Francona trying his best to get Peņa involved

A day after saying he was going to stick with Coco Crisp in the lineup, Red Sox manager Terry Francona had Crisp and his .111 average taking a seat yesterday before the game was postponed because of inclement weather.

Francona said he was trying to get Wily Mo Peña a start because he hadn't had one yet. Both times Peña has been in the starting lineup -- last Thursday against the Mariners in right field and yesterday in center field -- the game has been postponed. But Francona said Peña likely will get a start this morning (weather permitting, in place of Crisp), and tomorrow night in Toronto (with J.D. Drew likely taking a seat) when the Blue Jays start lefthander Gustavo Chacin.

"We're trying to get everybody in there and get everybody at-bats," Francona said. "We don't want to do it all at once. We need to get Wily Mo a game where he can get four at-bats. With a lefty in Toronto, maybe he can get eight [at-bats] in a row. It'll be good for him."

With the rainout (no makeup date immediately announced), the Sox plan to stick with Josh Beckett as their starter this morning, and the Angels are sticking with Ervin Santana. Crisp is 4 for 4 with four doubles and two walks against Santana, which probably made the move to Peña a tough decision for Francona.

Francona also had Alex Cora scheduled to play second base yesterday, batting ninth. After sitting out Saturday, Kevin Youkilis was slated to be in the lineup yesterday and is likely back in there today. Eric Hinske had a pair of hits Saturday hitting from the No. 2 spot.

The Sox announced late yesterday that today's starting time would remain 10:05 a.m., but they warned fans about possible weather delays.

The team yesterday was to have celebrated the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's major league debut, but the festivities will be held later in the season, with several players wearing Robinson's No. 42 at that time.

Earlier in the day, Francona had said, "What baseball is doing to honor Jackie is so deserved and awesome," and he reiterated comments he made Saturday, when he said, "It's somewhat of an embarrassing day also. It's a little bit of a shame that we have to have a day like this because 60 years ago the color of someone's skin . . . they weren't treated the same. To me, that's humiliating."

According to historian and author Glenn Stout, on this day in 1945, Robinson, a shortstop with the Kansas City Monarchs, second baseman Marvin Williams of the Philadelphia Stars, and outfielder Sam Jethroe of the Cleveland Buckeyes arrived at Fenway Park for a tryout. The tryout occurred not long after 10:30 a.m., which isn't far off today's starting time.

Drew had a 13-game hitting streak (nine games this season) on the line when Francona pinch hit for him in the eighth inning Saturday. "I actually didn't think about it," the manager said. "I don't think J.D. cared. I'm just trying to think of health, giving Wily Mo an at-bat, and things like that. I hadn't thought about it until you just said it." . . . The Sox catch a break when they get to Toronto, as the Blue Jays yesterday placed closer B.J. Ryan on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left elbow. He will be examined by Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., today. Ryan saved 38 games and had a 1.37 ERA last season. He is 0-2 with a 12.46 ERA and three saves this season, with two blown saves. Ryan signed a five-year, $47 million deal before last season.

This morning's scheduled start is the second earliest in team history, according to Red Sox historian and author Bill Nowlin, whose research showed the earliest starting time ever was 10 a.m., April 20, 1903, at the Huntington Avenue Grounds. Boston hosted the Philadelphia A's in a Patriots Day separate-admission doubleheader, with the first game starting at 10. Boston defeated the A's and Rube Waddell, 9-4, in a contest watched by 8,376. The Red Sox started the first games of Patriots Day doubleheaders at 10:15 on April 20, 1953, and April 19, 1954 . . . There will be street closures around Fenway because of the Marathon. Beginning at approximately 10 a.m., the following will be closed: Beacon Street, Brookline Avenue, Commonwealth Avenue, and Storrow Drive, as well as the Kenmore Square area. Access to Fenway can be gained via Boylston Street, south of the park . . . The Sox are 63-48 on Patriots Day, including 26 doubleheaders between 1903 and 1966. They're 57-39 at home, 50-38 at Fenway, and have been scheduled to play at Fenway every year on Patriots Day since 1959. Bad weather postponed games in '59, 1961, 1965, 1967, and 1984, and the 1995 game was not played because of the players' strike . . . Last season, the Sox defeated Seattle, 7-6, on Mark Loretta's two-run homer in the ninth.