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Pena to have wrist surgery

The Red Sox issued a statement this afternoon in which they announced outfielder Wily Mo Pena will have surgery on his ailing left wrist tomorrow.

The entire statement:

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"BOSTON, MA -- Wily Mo Pena underwent diagnostic testing and further examination on Tuesday. He has an injury to the hamate bone in his left wrist. The plan is to perform a surgical procedure on Thursday morning to treat the injury.

Wily Mo will immediately begin rehabilitation on the wrist. He will be able to continue his throwing and conditioning programs throughout the entire post-operative period.

NOTE: Pena was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 28 (retroactive to May 27). He is batting .321 with four homers and 18 RBI in 36 games with Boston in 2006.''

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According to the website athleticadvisor.com, hamate injuries take six to eight weeks to heal. Other reports indicate it can take up to a year for a player to regain all of his power after surgery.

Posted by Art  at 3:53 PM | Permalink

Clemens returns to Houston, not Boston

HOUSTON --The Red Sox have lost out on the Roger Clemens sweepstakes.

Clemens has agreed to a $22 million contract to pitch for the Houston Astros for the rest of 2006.

The 43-year-old Clemens, who will be entering his 23rd major league season, is agreeing first to a minor league contract that pays $322,000 over the five-month minor league season, and his first start is likely to be at Lexington, Ky., the Class A team where his oldest son, Koby, plays.

Clemens announced his return today at a news conference.

The Sox had hoped to sign Clemens, a former Red Sox star, to strengthen their struggling pitching staff.

Read a full report from sister site khou.com in Houston

Watch a live Webcast from the press conference

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 12:42 PM | Permalink

Astros owner won't confirm Clemens' return

The Houston Astros owner is denying media reports that Roger Clemens has signed a one-year deal with his team.

Some news agencies, including ESPN.com and Newsday, are reporting this afternoon that Clemens has chosen the Houston Astros over other suitors, who include the Boston Red Sox.

Projo.com's sister site, khou.com in Houston, spoke to the Astros' owner, Drayton McLane, who would not confirm this afternoon that a deal exists.

McLane said he's waiting to hear back from the former Red Sox pitching ace and his agents regarding a return to the Astros.

Listen to the full audio report from khou.com ...

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 6:37 PM | Permalink

Sox-Yanks rubber match tonight

The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees face off again tonight at 7:05 in the last game of the three-game set at Fenway. Both of tonight's pitchers come in with something to prove. The Sox will send Matt Clement, who was upset to be passed over earlier this month, when the teams met at Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, the Yankees will go with Randy Johnson. The Sox torched the Yankees' old ace the last time they saw him. In his last five starts, including the one against Boston, Johnson is 2-2 with a 7.86 E.R.A.

The Red Sox will once again have Wily Mo Pena starting in center field.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 4:00 PM | Permalink

Pitching matchups

Boston's Tim Wakefield (3-5, 4.17 ERA) will be facing New York's Jaret Wright (1-3, 4.94 ERA) tonight at Fenway Park.

Posted by   at 6:51 PM | Permalink

Glovework is all you could ask for

You had to know that the Red Sox would have a pretty good defense this year, but the numbers so far are nothing short of amazing. The team enters tonight's tilt with the Yankees with just 14 errors, the fewest in the majors, in 40 games. Richie Weeks, a second baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, has 14 errors all by himself. Five other major leaguers have at least 10. According to today's game notes, the Red Sox have exactly 3 errors in the last 17 games. Those three were made by pitcher Lenny DiNardo (who had two of them) and backup first baseman J.T. Snow. The last time a regular starter committed an error was April 30 (Jason Varitek).

The Yanks' Alex Rodriguez hit a home run last night, but he has actually taken some flak for it. Just check out the back page of the New York Daily News. But even if Rodriguez's home run came a little late to make a difference, it did end the Yankees' five-game homer-less streak, the club's longest since 1997. But those small-ball Bombers do lead the American League in sacrifice bunts, with 15.

