Well, more bad news befells the Red Sox. According to the Washington Post, "Red Sox ace will miss minimum of two weeks." And we are not talking David Wells here. We're talking bloody-ankle boy Curt Schilling. In fact, it is that very ankle that is giving him trouble.
WPRI reports that Schilling is expected to have a plastic boot fitted.

So now we are down to three starters (Clement, Arroyo and Wakefield). What is this team going to do in May? John Halama will fill Wells hole but what about the other? That part of the rotation may go to Lenny DiNardo, at least until Wade Miller is ready.

The Red Sox knew at the start of the season they would be taking risks with David Wells, Curt Schilling and Wade Miller, but I doubt they expected them all to be unavailable at the same time.

This injury will open the door for yet another player on the roster. I suspect it will be a pitcher but I wouldn't mind Youk come back to the bigs.

I'm not giving up on this team. However, Boston's bullpen better step up over the next month or so for the Sox to survive May.

Reader comments: Does this latest injury spell doom for the Sox?

Now after losing four of their last five games, the Red Sox have fallen to second place. Their 11-10 record doesn't show the true potential of the team.

Listening to "The Jab" (WJAB) on the way to work today, one would think this Boston team was the worst in the league. The topic: Mark Bellhorn's worth. Frank Fixaris was arguing for Bellhorn's release. At one point, calling him a "bum."

Making Bellhorn a scape goat is strange and unjust. In 2004, Bellhorn was one of the most productive second basemen in the American League: ranking first in on-base-percentage, first in walks, first in OPS, third in RBIs, second in runs and third in slugging percentage. His fielding was average.

People gripe about his strikeouts but at $2.7 million he is an inexpensive asset. Besides without his timely hitting in the World Series, fans would have little to cheer about.

Those who say baseball is a non-contact sport, haven't seen a Red Sox game. Although it may appear that the Sox are the aggressors, there is not one hot-head in the bunch.

On Sunday, six ejections, including Piniella and Terry Francona, were handed out by the umpires before the end of the seventh inning.

It would appear the Devil Rays needed to learn a lesson that A-Rod and the Yankees learned last year - you mess with one Red Sox player, you mess with them all.

Devil Rays pitcher (and I use the word loosely) Lance Carter threw one-too-many pitches at the heads of the Red Sox sluggers. One sailed behind Manny, the other almost took the head off David Ortiz. Manny got his revenge with a bomb, but Ortiz didn't get the opportunity.

It must be frustrating, having a dismal pitching staff, but you can't go after Big Papi and Manny Ramirez. Lou Piniella should know this.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, the old-school manager refrained from admitting fault. "They might have gotten away, they might have not," Piniella said.

I'm sure Piniella called for those pitches. It is tough to prove, but Carter doesn't walk too many people, which shows a fair amount of control. If anything, I'd say Carter throws too many strikes - indicated by his 14 hits in 10 innings.

Tampa Bay Online reminds us that these incidents are nothing new when the Sox meet Devil Rays. I don't really understand why Piniella encourages his young, impressionable team to disrespect others.

On Saturday, the Seattle Times wrote about Piniella's frustration and ponders how much more he can take. Not too much more? I would have a tough time walking away from millions.

Sunday's incidents should not take away from Jay Payton's grandslam. It's nice to know that we have a baseball player to fill in for Trot Nixon on occassion.

Can you believe it? The Red Sox played 18-innings of shutout baseball against the once league-leading Orioles. Clement was brilliant in Thursday's outing. The Boston Herald gives a fine overview of the game, especially describing the Orioles lineup:

"With former MVPs Miguel Tejada and Sammy Sosa surrounded by a player with 552 career homers (Rafael Palmeiro), one of the best hitting catchers in a generation (Javy Lopez), a 2004 Silver Slugger winner (Melvin Mora), the league's top hitter so far (Brian Roberts) and a trio of underrated sluggers (Jay Gibbons, Luis Matos and Larry Bigbie), opposing pitchers rarely get an opportunity to catch their breath."

Until the Sox came to town.

Don't be mistaken, Baltimore's lineup is fierce. Look what they did to the Yankees last weekend- 23 runs in a three-game sweep.

Gary Sheffield must have friends in high places. He must have some ugly dirt on the commish. Like teflon, nothing sticks to Gary.

He has admitted using a steroid cream (albeit unknowingly). But he wasn't asked testify in front of Congress. Now, he breaks another rule, without receiving a slap on the wrist.

I know last week's altercation between Sheffield and a couple of Boston's fans was nothing like the Ron Artest incident. However, Gary Sheffield broke Rule 3.09 and should be punished for his actions.

Major League Baseball's official site lists the rules of the game.

