Moss thrown in right away

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Twenty-three-year-old outfielder Brandon Moss was in the clubhouse at Pawtucket Saturday when he got the call every ballplayer wants: Report to the big leagues.

"The first thing I did was call my wife," Moss said yesterday as he sat on a big league bench for the first time. "She didn't know what was going on. It was quite a thrill."

Allison Moss made the trip to Southern California along with Brandon's parents and sister to be on hand for his first day in the bigs. Moss was not in the starting lineup last night but was sent to left field in the fourth to replace Manny Ramírez after Ramírez was ejected for arguing after striking out. Moss flied to the warning track in right in his first at-bat, walked in the eighth, and struck out swinging against Francisco Rodriguez with the tying run on first to end the game.

Moss is with the Red Sox as a temporary bench replacement while Eric Hinske tends to his wife, who is going through a difficult pregnancy.

"He's here for three days," said manager Terry Francona. "This is a good way to get him a first look at the major leagues. People think he has a bright future. He might get to play some this week, but he knows he's not here as an everyday player."

Moss is a lefthanded hitter who was batting .290 with 13 homers for Pawtucket. He wore No. 75 in spring training but was assigned 44 for this callup. The number -- which Hank Aaron wore -- means a lot to a kid from Georgia.

Francona liked what he saw of Moss in the spring.

"He was a different player this year," said the manager. "He came to spring training with a more mature attitude. He was very unsure of himself in his first [2006 camp]."

Before the game, Moss said, "I might be nervous at first, but once I get in there, it's the same game I've been playing all my life. This is where you want to be."

If you aren't familiar with a stat known as RCAA, you are not alone. It means Runs Created Against the Average, and Julio Lugo is last in the league with a minus-27. RCAA is an offensive measurement expanding on the Runs Created stat utilized by Bill James, which projects how many runs a player created for his team, independent of his teammates. Let Lee Sinins, creator of the Sabermetric Encyclopedia and inventor of the RCAA, explain. "According to that formula," Sinins wrote in an e-mail, "Lugo has created 40 runs for the Red Sox. Then, based upon (1) the league average for offense in 2007, (2) the fact that Fenway Park is an extreme hitter's park in 2007, with 23% more runs being scored by the Red Sox and their opponents in Red Sox home games vs. Red Sox & their opponents in Red Sox road games and (3) the amount of outs that Lugo has used up, the 2007 league average player, playing half of his games in Fenway Park, would have created 67 runs, using the same number of his team's opportunities [outs] as Lugo did."

The plate umpire who ejected Ramírez was James Hoye. The rookie has worked the minor leagues for a dozen years . . . The Sox' Single A affiliate, the Lancaster JetHawks, were scheduled to be at last night's game, though they did not appear in the clubhouse before the game . . . The Sox stole three bases in the first four innings, as many as in any game this season. Angels catcher Jeff Mathis, who made his 14th start last night, had thrown out 2 of 11 runners attempting to steal.

With Hinske unavailable, Francona said Mike Lowell, Alex Cora, Doug Mirabelli, and Moss were all potential backup first basemen if anything happened to Kevin Youkilis . . . Ramírez, who was wearing a Matt Clement T-shirt in the clubhouse before the game, entered hitting .352 with 5 homers and 18 RBIs in his last 14 games . . . Francona said he wasn't thinking about the Angels in terms of potential playoff opponents. "We're trying to win tonight's game," said the manager. "It's not like we're sending a message. We're not concerning ourselves with playoffs right now."