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Game Story: Beckett returns, pitches Sox past Indians

With the way this season is going for the Red Sox, what else did you expect to happen when Josh Beckett made his return?

Even a potentially major problem somehow manages to come up roses for the Sox these days and it happened with Beckett, too.

After missing two starts while on the disabled list to care for an avulsion on the middle finger of his pitching hand, Beckett returned last night and picked up right where he left off. Which is to say, he threw another outstanding game.

He went seven innings, allowing only four base runners and two runs, as the Sox won their fifth straight, 4-2 over Cleveland.

``For him to not really skip a beat is pretty phenomenal,’’ said Sox manager Terry Francona. ``He came out right from the get go and established all three of his pitches, just like he’s been doing. Thats a team thats a pretty good hitting team and he pitched a heck of a game.’’

Beckett was thrilled with the way his situation was handled. That is, that he was held back longer than he might have been.

``I think we made the smart decision on that deal,’’ he said. ``I think the rainouts helped us make that decision. That might have been a blessing in disguise having me miss that second start not just one.’’

Beckett is now 8-0 on the season. He becomes the 10th pitcher in Red Sox history to win his first eight decisions. The last was reliever Rich Garces in 2000. The last starter to so it was Roger Clemens, who began 14-0 in 1986.

It is a sign of well well he has pitched all season that no one even attempted to say this was his best outing.

``He could have been a little sharper with some of his pitches,’’ said catcher Jason Varitek, ``but overall he was very good.’’

In one way, the physical setback turned into an example on how Beckett has matured. Francona spoke about how hard the pitcher worked while he was on the DL.

``It’s really a testament to his work ethic,’’ Francona said. ``He went down there the last two weeks and did a lot of things. . . You can work all you want but its not a game situation.

``He didn’t just go through the motions on any of those days. He did everything in his power to be the same pitcher as when he left two weeks ago. He and John (Farrell, the pitching coach) together, they did a great job of staying prepared and staying in sync. Being able to throw all his pitches and not being rusty or not being too strong.’’

Beckett spoke about how the team not only had its medical staff work with him but brought in specialists.

``This is a tribute to our training staff, the doctors, my pitching coach sticking with me,’’ Beckett said. ``John Farrell was here at 1:30 some days so I could go out and throw five innings. Our bullpen catcher. Everybody’s been real supportive.’’

Beckett has had a history of hand problems, which is why there were serious concerns when the avulsion problem cropped up May 14. In his return, he threw 91 pitches, 58 for strikes, and perhaps most importantly of all, used everything in his repertoire. That included his curve, the pitch that brings on the problems.

Beckett showed no reluctance going with his breaking ball. He used his curve often and effectively from the start. He struck out leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore on a 96 mile-an-hour fastball in the first, then whiffed Sizemore again on a nasty breaking ball in the fourth. He completed the hat trick on Sizemore in the sixth, this time getting him looking at a 93 mile-an-hour fastball on the outside corner.

The Indians got to Beckett in the seventh, after a long bottom of the sixth that included two Boston runs, the first on a Kevin Youkilis home run, a double by Mike Lowell and three straight walks by reliever Fernando Cabrera.

In the Cleveland seventh, Peralta got on again with a single to right. He scored on a triple to right by Hafner, a drive that bounced between J.D. Drew and the line and went all the way back to the stands near the visitors bullpen.

Hafner came home on a grounder to first by Victory Martinez. Beckett ended the inning, and his night, by striking out Trot Nixon, his sevength strikeout of the night.
Beckett knows he is not home free.

``It’s something were going to have to monitor all the time,’’ he said. ``It’s the same way weve always done it.’’

Down the road there might be problems. Right now, though, just about everything with Beckett and the Sox is positive.

--PAUL KENYON

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:55 PM | Permalink

Game Story: Lester sharp again but PawSox lose

Gary Allan is helping Jon Lester return to the majors.

No, Allan is not a pitching guru, a sports psychologist or a doctor. He’s a country artist.

As the young left-handed pitcher for the Boston Red Sox made his fifth rehab start for the PawSox last night, Lester made his way to the mound to start the game against the Columbus Clippers with the song Right Where I Need to Be blasting from the sound system at McCoy Stadium.

