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Correction

Spoke too soon....In the revamped Boston lineup, it will be Coco Crisp leading off, with Julio Lugo batting eighth and Alex Cora hitting ninth.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 6:27 PM | Permalink

Not so fast, Dustin...

Dustin Pedroia, who came out of Wednesday night's game against Tampa Bay after being struck in the elbow, was originally in the lineup for tonight's game. But a while ago, the Sox called an audible and scratched Pedroia.
Now, Alex Cora will play second. Haven't seen the new batting order, but I'm presuming that Julio Lugo will move up to the leadoff spot against lefty Jon Danks and Cora will take's Lugo's spot, hitting ninth.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 6:24 PM | Permalink

Injury update

CHICAGO -- Dustin Pedroia, who had to leave Wednesday night's game in Tampa after being hit in the left elbow by a pitch, is in tonight's lineup.

Eric Hinske, however, probably won't play after being lifted Wednesday because of a strained right calf.

''It looks like he'll need a couple of days,'' said Terry Francona.

-- SEAN McADAM

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:39 PM | Permalink

Correction: Lester sent to Portland, Javy Lopez recalled

CHICAGO -- In a move that will give them a second left-hander in the bullpen for next week's series against the Yankees, the Red Sox have sent starting pitcher Jon Lester back to Double-A Portland and recalled left-handed reliever Javy Lopez.

''We wanted to figure out a way for Javy Lopez to get back and be part of our bullpen,'' said Terry Francona. ''It's helpful to have another left-hander other than [Hideki] Okajima.''

When asked if Lester's demotion was related to the poor performance in his last start in Tampa, Francona said: ''No, we didn't say we're disappointed with him. Like a lot of young pitchers, there's been some inconsistency. But this is just one start.''

Lester will start Sunday in the Sea Dogs' game at Manchester against New Hampshire. Because he needs, by rule, to spend 10 days in the minors after being sent down, he can't be recalled until Sunday, Sept. 2. He'll start at Fenway Park against the Orioles on that day.

Julian Tavarez will make Lester's scheduled start here on Sunday, but the Sox have not yet announced who will start on Saturday, Sept. 1, when the rotation spot next comes up. It could be Tavarez or it could be Clay Buchholz, who is on schedule to pitch Sept. 1 in his regular rotation turn at Pawtucket. Rosters are expanded to 40 on Sept. 1, and Buchholz could be recalled without anyone being sent down.

-- SEAN McADAM

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

PawSox rained out

The Pawtucket Red Sox' game at Buffalo tonight has been rained out. The game will not be replayed.

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:10 PM | Permalink

Red Sox-White Sox starting lineups

RED SOX
--------------
Dustin Pedroia 2b
Kevin Youkilis 1b
David Ortiz dh
Manny Ramirez lf
Mike Lowell 3b
Bobby Kielty rf
Jason Varitek c
Coco Crisp cf
Julio Lugo ss
--
Josh Beckett p

WHITE SOX
----------------
Jerry Owens cf
Josh Fields 3b
Jim Thome dh
Paul Konerko 1b
A.J. Pierzynski c
Jermaine Dye rf
Darin Erstad lf
Juan Uribe ss
Danny Richar 2b
---
John Danks p

-- SEAN McADAM

Posted by Art Martone  at 5:01 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for August 23

Hot Streaks
-David Ortiz has a team-high six-game hitting streak, during which he is 11 for 22 (.500) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and six walks.
-Josh Beckett is 8-1 with a 1.65 E.R.A. on the road this season.
-For Chicago: Bobby Jenks has pitched 15 straight scoreless innings while retiring 47 of the last 48 batters he's faced.

Cold Streaks
-Jason Varitek is 3 for his last 22.
-J.D. Drew has not homered since June 20, the longest such streak of his career.
-For Chicago: John Danks is 0-4 with a 7.91 E.R.A. in his last four starts.

Red Sox vs. John Danks
-Coco Crisp, 2 for 3 (.667)
-Kevin Youkilis, 1 for 2 (.500), BB
-J.D. Drew, 1 for 3 (.333), 2B
-Julio Lugo, 1 for 3 (.333), 2B
-Dustin Pedroia, 1 for 3 (.333)
-Jason Varitek, 1 for 3 (.333)
-Mike Lowell, 0 for 1, 2 BB
-Manny Ramirez, 0 for 3
-In Danks' only career start against Boston, in July, he pitched six innings, giving up four earned runs, striking out four and walking three. He took the loss.

