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Rain delay

Due to the inclement weather at Fenway Park, tonight's game has been delayed. The first pitch is scheduled for 8:15.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 7:50 PM | Permalink

Pregame notes: Crisp update

By JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- After being removed from Wednesday's game in Philadelphia with a left-hand injury, Red Sox center fielder Coco Crisp is back in the lineup tonight. He's hitting seventh and playing center.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Crisp is doing okay and that the training staff called and talked to him on the offday on Thursday. Francona said Crisp thought the injury was a lot worse when he came out of the game on Wednesday, but after icing it and receiving treatment, Crisp is fine.

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:08 PM | Permalink

Pregame notes: Ortiz update

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- For all the talk of Curt Schilling, the Red Sox were quick to put situation behind them and concentrate on baseball. Francona discussed other items concerning the club.

In particular: David Ortiz. The slugger, recovering from a wrist injury, is about 10 days away from picking up a bat, according to the manager.

"David is doing real well," said Francona. "He’s doing his strength and conditioning and has mobility with his wrist. He has very limited pain and he’s doing okay. He still knows it’s there, but he seems to be getting better every day."

Ortiz hasn’t been sitting around doing nothing. He’s been pushing it really hard, according to the manager. Still, the training staff doesn’t want to push him too hard and suffer a setback.

"It needs to heal and we’re going to let it heal," said Francona. "So when he does come back he can come back and be David and not limping through his at-bats; we don’t need that."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 6:02 PM | Permalink

Tonight's lineups

ST. LOUIS

Izturis, ss
Schumaker, rf
Ludwick, lf
Ankiel, cf
Glaus, 3b
Duncan, 1b
Molina, c
Kennedy, dh
Miles, 2b
Lohse, sp

BOSTON

Ellsbury, lf
Pedroia, 2b
Drew, rf
Ramirez, dh
Lowell, 3b
Youkilis, 1b
Crisp, cf
Lugo, ss
Cash, c
Wakefield, sp

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:57 PM | Permalink

Pregame notes: Epstein on Schilling

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein just made it official that Curt Schilling’s season is over.

The veteran right-hander will have season-ending surgery soon and the 41-year-old’s career could also be over.

"He worked hard for a couple of months trying to strengthen his shoulder, and he actually did get stronger," said Epstein. "It went pretty well and he was able to play long toss, and initially got up on the mound, but when he started to let it go in bullpens he hurt and really wasn’t able to let it go."

Because Schilling experienced the pain again he was examined by team physician Dr. Thomas Gill and it was decided the best course of action now would be for the veteran right-hander to have surgery, which Epstein said it’s not known at this point what type of procedure Schilling will have.

"It’s disappointing," said Epstein. "We reached a point where we weren’t counting on Schill. In the back of our minds we hoped, ‘Yeah, maybe this guy will come back and really provide a big boost for us, giving everything he’s done in the postseason.’ We would never bet against Curt Schilling, but always knew this was a possibility. Something was wrong with his shoulder and we didn’t know how it happened. It happened during the offseason. The most appropriate treatment was what our doctors recommended – the conservative route."

Earlier in this process Schilling’s personal physician Dr. Craig Morgan explained to the pitcher and the Red Sox that he thought it would be best if Schilling had the surgery. The Red Sox decided to take that conservative route Epstein talked about, attempting to build up the strength in the arm.

In the end, however, the torn biceps tendon did not responded well enough.

"Maybe because I’ve been watching it day-to-day it’s not such a shock today," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I know the announcement was made today, but we’ve been living through it. We’ve been trying to fight this since January. . . We tried to put him in the best position where he could pitch for us and when it ultimately came down to it, it wasn’t happening."

Schilling is not at Fenway Park today.

"He made a tremendous impact here," said Epstein. "When we were sitting in his living room in November of 2003, we talked about a lot of things and among those was him coming here and helping us win a World Series, handling the Boston market, pitching effectively and leading a rotation. All those things came true and then some. He certainly lived up to his end of the bargain. It was a very effective marriage while it lasted, that’s for sure. He left his mark on this organization."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 4:55 PM | Permalink

Pregame notes: Luck of the Irish

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Just arrived at Fenway Park and here are just a couple of early observations: The Red Sox will honor the NBA champion Celtics in a pregame ceremony tonight and already the field here at Fenway has a unique symbol cut into the center field grass -- a giant shamrock. It's actually pretty cool.

