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Baseball Today: Friday, June 22

DAY OF REST: That's what the Red Sox had in San Diego yesterday, waiting for tonight's opener of their weekend series against the Padres. They'll be, as we all know, without Curt Schilling, who, as Sean McAdam notes, is one of the few Sox players to be sidelined by injury this year. (projo.com) Sean says the team's lead in the A.L. East -- now up to 10 1/2 games -- cushions them from too much worry about Schilling's (assumed-to-be-temporary) absence, but notes there could be longer-term worries, at least in some corners, with the veteran pitcher: ''Schilling’s weight and conditioning were a concern this spring, and this recent episode might be interpreted by some as a possible extension of that issue.''

SOUNDS OF SILENCE: We'd love to hear The Big Schill's thoughts on all this, but 38pitches.com remains quiet.

SO WHO'LL REPLACE HIM?: As McAdam noted in yesterday's version of Sox Talk, ''it's not a slam dunk'' that Jon Lester -- almost the default choice of the public -- will get the call to take Schilling's rotation spot. His pitching in Pawtucket has been up-and-down, and summoning him now would mean making him a permanent member of the rotation . . . which would necessitate bumping Julian Tavarez to the bullpen when Schilling comes back, and Tavarez has done absolutely nothing to merit a demotion. More and more, it's looking like it'll be a short-term replacement and Kason Gabbard (AP Photo, left) made his case with a victory in Indianpolis last night. (projo.com) The Herald's Steve Buckley sees no need to bring up Lester now.

WE'RE WITH YOU: By the end of June, the Sox will have played nine late-night games out West (and four others that started in the late afternoon locally) in a three-week span. Many fans back East complain about this kind of schedule, but guess what: The players do, too. (Boston Herald)

OLD PALS: The Globe's Gordon Edes has a nice piece on Terry Francona and Brad Mills, who became friends when they first met at the University of Arizona and maintained that friendship throughout their baseball careers, which intersected at many points and now have come together again in the Red Sox dugout.

QUICK HITS: Hideki Okajima probably won't make the All-Star team, even though the Herald's Jeff Horrigan thinks he should . . . Did you know the Sox' bench players call themselves ''the I-75s''? Click on this Globe story to find out why . . . Clay Buchholz and Jacoby Ellsbury will participate in the Futures Game on All-Star weekend (projo.com).

SWITCHEROO: The Padres have flopped Greg Maddux and Chris Young in their rotation this weekend, probably as a prelude to Young dropping the appeal of his five-game suspension immediately after pitching against the Red Sox. (San Diego Union-Tribune)

SUPPORT FROM AN UNLIKELY SOURCE: The Cubs' Derrek Lee, whose fight with Young earned five-game banishments for them both, says he doesn't think Young should have been suspended. (Chicago Tribune)

KEEP AN EYE OUT THIS WEEKEND FOR . . . Padres pitcher Justin Germano, whom ESPN.com's Rob Neyer says is a great story.

DANCING ON THE CARCASS: The Sox' lead is back to double digits because the Rockies completed their three-game sweep of the Yankees yesterday. (New York Post) The Rockies -- and their fans, not to mention a few members of the Denver media -- were in chest-pounding mode after yesterday's 4-3 win (Denver Post). WFAN Radio's Chris Russo was completely hysterical at the sight of Rockies fans waving brooms (AP Photo, right) -- you know, for a sweep -- after the game, and the Denver Post reports that some Rockies players were ''all but cackling at ruining the Yankees' hyped visit to Denver''. Said third baseman Garrett Atkins: ''A lot of people who came here Tuesday to cheer them left unhappy (Thursday). That's a good feeling.'' And the Rocky Mountain News' Bernie Linicome writes: ''[No] matter what happens now, the Rockies will always have this, and Rockies fans will have the delight in recalling the day they brought brooms to the park to wave at the Yankees and at [Roger] Clemens.''

WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? The New York Sun's Steven Goldman says the Yankees and Mets were both asleep at the switch when they didn't attempt to acquire Michael Barrett, who was traded this week from the Cubs to the Padres.

YOU'RE OUR GUY: Speaking of the free-falling Mets, COO Jeff Wilpon says manager Willie Randolph's job is safe. (New York Daily News)

POETIC JUSTICE? There's something odd about the fact that the day after Jason Giambi agrees to talk to George Mitchell's investigative team about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball (New York Daily News), the Yankees head to San Francisco for a series against the Giants and Barry Bonds. (New York Post) The only Yankee willing to discuss Giambi's decision, not surprisingly, was the always honest Johnny Damon. (New York Post)

WHADDYA SAY THERE, BUD? FoxSport's Mark Kriegel wonders when we're going to hear something, anything, from Bud Selig on this issue.

TOUGHER CALL: SI.com's Jon Heyman says Sammy Sosa's Hall of Fame candidacy is not as black-and-white as Mark McGwire's, whom he says he'll never vote for.

THE ALL-STAR GAME LIKE IT OUGHTA BE: FoxSports.com's Dayn Perry looks at who's winning the All-Star vote but who should actually make the team. A quick glimpse: He wants Justin Morneau at first base and not David Ortiz.

NO, BUT THANKS FOR ASKING: Joe Girardi turned down the Orioles' offer to manage the team (Washington Post). Many people think Girardi is holding out for the Yankees job, which may finally open up again after this season (if not earlier). The man who currently holds it, Joe Torre, warns that turning down offers could lead teams to stop making those offers. (New York Daily News)

EVER HAD ONE OF THOSE DAYS? The Baltimore Sun's David Steele says that's what yesterday was for the O's, who also learned that Miguel Tejada has a broken wrist and likely will have to head to the disabled list (Baltimore Sun), ending his consecutive-game streak at 1,152.

LOCAL BOYS: The St. Petersburg Times reports that Rocco Baldelli may be sidelined another six weeks after his latest hamstring injury.

WHISPERS: ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says the Braves are much more interested than the Mets in Mark Buehrle . . . The New York Times confirms the Mets wouldn't part with prospects such as Lastings Milledge or Carlos Gomez for Buehrle, but they might for the Astros' Roy Oswalt or the Marlins' Dontrellle Willis . . . The Cubs are shopping Jacque Jones, and the Rangers are interested (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports the Marlins have controversial outfielder Elijah Dukes on their radar, but only if the Devil Rays are willing to accept little in return . . . In a Q-and-A with readers, Los Angeles Times baseball writer Ben Bolch says the Marlins have no interest in trading Miguel Cabrera, but would be asking for three top prospects if they change their minds . . . The Chicago Sun-Times reports Ken Griffey Jr. has been telling people close to him that he'd welcome a trade to the Cubs, where he'd play again for his old manager, Lou Piniella.

OLD FRIENDS: Scott Hatteberg is still grateful to A's general manager Billy Beane for convincing him to move to first base when he signed with Oakland as a free agent in 2002. If he hadn't, ''I could be working at a Blockbuster somewhere,'' said Hatteberg, who's still in the big leagues with the Reds (Cincinnati Post) . . . John Wasdin, who sprained his thumb in May is still rehabbing with the Pirates (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 7:00 AM | Permalink