I suppose this is punishment for me not feeling bad about the Yankees losing Chien-Ming Wang this week to a baserunning injury: Bartolo Colon hurt his back swinging the bat yesterday, and will go on the DL. Just what was he trying to do up there? Right-handed reliever Chris Smith rejoins the active roster; he was called up earlier, but didn’t have a chance to pitch. Most likely Justin Masterson will get to stay with the club a little longer, with Clay Buchholz waiting in the wings at Pawtucket.
At the same time, Curt Schilling is not making much progress, and may have to visit the doctor again about that shoulder of his. Maybe he can staple on someone else’s arm so he can pitch for us.
Daisuke Matsuzaka is also making strides, and had a strong start last night, going five innings and throwing 47 of 65 pitches for strikes. He didn’t allow a hit in the first four frames.
Kevin Youkilis has missed two games due to back spasms; it’s not a good time for him to be out of this lineup. At least Manny Ramirez is back. And David Ortiz got that cast removed from his arm on Monday. He has it in a removable splint now, though he’s not really near returning yet.
It’s amazing we stay competitive. I don’t know of any other team that can play .600 ball with three starters on the DL.
I’m not worried about Colon. He has been great and I think we can expect more of the same from him throughout the year (good pitching mixed with DL stints).
Meanwhile, Lester, Beckett, and Wakefield continue to be solid work horses. Buchholz is a potential Ace, and is honing his fastball command down at Pawtucket. Masterson is just shocking. Then there is Bowden who is taking big strides forward and we can expect to be promoted to AAA this year.
Theo has the right idea about how to manage the Sox like a dynasty. It seems like it would take a lot of bumps in the road to veer us off course.
Two pitchers who should get recognition for this month are Jon Lester and Tim Wakefield. They’ve both had their tough starts, but in 60-70% of their starts, they have been REALLY good. I like what I’m seeing from Lester more and more.