Lugo, Youk, and MDC

Julio Lugo left last night's game in the 8th inning with a groin strain:

"More of a precaution than anything. I've been playing through it for days. It's just a little tighter," Lugo said. "Today, when I got that hit to left field, and tried to go to second, it got tight then. Through the course of the game, it got a little tighter. But I'm going to work it out," Lugo said.

Gil Velazquez came in because he is the better defensive shortstop on the bench and it was late in the game. Lugo will likely miss today's game and could be back on Tuesday when the Red Sox play Toronto. Nick Green should be in at short today.


Kevin Youkilis flew back home yesterday to begin playing some rehab games. He will play with the PawSox on Monday as DH and Tuesday at first base before rejoining the Red Sox on Wednesday.

Peter Gammons has a new post up where he says the Red Sox might be willing to trade Manny Delcarmen for a good bat if it is needed.

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Teams Want Delcarmen

Peter Gammons is reporting that several teams are interested in a trade for Manny Delcarmen. He speculates that dealing the Massachusetts native could help the Red Sox land a new catcher.

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Roll Strikes With Delcarmen

For the second time this offseason you have a chance to bowl with Manny Delcarmen to support Boston Public Schools.

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Bowl For Charity With Manny Delcarmen This Saturday

What is it with Red Sox pitchers and bowling? Not to be outdone by the Beckett Bowl, Manny Delcarmen is having his Bowlin' Strikes for Schools this Saturday. For more information visit Manny's website or the flyer below.

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Something big is going to happen

I can just feel it. Can you feel it? With Aardsma going on the DL, and the rest of the middle relief guys having rollercoaster seasons, I have this feeling that Theo is going to do something big and unexpected. There are only 10 days left before the trade deadline, and let's face it, Hansen, Delcarmen, Okajima, Timlin, and Lopez are not having the seasons they had last year. They've been surprisingly sub-par for most of the season. They've had their good moments, no doubt, but as a whole, they've been disappointing.

Theo is up to something, I just know it.

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Papelbon Finds A New Way to Embarrass Himself

Jonathan Papelbon seems to have too much time on his hands; this season we have seen him embarrass himself at Mike Lowell's Dancing With The Stars fund raiser and we saw him get national headlines for his comments about the Rays. During last night's rain delay a video was aired of Papelbon dancing and lip syncing "Blame it on the Rain" with Manny Delcarmen and Wally and some mystery guy on drums. Watch it below:

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Maybe the Other Manny Can Pitch

What is the worst thing you can do when you take the mound with bases loaded and two outs? Manny Delcarmen did it on just one pitch. After Beckett was pulled in the 5 in a tie game Delcarmen gave up a grand slam to Frank Thomas; his second home run of the series. The Red Sox middle relief collapsed once again. Okajima and Papelbon came in late to get some work and pitched well, but in all three games against Toronto the starters and middle relievers failed to get the game to them where they were in a position to help. Boston leaves Toronto after losing today 7-4 and getting swept in the series. The long strange trip is over; the Red Sox are 3-4 to start the season. The good news is that Monday is an off day and we won't have to hear about how tired the Red Sox are. J.D. Drew and Tek continued to hit well and Jacoby homed today. On Tuesday the Red Sox will open up at Fenway after the pre-game ring ceremony. The hype and hoopla will be over and the team can return to regular baseball.

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Game 5 Recap 4/4 at Toronto

Pitching: Wakefield pitched well for most of the game only giving up 3 hits until the 6th inning. Jays batters seemed to adjust to the knuckler late in the game and managed a 3 run rally. Tito stuck with Wake and it payed off with a double play ball. The Sox bullpen was not good. They quickly gave the lead back to the Jays in the 7th and let them add another run in the 8th. Aardsma was charged with the loss and he may be sent down when Beckett is activated on Sunday. Corey faced one batter and struck him out.

Offense: Cash had the only hit for the Red Sox until Lowell hit a Texas leaguer in the 7th. J.D. Drew hit a 3 run home run to tie up the game on a two strike count. Manny had the final hit (single) for the Sox in the 9th in a bad offensive night for the team. Marcum held the Sox to 3 hits in 7 innings and the pen just gave up one more.

Game Notes: Red Sox lost 6-3. Ellsbury started in center but Francona had Crisp pinch hit for him late. Blue Jays fans were given annoying white towels before the game. Roberto Alomar was honored by the Jays in a pre-game ceremony. Box score here.

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Bright Spot in Camp is Sox Pen

While much of the news out of Fort Myers this Spring has focused on the injuries of Schilling and Beckett, the struggling young guns, and the battle for the 5th starter spot, the Sox bullpen has stayed out of the spotlight. But it's the bullpen that seems to be the Sox most dependable asset so far.

Things are looking very good in the Sox pen, especially with the guys slated for the late innings. Hideki Okajima, coming off a great season, is working on a new pitch. He's pitched well lately and seems to be on par to start the season strong.

Manny Delcarmen is looking like he's going to be a breakout star this year. The Bangor Daily News has an in-depth story on him today. He tells the Daily News, "I don’t seem tired, like I have some springs, I feel like I’ve got an extra gear to the ball and right now, I feel great. I could probably throw back-to-back days right now. Everything seems easier right now — the running, the workouts."

Additionally, the recent contract renewal inked with Jonathan Papelbon ensures that the closer will be able to focus on pitching and not contract negotiations.

The pen looks ready to hold on to leads and secure wins. The question remains, who's gonna get us to the 7th?

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Ellsbury Talks About His Speed and the Center Field Competiton

Is Ellsbury one of the 10 fastest players in the league? What does Manny D. think about the upcoming season? What is it like playing with Ortiz and Manny? Watch the clip and see what they have to say:

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Delcarmen to See Some Time as Closer

There's no question that Jonathan Papelbon will once again be the Sox go-to guy in the 9th. However, on the days when Papelbon isn't available it's looking like the ball will be handed to Manny Delcarmen.

Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell told the Providence Journal, "“We’ve had a number of conversations already this winter to challenge him with an increased role, increased importance, and not to think that last year’s performance was the Manny Delcarmen. I think there’s still room for improvement, certainly with his fastball command. I’d like to think that at some point we can begin to expose him to the closer’s role.”

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'08 Outlook for Manny Delcarmen

'07 Season: The Massachusetts native had no decisions last season but did pick up one save and had a 2.05 ERA in 44 appearances. He did not give up a hit during his last 4 regular season appearances and made the post-season roster where he saw action in each of the series. His post-season was not good; he had an ERA of 8.31 and he gave up a home run in game 4 of the World Series.

'08 Outlook: Delcarmen has a good fastball and an average changeup. He has earned himself a spot as a situational reliever in the pen and will be used for a late inning here and there an will occasionally fill in for Oki as the setup man. He needs to work on a better secondary pitch or he will have batters sitting on his fastball like they did during the post-season. He has good control and limits base runners making him a good candidate for late inning relief. He should build upon his successes from last year and become a reliable option for Tito out of the bullpen.

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