RED SOX NOTEBOOK

Numbers tell tale of 21

A lot has gone into Ramírez's streak

By Gordon Edes, Globe Staff | August 6, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Here's everything you'd want to know about the 21-game hitting streak Manny Ramírez brings into today's game at Tropicana Field, which is the longest of his career (he hit in 20 straight in 2000, his last season with the Indians), is the longest in the American League this season, and is the longest current in the majors, Chase Utley's 35-game streak having ended Friday night:

The streak is the longest by a Red Sox player since Johnny Damon hit in 29 straight June 10-July 17, 2005.

Ramírez is batting .395 (30 for 76) during the streak, which began July 15. Baltimore's Miguel Tejada is baseball's hottest hitter since that date, batting .437 going into yesterday.

Ramírez began the streak with a three-hit game (a double and two singles) against Oakland in Fenway Park. It is his only three-hit game during the streak. He has had seven two-hit games.

Ramírez was batting .300 when the streak began. He is batting .319, the highest his average has been since he was batting .321 May 9. The last time he was under .300 was June 29 (.298).

Since June 18, when Ramírez was batting .281, his lowest average since the end of April, he is batting .371 (59 for 159). In those 42 games, Ramírez has 14 home runs and 47 RBIs, and, entering last night's game, had a .440 on-base percentage, .729 slugging percentage, and 1.169 OPS.

Lowell's MRI negative

Third baseman Mike Lowell was relieved that an MRI of his left foot, taken Friday night, did not show a fracture. But he remained out of the lineup last night, and there was some concern that his absence may extend a few more days, perhaps longer. Kevin Youkilis played third and Ortiz first, with Ramírez the designated hitter, Wily Mo Peña in left field, and Gabe Kapler in right.

Lowell said he intended to wear a guard to protect the foot, and is wearing an orthotic insert.

``It feels better than yesterday," he said. ``Hopefully, it's going to get a lot better, I can put a little more weight on it now. I think we've made big strides in the last two days."

Perhaps as insurance, Dustin Pedroia started at third last night for Triple A Pawtucket, his first pro game at that position. Pedroia led Pawtucket in batting in July with a .368 average.

Fast start

My buddy Hench e-mails that if you projected Devil Ray Carl Crawford's 15 games against the Sox over a full year, he'd hit .365 with 54 home runs, 119 RBIs, and 97 stolen bases in 97 attempts. Crawford is 23 for 63 with 9 stolen bases, 5 home runs, and 11 RBIs against the Sox this season .

Crawford, who turned 25 yesterday, has as many hits by his 25th birthday (749) as Ted Williams did.

Rick Vaughn, the Devil Rays' crack public relations man, also unearthed the following: Only six players have stolen more bases than Crawford (202) before turning 25. Only one player in the last 65 years (Garry Templeton) had more triples than Crawford (65).

Yes, Sox manager Terry Francona said, Crawford would be on his all-opponent team.

``He's a dynamic player," Francona said. ``Did he turn 25 today? He's got a lot of good years ahead of him, probably better than we've seen. We had him on the USA team [for the World Cup] in Taiwan in 2001. He was so raw then. Just to see how far he's come is pretty impressive."

Too late

Catcher Ken Huckaby called Francona Friday, wondering whether the Sox could bring him back, but because he was designated for assignment, he would have to clear waivers first, and then the Sox would have to clear a spot again on the 40-man roster, which makes it unlikely he'll be back.

When a player is designated for assignment, he must be traded, sent to the minors, or released within 10 days. There are nuances depending on the player's status and the time of year, but usually the player has to clear outright waivers, which are irrevocable. If a player has three years of service or a prior outright, he can elect free agency if he doesn't want to accept the assignment. If he accepts the assignment, he is outrighted to the minors and is off the 40-man roster. He can't be brought back to the big leagues for 10 days unless it is to replace a player being placed on the disabled list. Players are on waivers two business days, not 72 hours as previously reported here.

Also, a clarification: Contrary to a suggestion here that the cash coming to the Sox from the Orioles in the Javy Lopez deal can be reduced if the Orioles had to settle for a lesser player, the cash consideration cannot be changed. No terms of a trade can be changed after the fact. Teams generally agree in advance how to handle any situation that could occur, but they cannot change the cash amount.

With Lopez having caught so little this season, an argument could have been made in favor of holding on to Huckaby as a third catcher, to allow Francona to lift Lopez for defensive purposes late in games. In Lopez's last two seasons as a full-time catcher, for the Orioles in 2004 and '05, opponents ran regularly on him, stealing 120 bases in 151 attempts. This season in limited play, he caught just 2 of 20 runners.

Opponents have run with considerable success against the Sox this season, stealing 78 bases in 93 attempts, a success rate of 83.9 percent. Twenty-one of those 25 bases have been stolen against Tim Wakefield, while teams have stolen 11 bases in 12 attempts when Josh Beckett is pitching. Opponents have stolen just six bases in 11 attempts against Curt Schilling, who drew high praise from Francona for the way he kept Crawford from stealing after his two-out single in the seventh Friday.

On the road again

Bryan Corey's car was supposed to be shipped from Texas to Boston Monday. Instead, the 32-year-old righthander was informed he had been designated for assignment, six days after he was acquired from the Rangers. Corey, who has pitched in 16 towns in 11 years since being converted from shortstop in 1995, is accustomed to being a vagabond, but this year has been more tumultuous than most. ``I was released this spring [by the Cubs] for the first time, won my first big league game, was traded for the first time, lost for the first time, and now this," said Corey, who caught Boston's eye in June when he whiffed all four batters he faced to get the win in a 7-4 Rangers victory in Fenway Park. ``That's baseball. I'm not happy about it, but I understand. Just starting to feel more comfortable here. I would have loved to have stayed, obviously." . . . Corky Miller's promotion left Pawtucket without a catcher, so Alberto Concepcion was promoted from Double A Portland, with Trent Durrington serving as emergency catcher. Mike Leonard went from Single A Wilmington to Portland . . . Francona said there was encouraging news on Wakefield, who had a pain-free session of playing catch in Boston, and on Trot Nixon, who is doing some pulling exercises as he rehabs a strained tendon in his right biceps. Jason Varitek, meanwhile, is down to one crutch already, Francona reports, and was doing some throwing from a chair . . . Keith Foulke pitched two scoreless innings for Pawtucket last night, giving up one hit and walking one. He threw 30 pitches (19 for strikes) and fanned two.

Amalie Benjamin of the Globe staff contributed to this report.

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