Projo Sox Blog

It was, says Jim Donaldson, the reason "managers have grey hair. Or, in the case of Red Sox manager Terry Francona, no hair at all." But look at the bright side. On a day like yesterday, all hair does is make you sweat more.

MANNY BACK TO BEING MANNY: The Twins were obviously aware of Ramirez' recent struggles because they weren't afraid to challenge him in this series. And Krasner reports they paid the price.

AS HOT AS THE WEATHER: Well, maybe not that hot. But Jacoby Ellsbury, who hit only .245 in the month of June, has regained his stroke, as yesterday's four-hit game indicates. (Boston Herald)

NOW, THIS GUY . . . He just might be hotter than the weather. Dustin Pedroia extended his hitting streak to 17 games and has a .455 average (46-for-101) since June 15. (Boston Herald)

FROM THE DOCTOR'S OFFICE: J.D. Drew's back was bothering him, so Francona gave him the day; the Sox say he'll be back in the lineup Friday. A tad more worrisome is the discomfort felt by Bartolo Colon, who's been told to stop throwing for a bit. Krasner has all the details.

BITS AND PIECES: Krasner reports on a unique bunt single by Julio Lugo and Sean Casey's continued domination of Livan Hernandez. He also has some postgame notes.

STOP, THIEF! Apparently, Mike Lowell's new contract wasn't robust enough to enable him to afford his own cell phone:

Allan Wood, however, says it was all a prank and the phone was returned to its rightful owner. (Joy of Sox)

UNSOLVED MYSTERY: Chad Finn's Random Lists of Five includes a question for the ages: How did Jim Rice drive in 139 runs in 1978 with Rick Burleson (.295 OBP) and Jerry Remy (.321) hitting in front of him?

GETTING IN THE SPIRIT: The Yankees passed out fake mustaches yesterday in an attempt to raise awareness for Jason Giambi's spot on the online All-Star ballot, and Mike Mussina (right) showed his support by donning one for the National Anthem. And the Yankees were still smiling after the game, as they pulled out a 2-1, 10-inning victory over the Rays (New York Daily News) that, as the Mustache Man himself said, [keeps] us in the running" in the A.L East. (New York Post) Giambi's having a good time with the mustache nonsense, but he's also grateful that the fans have re-embraced him after the PED controversies of the last several years. (New York Post) It remains to be seen whether all those fake mustaches will translate into online votes; results will be announced this afternoon, but as of yesterday Evan Longoria was leading the balloting (Tampa Tribune) And why not? How can fake mustaches compete with Dick Vitale as a get-out-the-vote gimmick? (Rays Index)

OH, PLEASE: None of the fake mustaches -- or the real one, for that matter -- impressed Goose Gossage, who, you can plainly see (left), knows mustaches. "That's a tired mustache," joked the Goose about Giambi's whatever-you-want-to-call-it. (New York Daily News) FoxSports includes Gossage -- of course -- in its slideshow of great baseball mustaches.

DIFFERENT STEINBRENNER, SAME VIEW: We hear plenty from Hank Steinbrenner these days, not so much from Hal. But the Other Brother emerged from his bunker yesterday to express his disappointment at how things have gone for the Yanks so far this year. (New York Daily News)

JUST A BLIP . . . OR SOMETHING MORE? The two losses in New York gave the Rays a 2-10 record in their 12 games at Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park this year, and yesterday's performance -- coming as it did against Sidney Ponson -- has Bill Madden of the Daily News thinking Tampa Bay might not quite be ready for prime time. The Rays, however, say there's nothing to worry about and that they'll rebound just fine (St. Petersburg Times), even though the Tampa Tribune's Marc Lancaster thinks their "inability to put anything across against Sidney Ponson . . . is a concern." In any case, the Rays better get used to such scrutiny because their first-half success, says the Trib's Martin Fennelly, has put them in a fish bowl. "Now it's a matter of [playing well] when you feel the heat," he writes. "And it's not even all that hot yet."

I GUESS WE CAN CALL HIM A NON-BELIEVER: The skeptics include Peter Abraham, who sums up the Rays' visit to the Bronx thusly: "That's a grand total of one run on nine hits in 19 innings for the Rays in two games in the Bronx. They advanced four runners past second in the series. See you in September." (LoHud Yankees Blog)

THE VOICE OF MAN WILL HAVE TO DO: Bob Sheppard -- once called "The Voice of God" by Reggie Jackson (USA Today) -- says he won't be well enough to return to Yankee Stadium in time for the All-Star Game. (nj.com)

GET YOUR CHECKBOOKS OUT: It's been almost 30 years since her husband was killed in the tragic plane crash, and now Diana Munson is preparing to auction off Thurman's baseball memorabilia next Monday and Tuesday at the All-Star Fan Fest in New York. (New York Times) She says she'll use the proceeds to finance the college educations of her seven grandchildren.

