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Carter Chosen Over Moss

With David Ortiz (torn tendon sheath in his left wrist) having to go on the disabled list, the Red Sox had to fill his spot on the roster.

One likely candidate for recall was outfielder Brandon Moss, who had been stinging the ball for the PawSox since returning about a week ago after an appendectomy on May 3. Moss was the International League's batter of the week this past week, when he clubbed four homers, including three in one game, and batted .400

The Sox, though, chose Chris Carter, a 25-year-old outfielder/first baseman, who also has been on a tear for Pawtucket. Carter came to the Sox' organization last Aug. 21, completing a trade that sent Wily Mo Pena to the Washington Nationals. Carter was batting .316 with 10 homers and 35 RBI in 56 games for Pawtucket this season.

Today marks the first day in the big leagues for Carter, a 17th-round pick of the Diamondbacks in 2004.

"(Carter) was really swinging the bat well," said manager Terry Francona. "Mossy was swinging the bat great, too, but he has been sick and had the (appendectomy) and we weren't sure he'd get the opportunity here to play every day for the next 7-10 days. We want him to keep playing.

"This gives Carter an opportunity to come to the major leagues, which we think he deserves. We thought he "hit" himself to a place where we thought it would be good to reward him and maybe he'll help us win a game," said Francona.

If and when Carter is used, it likely will be as part of the Sox' mix-and-match designated hitter lineup spot in Ortiz's absence.

Carter, meanwhile, was thrilled to be in the Sox' clubhouse.

"It's amazing, absolutely," said Carter, a Northern California native, who was told of the promotion this morning at 9 o'clock by Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson in Charlotte, where the team opens a series tonight.

"I was able to cross the threshold (from the minors to the majors). It's a tremendous feeling. I didn't know it was coming at all. I didn't think I'd be called up. I was pretty shocked," said Carter.

Carter credited Boston's Alex Cora with helping him find his stroke recently. Cora was down on a rehab assignment recently and had some advice for Carter.

"He told me to relax," said Carter. "He told me I had a good stroke and that I should relax. That helped me a lot."

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:31 PM | Permalink

Sore Legs Push Manny to DH

In the initial lineup posted in the Red Sox clubhouse this afternoon, Manny Ramirez was going to play left field and Sean Casey was going to start at designated hitter.

But Ramirez's legs have been bothering him for a while, so manager Terry Francona has made a lineup shift. Ramirez will serve as the DH tonight. Casey will begin the game on the bench because Jacoby Ellsbury is shifting from a start in center field to take over Manny's position in left, which brings Coco Crisp off the bench for the start in center.

Ramirez will not be the Sox' primary DH in the absence of David Ortiz (wrist injury), and in fact, Manny isn't crazy about DH-ing. With Ortiz on the disabled list, though, Francona has a chance to give Ramirez's legs a little respite while still keeping him in the cleanup spot in the batting order by using him as the DH.

"Manny's legs were bothering him in Baltimore," said Francona of the four-game series that began last Friday. "He came up to me before the first game and told me. He didn't get to two balls in that series."

There hasn't been anything wrong with Ramirez's bat, though. The Sox slugger clouted home run number 500 in Baltimore on Saturday, and then hit a homer in each of his next two games, boosting his season total to 12 and his career total to 502.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:24 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups, June 3

RED SOX

Ellsbury lf
Pedroia 2b
Youkilis 1b
Ramirez dh
Lowell 3b
Drew rf
Variek c
Crisp cf
Lugo ss

Masterson p

RAYS

Iwamura 2b
Navarro c
Upton cf
Pena 1b
Longoria 3b
Floyd dh
Hinske lf
Gross rf
Bartlett ss

Garza p

-- Steven Krasnerr

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:21 PM | Permalink

Ramirez 20th on list of top-earning U.S. athletes

June 3 (Bloomberg) -- Tiger Woods has made almost $128 million in prize money and endorsements over the past year, more than twice as much as any other U.S. professional athlete, according to Sports Illustrated.

The world's No. 1 golfer tops SI.com's "Fortunate 50" list of the highest-earning U.S. athletes, raking in $22.9 million in winnings and another $105 million in endorsements. Woods, 32, has earned almost $800 million over his 13-year career and may become the first billion-dollar athlete, according to SI.com.