Also, there's a sign at one of the local establishments near the park that reads: "Welcome to the sports capital of America."

Posted by Joe McDonald  at 3:00 PM | Permalink

More on Curt Schilling

Read a detailed story on Curt Schilling to have season-ending, and possibly career-ending, surgery here.

And Schilling himself has weighed in on 38pitches.com in an entry entitled "Not a thing in the world to be upset about"

Posted by Art Martone  at 1:11 PM | Permalink

Projo SoxTalk with McAdam: Learning to love J.D. Drew

Click the play button below to hear Sean's comments, recorded this morning (before the news of Curt Schilling's surgery broke). The topics: J.D. Drew's terrific weekend in the place where he is hated the most, whether Drew can sustain his hot streak, Manny Delcarmen as the hot hand of the moment in the bullpen, and the Celtics-Red Sox bond.

Here are some excerpts from Sean's comments:

On Drew's big series at Citizens Bank Park: "He has always risen to the occasion playing in Philadelphia when he returns there. In fact his performance, or his history of success in Philadelphia, was one of the things the Red Sox looked at closely when they signed him to that landmark $70-million deal a few years ago. They saw that as evidence that if Drew could succeed in the face of people throwing batteries at him, as has happened in Philadelphia, then certainly he could withstand the rigors of playing in Boston."

More on Drew: "One thing you see him doing this month, that you haven't seen him do much of in his brief Red Sox career, is really drive the ball, whether it be to center field, where a lot of his home runs seem to go, or some doubles and extra-base hits that he's hit the other way off the ball at Fenway. He needs to use the whole ballpark, and he's been doing that more the last month."

On the Celtics and the Red Sox: "I think there is a bond. There's a lot of guys [on the Red Sox] who are basketball fans, they have enjoyed the run as much as the fans have, and I think there also is a bond between players who play in the same city. Even though you may not run into each other much because of conflicting schedules and seasons, but there's an identiy that's shared, that you kind of represent Boston. And I think there's some pride on the part of Red Sox players who are rooting for the Celtics, even though they may have grown up in other parts of the country, they now share Boston as their place of work."

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 11:25 AM to Projo SoxTalk with Sean McAdam | Permalink

Schilling to have surgery, will not pitch in 2008

Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling, on this morning's edition of the WEEI radio show Dennis and Callahan, said that he will have shoulder surgery on Monday, ending his chances of pitching this season. The 41-year-old right-hander went on to say that "there's a decent chance that I have thrown my last pitch, forever."

Following last year's Red Sox championship season, the club signed Schilling to a one-year deal that includes $8 million guaranteed, with a possible $6 million in additional bonuses for making weight, plus pitching incentives that Schilling will not reach.

WEEI plans on posting the full audio of Schilling's comments later today on its Web site.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:04 AM | Permalink

Baseball Today: Friday, June 20

Journal photo / Bob Breidenbach

IF THIS IS AN OFF-DAY . . . it must be time for examinations of all sorts of things that normally get lost in the normal crush of news. With the Sox not playing yesterday, we now have time to look at . . .

-- Manny Delcarmen (above), whose resurgence in the Red Sox bullpen is analyzed by our own Steven Krasner.

-- The lack of good young catchers in baseball, with the Boston Globe's Amalie Benjamin talking to people about why that's so. She also looks at Jason Varitek and notes how lucky the Sox have been not to have had to worry about their catching situation for the last 10 years.

-- Jacoby Ellsbury, whose speed, says Terry Francona, has brought the Red Sox "a brand of baseball we’re not accustomed to." (Boston Herald)

The games resume tonight and when they do the Sox will have a special ceremony to honor the Celtics for winning the NBA championship. (Boston Globe) And they may be catching the Cardinals at the right time: St. Louis is coming off three straight home losses to the Royals. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

MYSTERY SOLVED: Ever wonder just what in the world Hideki Okajima (right) and several of the other Red Sox wear around their necks? Rob Bradford of the Boston Herald finds out what they are: Phiten titanium necklaces, brought over from Japan by Daisuke Matsuzaka to "keep the evil spirits away." Says Dustin Pedroia, who now wears two during games: "I don’t know if they do anything, but Daisuke swears by them." WHO NEEDS 'EM? We've yet to see one on J.D. Drew, whose recent hitting exploits have gotten Manny Ramirez' attention. (Boston Globe) WELL, HOW ABOUT A.L. PITCHERS? Because Jim Donaldson thinks their inability to run bases or swing bats without injuring themselves is a disgrace.

