Boston athletic hero named Bird -- yes, yes, I know it's spelled different -- and in fact he's not even the first Red Sox pitcher with the name . . . and, yeah, I know the other one was 'Bird,' too. (Doug pitched briefly for the Sox at the same time Larry was soaring for the Celtics.) But Paul Byrd (right) arrived in town yesterday and Steven Krasner reports he's more than happy to be here. Massarotti says it will probably wind up being a strictly cash deal with no other players changing hands.

GALACTICALLY STUPID: That's what the blog THE BOOK -- Playing The Percentages In Baseball thinks of the Red Sox' acquisition of Byrd because he'll be replacing someone who's better than him -- Clay Buchholz -- in the rotation.

WHO SEZ? Can't quite figure how they reached that conclusion off Buchholz' recent showings. And it remains to be seen whether he's coming out of the rotation in any case; as of right now, Buchholz is still one of the five starters. But Krasner shows some of the lessons Buchholz could learn from Lester, who struggled in 2006 much the way Buchholz is struggling now before eventually righting himself.

HAVE A SEAT: Mike Lowell, he of the strained oblique, began what may be a lengthy stint on the disabled list yesterday. Krasner talks to him about it.

PICKING UP THE SLACK: It looks as if Kevin Youkilis (left, being congratulated by David Ortiz after both of them had scored on Jed Lowrie's double) will be Lowell's main replacement at third base and, in his Inside The Game feature, Krasner points out the Sox won't lose anything offensively.

MISSED CALL: The Boston Herald's Steve Buckley says a controversy is brewing in Boston about the 16-year-old who was ejected from Fenway Park -- unfairly, says his family -- for allegedly interfering with David Ortiz' third-inning double Tuesday night. Replays show the young man who was tossed, Steve Falzone, wasn't the person who originally reached for the ball, and it's also questionable whether the play was actually interference in the first place. The family says they're Red Sox fans and will remain Red Sox fans, but they're "very disappointed" that the team would put a teenager with no ride home out on the street by himself.

YOUNG GUNS: Justin Masterson is one of five young players listed by Dugout Central's Jeff Moore, writing on FoxSports.com, as a potential key player down the stretch.

KING FOR A DAY: Charlie Zink was still in the clouds a day after his one-and-done game in the big leagues. He tells Mike Szostak he wasn't as nervous as he thought he'd be, and PawSox manager Ron Johnson makes the point that "Charlie went to the big leagues and we won the game, whether it was 19-17 or 2-1. We won the game. Whatever level you want to evaluate it, it worked out good."

NEXT! David Pauley was yesterday's up-and-down pitcher, recalled for a night in case the Sox' overworked bullpen needed help and then sent back down immediately after the game. Jeff Bailey was recalled in his place. Krasner has the details.

Q AND A WITH . . . Red Sox farmhand Lars Anderson, conducted by old friend David Laurila for Baseball Prospectus.

EXPLAIN IT TO ME: Don Zimmer can't understand why Jim Rice isn't in the Hall of Fame. (espn.com)

NOTHING LIKE IT: Jay Johnstone -- who'll be part of an Old-Timers' Red Sox vs. Yankees game in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre this weekend -- was only part of the Red Sox-Yankee rivalry for parts of two years. But he knows first-hand how intense it is. (dailyreview.com)

'TOE-TAG DEAD': That's George King's assessment of the Yankees after they completed a 3-7 road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Twins (New York Post) in which they lost yet another pitcher: Dan Giese. (New York Daily News) Peter Abraham says that, for the first time, you get the sense that Derek Jeter is worried. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

SHARE THE BLAME: Baseball Musings' David Pinto says the Yankee offense has been just as bad as the pitching during this recent stretch.

WWGD? 'G' is George . . . and a lot of people say he wouldn't have raised the surrender flag as his son Hank did the other day. (New York Daily News)

OUT ON THE FIELD: SNY.tv's Tom Boorstein gives us five reasons why the Yankees won't make the playoffs. NYYfans.com's Phil Allard adds a few of his own.

SAFE AT HOME: SI.com's Jon Heyman reports that despite the Yanks' troubles this year, the Steinbrenner brothers plan to offer Brian Cashman a contract extension.

GIVE ME MINNESOTA ANY OLD TIME: The Twins' Justin Morneau says playing for a big-market team like the Yankees doesn't appeal to him. (St. Paul Pioneer Press) Which is too bad for the Yanks -- and the rest of their rich brethren -- because the New York Sun's Tim Marchman calls him one of the few legitimate A.L. MVP candidates this year.

