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News and Notes From Cleveland

CLEVELAND -- David Ortiz is back in the lineup for the Red Sox after a one-day rest.
Manager Terry Francona and Ortiz spoke on the flight here late last night, then again this morning and Ortiz reiterated that he wanted to return to action. Francona thought Ortiz would be better served Sunday by taking a night off.
Ortiz comes into the series opener here hitting just .070 for the season, with three hits in 40 at-bats.
The DH also took some extra hitting for the second straight day with hitting instructor Dave Magadan.

Other notes:
* Bartolo Colon is here, both to be examined by the medical staff and continue his rehab under the watchful eye of assistant trainer Mike Reinold.
* Alex Cora, who was bothered by a sore elbow over the weekend, has ``no limiations'' according to Francona.
* Jed Lowrie will make his major league debut Tuesday night, probably at third base. Lowrie was called up from Pawtucket last week to take the roster spot vacated by Mike Low ell, who was placed on the DL with a left thumb injury.
Lowrie is expecting family and friends from his native Oregon to come to New York for the series with the Yankees Wednesday and Thursday, but it's unlikely that they'll be here tomorrow night to see his debut.
* Francona said he was ``thrilled'' that Kyle Snyder has been retained by the organization. Designated for assignment 10 days ago in Toronto, Snyder cleared waivers -- he had been out of options and had to be exposed -- and accepted an assignment to Pawtucket.
The plan is for Snyder to start for the Pawsox, giving the Sox additional depth in the rotation.

Posted by Sean McAdam  at 5:55 PM | Permalink

Tonight's lineups

First, a bit of news: relief pitcher Kyle Snyder has accepted his demotion and will join the Pawtucket Red Sox.

And now, the lineups, from Sean McAdam:

Red Sox
1. Coco Crisp, cf
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2b
3. David Ortiz, dh
4. Manny Ramirez, lf
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3b
6. J.D. Drew, rf
7. Jason Varitek, c
8. Sean Casey, 1b
9. Julio Lugo, ss
P Jon Lester

Indians
1. Grady Sizemore, cf
2. Astrubal Cabrera, 2b
3. Travis Hafner, dh
4. Victor Martinez, c
5. Jhonny Peralta, ss
6. Ryan Garko, 1b
7. Jason Michaels, lf
8. Franklin Gutierrez, rf
9. Casey Blake, 3b
P Jake Westbrook

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 3:53 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Yankees go home, and now we're off to Cleveland

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning as he was on his way to Cleveland. He discusses the Red Sox bullpen, Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox' ability to capitalize on Phil Hughes' mistakes, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and the continued difficult schedule.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 2:54 PM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Chamberlain leaves Yankees to be with ailing father

NEW YORK (AP) - Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlain left the team after his father collapsed at his home in Lincoln, Neb., the Daily News reported Monday on its Web site.

Harlan Chamberlain was hospitalized Monday at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln. Hospital spokeswoman Jo Miller said the family requested that no further information be released. The Daily News said he was in critical condition, according to a nursing supervisor.

Joba Chamberlain's sister called the Yankees during the eighth inning of New York's 8-5 loss at Boston on Sunday night. The newspaper said the reliever spoke with his sister after the game and broke into tears, and manager Joe Girardi tried to console him.

Chamberlain, the Yankees' primary setup man, planned to return to Nebraska rather than accompany the Yankees to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a series against Tampa Bay starting Monday night.

Harlan Chamberlain had polio when he was 9 months old, and uses a motorized scooter. He is deaf in one ear and without full use of his left arm.

Harlan Chamberlain raised Joba as a single dad. He attended New York's season opener earlier this month, and was at last week's series in Kansas City.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Yankees want to pursue charges against Ortiz jersey guy

NEW YORK (AP) - The New York Yankees could seek criminal charges against a Boston Red Sox-loving construction worker who buried a jersey of his favorite team in the new stadium.