ALL GROWN UP NOW: Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal says the Sox' success without David Ortiz is proof that they're no longer dependent on the Ortiz-Ramirez axis and are instead a deep and multitalented team that can beat you many ways.

Q AND A WITH . . . Justin Masterson, conducted by SI.com's Holden Kushner.

NEVER MIND: The Chicago Sun-Times shoots down a report that the Cubs have a renewed interest in Coco Crisp, quoting one insider as saying Chicago hasn't talked to the Sox about Crisp since spring training.

READY TO SHOP: Even though he says they don't need much -- right-handed middle reliever, veteran bat off the bench -- Yahoo.com's Steve Henson lists the Sox as "buyers" in his look at who'll be buying and who'll be selling come the trade deadline.

DOUBLE FEATURE: Joe McDonald reports the PawSox are both developing players and winning games this year. Usually, they can only do one or the other.

SWEPT AWAY: The St. Petersburg Times' John Romano says the Rays have "evolved from curiosity to phenomenon. They have reached the point where a pennant race is not just a possibility, but an expectation." The Tampa Tribune's Martin Fennelly concurs, asserting the Rays are "no fluke. They show no signs of wilting under pressure . . . They're dreaming big." And what prompted all this? An 8-3 comeback win over the Cubs that completed a three-game sweep of the team with the best record in baseball, in front of another 30,000-plus crowd at The Trop, no less. (Tampa Tribune) The blog DRaysBay lists all the records the team set last night, including "most facetime . . . on Baseball Tonight." Get used to it; with each passing day this Rays team reminds me more and more of the 1967 Red Sox, a young and talented group with no history of success that gradually found its footing and discovered -- to its delight -- that it could, indeed, stand toe to toe with the big boys.

THE DOWNSIDE OF SUCCESS: Another sign the Rays have arrived: Their fans complain strenuously about the umpires. (Outs Per Swing blog)

CAN'T BLAME THE STAT GEEKS FOR THIS ONE: Analysts have never seen Derek Jeter as being bathed in the same golden hue as some fans, and criticism -- any criticism -- of Our Captain has drawn quick and angry rebuke from the Mystique and Aura crowd. (Their take is pretty accurately summed up on the blog Blogging The Bombers.) But now it's fellow major-leaguers saying Jeter is the most overrated player in baseball. (New York Daily News)

The best take is provided by Josh Alper of AOL's Fanhouse: "He's never been as good or as bad as either side would have you believe. And if he didn't play in New York no one would care half as much."

THE RIGHT MOVE: Joba Chamberlain still doesn't have a win as a starter, but that doesn't mean his move to the rotation is going poorly. He kept the Yankees in yesterday's game with 5 2/3 strong innings before reaching the 100-pitch limit, enabling them to go on and defeat the Padres, 2-1. (New York Post) Just another example, says the Post's Kevin Kernan, of why "Yankees Universe is so much more of a respectable place than the Bizarro World of the Mets."

WHAT'S THAT YOU WERE SAYING THERE, HANK? The Daily News' Bill Madden looks back with amusement at Hank Steinbrenner's rant about interleague play, noting that the Yanks' current hot streak is the direct result of the Yanks' feasting on some National League cupcakes.

LOOKING (WAY) AHEAD: Newsday's Johnette Howard says the Yankee resurgence has added some juice to their upcoming series with the Red Sox, even though it's two weeks away.

MY TURN: Willie Randolph writes -- or had someone ghost-write -- his take on his firing by the Mets for the Daily News. "I won't lie to you," he says. "I don't like the way the Mets handled my firing. I think it was pretty weak. I think I would've deserved better if my record had been 0-555, not 302-253." Still, he absolves Omar Minaya of any malicious intent. And in one of the more amusing sidenotes, he cites Brian McNamee -- and not Bill Belichick -- as the source of the saying "it is what it is."

OUR TURN: With the Mets off yesterday, it gave the media one last chance to go over the Randolph firing. The Post's Phil Musnick says Randolph's indulgence of the team's lazy play cost him his job. And colleague Jay Greenberg thinks the combination of a paranoid man (Randolph) and a paranoid organization (Mets) was a doomed match.

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO: Tony Bernazard is emerging as the hidden villain in all this, at least in media accounts of how it all went down. And now the Daily News is reporting Bernazard may be in line to replace Minaya if the GM doesn't survive . . . which apparently is possible.

