MIKE LOWELLAwaiting doctor’s orders
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Red Sox notebook
Lowell may get injection for hip pain
Third baseman told tightness is normal
MIKE LOWELLAwaiting doctor’s orders
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - Asked if he might go on the disabled list with tightness in his hip, Mike Lowell considered the question and said, “I don’t know. I hope not.’’ Lowell is likely to have an injection of Synvisc, a lubricant that is supposed to ease pain.
Lowell might get the injection Monday in Boston. It would result in him being out about 24 hours post-injection.
As for Lowell sitting all three games in Atlanta, manager Terry Francona said, “I really don’t know, we’ll see.’’
That would make sense with the logjam the Red Sox have playing in a National League park. Lowell did not play last night.
“We had talked about [the injection] briefly before, doing it on the offday,’’ Lowell said. “But I think it was just so tight that it might be better to bump that up and see what happens.’’
Lowell was waiting on word from Dr. Thomas Gill for a definitive course of action. The Sox have used Synvisc before, notably for the knees of Keith Foulke and David Wells.
“I don’t know if I’m worried,’’ Lowell said. “I’m a little frustrated that I think things were going so good for these first 60 games, and then I just woke up one morning, I felt really tight. I played through it and it really hasn’t gone away. I think it’s a little frustrating, but I think I take confidence in [doctors] saying that it’s something that they expected.
“If this kind of caught them off guard, I think I’d be more on the worried side than on the frustrated side.’’
Lowell said the team is currently “searching for things to kind of loosen it up.’’ He has missed four of the last six games. And, he said, he’s “honestly not predicting a miraculous, ‘I feel like 100 percent tomorrow morning.’ ’’
When Lowell puts his weight on his back leg, he feels an imbalance, though he doesn’t really feel the problem when he swings.
The discomfort is nothing like the pain that forced him to have surgery in October, he said. He had a sharp sensation then, especially on check swings. He doesn’t have that now. But, he said, the most heartening information has been in speaking to the doctors that worked with him, who have said tightness is normal.
“We’ll see,’’ said Francona, after the game. “We’ve certainly talked to Tom Gill. I think we want to see how he reacts the next couple of days. We’ve certainly spoken to him at length about how he feels, but the next couple of days we’ll see how he’s doing.’’
Although Lowell had injections last season, including a lubricant, he did not get Synvisc. He got cortisone, which he said was just a Band-Aid.
“I spoke to Brad Mills, I think he had [Synvisc] in his knee, said he felt great the day after,’’ Lowell said. “So I’m hoping that’s the case for me. If that happens, if I have to do that and take two days off and I feel great, maybe we got over the hump. But I’m kind of in wait-and-see and they’ll let me know.’’
Magadan suspended
Hitting coach Dave Magadan got last night off, and not by the Sox’ choice. Magadan was suspended and fined for “inappropriate actions during the top of the fourth inning’’ of Thursday’s night’s game against the Nationals, according to a release from Major League Baseball. He was ejected in that game.“You can’t leave the dugout,’’ Francona said. “That’s like an automatic. I knew it was going to happen. I was surprised he got thrown out. As soon as you leave the dugout it’s an automatic suspension. If you’re a coach and you leave the dugout, you get an automatic one-game suspension. It doesn’t matter what you say. I thought [umpire] Bob [Davidson] put Mags in a horrible position. Screaming over there, cursing at him on a pitch that he admittedly [screwed] up.’’
Alex Ochoa took over in Magadan’s absence last night, though Magadan performed the pregame duties. But Francona took the opportunity to poke a little fun at staff member Ino Guerrero, once a personal assistant for Manny Ramirez.
“I told Ino today that if something were to happen to the next seven guys, he will be considered,’’ Francona said.
Top-stepping
Francona received numerous calls asking if he was yelling at reliever Ramon Ramirez, who pinch hit and struck out swinging to end Thursday night’s game. Francona was seen talking to Ramirez from the top step of the dugout. “Told him that he was a good pitcher and he [stunk] as a hitter,’’ Francona clarified. “I mean, we got killed. You could tell when he was hitting, he was almost embarrassed. He didn’t know whether to swing or not. He didn’t want to swing at something he wasn’t supposed to, so he took, and then the ball over his head and he swung. Rather than just walk out of the dugout I wanted to wait for him. Now everyone’s calling wondering why I’m top-stepping him.’’ . . . Jacoby Ellsbury did not start last night because of an elbow injury suffered when he went into the wall in Washington chasing hit by Josh Bard. “This is more just the inflammation, just not having the range of motion, not being able to bend it, especially, would affect the hitting,’’ said Ellsbury, who entered as a defensive replacement in center for Mark Kotsay in the seventh. He said pain wasn’t an issue, just swelling, and said he hoped to play today . . . Francona on his pitchers: “I’ve quit trying to figure out our pitchers’ hitting because they all think they’re good. For the most part, they stink.’’ . . . J.D. Drew has reached base safely in 18 of his last 19 games. In that span, he is batting .301 with four doubles, one triple, two homers, 11 RBIs, 12 runs, 17 walks, and one hit by pitch. He had two singles last night . . . Atlanta’s Nate McLouth left the game in the eighth with a hamstring strain, and is day to day.
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