3.09

Players in uniform shall not address or mingle with spectators, nor sit in the stands before, during, or after a game. No manager, coach or player shall address any spectator before or during a game. Players of opposing teams shall not fraternize at any time while in uniform.

To me this means that Sheffield's verbal and physical altercation with the right field spectators was illegal.

The commissioner's inaction is a gross injustice to game of baseball and the safety of its fans.

Not only that, but Sheffield feels his actions were justified.

You hear it all the time, "That one landed on the Mass. Pike." This time it was real close to being true. Manny's towering shot landed 10-15 feet away. You know that it is huge when it is still going up when it passes the Coke bottles, which are 120-feet tall. Wow!

It's too bad that Manny wasn't healthy enough to stay in the game. The Boston Herald reports Manny left squad with quad injury. His thigh muscle was bothering him - not good.

Without Ramirez, Millar and Mueller in the lineup, Boston was in desperate need of some offense in the later innings. With all due respect, Jay Payton, David McCarty and Ramon Vasquez aren't true replacements. It doesn't look like Mueller will return tonight either. According to Projo.com his sinuses are acting up. Ahh, spring.

Even so the Sox should not have let the lead slip away. Boston really needed that win. Bronson Arroyo, although his pitch-count was high, only allowed the one-run in seven innings. He was almost a match for Toronto's Roy Halladay.

Masslive.com blames the bullpen. How could you not? Alan Embree's flat fast ball proved to be the difference. He allowed two runs in his brief appearance.

And, I'll say it once again, "Do not put Keith Foulke in a tie game!" It seems that everytime management makes this move it ends up hurting the Sox.

Now the Sox will face the league-leading Orioles tonight. Even though Baltimore leads the East, The Baltimore Sun's John Eisenberg, writes about the poor attendence in the Yards so far.
it wil be different when the World Champs come to town.

The game should be interesting regardless of who's in the stands. The defenses must be on their toes. Both Bruce Chen and David Wells like to throw strike. Each has only allowed one walk so far this year. This will keep the fielders quite busy.

So although according to my brother, defense is only 5% of the game, tonight's fielding will be the difference. According to the Baltimore Sun, the Orioles' manager, Lee Mazzilli, decided to experiment in last night's game. I doubt that will be the case this evening.

One more note: Tim Wakefield and the Sox have agreed to an extension, so says MLB.com. That's the good news. More good news? It's for cheap money - only $4-million-a-year. The bad? It's for only one year.

Reader comments: We saw some great defensive effort on the part of the Sox last year down the stretch. But how much does defense impact a game?

I've heard just about enough from the media on the so-called "fight" between Gary Sheffield and a Boston Red Sox fan during the eighth inning of Thursday's game. Regardless of whether the fan hit Sheffield or not is immaterial.
The media frenzy surrounding the incident has been ridiculous.

The Boston Globe reports "Sheffield says he wss hit in face." The Portland Press Herald's Kevin Thomas writes Sheffield showed restraint, but not a whole lot of sense." The New York Times says Red Sox, and fans, batter Yankees. The New York Posted simply wrote "Soxed" on its headline this morning. And the New York Daily News calls Boston fans a bunch of "bozos."

May I remind everyone that there was more to this game than the right field incident.

The Red Sox hit three home runs off lefty Randy Johnson. Perhaps we are starting to see some life out of Boston's new aquisitions. Edgar Renteria and Jay Payton each hit their first home runs of the season. Both were two-run shots. MLB.com reports that Renteria has his breakout with Sox.

I'm not sure it is adjusting to a new league, park and/or team, but Renteria hasn't looked like his brilliant self. He seems a bit slow-footed. I like him, I truly do, but I want to see the former-Sea Dog return to greatness.

The other home run came from team captain, Jason Varitek. Fitting. Varitek seems to really show up for these Yankee games, whether its brawling with A-Rod or showing his leadership with on-field heroics.

It seems as though everyone was waiting for something to happen in this game. Randy Johnson may have started it all arguing with the umpire over the strike zone. Why he wasn't ejected after the confrontation is beyond me. However, when Terry Francona discusses a case he's ejected. It's beyond me.

I was unimpressed with the officials in this one. The strike zone was quite small and inconsistent. I'll admit on occasion, the Red Sox were benefactors, but I remain baffled.

Perhaps it doesn't matter. The New Hampshire Union Leader warns "don't read too much into early games".
But I can't help keeping a mental scorecard. In this 19-round bout
each team has won three rounds. It should make for an interesting summer.

Today I found myself looking through some sites and went to ESPN. (By the way, ESPN has changed its appearance.) Anyway, I found the little tidbit on "Page 2" interesting. David Schoenfield offers 86 reasons to hate the Red Sox. I feel compelled to rebut his words.