White Sox vs. Josh Beckett
-Juan Uribe, 2 for 4 (.500), 2B
-Toby Hall, 1 for 2 (.500), 2B
-Scott Podsednik, 3 for 7 (.429)
-Jermaine Dye, 2 for 5 (.400), 2 HR
-A.J. Pierzynski, 3 for 9 (.333)
-Jerry Owens, 1 for 3 (.333)
-Jim Thome, 6 for 27 (.222), 2 2B, 3 HR, 3 BB
-Paul Konerko, 1 for 5 (.200), BB
-Josh Fields, 0 for 2
-Beckett is 2-0 with a 4.60 E.R.A. in three career starts against Chicago.

More Stuff
-All-time series: Boston 941, Chicago 906. In Chicago: Chicago 526, Boston 395. This season: Boston 3, Chicago 1.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:52 PM to Projo Sox Streakers | Permalink

PawSox rained out in Buffalo

Today's afternoon game between the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Buffalo Bisons has been postponed, and will be replayed tomorrow as part of a doubleheader.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:43 PM to PawSox | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: No support for Matsuzaka

Just before boarding a plane for Chicago, where he will watch the Red Sox' four-game series with the White Sox, Sean McAdam spoke to us for today's edition of projo SoxTalk. Click here to listen to the full audio file. Today's topics: Daisuke Matsuzaka's chronic lack of run support (two runs or fewer scored by Boston in 12 of his last 16 starts); Jason Varitek's inability to get anyone home (stranded eight men on base); Dustin Pedroia's importance to the lineup; Curt Schilling's strange suggestion that he might join Tampa Bay; and the Baltimore Orioles' fine display of pitching yesterday at Camden Yards.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On Matsuzaka: "The identity of the pticher on the mound should not impact the productivity of the lineup ... and yet 12 out of 16 is something of a trend, and you wonder if there's anything to that. I think it's probably just happenstance and bad fortune for Matsuzaka, but certainly with 13 wins, he could have at this point won conservatively another four or five if they had scored some runs for him."

On Schilling: "The strange thing of course is that he would talk about Tampa Bay as a possible landing spot. For someone who is as competitive as he is, and someone who kind of forced his way out of both Philadelphia and Arizona because the team was no longer competitive, why he would want to go and pitch for a team that has never won more than 70 games in a season is a bit curious."

What crazy games have you covered (similar to the 30-3 Rangers win yesterday): "What's the I'd say the closest that I came to that was a World Series game in 1993 between the Blue Jays and Phillies ... it involved more than 30 runs ... and it really kind of turned into a softball game, and I thought kind of made a mockery -- here's supposed to be the fall classic, and the best that baseball has to offer, and the pitchers just couldn't get anybody out, and it was one of those games that took 4 1/2 hours. This is a little different obviously, the stakes aren't as high, but I think on a night like that, no matter what side you're on -- if you're covering the Rangers or the Orioles, winners or losers, you try to find some of the quirks and some of the oddities that are going on in front of you and try to have a little fun with it."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:49 AM to McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Thursday, August 23

STRANDED: Hitting with runners in scoring position isn't exactly a little thing, but you don't need to succeed at it too often to score enough runs to win a game. Problem for the Red Sox last night was, they failed in almost every RISP position they had last night -- and the one they succeeded at, a single by J.D. Drew with a runner at second base, didn't even drive home a run -- and that 1-for-10 performance led to 14 men left on base and a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Devil Rays, which made a tough-luck loser out of Daisuke Matsuzaka (above, AP Photo). Steven Krasner breaks it down in detail (projo.com), and notes that Jason Varitek had a particularly bad night. Varitek not only went for 0-for-5, but in each of his last four at-bats he came to the plate with runners at first and second and two outs . . . and came up empty every time. The final one, with two outs in the ninth, ended the game.

WHAT A WASTE: Baseball Musing's David Pinto takes a closer look at the Red Sox' offensive inefficiency last night.

AND WHO'S BEEN THE BIGGEST WASTE? Seth Mnookin says Kevin Youkilis has been every bit as bad offensively in the second half of the season as Julio Lugo was in the first, but no one knows it because Youk's seasonal numbers are still good thanks to his superlative first three months. (sethmnookin.com)

'A BLIND SQUIRREL FINDS A NUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE': That was B.J. Upton's explanation of the two-run homer in the sixth inning that made a loser of Matsuzaka. (Tampa Tribune) The Sox are 9-3 against the Rays this year and Matsuzaka has all three losses.

SIGN OF THINGS TO COME: Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times reports the Rays think they're close to being a good team and nights like last night show that the future may not be that far off in the distance.

WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? Curt Schilling takes to 38pitches.com on an off-day to clarify his comments about playing in Tampa Bay.

IT WAS A PAINFUL NIGHT . . . in more ways than one. Krasner's journal chronicles injuries suffered by Dustin Pedroia (hit in the left elbow by a pitch) and Eric Hinske (strained calf), the long-term effects of which remain to be seen. Check back here later today, when Sean McAdam will update the blog pregame from Chicago.

. . . ALL THE WAY AROUND: In his return to the minor leagues after his successful one-day stint with the Red Sox, Clay Buchholz was less than dazzling in the PawSox' loss to Buffalo. (projo.com)

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMIN': The Yankees got back to five games behind with an 8-2 win at Anaheim -- yes, I know they're officially called the gobbledegook Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, but the stadium's in Anaheim so that's where they were -- powered by the pitching of Andy Pettitte. (New York Daily News) The victory also enabled Joe Torre to move past Casey Stengel into second place on the Yankees' list of managerial victories. (LoHud Yankees Blog)

DON'T ASK ME WHY: The Angels have no idea why they've been so successful against the Yankees over the years, but they're not going to start questioning it. (Los Angeles Daily News) The New York Sun's Steven Goldman looks at it analytically and has no real answers, either.

NO MORE MOOSE? Mike Mussina's recent struggles have been titanic, leading to questions about his future. (New York Daily News)

A TRUE YANKEE: Salon.com reports on a New York Times story that Rudy Guiliani spent more time with the Yankees than he did at Ground Zero in the aftermath of 9/11.

SEEING THE LIGHT: Don Zimmer says his daughter, Donna Mollica, and granddaughter, Whitney Mollica, both live in Windham, N.H., and ''had to be Yankee fans because I was a coach'' in New York from 1996-2003. But when he left the Yanks, they switched to rooting for the Red Sox. (Boston Herald)

ONE FOR THE BOOKS: The Rangers set a record for most runs in a game in the modern era, as well as the largest margin of victory in the modern era, with a 30-3 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards. The Dallas Morning News provides the winners' perspective, while the Baltimore Sun gives us the losers' eye view. The blog Soccer Dad looks at some other historic Oriole blowouts.

BAD TIMING: The funny things is, it happened on the same day the Orioles extended the contract of Dave Trembley (Baltimore Sun). Purely coincidentally -- it was written before the game -- the Sun's Rick Maese wonders if the decision to retain Trembley will look so good at season's end.

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS: Jair Jurrjens provided the Tigers with a boost Tuesday night, but Jason Verlander couldn't maintain that momentum last night. As a result, the Indians still hold the A.L. Central lead. (Both stories, Detroit Free Press)

FRUSTRATION'S BUILDING . . . in the Atlanta clubhouse, where the Braves can feel the N.L. East slipping away. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

GIVE IT UP: Tom Powers of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press says the Twins should succumb to the obvious and pull the plug on 2007.

BUYERS' REMORSE: Writing on FoxSports.com, Tracy Ringolsby says the Cubs may live to regret the contract they gave Carlos Zambrano.

MURDER IN HIS HEART: The blog Fanhouse is slightly incredulous as it relates the story that Rick Sutcliffe wanted to kill Reggie Jackson.

EAT ALL YOU WANT! The Rangers are offering an all-you-can-eat ticket option for $29, hoping it will help sell some of their cheaper and less attractive seats. (Dallas Morning News) Other teams, including the Dodgers, have had success with similar programs.

LOCAL BOYS: The endless rehab of Rocco Baldelli continues tonight at Vero Beach, where he's scheduled to play three or four innings in center field. (St. Petersburg Times)

QUICKLY: Kenny Rogers says he'll only play for Detroit if he plays in 2008; otherwise, he'll retire (Detroit News) . . . The White Sox may be targeting Twins center fielder Torri Hunter as a free-agent priority (Chicago Tribune) . . . Cole Hamels doesn't think his elbow injury is all that bad (Philadelphia Inquirer) . . . The Brewers are sending Chris Capuano to the bullpen (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . Gary Sheffield has a bad shoulder and will probably miss the Tigers' series with the Yankees this weekend (Detroit News) . . . The Angels' Chone Figgins is day-to-day with a bad wrist (Riverside Press-Enterprise).

OLD FRIENDS: Edgar Renteria's comeback last night lasted for only one pitch, as he reinjured his ankle and may have to go back on the DL (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Wily Mo Pena's arrival in Washington may mean less playing time for Ryan Church (Washington Post).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:27 AM | Permalink