Fellow golfer Phil Mickelson is second at $62.4 million, followed by basketball player LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. James made almost $40.5 million in the past year, including $28 million from endorsement deals, and is one of 26 National Basketball Association players in the "Fortunate 50," the most of any sport.

Boxer Floyd Mayweather ranks fourth with $40.3 million in earnings, followed by NBA players Kobe Bryant ($35.5 million) and Shaquille O'Neal ($35 million).

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez is the top- earning Major League Baseball player and ranks seventh on SI.com's list at $35 million.

Kevin Garnett, whose Boston Celtics are playing Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, is eighth with $31 million, while Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is ninth and the highest-earning National Football League player at $30.5 million. Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter completes the top 10 with $30 million in salary and endorsements.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the top earning racecar driver among U.S. athletes and ranks 11th overall with $27.2 million -- $5.2 million from winnings and $22 million from endorsements. His total was almost $20 million less than the winnings and sponsorship money received by Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland, who ranks second in SI.com's list of top-earning athletes from outside the U.S., with $46 million, after soccer player David Beckham.

Boston athletes on the SI Fortunate 50 list
8. Kevin Garnett: $31 million
20. Manny Ramirez: $22.5 million
32. Tom Brady: $18 million
34. Paul Pierce: $17.86 million
38. Ray Allen: $16.75 million

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:42 PM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink

Mike Lowell, Mr. Clutch

When Mike Lowell singled home Kevin Youkilis in the eighth inning last night at Baltimore, it gave the Red Sox a 3-2 lead. It was a lead they couldn't hold, of course, thanks to Hideki Okajima's meltdown. But it continued a season-long trend of Lowell coming through for the Sox in tight situations.

In "late and close" at-bats -- those that come in the seventh inning or later, with the game tied or the hitting team ahead by one or with the tying run at least on deck -- Lowell is 10 for 24 on the season, a .417 batting average, best in the American League. Click here to see the full list of leaders in the category, from STATS Inc.

In the 24 at-bats, Lowell has two home runs and two doubles, raising his slugging percentage to .750.

Had last night's eighth-inning lead held up, it would have been the second game-winning RBI of the Baltimore series for Lowell; he drove in the game-winner Friday night in the 13th inning.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:29 PM | Permalink

Taxi-cab confession

So I just got to the airport here in Baltimore and I’ve already received a few emails about the Red Sox calling up Chris Carter. Before I explain the situation a little better, let me first describe the horrific cab ride I just experienced.

This Baltimore cabby was wearing a Ravens’ Steve McNair jersey and told me that he was actually Steve McNair. After I gracefully declined his autograph and he found out I was from New England, he asked me if I was a Patriots fan. Fearing this guy would take me to the wrong airport if I gave him the wrong answer, I made the mistake of telling him I was a sports writer and had to be objective in my job.

“You’re a journalist?” he asked as he turned his head and was looking right at me in the back seat just as the cab was about to merge onto the highway.

I believe he was Jamaican and had this voodoo doll hanging from the rearview mirror. He asked me if I knew the meaning of ‘the pen is mightier than the sword?’

“Of course,” I told him.

He didn’t believe me and then this witch doctor slowed the cab down to about 45 MPH on the highway and began his rant.

He blamed me for the war in Iraq. He said something about Vietnam, but I couldn’t quite hear him because old-lady drivers in mini vans were flying past us on the right side. I tried to explain – again – that I’m a sports writer, but he didn’t want to hear it.

So, he switched his homily to baseball.

He told me it is my job to clean up the game. I should investigate Bud Selig, the players, and rid the game of steroids. I’m an easy-going guy. It’s take a lot for me to get aggravated. At this point I wanted to jump out of the cab. It’s not like I would have gotten hurt because we were going to damn slow anyway.

“You don’t think there is a steroid problem in the NFL?” I asked him.

“No,” he replied. “Not as bad as baseball. The biggest problem in football is marijuana.”

When we finally arrived at the terminal, he wouldn’t let me out of the cab until I began pulling on the handle at a furious rate so he would get the hint. He popped the trunk, grabbed my bags and before I could even pay him the $50 I owed him, he turned to some guy on the side walk and started an argument with him.

“Sorry, guy,” I said to him. “You’re on your own. I need to catch a flight.”