In all honesty some of the things he writes are pretty funny. Some are creative and poignant. But some make my blood boil.

Let's start with No. 7 the $123 million payroll. If Mr. Schoenfield wants to blame anyone for the huge payroll, start with the Yankees. Their record $208 million, ruins it for everyone. The Yankees market is the largest in baseball and stretches into New England (the heart of Red Sox Nation). Besides the Red Sox actually cut their budget while New York's increased. Even the N.Y. Mets have been forced to increase its payroll past the $100 million marker.

No. 10 really gets me angry. Comparing Ted Williams "The Splendid Splinter" to Barry Bonds is just wrong. Yes, they both had issues with the media, but that is about it. "The Greatest Hitter to Ever Live" also was a war veteran, a championship fly-fisherman and a dedicated supporter of the Jimmy Fund. All brilliant qualities in any man. Mr. Williams did his thing without any "help" and Bonds never hit .400 even with all those walks. I'll also mention, Mr. Schoenfield is not old enough to remember or comment on Teddy Ballgame. Then in No. 45 he has the gaul to put fans down for booing Ted Williams. What's your argument again?

No. 16 "Hating Bill Buckner..." I unlike most Sox fans, I do not agree with this sentiment. I do not fault him for that infamous blunder. Truth is we had another game to play and didn't show up for it.

"No. 24 Theo Epstein's genius" It's funny Mr. Schoenfield is critical of a large payroll but when the GM tries to fix it, it's wrong. Yes, placing Manny on waivers was a good move. Cutting the budget may have gotten us Carlos Beltran, Magglio Ordonez, more pitching or (cough) A-Rod. At the very least, one could argue, the move motivated the slugger to hit over 40 home runs for the first time since coming to Boston.

No. 26 Jim Rice does deserve to go into the Hall of Fame. During a 10-year span (from 1975 to 1985) he led ALL major leaguers in home runs, rbis, runs and slugging percentage. I rest my case.

No. 48 through No. 59 - all those books. Apparently Mr. Schoenfield is against people making money off the Red Sox success. What does he do again?

No. 60 I'm confused, why would Tom Brady be on the list?

And finally No. 86. Funny stuff, who cares about the other Sox, even Chicago would rather watch a Cubs game.

I know I took this a little seriously, but it's been 86 years. Let Red Sox fans enjoy it...while we can.

I raced around to get in front of the television before 2 p.m. There was no way I was going to miss it. The sun was shining down on Fenway Park and soon each player would have championship ring to symbolize his contributions to the greatest season of all time.
The park was packed with fans, celebrities and emotion. It was going to be a celebration like no other.
I pointed to each player that was called from the dugout to receive his ring. "That's Tim Wakefield, he pitches today. That's D-Lowe, he's much better than David Wells. There's Varitek," I said, hoping my daughter would etch the moment into her 10-month-old memory.
It was nice to see both D-Lowe and Dave Roberts make the trip. The Portland Press Herald's Steve Solloway related Lowe's sentiments in today's column. The Boston Globe also writes about Lowe's return trip home.
I half-expected to see them Pedro and Nomar. Oh well.
After all the trainers and doctors, coaches and players, Johnny Pesky made his way slowly up the dugout steps. Soon he was illuminated by the April sun as he made his way to owners. The crowd erupted.
There stood the only man in uniform with a direct ties to those famous teams of the '40s. The legend hugged each owner when receiving his ring.
He then proceeded down the line, hugging each of the 2004 Red Sox World Series Champions. It was a sensational segway. The New York Post called Pesky the peak of the party.
I started getting teary-eyed when from the screen I heard, "Please direct your attention..." From behind the massive 2004 World Series "banner" that covered the Green Monster, emerged some of the greatest players to don a Red Sox uniform - each a ghost from World Series' past.
There was Yaz, Doerr, DiMaggio and Lonborg. Eckersley, Oil Can Boyd and Tiant. I must have missed Lynn, Rice, Evans and Fisk, surely they were there. Who could forget Bill Lee wearing a vintage baseball cap? I was shaking. At seeing those greats, I started to think about Ted Williams. He too was present, I was sure.
I watched in awe as Yaz and Pesky pulled the ropes raising the banner high above the field. 2004 World Series Champions!
The beginning of a beautiful day. In fact, Mike Lupica, of the New York Daily News, says we saw "the best of baseball."
Before I close I'd like to give proper respect to the New York Yankees who sat in their dugout and cheered for the home team. A class act! Even if YES, the Yankees television station, did not cover the event. Steve Zipay calls the decision a "no-no." After watching it, I would have to agree.

