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June 2, 2008 »

Pregame notes: Ortiz to have MRI

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- Red Sox slugger David Ortiz will have an MRI taken on his injured left wrist on Monday.

He said he felt a "pop" when he swung at a pitch during his ninth-inning at-bat on Saturday night at Camden Yards. He started treatment today and was sporting a removable brace, saying he's never had anything like this before. It's being defined as a strain and he's listed as day-to-day.

Ortiz said he could understand if he took a check-swing, but it was a full swing a "Big Papi swing."

There's no swelling, just a "clicking" going on.

Manager Terry Francona pulled Ortiz from his plate appearance and replaced him with Sean Casey.

"I wanted to (finish the at-bat)," Ortiz said. "I couldn't because it would have got worse. I've never felt anything like it before. . . Hopefully it's nothing too bad because I'm tired of (these injuries)."

***Outfielder J.D. Drew is back in the lineup today after missing a couple of starts due to a bout of vertigo. He was a late-inning defensive replacement on Saturday, and when bench coach Brad Mills asked him if he could play, Drew told Mills he was 100 percent.

***Francona will not be in the dugout today due to his daughter Leah's graduation from Brookiline High School. He will rejoin the club here tonight.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 1:14 PM | Permalink

Today's lineups

BOSTON

Ellsbury, cf
Pedroia, 2b
Youkilis, 1b
Ramirez, dh
Lowell, 3b
Varitek, c
Drew, rf
Bailey, lf
Lugo, ss
Colon, sp

BALTIMORE

Roberts, 2b
Markakis, rf
Millar, 1b
Huff, 3b
Scott, dh
Payton, lf
Jones, cf
Quiroz, c
Bynum, ss

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 1:09 PM | Permalink

Casey witnesses history -- again!

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- When Sean Casey signed with the Red Sox during the offseason, he knew he was coming to a special place.

For some reason, however, history-making events tend to follow the veteran where ever he goes. Casey was in the dugout Saturday night at Camden Yards when teammate Manny Ramirez hit his 500th home run. It’s the third time in Casey’s career he has witnessed such a feat.

Casey was playing for the Reds when he saw the Cubs’ Sammy Sosa hit his 500th at Cincinnati. Casey also experienced Ken Griffey notched his 500th at St. Louis. In fact, Griffey hit his 599th on Saturday.

“I feel really blessed and fortunate to see three players reach 500,” he said.

At Cincinnati, Casey said he remembers there were so many Cubs fans it was like being at Wrigley Field. He said he felt the same here Saturday night.

“It felt like we were at Fenway,” Casey said. “There was three-quarters Boston fans here. It was crazy.”

The main reason Casey wanted to sign with the Red Sox was because of the special group of players in the Boston clubhouse. When he witnessed the celebration the players gave Manny on Saturday, it was just another example of how close this team really is.

“It’s impressive,” said Casey. “We’ve got a great bunch of guys in here, and the guys here appreciate the history of baseball. To hit 500 home runs is not easy. That is a tough thing to do. Five-hundred times he’s rounded the bases – that’s amazing. We have a good mix of young guys and older guys and the appreciation is there. People should stop and take a minute to appreciate it because you may not ever see that again in your career. We watched history tonight. When our careers are over we can all look back and say ‘I saw Manny Ramirez hit his 500th homer.’ If that doesn’t give you the chills, you shouldn’t be playing this game. Every guy in this clubhouse appreciated what they saw.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:10 AM | Permalink

Postgame notes: Clubhouse reaction

***Dustin Pedroia, who received a Rolex watch from Manny Ramirez for winning the Rookie of the Year Award in 2007, plans on getting something special for his good friend for hitting his 500th home run Saturday night. He wouldn’t reveal what it’s going to be, though.

Pedroia was excited for his buddy's accomplishment.

“It was great because you know how hard he works,” said Pedroia. “You can tell the last three or four weeks that he wanted to get it over with. To see it happen is special. There’s not a nicer guy, there’s not a guy who cares about everybody as much as Manny does. It’s awesome. It was awesome to watch.”

**Alex Cora was inserted into Saturday's game as a late-inning replacement for Julio Lugo at shortstop. Unfortunately, Cora didn't see Ramirez's homer. He was stretching in the tunnel when he heard a loud roar.

“It was amazing,” said Cora of the accomplishment. “As soon as I heard the crowd I went out. Like Tito always says, Manny’s so genuine and you can see the joy. He was relieved, too. He doesn’t show it, but you can tell all this weight came off his shoulders.”

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:04 AM | Permalink

Postgame notes: Ortiz injures wrist

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

BALTIMORE -- Almost lost in the celebration of Manny Ramirez's 500th home run Saturday night was the fact teammate David Ortiz injured his wrist and was removed from the game.
He suffered a left-wrist strain on a swing during his ninth-inning at-bat. He could not finish his plate appearance and was replaced by Sean Casey. Ortiz had X-rays taken at the park, which came back negative. He is listed as day-to-day.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 12:01 AM | Permalink