The Yankees get Gary Sheffield back at designated hitter tonight, but Jason Giambi is not in the lineup as it stands now, according to The Boston Globe. Instead, Andy Phillips will play first and bat ninth. The Globe reports that the Sox will have Alex Cora, fresh off a three-hit effort, back at shortstop tonight and Willie Harris back in center field for the injured Wily Mo Pena.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:26 PM | Permalink

Mike Greenwell set to make his NASCAR debut

Mike Greenwell, who patrolled left field at Fenway Park for 12 seasons, will make his first appearance as a NASCAR driver on Saturday, at a Truck Series event at the Mansfield Motorsports Speedway in Ohio.

"I retired very early," Greenwell told the Associated Press. "I hit .297 my final year and I had 20 offers to go back and play the next year. But I wanted to go racing. I literally quit baseball so I could go racing."

The AP reports that Greenwell has been racing at the stock-car level in his home state of Florida, and has collected 37 wins.

The Gator, who is 42 years old, played for the Red Sox from 1985 to 1996. He never appeared with another club. He finished with a career batting average of .303 to go with 130 home runs.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:38 PM | Permalink

Sox, Yanks start series tonight at Fenway

First place in the American League East will be on the line when the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees renew hostilities tonight at Fenway Park. The first pitch will be just after 7 o'clock. The Red Sox enter the series ahead of New York by a game and a half. Unlike the last time the Yankees came to town, the forecast is for calm, though cool, weather tonight. The struggling Curt Schilling will take the mound for the Red Sox, while Chien-Ming Wang starts for the Yankees.

The Yanks enter Fenway a banged up squad, with seven players on the disabled list. Starting pitcher Shawn Chacon became the seventh when the team put him on the disabled list, effective Sunday. The Yankees called up veteran outfielder Terrence Long from Triple-A Columbus to take Chacon's roster spot. In the meantime, the Bronx Bombers signed a veteran free agent, Erubiel Durazo, to bolster their ailing offense. Durazo signed a minor-league contract and will be assigned to one of the team's farm squads.

General manager Brian Cashman says more signings could be coming, including possibly free agent outfielder Richard Hidalgo.

But the real story for the Yankees, aside from tonight's game, will be Gary Sheffield, who will make a rehab appearance tonight in New Britain, Conn., for Double-A Trenton. Nothing in the short term could help New York's outfield more than a healthy return by Sheffield, who injured his wrist on April 29. If all goes well for Sheffield tonight, he could be ready to play in Boston tomorrow.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:06 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Wet weather hits PawSox again

While most of New England is enjoying the sunshine, the rain keeps on following the Pawtucket Red Sox. The PawSox, who were rained out four times during a homestand last week, have another day off today, as rain has postponed the game scheduled for 1:05 in Buffalo. The PawSox and the Bisons will play a double-header tomorrow.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 1:32 PM | Permalink

Lester pitches well as PawSox win matinee

Jon Lester gave up one earned run over five innings and struck out six to get the win as the Pawtucket Red Sox defeated the Syracuse Sky Chiefs, 8-4, today at McCoy Stadium. The PawSox got two home runs from designated hitter Jeff Bailey and another dinger from third baseman Rodney Nye. The PawSox scored in each of the first three innings, including four runs in the third inning, to take an early 7-1 lead.

The win moves Pawtucket to 17-18 on the season, four and a half games behind division-leading Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:44 PM | Permalink

Rays prospect gets 50-game suspension for throwing bat

The International League today suspended top Tampa Bay Devil Rays prospect Delmon Young 50 games without pay for throwing a bat that hit an umpire last month during a game at McCoy Stadium. Young was playing that night with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. Young had been out on indefinite suspension. His penalty is retroactive to April 27, the date of the incident in Pawtucket, the Associated Press is reporting.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:26 PM | Permalink | Comments 2

Tonight's forecast in the Bronx: Rain, maybe

It won't be as bad as it was in Boston last week when the Yanks came to town, but the forecast is otherwise uncertain for tonight's Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium. There's a 50-percent chance of rain tonight in the Bronx, with temperatures expected to hover around 60.

