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Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 23 »

Game Notes

NEW YORK – Right fielder J.D. Drew remained in the lineup last night, but also remained in a dreadful slump.

Drew went into last night hitting only .169 (14-for-83) in his last 24 games, dropping his batting average from .375 to a season-low .244, and things didn’t go any better in his first couple of trips to the plate as Drew began the night 0-for-2.

Last night also marked the one-month anniversary since Drew’s last homer. He has just two so far.

``He’s kind of scuffling right now,’’ acknowledged manager Terry Francona. ``I’d say it’s a mixture of bad luck and not being consistent with his swing. But from where I sit, he’s got a track record and he’s going to hit. We just have to be patient. Sometimes, you just have to ride it out.’’

Drew said he had tried ``a little of everything’’ to bust out of the slump, but hasn’t hit on the right combination.

``It hasn’t been a very good month,’’ admitted Drew. ``I feel like I’ve hit some balls good and have nothing to show for them. It’s just a matter of keeping composed and doing the things you’ve always done to be successful.’’

Drew, who opted out his contract with the Dodgers to sign a five-year, $70 million deal with the Sox, has been guilty of trying too hard at times.

``Obviously,’’ he said, ``you can easily outthink yourself at times like this. That’s the tendency when things are going bad. There are enough people out there trying to get you out; you don’t need to add one more person to that list.’’

He’s studied video and taken extra batting practice in an effort to break out.

``You’ve still got go out there and battle and make adjustments,’’ Drew said. ``We’ve got more than four months to go.’’

Manny Ramirez’s first-inning homer – a three-run belt to left – enabled him to continue to climb the charts for Yankee killers.

Ramirez ranks fifth, just one homer behind Carl Yastrzemski, for most career homers against the Yankees with 51. Jimmie Foxx is first with 70, followed by Ted Williams (62), Hank Greenberg (53) and Yaz (52).

He’s also fifth in RBI (150) against the Yankees since 1957, trailing Yaz (163), Al Kaline (157), Brooks Robinson (154) and Harmon Killebrew (153).

Ramirez has 26 homers at Yankee Stadium, the most of any player over the last 51 years. Rafael Palmeiro (23), Boog Powell and Jim Rice (22 each) are next.

Josh Beckett, who has been sidelined for the last 10 days because of an avulsion on his right middle finger, is on pace to make his scheduled start Tuesday against the Cleveland Indians.

Beckett plans to throw a five-inning simulated game in the bullpen this afternoon and will do without a bandage on his finger. Beckett will throw all of his pitches to make sure that he can throw his curve without incident.

Kevin Youkilis extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a first-inning single. That’s the second-longest current hitting streak in the big leagues, behind only Derek Jeter (16 games before last night)…Mike Lowell’s fourth-inning solo homer, off the foul pole in left, was his fifth in the last 12 games…Matt Clement, who underwent rotator cuff surgery late last fall, is in Fort Myers tasking part in extended spring training. Eventually, he’ll rejoin the major league club to continue his rehab program…Mike Timlin (shoulder) played catch yesterday and will have another mound session today…Yankee legend and Hall of Famer Yogi Berra visited the Red Sox clubhouse briefly and signed balls for Coco Crisp and Javier Lopez…General manager Theo Epstein is here, but peeled off yesterday to do some scouting for the upcoming draft, which takes place June 7…When Coco Crisp fanned in the fourth, Yankee starter Mike Mussina passed Warren Spahn to move into 23rd place on the all-time strikeout list with 2,584.

Posted by Thom Cahir  at 10:53 PM to McAdam | Permalink