But Gino Castignoli, the Red Sox fan who said he intended to curse the Yankees by planting the jersey, said he did it in jest.

"Anybody with half a brain knows it was all done in fun," Castignoli said in Monday editions of The New York Post.

About possible legal actions the Yankees may pursue, the Bronx-born Local 780 cement mason told the Boston Herald in Monday editions: "It's typical Yankees... It's not like I snuck in there. It didn't do any structural damage. I didn't put anyone in harm's way."

But maybe his bad vibes got to the Yankees anyway: The pinstripes fell Sunday to Boston, 8-5, in the series finale Sunday night.

Castignoli's bid to curse the Yankees was foiled earlier that day when the home team removed the offending shirt from its burial spot.

After locating the shirt in a service corridor behind what will be a restaurant in the new Yankee Stadium, construction workers jackhammered through the concrete Sunday and pulled it out.

The team said it learned that a Sox-rooting construction worker had buried a shirt in the new Bronx stadium, which will open next year across the street from the current ballpark, from a report in the New York Post on Friday.

Yankees President Randy Levine said team officials at first considered leaving the shirt where it was.

"The first thought was, you know, it's never a good thing to be buried in cement when you're in New York," Levine said. "But then we decided, why reward somebody who had really bad motives and was trying to do a really bad thing?"

On Saturday, construction workers who remembered the employee, Gino Castignoli, phoned in tips about the shirt's location.

"We had anonymous people come tell us where it was, and we were able to find it," said Frank Gramarossa, a project executive with Turner Construction, the general contractor on the site.
It took about five hours of drilling Saturday to locate the shirt under 2 feet of concrete, he said.

On Sunday, Levine and Yankees Chief Operating Officer Lonn Trost watched as Gramarossa and foreman Rich Corrado finished the job and pulled the shirt from the rubble.

In shreds from the jackhammers, the shirt still bore the letters "Red Sox" on the front. It was a David Ortiz jersey, No. 34.

Trost said the Yankees had discussed possible criminal charges against Castignoli with the district attorney's office.

"We will take appropriate action since fortunately we do know the name of the individual," he said.

A spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson said Sunday he did not know whether any criminal charges might apply.

Levine said the shirt would be cleaned up and sent to the Jimmy Fund, a charity affiliated with Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

"Hopefully the Jimmy Fund will auction it off and we'll take the act that was a very, very bad act and turn it into something beautiful," he said.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 9:14 AM | Permalink | Comments 2

Boston 8, New York 5

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON _ The Boston Red Sox said they didn’t want to use any excuses.

The ballclub had a short offseason due to their World Series championship. They had an abbreviated spring training due to their season-opening three-country 19-day trek through Japan, the West Coast and Canada. To make the schedule tougher, Boston finally opened at home against the Detroit Tigers, followed by the first regular-season series against the Yankees.

When the Red Sox returned from their around-the-world trip with a 3-4 mark, and posted a 4-2 record on the team’s home stand that concluded last night with an 8-5 victory over the Yankees.

No excuses needed now that the team is back to its regular grind. It won’t get any easier, however, as the Red Sox play two in Cleveland, beginning tonight, and then two at New York.

“We’ll get ourselves into that grind of the season,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “That doesn’t mean you’re going to win, but you can see how good you can be. We’ll see. We’re playing some really good teams. We did what we wanted to tonight and now we’ll pack up and play another good team and see how we do there.”

The one aspect of Boston’s series against New York at Fenway Park was the solid starting pitching in the first two games of the three-game set. Rookie Clay Buchholz had to deal with a no-decision on Friday after working six good innings where he allowed one run on four hits in a 4-1 loss. Ace Josh Beckett earned his first win of the season in Saturday’s 4-3 win, working into the seventh inning and allowed three runs on five hits.

Last night Daisuke Matsuzaka was given the ball.

