Brain trust is batting around some ideas

The only certainty about how the Red Sox will proceed without David Ortiz is the uncertainty.

Last night, Kevin Youkilis batted in Ortiz's No. 3 spot in the order, just as he had the previous two games. While that looks to be a good fit - Youkilis reached base seven times in the three games - Terry Francona said that may not continue. Mike Lowell can hit in the No. 3 hole, the manager said, and so can J.D. Drew.

Manny Ramírez was the DH for the third straight game, but that won't last; it was supposed to change last night. In his original lineup, Francona had Sean Casey as the DH, with Ramírez playing left field, but when Ramírez reported that his hamstring was still sore, Francona dropped Casey, moved Jacoby Ellsbury from center to left, and inserted Coco Crisp.

But Francona, reiterating that Ramírez is no fan of DHing, said he believes the hamstring is improving, certainly to the point where he feels no need to give Ramírez a day off. Not when he had homered in each of the last three games.

"I'd rather not do that," Francona said. "It looks like he's starting to get that swing again, and that's a nice feeling to have. Put him in the middle, it makes everybody else better."

While Ortiz is out, the Sox also will play nine games in National League parks, where the DH is not used anyway.

"No one can fill David Ortiz's shoes, obviously," general manager Theo Epstein said, "but I think we're well-positioned to look at internal options. Not to replace David's production, because that's impossible, but legitimate bats that give us some interesting places to turn."

The Sox turned yesterday to yet another call-up from Pawtucket, DH/outfielder Chris Carter, who becomes the sixth position player in just over two months to receive a summons to the big leagues. Carter follows Brandon Moss, Joe Thurston, Jed Lowrie, Jonathan Van Every, and Jeff Bailey on the Pawtucket-Boston shuttle. The procedural move yesterday: Bailey optioned back, Carter purchased from the PawSox.

For Carter, who came to the Sox from Arizona in what essentially was a three-way deal for Wily Mo Peña, who wound up in Washington, this came as sweet surprise.

"Oh, it's amazing, absolutely," said Carter, a former 17th-round draft pick out of Stanford who played winter ball in Venezuela this offseason in an attempt to make a good impression on the Sox even before coming to camp. "I was able to cross the threshold. It's a tremendous feeling."

One that was shared by his parents when he called with the news.

"I think they were crying," he said. "They were really happy."

Carter, who began the season with a lifetime .310 average in four seasons in the minors, had matched that mark in 57 games for the PawSox, with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs.

Epstein said the Sox preferred Carter at this stage to Moss - who hit three home runs Saturday night and was International League Player of the Week - because Moss has been playing for just a couple of weeks since recovering from an appendectomy and they'd like him to get regular work at first base rather than have him sit on the Boston bench.

"Carter deserves an opportunity up here," Epstein said. "Mossie knows how we feel about him and he'll definitely be back."

Go ask Alex

Carter, who did not hit a home run in the season's first month, gave an assist to Alex Cora for hege of power in May, when he hit 10. Cora was in Pawtucket on a rehab assignment last month. "He told me to relax," Carter said. "I had one home run at that time. He said, 'Hey, just relax, just go out there, put your hands [in one spot].' I had my hands all different places every game. I thought that was the problem. He said, 'No, man, you can hit, just relax.' That was a big thing. He pulled me aside. It worked." . . . Last night's crowd of 37,823 at Fenway pushed the season attendance to 1,015,091, enabling the Sox to cross the million mark in just 27 dates, fewest in club history . . . Ramírez, accorded a standing ovation on his first at-bat in acknowledgement of his 500th home run, did not homer for the first time in four games, but his second-inning single made it nine straight games in which he has hit safely . . . Drew has three homers in his last 13 games . . . Portland's Michael Bowden was perfect for six innings against Erie last night, then gave up a run on three hits before leaving with two outs in the seventh. Bowden, who did not walk a man while whiffing six in an 8-1 win, is 5-1 with a 1.09 ERA in his last eight starts.

Rubber game

CEO Larry Lucchino and limited partner Phil Morse presented Jon Lester with the pitching slab to commemorate his no-hitter May 19 . . . Ellsbury stole his 28th base in the third inning. Among Sox rookies, only Amby McConnell (1908) has had more (31) . . . Epstein and scouting director Jason McLeod discussed tomorrow's amateur draft. The Sox have the last pick in the first round, 30th overall, but five of the first 108 picks. They get a first-round sandwich pick (No. 45 overall) as compensation for Milwaukee signing free agent Eric Gagné. At the time the Sox acquired Gagné from Texas, they assumed they'd get a first-round pick plus a sandwich pick, as Gagné projected at the time to be a Type A free agent . . . The Fenway crowd briefly broke into a "Beat LA" chant in the seventh inning.