BACK ON TRACK: The Rays -- in their second game post-Crawford/Longoria -- managed to squeeze past the A's and maintain their three-game lead in the A.L. East. One of their walking wounded, Jason Bartlett, says he's about ready to return. (Both stories St. Petersburg Times)

SOMETHING NEW: It's the first time the folks in central Florida have ever played games that meant something in August -- or, really, ever -- and the St. Petersburg Times' John Romano tells the fans: "You wanted a pennant race? This is what it is like. It is exhilaration, and it is torture."

WAIVER WORKINGS: The Seattle Times reports Raul Ibanez and Jarrod Washburn have been claimed on waivers and the Mariners are trying to work out deals for both of them. Tampa Bay would be a natural landing spot for Ibanez, but it seems unlikely the Red Sox would have let him get past them to allow the Rays to claim him.

NO, THANKS: The Rays say they're not interested in veteran bats such as Barry Bonds, Kenny Lofton and Gary Sheffield, even though Giants GM Brian Sabean says the Rays should sign Bonds. (Both stories St. Petersburg Times)

YOU MADE YOUR BED . . . Such reports on Bonds invariably spark the angry gnashing of teeth in certain corners -- how unfair it is that such a great hitter is being discriminated against, how stupid teams are being, etc., etc. -- but ESPN's Gene Wojciechowski says Bonds has no one to blame but himself for his fate.

THE BEST DEALS ARE THE ONES YOU DON'T MAKE: Looking for your team to make some sort of post-trade-deadline move? Be careful what you wish for. Tracy Ringolsby, writing on FoxSports.com, tells us of 10 August transactions that didn't work out too well.

UNBEATABLE BREW: CC Sabathia is now 7-0 with a 1.55 ERA as a member of the Brewers as he pitched Milwaukee past the Padres last night. (mlb.com)

SOONER RATHER THAN LATER: Instant replay is not only coming, it's just about here. SI.com's Tom Verducci says Bud Selig will make a presentation to the owners today and that replay will be used "on so-called boundary calls before the year ends, allowing the next World Series to be the first to offer umpires technological help."

TIME FOR A CHANGE: The Detroit News' Lynn Henning reports Tigers owner Mike Ilitch, furious at the team's failure to contend despite a $138 million payroll, will cut expenses by as much as $40 million this offseason and that could mean Magglio Ordonez will be placed on the trade block.

HOLY COW! The Cubs swept a doubleheader from the Braves. The White Sox pinned their second straight shutout on the Royals. (Both stories Chicago Tribune) An all-Chicago World Series? It's possible, says SI.com's John Donovan.

NOT SO FAST: MLB.com reports Micah Owings, rumored to be going to Cincinnati in the Adam Dunn trade, hasn't been yet placed on waivers. And the reason, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer, is that he's suffering from shoulder stiffness and won't be put on waivers until he's healthy. If someone claims him -- the Nationals may, if rumors are to be believed -- the D'backs will pull him back and Owings will stay put until the end of the season.

SPOTLIGHT ON . . . A's reliever Brad Ziegler, who is closing in on the rookie record for consecutive scoreless innings. (SI.com)

A LEOPARD DOESN'T CHANGE HIS SPOTS: Remember old Penitentiary Face? Managing in the low minors doesn't appear to have mellowed him any. (Sacramento Bee)

HERE AND THERE: Lou Piniella has backed off talk of benching Kosuke Fukudome (Chicago Tribune) . . . Scott Downs apparently won't be available to pitch for the Blue Jays this weekend at Fenway; he hurt his ankle last night and may be headed to the disabled list (mlb.com) . . . Tim Lincecum says he won't miss his next start (mlb.com) . . . Eric Chavez' shoulder surgery went well and the A's third baseman should be ready to go by spring training (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . It looks like the Tigers have lost Joel Zumaya for the rest of the year (Detroit Free Press) . . . Jose Bautista was stunned when the Pirates sent him to the minor leagues. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

OLD FRIENDS: Nomar Garciaparra (right, AP Photo) was carried off the field after hitting a walkoff home run for the Dodgers against the Phillies last night (Los Angeles Times) . . . Gordon Edes, who recently left the Globe for Yahoo! Sports, has a nice feature on Pedro Martinez pitching through the grief of his father's recent death . . . Ron Mahay says his injured left foot is getting better (Kansas City Star) . . . Rudy Seanez expects to rejoin the Phillies Saturday (Philadelphia Daily News) . . . Big League Stew calls Craig Breslow baseball's third most-improbable success story.

AND FINALLY . . . They're everywhere, they're everywhere!

-- ART MARTONE