It was a night when the Sox’ bullpen needed a break, so the right-hander needed an efficient outing. His teammates gave him a 7-1 advantage after three innings, but Matsuzaka allowed three runs in the top of the fourth and lasted only one more inning. He threw a total of 116 pitches over just five innings, but still ended up with his third victory of the season.

“We had some long innings when we were hitting, it was cold and his command wasn’t very good,” said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. “It was a struggle to get him through five. We were getting to a point where we were getting kind of antsy of pitch counts going up in a hurry. He gave it every thing he had there just wasn’t a lot of command there. He would make a pitch and wouldn’t follow it up.”

When he left the game the Red Sox held a 7-4 lead and reliever David Aardsma followed with two scoreless innings before Mike Timlin started the eighth and surrendered a solo homer by the Yankees’ Jason Giambi that cut New York’s deficit, 7-5.

Timlin then allowed back-to-back singles to Jose Molina and pinch-hitter Melky Cabrera before he was given the hook. Left Javier Lopez got Johnny Damon to ground into a well-executed double play by second baseman Dustin Pedroia before Robinson Cano grounded out to second to end the inning and threat.

Boston scored the all-important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth for an 8-5 lead. Lopez faced one batter in the ninth and retired Bobby Abreu. Sox reliever Manny Delcarmen recorded the final two outs with a huge strikeout on Alex Rodriguez and a ground out by Hideki Matsui to finish it out.

Even though he earned the victory, it wasn’t the best outing for Matsuzaka.

He entered the game with a 2-0 record and a 1.47 ERA in three starts this season, his second in the majors. Because all of his “firsts” were taken care of in 2007, Red Sox manager Terry Francona said yesterday afternoon that Matsuzaka is more in sync and relaxed this season.

“Because of that the ball is coming out with some life to it and without a lot of exertion,” the manager said.

Rewind to 2007 and all the hoopla and attention the Japanese import was getting. The entire year, and still to today, the Matsuzaka Media Mafia follows his every move. All the off-field distractions eventually got to him.

“Last year when he came to spring training he didn’t have the ability to give up a run without having Red Sox Nation or his nation asking a ton of question,” said Francona. “He threw the ball well. He used all of his pitches and it was exciting. Then as the season progressed he got into some ruts, trying to overthrow.”

The Red Sox expect things both on and off the field should be a little less stressful for Matsuzaka this season.

Speaking of stress, the heart rate for Red Sox personnel must have been racing prior to this season due to the anticipation of the early adversity they would face. It hasn’t been a problem and they don’t want it to be.

“Everything seems like it’s going into key right now,” said Delcarmen. “You can see our bats coming around and our pitching is getting better. Hopefully we can keep it going.”

Many Red Sox players, including Francona, have admitted to being tired prior to the club’s home-opener last Tuesday. Still, they weren’t going to blame anything or anyone for a possible hiccup.

They haven’t needed to.

At some point the schedule must get a little easier for the Red Sox. It won’t happen this week as they travel to Cleveland for two and New York for two.

The Red Sox wanted a normal routine and now they have it.

“I think everybody has gotten adjusted from that long road trip we were on,” said Coco Crisp. “Everybody has settled in and now we can just go out there and play the game.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:57 AM | Permalink

Delcarmen closes it out for Sox

BOSTON _ Officially, Manny Delcarmen will not be credited with a save for the work he turned in last night in preserving an 8-5 Red Sox victory over the Yankees. In his mind, though, it was a special night, save or no save.

``I’ve got the ball right here,’’ he said pointing to his locker. ``I got one last year and now I’ve got this one, too. It’s pretty cool.’’

In one way, Delcarmen was the victim of the quirky save rule. The rule dictates that if a pitcher begins the final inning with a three-run lead and the game ends with his team still ahead, the pitcher gets the save. However, if he enters after one batter has been retired without a runner reaching base, he does not get the save.

Last night, the Sox kept Javier Lopez in the game to begin the ninth. He had come on in the eighth with Boston ahead, 7-5, and with runners on first and second with no outs for the Yankees. New York had three lefties coming up.