Gary Allan sings the song and Jon Lester takes it to heart. So much so, he asked the PawSox staff to play the song during his outing.

It worked.

The southpaw worked five scoreless innings (79 pitches, 50 strikes) and allowed just four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. He had total command of the strike zone and located all of his pitches, especially his off-speed stuff that kept the Columbus hitters off balance during his outing.

Lester couldn’t have picked a better song to pump him up. The lyrics to the beginning of the song are as follows:

There’s a plane flyin’ outta here tonight Destination New Orleans Boss man says my big promotion’s on the line He says that’s right where I need to be

His return destination is Boston. His boss man is Theo Epstein. And, the promotion is well-deserved.

The song continues about being on the road, which Lester has gotten used to during his rehab this season. It began in spring training, continued on to Single-A Greenville (0-0 with a 2.08 ERA in three starts for the Drive) and he’s been outstanding every since he arrived here in late April.

Besides a brief setback with cramping in his left forearm on May 2, the 23-year-old hurler has allowed just one run in 132/3 innings during his last three outings for the PawSox.

Even though the final score was 5-4 in favor of Columbus, the main focus of last night’s game at McCoy Stadium was the pitching.

After Lester’s solid outing, relievers Craig Hansen, Craig Breslow, Mike Timlin, Manny Delcarmen, Travis Hughes and Bryan Corey took over.

Hansen struggled and allowed two runs on two hits with one walk in one-third of an inning before Breslow did his job in two-thirds of an inning with one hit and one strikeout.

Timlin, who is continuing his rehab from shoulder tendinitis, struggled a bit in the seventh, but got out of the inning relatively unscathed. He loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk. PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin then made a trip to the mound after 12 pitches to talk with veteran reliever. On the next pitch the Clippers’ D’Angelo Jimenez line a shot to shallow right field for a base hit that scored a run.

Timlin retired the next three batters he faced, with some help of the defense behind him, and was finished after he threw 23 pitches (13 for strikes) and allowed one run on three hits. Delcarmen, just back from a brief stint in Boston, worked a scoreless eighth inning with and surrendered one hit with two walks and a strikeout.

The game entered the ninth inning with the PawSox holding a 4-3 advantage, but Hughes gave up back-to-back solo shots as Columbus posted the victory.
In the end, the most important aspect of last night’s game was Lester’s outing and he knows where he wants to be.

--JOE McDONALD

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 10:49 PM to PawSox | Permalink

FINAL: Columbus 5, Pawtucket 4

PAWTUCKET -- The PawSox' Travis Hughes allowed back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the ninth inning as the Columbus Clippers beat Pawtucket tonight at McCoy Stadium, 5-4.

More to come . . .

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 10:33 PM | Permalink

Red Sox 4, Indians 2

RED SOX 4
INDIANS 2

BOSTON - The streaking Red Sox rode seven strong innings from Josh Beckett and homers from Jason Varitek and Kevin Youkilis to register a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park. The first-place Sox have now won a season-high five games and six of their last seven.
Beckett came off the disabled list earlier today to make his first start since tearing skin off the tip of his right middle finger back on May 13. He gave up a first inning single but retired 16 of the next 17 hitters to cruise into the seventh inning with a 4-0 lead. The Indians scored two runs off Beckett in the seventh before he left the game after scattering three hits and striking out seven batters.
Relievers Brendan Donnelly and Javier Lopez worked the eighth inning and Japanese lefty Hideki Okajima picked up his fourth save of the season in the ninth. Beckett earned the win and remains the only unbeaten (8-0) starting pitcher in baseball.
The Red Sox scored a single run in the first inning off losing pitcher Jeremy Sowers (1-5) when Julio Lugo reached on a bunt single and the sizzling hot Youkilis laced an RBI double off the left field wall. The Sox didn’t hit Sowers again until the fifth inning when Varitek crushed his fifth home run of the season high over the Monster Seats in left.
Boston’s second homer of the game came an inning later when Youkilis hit a hot liner that cleared the wall in left. The Sox extended the lead to 4-0 when Mike Lowell doubled and Indian pitchers walked the next three hitters to force in a run.
Youkilis remained the hottest hitter in baseball. His two hits extended his hitting streak to 21 games and he’s had two or more hits in nine straight games. The last Red Sox to deliver two or more hits in nine straight games was Jim Rice back in his MVP season of 1978.
The Red Sox and Indians wrap up their three-game series Wednesday night at Fenway.

KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 9:54 PM | Permalink

Timlin in to work the seventh inning

Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin struggled a bit, but got out of the inning relatively unscathed. He loaded the bases on back-to-back singles and a walk.

PawSox pitching coach Mike Griffin then made a trip to the mound after 12 pitches to talk with Timlin. The next pitch the Clippers' D'Angelo Jimenez line a shot to shallow right field for a base hit that scored a run.

Timlin retired the next three batters he faced with some help of the defense behind him. Overall he threw 23 pitches (13 for strikes) and allowed one run on three hits.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 9:23 PM | Permalink

Lester in the fifth and done for the night

Lester threw 16 pitches (11 for strikes) and allowed a single with two strikeouts. He has reached 79 pitches (50 for strikes) and is done for the night. The left-hander had complete control of the strike zone tonight and his off-speed pitches were nasty.

Overall he worked five scoreless innings, and allowed just four hits. He struck out six and walked only two.

RECAP:
First inning: 18 pitches (10 strikes) and two hits.
Second inning: 14 pitches (seven strikes).
Third inning: 11 pitches (nine strikes).
Fourth inning: 20 pitches (13 strikes) and allowed a double.
Fifth inning: 16 pitches (11 strikes) and allowed a single.

Lester topped out at 95 MPH on the gun, and his breaking stuff fell off the table at 70.
It was another solid outing.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:16 PM | Permalink

Lester in the fourth

Lester is in the midst of a solid outing. He threw 20 pitches (13 for strikes) in the fourth inning and allowed a double to right field by Clippers' D'Angelo Jimenez. Lester struck out one and walked one. His curve is nasty tonight and he's totally commanding the inside of the plate.

He's up to 63 pitches.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 8:12 PM | Permalink

Lester in the third

Lester again retired the side in order with a pair of strikeouts. He threw 11 pitches (nine for strikes).

He's up to 43 pitches.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:44 PM | Permalink

Lester in the second

Lester threw 14 pitches (seven for strikes) and retired the side in order. He looked sharp in the inning and grabbed two hard choppers back to the mound.

Lester snared a chopper back to the mound for the first out of the inning. He followed that up with a fly ball to left field and closed out the inning with another grounder back to the mound.

He's up to 32 pitches (17 strikes). He's slated to throw 80 or six innings.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:22 PM | Permalink

Don Zimmer: Sox will be tough to catch

Don Zimmer isn't ready to give Boston the American League East Division title — at least not yet.

“I would say it's early to say that, but things better start happening awful quick because the Red Sox got an outstanding pitching staff and they've got a good team,” the Tampa Bay Devil Rays senior adviser and former Yankees bench coach said Tuesday. “I would say at this time, it's going to be very tough for anybody, not just the Yankees, to catch the Red Sox.”

The Yankees started Tuesday tied for last in the AL East with the Devil Rays, 131/2 games behind Boston. Second-place Baltimore was 111/2 games off the pace.

Zimmer, who has spent 59 years in baseball, was Yankees manager Joe Torre's bench coach when New York won four World Series championships. He also managed Boston in 1978 when the Red Sox held a large lead in August before losing a one-game playoff to the Yankees for the AL East title.

“Joe Torre right now is going through a stretch that I don't think he's ever had to face,” Zimmer said. “With the pitching staff, the way it's happened. They're waiting for (Roger) Clemens at 44 years old, you don't know how that's going to turn out. One thing about Joe, Joe knows how to handle situations.”

Zimmer believes Torre will not get too up or down as the Yankees try to move up in the playoff race.

“Joe's not going to get excited one way or another,” Zimmer said. “Whether they can put something together, there's a lot of teams that will have to put something together to catch the Red Sox. Joe Torre is not going to do anything different than he's done in the past 12 years. We'll just wait and see how it ends up.”

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 7:13 PM | Permalink

Lester in the first

Lester threw 18 pitches (10 for strikes) in the top of the first inning and allowed two hits with a walk. The left-hander allowed a bunt base hit to Columbus lead-off man Brandon Watson. Lester closed out the inning with a 93 MPH fastball on the inner half to get the Clippers' Michael Restovich.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:05 PM | Permalink

Live from Pawtucket

PawSox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has played 22 consecutive games since he was recalled from Double-A Portland on May 4, but he's out of the lineup tonight.

Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson said Ellsbury has a little stiffness in his back, but it’s nothing to be concerned with. In fact, Johnson originally had Ellsbury in tonight’s lineup but felt it was better to give the young outfielder the night off.

As a result David Murphy, who has been playing left since Ellsbury arrival here, will be back in center and Bobby Scales with play left field.

Scales “is a very valuable guy because he gives everybody a chance to have a day off,” said Johnson. “The weather is getting a little bit warmer, and it’s really easy for me, as a manager, to fall in love with my outfield and run them out there every single day.”

Johnson said he was looking for a day to give Ellsbury a day off, but he can play tonight if needed.

Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester will make fifth rehab start for the PawSox tonight. The left-hander is slated to work six innings or 80 pitches, which ever comes first.

Red Sox pitcher Mike Timlin continues his rehab from right-shoulder tendinitis, and he's scheduled to work one inning without a pitch count.

I'll have live updates on both Lester and Timlin. . .

Joe McDonald

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:46 PM | Permalink

Clemens likely to start for Yankees on Monday

Roger Clemens is ready to return to the New York Yankees' rotation and is likely to start at the Chicago White Sox next Monday.

Clemens pitched six shutout innings for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Monday. Torre said before Tuesday's game against Toronto that he'll stay with Chien-Ming Wang, Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte as his starters for this weekend's series at AL East-leading Boston.

“I'm not disappointed that he's not pitching at Fenway,” Torre said. “I don't think that series needs any more hype than it gets every time we play it, whether it's in Fenway or at the Stadium. You'd obviously be tempted if you had a kid pitching and you can replace him with Roger Clemens. When you have Wang, Moose and Andy, there's really not the temptation to do that.”

Torre wasn't ready to finalize his decision.

“Until I talk to him personally, it's tough to pick a particular day,” he said.

If Clemens is put on the major league roster Monday, he would receive $18,207,665 this season, a prorated share of his $28,000,022 salary.

--AP

Posted by Corey Bourassa  at 6:30 PM | Permalink

Sox Streakers for May 29

Who's Hot
-Kevin Youkilis, 20-game hit streak, going 39 for 89 (.438) during the stretch
-Dustin Pedroia, 8-game hit streak, is 24 for 56 (.429) over last 18 games
-Manny Ramirez, 10 for his last 23 (.435) with three doubles, a triple and two home runs

Who's Not
-Julio Lugo, 3 for his last 23 (.130)
-Wily Mo Pena, 4 for his last 20 (.200)

Indians vs. Josh Beckett
-Travis Hafner, 3 for 3 (1.000), 1 HR
-Victor Martinez, 2 for 5 (.400), 1 HR
-Grady Sizemore, 2 for 6 (.333)
-Jhonny Peralta, 0 for 2
-David Dellucci, 0 for 6
-Trot Nixon, Josh Barfield, Ryan Garko and Mike Rouse have never faced Beckett

Red Sox vs. Jeremy Sowers
-Kevin Youkilis, 2 for 3 (.667)
-Coco Crisp, 0 for 1
-Mike Lowell, 0 for 2
-Wily Mo Pena, 0 for 2
-Manny Ramirez, 0 for 2
-J.D. Drew, Julio Lugo, Dustin Pedroia and Jason Varitek have never faced Sowers

More Stuff
-At 19-7, the Red Sox are on pace for their fifth-best May record in club history.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:10 PM | Permalink

Tuesday pre-Game notes & quotes

Pre-Game Red Sox notes for May 29.
Cleveland @ Boston; 7 p.m., NESN

-- David Ortiz is out of the lineup for the third straight game due to sore hamstrings. He says he can run fine but is sore and it’s uncomfortable when he’s in his hitting crouch.

Manager Terry Francona said he’s trying to be smart with Ortiz and not rush him back and risk any serious injury.

''He’s improving but not to the point where I felt comfortable playing him today,’’ he said. ''We sat around and talked about it last night for awhile. I kind of tried to tell him because he feels such a responsibility to be out there that I don’t want him to hurt himself. By trying to get this under control, we don’t have to fight it all year. I trust his judgment, too. I know he wants to be out there, I know he’ll be out there so we’re just going to keep an eye on him.’’