BUT STILL . . . The Post's Mike Vaccaro thinks the division title is still there for the taking if the Mets can regroup.

NUMBER TWO: Joining Randolph on the unemployment line is John McLaren, fired yesterday by the Mariners. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) David Pinto of Baseball Musings normally blames the general manager "for putting a terrible team on the field," but concedes that "[as] far as I can tell, however, McLaren did nothing to get the most out of a weak squad."

BACK UP THE TRUCK: Former Seattle Times journalist Bob Sherwin, now writing for examiner.com, makes a bunch of recommendations to the Mariners, which include releasing Richie Sexson ("not a leader") and trading Erik Bedard ("a flake and a bit of a fake . . . his act is tired . . . a fraud").

NEXT! With the first two managerial casualties of the season recorded, the Toronto Star's Richard Griffin makes his recommendation for the third: John Gibbons of the Blue Jays.

SORRY DON'T FEED THE BULLDOG: J.P. Ricciardi has apologized for disparaging comments he made about the Reds' Adam Dunn on his radio show Wednesday night. (Vancouver Sun) But that didn't stop Dunn -- the "affable" Dunn, according to the Columbus Dispatch -- from firing back at the Blue Jays' GM, calling him a "clown."

OH, SO THAT'S WHAT THAT MEANS! Joe Posnanski says the J.P. in Ricciardi's name stands for "Judging People."

BUT WOULDN'T THAT BE H.D. RICCIARDI? Pinto thinks Ricciardi has been a huge disappointment.

CODE YELLOW: The Chicago Sun-Times says the Cubs' season "could hinge on the outcome" of Carlos Zambrano's MRI today. Zambrano was 2-2 with a 4.67 ERA in the seven starts he made after developing stiffness in his neck that radiated into his shoulder, and on Wednesday against the Rays he said he "couldn't go back over the top with my arm" because of the pain.

PULL THE PLUG: The Cleveland Plain-Dealer's Terry Pluto declares the Indians' season to be "over."

OH, WELL: Chipper Jones' average has dropped below .400. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) And that doesn't surprise Tracy Ringolsby. (foxsports.com)

BREAKING IT DOWN: The blog Baseball-Intellect has analysis and visual evidence of "the gradual decline and sudden collapse of Dontrelle Willis."

WHISPERS: Now that Rhode Island's Chris Iannetta has taken over as the Rockies' starting catcher, Colorado may trade Yorvit Torrealba. (Denver Post)

OLD FRIENDS: Eric Gagne tabs June 27 as the day he'll be back with the Brewers (mlb.com) . . . In order to activate David Riske -- who made an inauspicious return to action yesterday (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) -- the Brewers designated Julian Tavarez for assignment. (mlb.com) But they hope Tavarez will accept a demotion to Triple-A Nashville, because they say he needs innings to work his arm back in shape and that they'll make him a starter in the minors to build up his strength . . . The Nationals appear to be the latest team to reach the end of their rope with Wily Mo Pena. He's been benched by manager Manny Acta after his batting average dropped to .205 and his slugging percentage to a shocking .265 (Washington Post) . . . Adam Everett, reports the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, is a long way from returning to the Twins . . . Dave Roberts is about two weeks away from beginning rehab and could return to the Giants by the third week in July. (San Francisco Chronicle)

AND FINALLY . . . Click the link to see how Frank From Gloucester dressed for the Celtics' victory parade. It's amazing he survived. (Boston Dirt Dogs)

-- ART MARTONE

Posted by Art Martone  at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments 1

Former Sox player, oldest living major leaguer, turns 100 today

From Scott Fowler, in the Charlotte Observer:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Happy birthday, Bill Werber.

The oldest living former major league baseball player turns 100 years old on Friday in a south Charlotte retirement community. In front of about 85 friends and family, with a plate of fried chicken and barbecue, he will celebrate hitting the century mark.

Check that.

“I’m not celebrating it,” Werber said. “I’m tolerating it.”

Werber is by turns merry and cantankerous. He boasts a full head of white hair, zips around in a motorized wheelchair and lives alone in an apartment at The Carriage Club retirement complex.

He remembers playing alongside Babe Ruth 75 years ago more easily than he remembers his daughter’s address. A conversation with Werber opens a fascinating window into a world most of us never experienced — a world where roads were unpaved, haircuts were 35 cents and baseball on the radio was king.

Click here to continue reading.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 5:37 AM | Permalink