Lopez got Johnny Damon to ground into a double play to Dustin Pedrioa at second and then Robinson Cano on another grounder to second to end the inning.

The Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-5. With the third New York lefty coming up to begin the ninth, Boston manager Terry Franconca kept Lopez in the game. He retired Bobby Abreu on another grounder.

That’s when Delcarmen came on. He fell behind Alex Rodriquez 3-0 then fired three straight strikes, the third a 95 mile per hour fastball that got Rodriguez swinging.

``Being born and raised in Boston it’s always special to be able to beat the Yankees,’’ Delcarmen said. ``Being able to punch out A-Rod was pretty cool.’’

Delcarmen then ended it by retiring Hideki Matsui for the final out. He showed a little Jonathan Papelbon-type emotion with a fist pump, save or not save.

``It doesn’t matter to me,’’ he said of not being being given a save. ``I got the job done.’’

Delcarmen said pitching the ninth really is different than working earlier in the game. The emotion is heightened.

``I can see why (Papelbon) gets as emotional as he does,’’ he said. ``I get nervous every time before I walk out the (bullpen) gate. Being able to get the ball in that situation shows the confidence Tito (Francona) has in me. It’s an unbelievable feeling being able to end the game and help is the get the win.’’

Delcarmen was the closer for the night because neither Papelbon nor Hideki Okajima was available. The Sox said during spring training that they expected there would be times when Delcarmen would close this season and last night was the perfect chance. Delcarmen looked like a closer, throwing 14 pitches, nine for strikes, to end the game.

``All fastballs,’’ he said.

Papelbon was not available because he threw 26 pitches in getting the save in Saturday’s 4-3 victory over New York. Because of rain, he actually worked harder than that. He got up to warm up times, spread around a more than two-hour rain delay.

``He’s not going to pitch tonight, that’s just the way it is,’’ Franconca responded when asked about Papelbon before the game. ``I don’t think it’s any big secret. You can run over and tell the Yankees.’’

Okajima had pitched in three games in a row. He needed the night off, as well.

The Sox were hoping to get as many innings as possible from Daisuke Matsuzaka, the starter. But Matsuzaka struggled and needed 116 pitches just to get through five innings.

David Aarsdama came through with two scoreless innings. Mike Timlin continued to struggled, goving up hits to all three hitters he faced, including a home run to Jason Giambi. But Lopez bailed him out and then Delcarmen came on and did a very nice Papelbon imitation to close it out.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 12:55 AM to Projo Sox Crawl | Permalink

Delcarmen closes it out for Sox

BOSTON _ Officially, Manny Delcarmen will not be credited with a save for the work he turned in last night in preserving an 8-5 Red Sox victory over the Yankees. In his mind, though, it was a special night, save or no save.

``I’ve got the ball right here,’’ he said pointing to his locker. ``I got one last year and now I’ve got this one, too. It’s pretty cool.’’

In one way, Delcarmen was the victim of the quirky save rule. The rule dictates that if a pitcher begins the final inning with a three-run lead and the game ends with his team still ahead, the pitcher gets the save. However, if he enters after one batter has been retired without a runner reaching base, he does not get the save.

Last night, the Sox kept Javier Lopez in the game to begin the ninth. He had come on in the eighth with Boston ahead, 7-5, and with runners on first and second with no outs for the Yankees. New York had three lefties coming up.

Lopez got Johnny Damon to ground into a double play to Dustin Pedrioa at second and then Robinson Cano on another grounder to second to end the inning.

The Sox added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth to make it 8-5. With the third New York lefty coming up to begin the ninth, Boston manager Terry Franconca kept Lopez in the game. He retired Bobby Abreu on another grounder.

That’s when Delcarmen came on. He fell behind Alex Rodriquez 3-0 then fired three straight strikes, the third a 95 mile per hour fastball that got Rodriguez swinging.