How ‘bout that for a taxi-cab confession?

I didn’t realize Steve McNair needed a job in the offseason as a philosopher, cab driver and witch doctor. As I post this my head will probably begin to shrink.

As far as the Sox calling up Chris Carter to Boston instead of Brandon Moss to replace the injured David Ortiz, it’s possible the club wants Moss to continue to play every day in Pawtucket because he’s playing so well right now. It wouldn’t make sense for him to sit in the dugout and only play sparingly.

The Red Sox will make four roster moves today. They will officially place Ortiz on the DL. They will activate Carter and pitcher Justin Masterson, who will start tonight. The final move will likely be sending Jeff Bailey back to Pawtucket.

That’s about it from the airport and it’s time to board.

--Joe McDonald

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 1:08 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Red Sox recall Carter fom Pawtucket

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach
Chris Carter takes a breather alongside J.D. Drew after a conditioning run during spring training at Fort Myers, Fla.

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox have recalled Chris Carter from Pawtucket. The outfielder left Charlotte this morning and is headed to Fenway Park today.

The 25-year-old is in his first full season with the Red Sox organization. Boston acquired the 5-foot-10, 210-pounder from Washington last August to complete the trade that sent Wily Mo Pena to the Nationals.

Carter is hitting .316 with 10 homers and 35 RBI for the PawSox in 56 games this season. After the Red Sox acquired him last summer, he hit .234 with one home run and four RBI in 12 games for Pawtucket.

He was devastated last September when he was told he would not be a late-season call up for the Red Sox. Now he's getting his chance to make major-league debut.

There was some thought that Red Sox prospect Brandon Moss would be recalled after the club placed slugger David Ortiz on the disabled list Monday with a torn tendon sheath in the left wrist. Moss was named the International League Batter of the Week yesterday after hitting four home runs, including three in one game last Saturday. He also recorded a .400 average.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: A big hole in the heart of the order

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning. The topics: Hideki Okajima's meltdown in Baltimore, David Ortiz's wrist injury, how the Red Sox will shuffle their lineup and who needs to step up, and setting the stage for the coming visit by Tampa Bay.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On losing Ortiz: "Even with his struggles in the first couple of weeks, he was leading the team in home runs and RBI; he has with Manny Ramirez formed I think inarguably the best three-four combination in the game the last four, five seasons; and he's possibly the best run producer in baseball. So even a month out of the lineup is going to be a signficiant loss for the Red Sox. I think short term, they can probably cover themselves and move some people around and have Ellsbury play left field on a more regular basis, and have have Manny DH. There's a number of things they can do, but none of those things is going to be able to replace David Ortiz."

Who needs to step up: "I think the Red Sox woud like to see J.D. Drew step up a little bit. If you keep Lowell at the fifth spot and take Youkilis out [moving him to third in place of Ortiz], that moves Drew up probably to sixth in the lineup, and he'll be asked to provide some protection for Lowell and Ramirez, and the Red Sox have to hope that he can respond and knock some runs in on his own."

On this week's series: "I think it's going to be a good test for the Rays, because this will be an opportunity where teams and the rest of baseball will be looking to see how they respond to this. I think they've snuck up on some people the first couple of months as the young upstart team, but now here they are, coming in, in the lead in the division, playing the team that's chasing them, a team that's won two World Series in the last four years and is far more experienced about big games, and I think it will be interesting to see how Tampa
Bay responds to this."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:10 AM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Tuesday, June 3

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

BIG PROBLEM: David Ortiz normally points skyward in thanks, usually after hitting a home run (above). Now he -- and the Red Sox -- may instead be pleading for help. Yesterday's MRI revealed "a partially torn ECU (or extensor carpi ulnaris) tendon sheath in his left wrist," reports Joe McDonald, which placed Ortiz on the disabled list for what the team says is an indefinite period. But the co-author of Ortiz' autobiography, the Boston Herald's Tony Massarotti, lays out a grim scenario: A month's immobilization of the wrist, with season-ending surgery a possibility if rest fails to correct the problem. The Boston Globe's Nick Cafardo has a slightly more optimistic take, saying Ortiz will need two weeks in a soft cast and could be back in the lineup two weeks after that; he mentions surgery only as an after-the-season possibility, quoting Terry Francona as saying an operation in the near future is "highly unlikely."

