The Red Sox have now played nine games on this young season and are sitting at a record of 4-5. The Sox have already faced some adversity with injuries to two of their three starting outfielders and have had plenty of headlines about the team’s bullpen struggles. While the Red Sox transaction wire was relatively quiet this week, the team’s media coverage and fan base certainly had a lot to say. Enjoy!
Transactions
Santo Luis
On Wednesday, the Red Sox claimed pitcher Santo Luis off of waivers from the Chicago White Sox. Luis is a 26-year old righty who will begin his career with the Sox playing at AA Portland. Luis collected 14 saves in the Carolina League last season and finished with a 4.34 ERA and 79 Ks in 56 innings. The 6’4”, 200 lb Dominican Republic native likely won’t see any major league action for a few years, but is a solid young talent.
Jed Lowrie
After not being able to return to the field due to mononucleosis, Jed Lowrie was moved from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL on Wednesday. There is no new information to report on his condition, but this move makes it clear that the Sox don’t expect to see Lowrie on the field for quite a while and once he returns, it will take Lowrie a long time to regain baseball shape and get up to full speed.
Injuries
Jacoby Ellsbury
After colliding with Bill Hall last week, Jacoby Ellsbury has been out with bruised ribs and missed the remainder of the Sox road trip. With the Tampa Bay Rays in town this weekend, it appears Ellsbury will miss the series opener, but may come back on either Saturday or Sunday. Bruised ribs are especially difficult because any movement of his torso can be painful and the Sox are being extra cautious because it is so early in the season. The Sox have been closely monitoring Ellsbury’s progress and the he appears to be steadily improving.
Mike Cameron
As I mentioned in my post on Friday, Mike Cameron was a late scratch from the final game of the Minnesota Twins series on Thursday due to abdominal pain. After undergoing tests, the doctors discovered Cameron had kidney stones that were causing him discomfort and pain. Cameron is in the process of getting more tests done and then there will be a clearer time line for his return. With Ellsbury likely coming back this weekend, the Sox will need to cover two outfield spots for another day or two.
Daisuke Matsuzaka
As Red Sox fans watched Tim Wakefield struggle against the Twins on Thursday, there was more good news from the rehab of Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice-K threw six shutout innings in his second start at AAA Pawtucket on Thursday, keeping him scoreless in two appearances (11 IP). On Sunday, Dice-K is eligible to come off the DL and join the major league club. It is yet to be determined how quickly we will see him in a Red Sox uniform, but given his and Wakefield’s recent results, we may see Dice-K sooner than originally anticipated.
News
Bullpen Struggles
One major concern entering the 2010 season for the Sox was the consistency of the middle relief. So far, both middle and late-game relievers have struggled to keep men off base. Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon have allowed two runs a piece already. Those two guys were expected to be the two most stable and reliable members of the ‘pen, but have been shaky at best. It is still early, but if the bullpen continues to waver, the Sox will need to make a move.
Mike Lowell Retirement Talk
Earlier this week, Mike Lowell talked to the media about his plans to retire after the 2010 season. Amalie Benjamin of the Boston Globe wrote a great article about Lowell and his comments surrounding his talks of retirement.
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