Reader comments: What did you think of yestersay's events?

The game was a good one from the start. Tim Wakefield pitched brilliantly only allowing two hits and out-lasting Mike Mussina.

I was in the office working catching glimpses of the game, probably a bit more than I should have. My boss understands my insane passion for the game and the team.

But come the ninth, I was pretty disruptive. As my excitement and anticipation grew, so did my voice. At times I forgot that I was in a professional setting.

Then the president of the company came out of a sales meeting and asked incredulously, "What is going on out here?"

I went into a tear...hurriedly giving him a rundown of the ninth between breaths. I then apologized for my performance or lack of good work ethic.

He just smiled and said he understood. During times like this, I have to thank my lucky stars that I work in a forgiving environmennt. Because from April to October, I can have an occassional outburst.

Looking around the Web and was startled to see ABC news reporting Terry Francona has been taken to the hospital.

He had been complaining of chest pains and is having some tests done. The site goes on to report, "Bench coach Brad Mills was to fill in for Francona in Wednesday's game against New York. Francona was not expected back for the game."

This is a little scary indeed. For all the complaining I do about Francona, I wish him nothing but a speedy recovery. Besides, he was an unseen force in keeping the clubhouse happy last year.

Good luck Terry. Hope to see you on the diamond Friday.

When it comes to baseball, I always find it interesting to read foriegn sites. The focus seems different. Instead of concentrating on what happened yesterday, since the whole world is reporting about Jeter's ninth inning heroics. They focus on more important aspects of the game.

For instance, TSN.ca out of Canada reports "Red Sox looking to avoid Yankee sweep."

If you ask me, this is more accurate reporting. After all this is the Web, why dwell on the past?

So I will take a page out of there book and concentrate on today's game and other future happenings.

Here's little something you may not have known. According to Sportal.com.au, the Red Sox have expressed interest in a cricket player. Apparently Adam Gilchrist is "one of the cleanest hitters in cricket history."

I'm not quite sure I know what "cleanest hitters" means. Is that like having a pure swing? If so, I'm in favor of giving the lefty a shot.

Two questions: 1.) What is the equivalent of a whicket-keeper in baseball? And, 2.) Do you really sign a 33-year-old rookie?

Okay so let's see if the Red Sox can save face and get out of New York with at least one win. I'll put my support behind Tim Wakefield as I have in the past. This will be a good test and mmay push those contract talks to his favor.
Look out for "The Moose."

If Mike Mussina is the pitcher of old, it is going to be a tough game indeed. I'll be watching, whether my boss likes it or not.

I can not entirely stay away from yesterday's game. I will only mention a few learnings:

1.) It is very difficult to make accurate predictions at the beginning of the season.
2.) Captains really are the heart and soul of their teams.
3.) While I like Keith Foulke, closers are overrated? All they need is the job and they'll record saves. The middle relief man is as important. Yesterday: case and point.
4.) My two favorite players to watch this year - same as last year - Jason Varitek and David Ortiz. They epitomize what a baseball player should be both on and off the field. True champions, indeed.

Whenever I see Rudolph Guilliani I cringe. News programs interview him all the time; it's insane. And everytime he's interviewed, he has to mention the Yankees.

Sunday was no different. The interview was about the Pope's passing and his visit to New York.

During the interview, the former mayor of New York City related a personal story.

During the Pope's visit, he took a moment to acknowledge Guilliani's son, who at the time was wearing a Yankee cap. The Pope touched the top of the cap and blessed the boy.

Nice story but why make reference to the cap? Odd.

Perhaps it helped the Yankees win their home-opener, I don't know. I doubt the Pope is a Yankee fan, I'm sure he had more pressing things on his mind.

Regardless, the Red Sox had a devil of a time versus Randy Johnson that evening.

David Wells' has run dry. He has nothing. At best his performance was horrible, adding evidence to my case against him. How do you balk with the passes loaded.

Hopefully his outing is not an indicator of things to come. April will be a long month. But once Schilling and Wade Miller return to the rotation thingss will be fine. We'll still have to duck our heads after Well's outings, however. Besides as Colleen Stone says in her From Away blog, there's still 161 games left.

I expected Sunday's loss. Today's game should be different. ESPN warns fans about the climbing ERAs of new American Leaguers.

Since the Yankees scored nine runs on Sunday, I predict they don't have enough gas in the tank for a repeat. The starters (Matt Clement and Carl Pavano) will both come prepared.

In fact, the only thing that's going to stop a pitching duel is perhaps Pavano's 162 ERA vs. the Red Sox.

Matt Clement's numbers vs. the American League teams are terrific.

And although the Yankees beat the Sox Sunday, that won't stop Big Nate from being a fan.