Josh Beckett and Randy Johnson take the mound tonight to start the three-game set. Beckett was the MVP of the Florida Marlins' 2003 World Series victory over New York, while the Red Sox went 0-5 against the Big Unit last year. The game is scheduled to start just after 7.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:07 PM | Permalink

Sox, WEEI agree to record $200 million radio deal

BOSTON -- In a landmark deal guaranteed to reverberate throughout baseball and the broadcasting industry, the Red Sox today secured a record-breaking 10-year, $200 million deal to return their play-by-play rights to Boston flagship WEEI Radio.

The rights had been the subject of a bidding war between Entercom Radio, the parent company of WEEI, and Greater Media, which owns a handful of stations in Boston, including WBOS-FM.

Greater Media had offered the Red Sox an equity stake in WBOS-FM in return for the play-by-play rights for the team's broadcasts, but, ultimately, Red Sox principal owner John Henry opted for the more conventional -- if record-setting -- standard rights-fee arrangement.

The deal more than doubles the Red Sox' rights fee from this past season, the final year of a multiyear arrangement with Entercom/WEEI. The last deal, which escalated yearly, topped out at approximately $8 million for this season.

The $20 million-per-year average, which combined cash and value, is unprecedented in its length and value. It's believed the New York Yankees, whose deal with WCBS-AM in New York expires after this season, had held the previous record for most lucrative rights fees, earning in the neighborhood of $10 million annually.

The deal benefits Entercom in two ways. First, in keeping the rights away from Greater Media, Entercom also succeeded in preventing a potential competitor taking shape on WBOS-FM. It had been Greater Media's intent to turn WBOS-FM, which currently has a music format, into an all-sports station to compete directly with WEEI.

WEEI's ratings dominance in Boston is unchallenged. The station is a powerhouse, leading the market in the critical men's 25-54 demographic throughout the day. A recent broadcast trade industry report said the station billed $47 million in advertising in 2005.

Secondly, Entercom can attach the successful Red Sox brand to its family of stations. It's likely Entercom will place the team's broadcasts on WRKO-AM in Boston to help lift the sister station's profile. The games will continue to air in the Rhode Island market on WEEI-FM (103.7).

Henry is likely to be hailed by fellow baseball owners for securing such a significant leap in local media income. Several small-market teams have local TV deals which don't equal one-quarter of today's radio windfall.

- Sean McAdam

Posted by Art  at 4:32 PM | Permalink

Sox will play

The first pitch for tonight's game is scheduled for 7:15

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:28 PM | Permalink

Updated: Rain postpones Game 2 of Sox-Yanks matchup

BOSTON -- Tonight's game between the Red Sox and Yankees has been rained out.

The rivals were scheduled to face off for the second time this year at Fenway Park.

The game's 7:05 p.m. start had at first been delayed by the rain. By 7:40 p.m., with 100 percent chance of rain in the forecast, the game was officially called off.

The PawSox, playing in Ottawa, were on as scheduled tonight.

-- With reports from Journal sportswriter Steve Krasner

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 7:48 PM | Permalink

It's official: Mirabelli coming back to Boston

The Boston Red Sox have officially announced their trade with the San Diego Padres to bring back catcher Doug Mirabelli. ESPN, which reported the trade and will televise tonight's game against the Yankees nationally, says that Mirabelli will be in the lineup to catch Tim Wakefield.

Boston has dealt Josh Bard, the back-up catcher who has struggled to handle Wakefield's knuckleballs so far; Triple-A relief pitcher Cla Meredith; and either a player to be named later or cash.

The Red Sox traded Mirabelli, who had been Wakefield's personal catcher, to San Diego in the offseason for second baseman Mark Loretta. Mirabelli, 35, was hitting .182 in 14 games with the Padres.

Bard, 28, came to the Sox as part of the Coco Crisp trade with the Cleveland Indians. He hit .278 in 7 games, but allowed 10 passed balls catching Wakefield, including 4 in his last appearance, on Wednesday. Wakefield, meanwhile, has struggled to a 1-4 start.

Meredith, 22, was briefly called up to Boston last year. He has pitched 13.2 innings over eight games with Pawtucket, striking out 14 and walking 5 with a 5.27 E.R.A.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments 5