``Being born and raised in Boston it’s always special to be able to beat the Yankees,’’ Delcarmen said. ``Being able to punch out A-Rod was pretty cool.’’

Delcarmen then ended it by retiring Hideki Matsui for the final out. He showed a little Jonathan Papelbon-type emotion with a fist pump, save or not save.

``It doesn’t matter to me,’’ he said of not being being given a save. ``I got the job done.’’

Delcarmen said pitching the ninth really is different than working earlier in the game. The emotion is heightened.

``I can see why (Papelbon) gets as emotional as he does,’’ he said. ``I get nervous every time before I walk out the (bullpen) gate. Being able to get the ball in that situation shows the confidence Tito (Francona) has in me. It’s an unbelievable feeling being able to end the game and help is the get the win.’’

Delcarmen was the closer for the night because neither Papelbon nor Hideki Okajima was available. The Sox said during spring training that they expected there would be times when Delcarmen would close this season and last night was the perfect chance. Delcarmen looked like a closer, throwing 14 pitches, nine for strikes, to end the game.

``All fastballs,’’ he said.

Papelbon was not available because he threw 26 pitches in getting the save in Saturday’s 4-3 victory over New York. Because of rain, he actually worked harder than that. He got up to warm up times, spread around a more than two-hour rain delay.

``He’s not going to pitch tonight, that’s just the way it is,’’ Franconca responded when asked about Papelbon before the game. ``I don’t think it’s any big secret. You can run over and tell the Yankees.’’

Okajima had pitched in three games in a row. He needed the night off, as well.

The Sox were hoping to get as many innings as possible from Daisuke Matsuzaka, the starter. But Matsuzaka struggled and needed 116 pitches just to get through five innings.

David Aarsdama came through with two scoreless innings. Mike Timlin continued to struggled, goving up hits to all three hitters he faced, including a home run to Jason Giambi. But Lopez bailed him out and then Delcarmen came on and did a very nice Papelbon imitation to close it out.

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 12:55 AM to Projo Sox Crawl | Permalink

Late Notes, Quotes -- Sox 8, Yanks 5

-- Dustin Pedroia fielded a grounder, tagged out baserunner Melky Cabrera and fired to first for a key double play on a Johnny Damon grounder in the eighth.

"He (Damon) got jammed on it and Johnny's pretty fast, too," said Pedroia. "So I thought the only way I was going to get the double play was to tag him and throw to first. I got the ball a little bit behind (Cabrera), so he couldn't stop. That set the whole thing up. It kind of worked out. That was pretty nice."

-- The Red Sox captured the rubber game of the series despite the fact their top two relievers, Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon, were unavailable and struggling designated hitter David Ortiz had the night off.

"This team doesn't rely on just one player or two players," said infielder Kevin Youkilis, who went 2 for 3 with a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBI. "We have 25 guys who want to go out and compete and battle every day."

-- Catcher Jason Varitek tried to sum up the troubles starter Daisuke Matsuzaka had with his command.

"He just couldn't get the feel for his pitches. We couldn't figure out which pitch to go to. He kind of struggled.The elements (cold, windy) may have had something to do with it, but you have to find a way to throw through that to solidify your delivery," said Varitek.

J.D. Drew, moved up to the number three spot because Ortiz was sitting this one out, went 0 for 3. But he did walk twice and score a pair of runs. He has scored 699 runs in his career . . . The six walks by Matsuzaka tied his career high . . . The Sox stole four bases, the first time they have swiped that many in a game since July 19, 2003, against Toronto. It was the first time they have stolen four bases in a game against the Yankees since May 3, 1995, at Yankee Stadium . . . The Yanks, down two runs, replaced Jose Molina for a pinch runner after his single in the eighth because he is hampered by a sore hamstring. That forced sore-shouldered Jorge Posada behind the plate, and the Sox took advantage, with two stolen bases in the bottom of the eighth. Molina hurt himself sliding into home in scoring a run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 12:39 AM | Permalink