Such reporting variance usually means the outlook is muddled and that no one really knows what the future holds. (Sean Casey, whose playing time figures to increase, worries that it won't hold good things for Ortiz, telling the Globe's Gordon Edes how important the wrists are to a hitter. And ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra notes that a similar injury ended Ken Caminiti's career.) But nature, and Red Sox Nation, abhors a vacuum, so my friends at Sons of Sam Horn and Royal Rooters -- along with our own Your Turn board and the folks at The Baseball Think Factory's Sox Therapy -- are discussing the issue as we speak, and one name continues to pop up, over and over and over:

Barry Bonds.

The blog LyfLines lays out the case for Bonds ("a perfect fit"), but wonders if the Sox have the "guts/brain/nerve/common sense/chutzpah/arrogance/what-have-you" to sign him. Lyford, I'd say that the attributes you lay out are mutually exclusive. Do they have the guts, the chutzpah, the arrogance? Sure. You'd need all that, and more, to sign Barry Bonds. But brains and common sense? Those gifts tell you to avoid Barry Bonds at all costs, at least for now.

First things first. We just don't know a) how long Ortiz will be out and b) how affected he's going to be by all this. Suppose Cafardo is right and Ortiz is back in the lineup, good as new, in a month? Then what do you do with Bonds? Bench him? Platoon him? (With who?) Release him? The only position Bonds can possibly play is left field, and that would give you a three-into-two LF/DH quandry with Bonds, Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. One of them would have to sit out every game. You might be able to do that in Strat-O-Matic or a fantasy league, but in real life? How do you think that's going to go over?

But here's a far more important piece. You'd have to be a Bill James Online subscriber to read them, but Bill James did two Bonds columns last week, pre-Ortiz injury. In the first of them, he states: "I don’t want anything to do with Barry Bonds. Why? Simple: I don’t believe in his future, I’m not convinced of his value in the present, and I’m not interested in the past." And the reason he doesn't believe in Bonds' present: "Bonds, in my view — like [Babe] Ruth in 1934 — has reached a point of such extraordinary narrowness of his skills that there is an imminent danger that the structure will simply collapse at any moment — as it did on Ruth in 1935."

Then, when called out on it, James explained further a few days later:

"[When] a player reaches the point where ALL that he does is hit, he is normally very near to the end . . . .if you look at old players who have a very high OPS and essentially no other skills, what happens to them is that they suddenly collapse. They go from 'valuable' to 'out of the game' or 'still in the game, but worthless' in one year." And he lists examples: Mark McGwire. Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell. Henry Aaron. Willie Mays. Stan Musial. Ted Williams. Jackie Robinson. Joe DiMaggio. Hank Greenberg. Mel Ott. Indian Bob Johnson. Edgar Martinez. Even Jason Giambi, who, he points out "had an OPS of .971 [in 2006], one of the highest in baseball. In 2007 he suffered a dramatic dropoff. He may not be finished; maybe he’ll come back, but. . . . it wasn’t a good experience."

(It's all available in great detail in Bill James Online. If this doesn't convince you that the nominal subscription fee -- I believe it's $1 a month -- is worth it, nothing will.)

And one last thing: Bill James is a member of the Red Sox baseball-operations staff, so you know this viewpoint will be heard in organizational meetings in the days ahead.

Signing Barry Bonds right now, at this moment, is a panic move and we've seen where panic moves have gotten the Red Sox in the past. It led them to trade Josh Bard and Cla Meredith for Doug Mirabelli. It led them to bring in (the other) Javy Lopez as a backup catcher. One of the best things about the last two years is that the team has built such organizational depth that it's lessened the need for panic moves. Thanks to that depth, the Sox have other options; the blog Sox and Pinstripes lays them out.

Maybe it'll all change. Maybe two weeks of Sean Casey as DH, or of an everyday outfield of Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp and J.D. Drew (with Ramirez as the DH), will demonstrate the need for more offense. Maybe the news on Ortiz will get worse, and the team will decide it needs to find another big bat. Maybe, maybe, maybe.

Don't make decisions based on maybes. It's June 3. There's plenty of time to decide what the right path should be.

Right now, Barry Bonds shouldn't be on that path.

