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Final: Indianapolis 5, PawSox 3

Follow the game via the milb.com scoreboard.

Posted by Art Martone  at 9:14 PM | Permalink

The Oakland Triple A's?

The Red Sox may be catching Oakland at a good time. The A's have six players on the disabled list right now, including three outfielders they had expected to play big roles this season.

Bobby Kielty was the latest to be placed on the DL, going on the list today. He joins fellow outfielders Mark Kotsay and Milton Bradley. Wheaton College's Chris Denorfia, another outfielder whom Oakland obtained recently from Cincinnati, already was on the DL. And Nick Swisher, another outfield candidate, is nursing a tight hamstring and is not in the starting lineup.

How desperate are the A's for outfielders? The other day Oakland swung a deal with Atlanta for Ryan Langerhans, who was batting .068 -- 3 for 44, with 1 double and 1 RBI in 20 games.

The A's have two pitchers on the DL as well -- Rich Harden and Esteban Loaiza.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 6:15 PM | Permalink

J.D. Drew Scratched from Lineup

About an hour before the game, the Red Sox scratched right fielder J.D. Drew from the starting lineup because of "viral symptoms."

Eric Hinske replaced Drew in the starting lineup. Hinske is a left-handed hitter, and Oakland is starting a right-hander (Joe Blanton), so he was the logical choice over Wily Mo Pena, who bats right-handed.

Drew's absence has forced manager Terry Francona to do a little mixing and matching with his batting order. He has moved first baseman Kevin Youkilis down from second to Drew's number five spot and elevated Coco Crisp from eighth to second. Hinske is batting eighth.

Drew has been slumping, his skids at 0 for 11; 1 for 21, and 4 for 31, dropping his average from .375 to a season-low .278. Drew was held out of the starting lineup Sunday in New York to give him two days off in a row, counting Monday's scheduled day off for the team.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 6:09 PM | Permalink

Second thoughts

Manager Terry Francona admitted this afternoon that it's becoming increasingly difficult for him to keep Alex Cora out of the lineup. Dustin Pedroia is the choice tonight against Oakland, but Francona met with Cora earlier this afternoon to explain his thought process.
``I just wanted him to understand that we're in this for the long haul,'' Francona said. ``Part of my responsibility is to help this kid (Pedroia) get going.''
Look for Cora to start tomorrow.

Francona also continued to be vague about plans for Jon Lester, who starts tomorrow night in Pawtucket.
``My No. 1 responsibility is to (Lester) and his long-term health,'' Francona said. ``You can read into that what you wil.''

More later, and of course, tomorrow morning in theJournal.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 4:51 PM | Permalink

Starting Lineups -- May 1

BOSTON

Lugo ss
Youkilis 1b
Ortiz DH
Ramirez lf
Drew rf
Lowell 3b
Varitek c
Crisp cf
Pedroia 2b

Schilling p

OAKLAND

Stewart lf
Ellis 2b
Chavez 3b
Piazza DH
Johnson 1b
Crosby ss
Buck rf
Kendall c
Langerhans cf

Blanton p

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 4:38 PM | Permalink

ProjoSoxTalk: McDonald says Lester's ready

Today on Projo SoxTalk, Joe McDonald talks about Jon Lester's amazing outing in Pawtucket, and says he's rehabilitated and "ready for the major leagues."
Click here to listen to the audio file.

Posted by Pam Cotter  at 11:09 AM to McDonald | Permalink

Baseball Today: Tuesday, May 1

The Sox may have had the day off, but not us . . .

MORE DETAILS: The story of Josh Hancock's death continues to unfold. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says Hancock was almost involved in another serious crash two days before he died, and that alcohol may have been involved in the first incident. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) In their initial statements police said alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the fatal crash, but the Post-Dispatch quoted eyewitness accounts saying Hancock was drinking to the point of impairment at a restaurant Saturday night prior to the accident. The newspaper also reported Hancock was with ESPN broadcaster Dave Campbell at the restaurant Saturday. Campbell confirmed the report, but said he ''couldn't tell'' if Hancock was inebriated. ''I'm not a toxicologist . . . '' he said.

HITTING CLOSE TO HOME: Several members of the Pawtucket Red Sox live out of the area and travel an hour or more to get home after games. Joe McDonald talked to several of them, including pitchers Manny Delcarmen and Craig Hansen, and they told of near-accidents they've had returning from games. (projo.com)

BACK TO BASEBALL: Many people interpreted yesterday's Statement From Tampa as meaning Joe Torre was safe. George King and Michael Morrissey, however, think it really means George Steinbrenner has put Brian Cashman on the hot seat right next to -- and maybe even ahead of -- Torre. (The New York Post) Filip Bondy came to the same conclusion in the Daily News.

YOU CALL THAT LEADERSHIP? Mike Vaccaro, meanwhile, points out the Yankees haven't won a championship since Derek Jeter was appointed captain. (New York Post)

BRING ME THE HEAD OF . . . DOUG MIENTKIEWICZ?? The man affectionately known hereabouts as Eye Chart -- or at least there was affection hereabouts when he didn't play for the Yankees -- says he knows ''the clock is ticking on me''. (Times Herald-Record)

Blaming Cashman is one thing; after all, he put the team together. But Jeter for not being captainly enough? Mientkiewicz for not hitting, when he's never been a hitter in his life? (And anyone with two eyes should know that scoring runs is not the problem in the Bronx.) Are we in the Twilight Zone? THIS TEAM CAN'T PITCH!! THAT'S THE PROBLEM!! Until they get some of their walking wounded back -- and unless some of them start pitching a lot better than they have been -- what you see is going to be what you get. No matter what kind of leadership Jeter provides.

AH, THE SOLUTION! So, of course, all eyes in Yankee Universe turn back to Roger Clemens. (New York Post) Trouble is, he's not viewing his return with the same sense of urgency as the Yankees.

OR IS IT? SNY.tv's Barry Witterstein raises the unthinkable notion that these Yankees may simply not be very good and says history -- as in, Horace Clarke History -- may be about to repeat itself.

KILL THE MESSENGERS: Bob Raissman says that's what Yankee broadcasters John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman are trying to do, even though, uh, they're two of the messengers themselves. (New York Daily News) He also quotes Waldman as saying the Red Sox have a very uncertain future ahead of them, because, after all, "What if Josh Beckett falls down the dugout steps?"

Or has a piano fall on his head?

Hey, it could happen, right?

SOOTHING WORDS: Don't worry, Suzyn. David Ortiz thinks the Yankees will start winning soon. (New York Daily News)

TURN UP THE HEAT: When tempers are bubbling, Gary Sheffield is hardly ever a calming influence. And he wasn't last night. (Washington Post)

HELLO? ANYBODY HOME? Hard to believe that no one -- except pitcher Jeff Suppan, who didn't say anything -- noticed that umpire Dan Iassonga sent Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols to first base after ball three last night. (yaho.com) Of course, the Brewers may have figured walking Pujols was less dangerous than actually letting him hit.

HELPING HAND: Old friend Dave Roberts may play for the Giants and Brett Tomko for the Dodgers, but that didn't prevent Roberts from giving Tomko some tips that helped turn his career around. (Riverside Press-Enterprise)

OTHER THAN THAT . . . : FoxSports' Ken Rosenthal has lots of Red Sox and Yankee tidbits in his latest notes column, but the one of particular interest -- and not in a good way -- to local fans concerns Rockies catcher, and Rhode Island native, Chris Ianetta. According to a scout: '"He doesn't receive very well. He doesn't throw very well. He doesn't move very well. And, he has an extremely slow bat.'' (msn.foxsports.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:09 AM | Permalink