06-29-2009 Injury report

Jason Varitek has been playing through some neck stiffness, perhaps revealing why the Sox saw the need to call up Dusty Brown, even for just a day. Keep pluggin, captain. Josh Beckett has been battling some stuff, but didn’t show it in his last start against the Braves. He should be just fine.

Mike Lowell has ridden his hip too hard this year, and he is feeling it now; he will receive an injection of Synvisc to lubricate the joint, but don’t be surprised if he has to go on the 15-day DL.

Linkage: Milestones all around, minor leaguers recognized

Congratulations to these Red Sox, who achieved notable milestones this past week:

• David Ortiz, who collected his 1,000th RBI
• Terry Francona, who won his 800th game as a manager
• Tim Wakefield collected win number 10 already! Is this guy ever gonna stop pitching?

In case you missed it, here is the video of Nick Green’s narrow escape from a flying broken bat last week. My heart almost stopped during this play, thinking, “oh no, this means we have to play Julio Lugo!”

Smoltz’s first start

John Smoltz’s line from last Thursday’s start against the Washington Nationals: 5 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 5 K. A lot of fans were disappointed by the numbers, but I should point out that the Nationals are not the horrible offense they used to be. They average 4.35 runs/game this season, which puts them 10th in the NL, and not WAY behind the league average of 4.47 runs/game. Okay, that disclaimer in mind, let’s take a closer look at Smoltz’ start and see what there is to see.

More Dice-K madness, Papi out of the woods?

Daisuke Matsuzaka has been bad, horrible, even in 2009. Everyone’s piling on now, demanding he be traded (his no-trade clause be damned). But he’s been playing hurt, and what he’s done the past two years is a cache that should teach us better. Don’t give up too early on a guy that’s done nothing but produce, despite your lack of excitement over him.

Dice-K hits the DL, Sox don’t miss a beat

I’ve been saying for some time now that Daisuke Matsuzaka could return to the DL, and yesterday he finally did. MRIs showed “weakness” in his throwing shoulder. After a string of disappointing starts with no clear explanation for his poor performance, it was finally time for Matsuzaka to bow out for a while. The Sox say it could be quite a while, but with John Smoltz coming into the rotation this week, that doesn’t seem to matter much. He should take the time off, right himself, and then rejoin the rotation in August for the stretch run. For those who think he doesn’t belong there- go look at the last two seasons and stop being silly.

Saito for Blalock deal nixed; Smoltz to debut Jun 25

The Red Sox revealed that they were considering a trade of Takashi Saito for Hank Blalock with the Texas Rangers, but Josh Hamilton’s trip to the DL deep-sixed the talks last week. Blalock is a left-handed power threat whose bat has come around recently, and he is a DH-type who can play first or third base in a pinch. He’s making $6.2M in his walk year. Sounds like a decent acquisition to me. This confirms a couple of things about the way the front office views our team: they are indeed worried about David Ortiz, and they view the bullpen depth as a strength from which we should deal to get what we need.

Pitching staff to shake out this week

This is going to be a big week for our pitching staff. We expect at least one roster change, if not more by the end of the week. Let me summarize:

Another sweep of the Yankees is sweet

The Red Sox completed another sweep of the Yankees last night, this time at home, and are now 8-0 against the Bronx Bombers this season. This series had everything, from Josh Beckett’s domination to a great late comeback rally against CC Sabathia. Man, it’s great to be a Red Sox fan right now, isn’t it? We’re sitting atop the AL East, our starting pitching is really coming together, and even Big Papi is starting to hit HRs again.

Sox trade Ambres, Lowrie may return early

The Red Sox traded outfielder Chip Ambres to the New York Mets for a PTBNL yesterday. Ambres was hitting .259/.335/.368 at Pawtucket at the time of the trade. This is just a depth move, and it frees up some outfield space at Triple-A, which is already crowded with the likes of Zach Daeges, Chris Carter and recently promoted Aaron Bates.

Links: Smoltz, Bard, Bay and the resurgence of Aaron Bates

John Smoltz threw 74 pitches (51 strikes) in his June 6th start, stifling Triple-A hitting to the tune of one run on one hit in 6 IP. He struck out three and walked two. He’s got another start today for the Paw Sox. Bye bye, Brad Penny; it was nice knowing you.