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Baseball Today: Monday, June 11

SALVAGE OPERATION: That's what the Red Sox were facing after losing the first three games of the road trip in Oakland. They didn't quite pull it off -- yesterday's 5-1 loss in Arizona, which made a tough-luck loser out of Daisuke Matsuzaka (right, only two runs allowed in six innings), kept them from sweeping the Diamondbacks and having a winning record on the trip -- but it could have been worse. Even so, Terry Francona came in for some second-guessing with his choice of who, and who not, to pinch-hit when the game was still close. (Both stories projo.com) (BTW: If you think I'm exaggerating, read this, courtesy of our friends at SOSH.) And Kevin Youkilis, among others, is still complaining about having to play in last Sunday night's ESPN game and then fly across the country for a game Monday night in Oakland, saying ''it definitely had an effect on us'' for the rest of the trip. (Boston Herald) It's over now, though, and the Sox get the day off before starting a week-long homestand against the Rockies and Giants.

THE HIGHLIGHT: When most people look back on this road trip, they'll remember Curt Schilling's near no-hitter. Me, I'll think of Julio Lugo's tag on Alberto Callaspo Friday night. How often do you see a fielder stand there with the ball as a baserunner picks himself up off the base? And how often does the runner lose contact with the base long enough to be tagged out? In 43 years of watching baseball for me, the answer to that second question was always 'never' . . . until Friday night.

EARNING HIS KEEP: It was the least Lugo could do, since his offensive game has deteriorated to the point of being non-existent. Put it this way: He hit .209 in May, and he's almost 100 points below that in June. I realize the Sox don't really have a viable option for replacing him at shortstop, but geez Terry, ya think ya might want to get him out the leadoff spot?

BLAME IT ON LUCEN: Curt Schilling finally broke down the near no-hitter on his 38pitches.com blog. The best part: The fact that he read the Sons of Sam Horn game thread about the game and called out Lucen, one of SOSH's long-time posters, for using the term ''no-hitter'' while it was in progress. Lucen had already been, uh, chastised by fellow posters in saltier, NSFW terms while the game was going on. All of which prompted Lucen to start a discussion thread on the topic.

ALL'S QUIET: People in Denver don't expect the Red Sox to make another run at Todd Helton. (Denver Post)

IF YOU'VE GOT YOUR HEALTH, YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING: SI.com's Cliff Corcoran has studied the issue and concluded the Red Sox have been the healthiest team in baseball so far this season.

BUT IF YOU AIN'T GOT A BULLPEN, YOU AIN'T GOT NOTHIN': Yogi Berra once said that, and NBCsports.com's Matt Casey looks at ''closers from the past 15 to 20 years who made . . . [a] living . . . turning the ends of games into nerve-wracking affairs.''. He includes Bob Stanley and Calvin Schiraldi on his list, which means all Casey really knows of the '86 Red Sox is what he happened to see in the last two games of the World Series. Because Schiraldi was lights out as the Red Sox closer for the last two months of the regular season -- see for yourself (baseball-reference.com) -- and the Sox wouldn't have won the A.L. East if he hadn't stepped in on Aug. 3 and stabilized the bullpen. Which is not to excuse what happened in the postseason or beyond, but to say he ''made a living'' at being terrible is to ignore the contributions he made to the '86 championship.

A-GAME: Alex Rodriguez is swinging the bat like he did in April, only this time the Yankees are turning production into victories. (New York Daily News) In that light, Filip Bondy says it's time for the Yanks to talk contract with A-Rod, who can walk away at the end of the season.

ME, TOO: Bobby Abreu is also come alive with the bat. (New York Post)

ALL OF WHICH EXPLAINS WHY . . . the Yanks are winning even though Miguel Cairo is their first baseman. (New York Daily News) Or maybe it's the absence of Jason Giambi more than anything else. (Newsday)

STUCK: Tom Glavine has stalled on 295 career wins (New York Daily News) and is next shot at inching towards 300 will come next weekend against the Yankees. Speaking of the Subway Series, Roger Clemens will pitch the opener for the Yanks on Friday night. (New York Post)

LOADED AND READY: SI.com's Tom Verducci, for one, thinks there's plenty left in the Rocket's tank.

THE SOLUTION: Fox Sports' Mark Kriegel says the ''only way for baseball to deal credibly with its long-running steroid scandal'' is to grant amnesty to all players who used performance enhancing drugs prior to the establishment of the Major League testing policy.

RATING THE LEFT: Our old friend The Baseball Crank, who once graced the pages of projo.com with his writings, looks at the best left-handed relievers of all time. (baseballcrank.com)

SEPARATE CORNERS: Michael Barrett won't be catching Carlos Zambrano tonight against Houston, but Lou Piniella says the fact that Barrett hasn't caught Zambrano since their dugout fight is just coincidence. (Chicago Sun-Times)

TELL YA WHAT WE'LL DO FOR YA: The Nationals are inquiring about troubled Devil Rays' rookie Elijah Dukes. (foxsports.com)

PLACE THE BLAME ELSEWHERE: The Dallas Morning News' Jean-Jacques Taylor says the Rangers' struggles aren't Ron Washington's fault.

NOW TO WHAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT: Peter Abraham took some time away from the Yankees this weekend and blogs, instead, on The Sopranos (yankees. lohudblogs.com)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:03 AM | Permalink