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Baseball Today: Tuesday, July 3

ONE TO REMEMBER: Games come and games go and, win or lose, most of them fade from memory. But then there are moments, the best of which stay with us forever. Jacoby Ellsbury delivered one last night, when he soared home from second base on a wild pitch (Above, Journal photo by Mary Murphy) during the Red Sox' 7-3 win over the Rangers. "Blink, and you'll miss him,'' writes Sean McAdam, referring to both Ellsbury's speed -- the kind that's rarely been seen around Fenway Park for lo these past 95 years -- and the fact that he probably won't be here much longer. (Coco Crisp may return to the lineup tonight, and while that doesn't mean Ellsbury will be shipped back to Pawtucket immediately, he probably will only stay until Joel Piniero comes off the disabled list.) But Sean notes: ''[While] waiting for the Red Sox’ offense to resuscitate itself, Jacoby Ellsbury is a coming attraction, a sneak preview of the future.'' Lucky us; even after he's gone from Boston, albeit temporarily, we'll still get to watch him.

WE PROBABLY WON'T REMEMBER THE REST, BUT MAYBE WE SHOULD: At season's end, a 7-3 win over Texas on July 2 won't be recalled as much reason for celebration. But in light of the offensive struggles of the last two nights, the Sox had reason to feel better about things when it was over, particulary since the scuffling regulars were picked up by the support staff. The loudest of the unsung heroes was Eric Hinske, who didn't even know he was going to play until about three hours before gametime. It seemed particularly apt for the Sox to coast to victory on the backs of Hinske, Ellsbury and Kason Gabbard since Terry Francona had raved about the team's depth in his pregame talk with the media.

YOU'RE OUR GUY: Many people -- including yours truly -- felt that Julio Lugo might have lost the fans forever through a combination of offensive ineptitude, his bloated contract, and a Steve Lyons-like baserunning blunder for the ages on Saturday, but they couldn't have been more supportive last night. Even Francona seemed a little worried about that before the game, saying one of the reasons he was putting Lugo back in the lineup is that he ''can't manage like a fan.'' Lugo still didn't get a hit, extending his slump to 0-for-33, but he did walk twice and have a sacrifice bunt.

(All above stories from projo.com and projo.com's Sox Blog.)

'I FEEL BANANAS EVERY DAY': That's what's Lugo says playing for the Red Sox does for him, and apparently that's a good thing. (Boston Herald)

BUT THE SOX DON'T: ESPN.com's Rob Neyer notes that Lugo is continuing a strange Boston tradition: ''Every year the Red Sox change shortstops, and every year the new shortstop is worse than the old one.''

REMEMBER WHEN: RockCatsNews.com takes a look at the history of Double-A baseball in their neck of Connecticut over the last 25 years, much of which involved the Red Sox, who played in first Bristol and then New Britain before moving their AA franchise to first Trenton and finally Portland, Maine.

GOODBYE NESN, HELLO REDS?: Ken Macha's name has surfaced, though without attribution, in the Reds' managerial search. (Cincinnati Enquirer)

WALK A MILE IN HER SHOES: Ashley Papelbon says that while she could never do it (Boston Herald), she understands what might have driven Cynthia Rodriguez to wear an obscene shirt to Yankee Stadium Sunday, apparently in support of her husband. (New York Post) The Yankees are now dealing with the aftermath of Mrs. A-Rod's little statement. (New York Daily News)

THE LION IN WINTER: He may not be The Rocket of old, but every so often Roger Clemens (AP Photo, right) shows flashes of the brilliance that made him one of the greatest pitchers in history. He did just that last night, stifling the Twins on two hits over eight innings as he became the eighth pitcher ever to win 350 games. (New York Daily News) THE YANG TO THE YIN: But it wouldn't be the 2007 Yankees without some bad news to offset the good, and the thrill of Clemens' victory was tempered by a hamstring injury to Alex Rodriguez. (New York Post) No one knew how serious it was immediately after the game and the Yanks were talking bravely about him playing tonight, and

for their sake he'd better; the Post's Joel Sherman points out that without A-Rod, the Yankees ''are the Devil Rays.'' Sherman had advocated trading Rodriguez if the Yanks determine they're out of the playoff hunt, in order to speed up the rebuilding process, and says: ''If Rodriguez is lost to a DL stint, it is the worst of both worlds: The Yanks' wild-card chances would vanish and the chance to contemplate dealing him would all but evaporate.''

BOMBSHELL COMING? A columnist for the Times Herald-Record writes that Roger Clemens' and Andy Pettitte's names may have been among those blacked out in Jason Grimsley's statement on players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs.

NATTERING NABOBS OF NEGATIVISM: The New York Sun's Tim Marchman says that, contrary to popular belief, Joe Torre isn't working the Yankee bullpen too hard.

SILVER LINING IN EVERY CLOUD: Folks in Seattle wonder if Mike Hargrove's surprise resignation means the Mariners will now be able to re-sign Ichiro, who reportedly didn't get along with his former manager. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

GIVE HIM A BAT: Mike Piazza is still sore from the shoulder injury he suffered in Boston in early May, but he is able to hit. Thus the San Francisco Chronicle's Susan Slusser wonders if the time hasn't come for the A's to forget about him catching and give Piazza the job -- full-time DH -- he's capable of doing.

BUEHRLE MAN: It may have been Mark Buehrle's last start in Chicago, and it wasn't exactly one to remember . . . though not because of anything he did. Meanwhile, the Sun-Times' Jay Mariotti excoriates the White Sox for not signing the left-hander. (Both stories Chicago Sun-Times) Ken Williams, however, is still talking optimistically about getting a deal done with Buerhle. (AP, via Toronto Globe and Mail) The Los Angeles Daily News reports that the Buerhle-to-the-Dodgers rumors aren't accurate.

TRADE TALK: Brian Cashman says that if he was willing to trade Philip Hughes, the Yankees could already have acquired an impact player to help them immediately. (New York Daily News) The fact that he hasn't (made such a deal) indicates he won't (trade Hughes) . . . . . Salomon Torres has filed a grievance against the Pirates and asked to be traded (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . .

DAMAGED GOODS?: A.J. Burnett is on the DL, and the fact that the Blue Jays are releasing so little information raises concerns that his shoulder injury is serious. (Toronto Star) One of the reasons for their silence could be that they're trying to trade him. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

MONEYBALL: In an interview with the blog The Biz of Baseball, Indians GM Mark Shapiro talks of the challenges of running a mid-market franchise and makes several flattering references to the Red Sox and the way they do business.

OLD FRIENDS: Bill Mueller will stay on as Dodgers' hitting coach for the rest of the year (Los Angeles Daily News).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:55 AM | Permalink