With Ortiz out, the Sox have chosen to shift Manny Ramirez to designated hitter and insert Wily Mo Pena in left. Francona sees this as a great opportunity to rest Ramirez, who leads the Sox with 49 games played.

''It’s the perfect chance,’’ he said. ''We actually told him he could do that in Texas on Sunday but he wanted to play left field. Anytime we can keep his bat, that can only help us in the long run. Anytime you can keep the bat and keep his legs refreshed, that’s good.’’

-- Kevin Youkilis is batting third in Ortiz’ absence. He’s riding a 20-game hit streak, leads the team with a .354 average and is playing as well as anyone on the team. His value is clearly on the rise.

''Wherever somebody sits, we put Youk to balance out our lineup,’’ said Francona. ''It’s been tremendous because he’s such a professional hitter that he can cover us if it’s the 3-hole, the 5-hole, the 4-hole, hitting second. You put him anywhere and he gives you a great at-bat and it seems to balance out that lineup.’’

Youkilis is hitting .438 (39-for-89) during his hit streak. He is batting .408 in May (42-for-103). His inside-the-park homer on Monday was the 48th by a Red Sox at Fenway Park.

-- Another player on the rise is second baseman Dustin Pedroia. He has hit safely in a career-best 8 straight games and has seen his average skyrocket from .182 to .298 over his last 18 games. He had three hits in Monday night’s win over the Indians.

Francona was asked if Pedroia is exceeding expectations.

''I think if you go back and look at all the questions and answers, I think we said, 'Young kid playing here in April, you might not see the player you’re gonna see.' I think now we’re seeing the player we hoped for. I actually think that he and (Alex) Cora (combined for) a real good second baseman. What they give us both together has been phenomenal.’’

Cora got off to a great start filling in for Pedroia and is still hitting .319 in eight fewer games than Pedroia. There were rumblings of elevating Cora back in April but Francona said the patience the club showed is paying off.

''I know there was some clamoring to give up on Pedroia early. I think that would’ve been a big, big mistake,’’ he said. ''He’s a pretty good player. He knows how to play the game.’’

Pedroia has recorded multiple hits in his last two games and 3 of his last 4. He has eight multiple-hit games in May.

-- All eyes will be on Josh Beckett tonight. He's making his first start in two weeks after slightly tearing the skin on the middle finger of his right hand.

-- KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 4:54 PM | Permalink

May 29: Indians-Red Sox lineups; no Ortiz

BOSTON -- David Ortiz is again out of the Red Sox lineup for tonight's game against Cleveland. He is nursing sore hamstrings and is listed at day-to-day.

It is another perfect night for baseball at Fenway Park. Here are tonight's lineups.

BOSTON
Julio Lugo SS
Coco Crisp CF
Kevin Youkilis 1B
Manny Ramirez DH
JD Drew RF
Mike Lowell 3B
Jason Varitek C
Wily Mo Pena LF
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Josh Beckett P

CLEVELAND
Grady Sizemore CF
Jhonny Peralta SS
Travis Hafner DH
Victor Martinez C
Trot Nixon RF
Ryan Garko 1B
David Dellucci LF
Josh Barfield 2B
Mike Rouse 3B
Jeremy Sowers P

Check back in about 20 minutes for further pre-game news.

-- KEVIN McNAMARA

Posted by Kevin  at 4:21 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with Art Martone: Looking ahead to Beckett

Today on Projo SoxTalk, Art Martone looks at the highlights of last night's Red Sox win over Cleveland, including Curt Schilling's impressive outing, the questionable call that helped Boston out in the ninth, and Trot Nixon's nice reception. He also tells fans what they should look for from Josh Beckett tonight, and speculates about what might happen should Beckett struggle. Click here to listen to the audio file.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 12:41 PM to McAdam | Permalink

Baseball Today: Tuesday, May 29

OH, WHAT A NIGHT: It certainly was for Curt Schilling, who was about as dominant (7 innings, 6 hits, 1 run, 0 walks, 10 strikeouts) as he's been all year. And for Kevin Youkilis (above, Journal photo), author of that rarest of Fenway Park rarities -- a standup, inside-the-park home run. And Jonathan Papelbon (right, Journal photo), who, aided by a . . . well, call it a controversial call, escaped a ninth-inning jam of his own making to nail down his 13th save. And especially for Trot Nixon, who came home to about the warmest welcome a visiting player will ever receive anywhere. (All stories projo.com)

And, in the end, it was quite a night for the Red Sox, who improved their record to 35-15 with a 5-3 win over fellow division leader Cleveland.