AP Photo

AND IN KEEPING WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE NIGHT . . . Thanks to Hideki Okajima (above), the news about Ortiz didn't dampen the joy of a thrilling, come-from-behind victory. Instead, it merely deepened the gloom as Okajima, entrusted with a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the eighth, allowed three singles, two walks and a bases-clearing double to the seven batters he faced and handed the Orioles a 6-3 victory. (projo.com) Why Francona left him in for seven batters when it was pretty obvious after three -- at the most -- that it wasn't his night is a matter that was trampled by the postgame news about Ortiz; nevertheless, that didn't stop our friends at SOSH from discussing it. Okajima told the Japanese media afterwards -- apparently, he didn't talk to American reporters -- that he was disappointed in his performance. (Boston Herald) That makes all of us, Hideki.

NO REST FOR THE WEARY: The Sox don't get the option of mourning Ortiz' loss. Tonight starts an A.L. East showdown with the Rays, who are anxious to prove themselves worthy of the first-place position they've been holding for the last week or two. (St. Petersburg Times) They're being fueled by their pitching (Tampa Tribune), and who thought we'd ever be able to say that about a Tampa Bay team? Orioles manager Dave Trembley told the Herald's John Tomase that the Rays are in it for the long haul -- "They're not going to go away . . . They're a good team" -- which means this is actually the first of several showdowns the Sox will be facing in the next four months. (They go to Tampa on June 30-July 1-2, and Sept. 15-17; after this series, the Rays make their final visit to Fenway on Sept. 8-10.) And even though the attendance figures at The Trop don't yet show it, excitement is mounting in central Florida if the blog Rays Index is any indication; they're already talking magic numbers. After last night's Red Sox loss, it's down to 99.

MASTERING THE MOMENT: McDonald reports that Justin Masterson, still unbeaten in the major leagues, will get the start for the Sox tonight.

GET THIS MAN A SCHEDULE: When Coco Crisp was seen packing his bags after Sunday's game, the whispers started. Had he been traded? Was he finally sick of his situation and jumping the team? It was none of that, McDonald discovered: Coco merely thought it was a three-game series and that the Sox were heading home Sunday night.

AND THE HITS JUST KEEP ON COMING: Ortiz is hurt. Sox cough one up in the late innings. And now comes word that Hazel Mae is leaving NESN. (projo.com)

NO HELP HERE: Don't count on Kyle Snyder to bolster the bullpen any time soon. Last night he apparently reinjured the groin strain that had him on the DL from May 16-27. (projo.com)

WHY, IN MY DAY . . . In his Historical Baseball Abstract books, Bill James used to run a series of quotes from retired players in each decade (heading: Old Ballplayers Never Die) saying how much better the game was when they played and how modern players couldn't hold a candle to the old-timers. Jim Rice made his bid for the next edition in a speech Monday when he trashed Manny Ramirez and said Jonathan Papelbon was the only member of the current Red Sox who could have cracked the starting lineup of the 1975 team. (watertowndailytimes.com)

IT'S STARTING: The angst about Joba Chamberlain's move to the starting rotation -- the "Who's gonna pitch the eighth??" wail from the keep-Joba-in-the-bullpen crowd -- is growing this morning after the dastardly Kyle Farnsworth turned a tie game into a Yankee loss in five pitches as Minnesota rallied past the Yanks, 6-5. (New York Daily News) Peter Abraham says don't blame Farnsworth; blame, instead, the guy who put him out there in the eighth inning despite the mountain of evidence that proves irrevocably that you can't trust Farnsworth to pitch with the game on the line. (LoHud Yankees Blog) Besides, says Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News, the real culprit last night was Andy Pettitte, who couldn't hold leads of 2-0, 4-2 and 5-4.

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT: The guy who didn't pitch the eighth last night will be out there in the first tonight, making his starting debut. The Daily News' Mike Lupica says Joba Chamberlain now starts his attempt to live up to the hype. "They ask an awful lot of this kid," Lupica concludes. "Time will tell if they have asked too much."

HERE AND THERE: The focus on Ortiz kept me away from my normal Web-surfing spots and the deadline to upload this is here, but two last items: Ozzie Guillen and Ken Williams will attempt to clear some very thick air between them sometime today (Chicago Tribune), and Bill Hall has asked for a trade from the Brewers. (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:46 AM | Permalink