Kielty is expecting to see Sabathia

David Ortiz is accustomed to pounding the ball with his bat, not his hand, but he resorted to the tactic when a grounder got stuck in his glove. (BILL GREENE/GLOBE STAFF)

Bobby Kielty said that even before he signed with the Red Sox Aug. 6, he'd imagined this scenario: The Sox facing C.C. Sabathia and the Cleveland Indians in the playoffs, and Kielty grabbing a bat.

Manager Terry Francona did not make it official yesterday, saying lineup announcements would wait at least a day, but Kielty's track record suggests he'll be in the starting lineup tomorrow night when the Sox face Sabathia in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. J.D. Drew, the Sox' regular right fielder, has three at-bats in his career against the lefthanded Sabathia, and has whiffed all three times.

Kielty, a switch hitter whose niche in the big leagues is as a righty batting against lefties, is hitting .310 lifetime against Sabathia, with nine hits in 29 at-bats, including four doubles and two home runs.

Impressive, yes, with these qualifiers: Kielty hasn't faced Sabathia this season, was hitless in his only three at-bats against him in 2006, had his last hit (a double) off him in 2005, and his home runs came in 2001 and '02.

Kielty also finished this season on the downside, going just 2 for his last 22 (.091).

Still, he hit .308 (8 for 26) with five RBIs for the Sox against lefties this season, even though he was banged up from the first game he played for Boston, running into the wall in Fenway Park while making a catch Aug. 19.

"I knew Cleveland was an opportunity and C.C. was a guy I had good numbers off of," Kielty said. "Paul Byrd [the righthander who started Game 4 for Cleveland against the Yankees in the Division Series] is another guy I have really good numbers against, four home runs in 30 at-bats. I probably won't get a start off him.

"They got me here to hit lefties, that's the bottom line. I didn't hit the way I wanted to in the regular season, but I know I can do that."

Kielty, 31, has had a rough year physically. He missed most of spring training with Oakland with a cartilage tear in his left knee, came back and strained his left calf and missed nearly two months, then hurt his back for the Sox when he went into the wall.

"I've been playing hurt pretty much all year," Kielty said. "When you're banged up, people think you can't wait till next year, to have a productive year. But this is a situation where we're in the playoffs, and the fact I wasn't healthy doesn't mean anything now."

Kielty, who played for the Twins before joining the Athletics, said he'd love to come back with the Sox.

"Obviously, I need to make a good impression for something like that to happen," he said. "Hopefully, I have. There's no question this is a great place to play. The crowd is so alive here every day; the first playoff game seemed like a regular game. A lot of guys feel that way. When I was on Oakland and Minnesota, it was difficult because there was such a difference in the crowd [for the playoffs]. I was more nervous for my first day here than for the playoff game."

He loves the Jake

Kevin Youkilis, who grew up in Cincinnati, said he never went to Cleveland for a baseball game, only to see his Bengals play the Browns.

"I think it's a good place to play," Youkilis said of Jacobs Field. "It's a good ballpark, a nice ballpark, with a good infield, and the batter's eye is good in center field."

He says the fans have never given him much grief. "There was one guy being rowdy," he said. "[Umpire] Joe West told him to shut up. I was joking to Joe West, 'Yeah, I probably took him deep in college or high school.' "

Hits and misses

The player with the best numbers against Sabathia, of all major leaguers with 20 or more plate appearances, is Manny Ramírez, who is batting .571 (12 for 21) against the lefthander with four home runs and seven RBIs. Sox catchers Jason Varitek (1 for 10, three strikeouts) and Doug Mirabelli (1 for 10, five whiffs) are batting a combined .100 (2 for 20) against Sabathia, although Varitek's hit was a home run . . . The umpiring crews have been chosen for the LCS. Randy Marsh, who will be working his 18th postseason series, will be the crew chief for the ALCS. His crew will be comprised of Kerwin Danley, Brian Gorman, Paul Emmel, Gary Cederstrom, and Dana DeMuth. Tim McClelland, working his 16th postseason series, will be the National League crew chief, joined by Mark Wegner, Larry Vanover, Tom Hallion, Angel Hernandez, and Jim Joyce.

Man sues S.I.

Sports Illustrated is being sued for more than $2 million by a California man who claims one of the magazine's photographers dropped heavy camera equipment on his head during Game 2 of the 2004 World Series at Fenway Park. Robert Nagy, of Laguna Beach, Calif., claims in his federal negligence lawsuit that photographer John Iacono "perched himself in an inappropriate and dangerous position" approximately 50 feet above his box seat with a camera, attached tripod, and telephoto lens during the game between the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Nagy claims Iacono did not properly secure his camera and attachments and dropped them. The telephoto lens hit Nagy on the back of the head and neck and shoulders, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit says Nagy suffered a head and neck injury that caused double vision and related problems. It claims Nagy has lost $2 million in income since the incident and says Nagy has spent $15,000 on medical expenses. The lawsuit also seeks unspecified compensatory damages for Nagy's wife, Carol, for "ongoing substantial loss of consortium" as a result of her husband's injury.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.