MESSAGE SENT: Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston effectively pulled the plug on 2008 in a chat with reporters. (Toronto Globe and Mail)

MESSAGE RECEIVED: The trade of Rich Harden to the Cubs has apparently been interpreted in the Oakland clubhouse as a sign the A's are giving up on the season. (San Francisco Chronicle) So the question is: Will the players pack it in, or will they cowboy up -- to coin a phrase -- in best, we'll-show-them fashion?

SAFETY FIRST: The Cubs say they plan to be cautions with the oft-injured Harden. (Chicago Sun-Times)

HE'S BACK: And he's dealing. Carlos Zambrano is now 2-0 with an 0.64 ERA since coming off the disabled list after yesterday's shutdown of the Reds. (Chicago Tribune)

WHO'S LEFT? With Harden and CC Sabathia accounted for, SI.com's Jon Heyman looks at potential impact players who might be moved between now and July 31.

GET READY: In the second page of his column, Heyman says all indications are the Yankees will make a serious run at Sabathia when he becomes a free agent this winter.

SAD AND TAWDRY ENDING: Only twice in my life have I gasped at the beauty of a ballpark. The first time was in 1964, at age 9, when I walked into Fenway Park for the first time. And the other was 13 years later, when I stepped up a ramp on the third-base side and was surrounded by the deep green lushness of Tiger Stadium on a gorgeous September afternoon. So I'm with Craig when he calls the manner in which they're tearing down the old jewel at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull "brutal." (Shysterball)

SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERY DAY: Francisco Rodriguez blew a save last night -- by allowing a walkoff home run to Josh Hamilton, no less -- as the Angels lost to the Rangers. (Los Angeles Times)

COMEBACK DERAILED: Mark Mulder had to leave last night's start in Philadelphia after three batters because of pain in his surgically repaired shoulder and it's clear the Cardinals think his season, and perhaps his career, may be over. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

LET'S GET A PLAN: The Ryan Church case has demonstrated pretty starkly that baseball doesn't know how to deal very well with concussions. So the players' union plans to ask MLB to draw up some formal guidelines on how teams should handle head injuries. (New York Times)

NOT IN OUR HOUSE: Mike Puma of the New York Post has a lead that wouldn't have gotten past our copy desk as he describes Johan Santana's victory over the Giants last night.

HERE AND THERE: It looks as if Adam Loewen won't pitch again this year (Baltimore Sun) . . . Tom Glavine reported no pain when he threw Tuesday for the first time in nearly a month (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . The Twins have had internal discussions about trying to acquire Adrian Beltre from the Mariners (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) . . . The Marlins, in need of a catcher, may make a run at the Rockies' Yorvit Torrealba (Denver Post) . . . Placido Polanco became a U.S. citizen in a pregame ceremony yesterday (mlive.com) . . . Moises Alou is hurt yet again (New York Daily News) . . . The Angels have benched Gary Matthews Jr. (Los Angeles Times) . . . The Diamondbacks' Justin Upton has a strained oblique (Arizona Republic) . . . The Cubs don't expect to see Alfonso Soriano back in the lineup until the second series after the All-Star break (mlb.com) . . . The Cardinals are ready to ease Jason Isringhausen back into the closers' role. (mlb.com)

OLD FRIENDS: Anibal Sanchez is pitching again in Class A and hopes to be back with the Marlins soon, though he's still grieving the death of his infant son last winter (Miami Herald) . . . The Mets have placed Tony Armas Jr. on the disabled list (Matthew Cerrone's MetsBlog) . . . Derek Lowe took a perfect game into the seventh inning and got the win as the Dodgers beat the Braves (Los Angeles Times) . . . Edgar Renteria is day-to-day in Detroit because of a mild hamstring strain (mlive.com) . . . As expected, Mike Easler is out and Don Mattingly is in as Dodgers hitting coach (Orange County Register) . . . The Indians' rotation replacement for Sabathia? Matt Ginter. (mlb.com)

-- ART MARTONE