MISTAKEN IDENTITY? Curt Schilling gives his normally insightful game breakdown on 38pitches.com, but, in the midst of it all, creates a mystery. ''Pre game meeting went well,'' he writes, ''as Dave Jauss (our scout who’d been following the Indians) was in town and I asked him to sit in and give me his thoughts on approaching this lineup.'' Dave Jauss? The Dave Jauss I know, the one who'd been in the Red Sox organization in the 1990s and early 2000s, is Grady Little's bench coach in Los Angeles (and I just saw him the other night while watching the end of the Dodgers' extra-inning win over the Cubs). Or are there two Dave Jausses?

MEETING WITH DISASTER: The Yankees held a closed-door, 45-minute meeting prior to last night's game in Toronto, which, judging by the results, did no good whatsoever. (Both stories New York Daily News) For what it's worth, Derek Jeter thinks all the Yankees are as tired of losing as he is. (New York Daily News)

US TOO, DEREK: Yankee fans are also tired of losing, and the New York Daily News reports they're voting with their feet . . . and their pocketbooks.

THE CALVALRY IS COMING: After a disconcerting outing last week in Trenton, Roger Clemens looked like a $28 million man last night in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. And the New York Post's Kevin Kernan says the Rocket's overreaction to a misunderstood softball question ''is exactly the kind of passion the lifeless Yankees need.'' John Harper of the Daily News thinks so, too.

ON THE FIRING LINE: It's not looking good for Brian Cashman. (New York Post)

YOU THINK YOU WERE SICK OF HEARING '1918'? Yankee Universe is getting ready to adopt 1978 as its mantra of choice for the rest of this season. (New York Daily News)

NOT SO FAST: David Pinto, however, thinks a repeat of '78 is highly unlikely. (baseballmusings.com)

FROM DENIAL TO ACCEPTANCE: The Replacement Level Yankee Weblog says it has ''finally accepted the truth . . . The 2007 Yankees are not going to make the playoffs.''

JUST IN CASE YOU HAD ANY DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THIS GUY WAS A POLITICIAN . . . New Mexico governor (and presidential candidate) Bill Richardson claims to be both a Red Sox and Yankee fan. (www.newsmax.com) Bill, Bill, Bill . . . let me put this in terms you can understand. That's like claiming to be both a Democrat and a Republican. Get it now?

LISTEN TO O-CAB, BILL: And if that's the case, Richardson probably lost Orlando Cabrera's vote. Cabrera calls Yankee fans ''bad losers . . . [They're] mean. And they're really mean to the other team . . . They don't appreciate good baseball: They just appreciate the Yankees beating up on everybody.'' (Los Angeles Times) The New York Post went out and got some Yankee fan reaction to Cabrera's charges. And there's no question our friend Bill Simmons would give Jen Prisco of Orange, Conn., high marks on his Unintenional Comedy scale when she dismissed Cabrera by saying, ''He's not a Yankee, so I don't care what he thinks.''

Uh, Jen? That's his point!

DON'T BE A HYPOCRITE: The New York Post's Mike Vaccaro says if Met fans want to boo Barry Bonds this week, then they'd better not welcome Guillermo Mota back with open arms. Mota is returning after a 50-game suspension for doing something Bonds never did: Fail a test for steroids.

BOTTOM LINE BUSINESS: But, sadly, the odds are that if Mota pitches well, he'll get the same reaction that Elijah Dukes -- who allegedly threatened to murder his wife -- is getting in Tampa. (St. Petersburg Times)

JUST IN CASE: The Baltimore Sun reports the Orioles have drawn up a list of potential replacements for Sam Perlozzo.

TROUBLE JUST SEEMS TO FIND ME: A.J. Pierzynski was in the middle of yet another controversy, this time in Minnesota. (Chicago Sun-Times)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments 1