Kevin Youkilis slides past Chipper Jones for a two-out triple in the eighth; he was stranded, unable to add an insurance run.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Red Sox Notebook
Lugo’s time remaining may be short
Green, Lowrie leave little room
Kevin Youkilis slides past Chipper Jones for a two-out triple in the eighth; he was stranded, unable to add an insurance run.
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATLANTA - There is resignation on the part of Julio Lugo. There is clear unhappiness - though rarely seen - at a situation that has spiraled downward since the signing of a four-year, $36 million contract before the 2007 season, a high point in a relationship between player and team that has been mismatched at best.
But there also appears to be detente on the horizon.
Jed Lowrie will return, though it could take until the All-Star break, and at that point a decision will be made. That certainly could be the end of the Lugo era in Boston, and the shortstop would be foolish not to prepare for the possibility of being released. The Sox would be on the hook for his salary, and he could be signed by any club for the league minimum.
Lugo knows he has been languishing on the bench in favor of a player who is making approximately $8.5 million less this season, a player signed to a nonguaranteed contract before spring training. Lugo, in fact, had not started since June 14 before his name was written onto the lineup card yesterday. He went 0 for 4 in the Red Sox’ 1-0 win.
“When he’s been called upon, he’s actually swung the bat real well,’’ manager Terry Francona said before the game. “Got the bunt down [Friday] night. Kind of feel about him like I feel about everyone else; I don’t want to just let him not be sharp enough to win games. [Nick Green] has played well. Everybody knows the background there. Just think it’s a good day for him to play.’’
But there have been few of those days as the season has moved along.
“If you think about it, nothing you can do,’’ Lugo said. “Tried to talk to the manager once. It’s his decision. There’s nothing I can do. I’m a player. They make the lineup. If I’m not in there, there’s nothing really I can do. I’m going to stay ready, see when I’m playing.’’
The conversation with Francona centered around playing time. Lugo clearly did not get the answer he sought. The answer was that Francona was going to make out the lineup as he saw fit. That has not included Lugo over the past two weeks.
“Something’s going to have to happen,’’ Lugo said. “But I’m here right now. That’s the only thing I can do. Try to get ready to play.
“Let’s not throw wood on the fire. I’m here right now and I don’t want to start a war. Let’s try to let it be for now and see.’’
Needling Lowell
Mike Lowell confirmed after the game that he would have a shot of Synvisc, a lubricant, in his hip tomorrow morning in Boston. He will leave Atlanta tonight and fly home to get the injection, instead of going with the team to Baltimore.“If it’s normal to look forward to an injection, I’m really looking forward to it,’’ Lowell said. “I want to feel the relief that hopefully it can provide.’’
He was unsure of his plans after that point, not knowing when he would rejoin the team. He was told that the recovery time after the shot was 24 hours.
Lowell, who has not started five of the last seven games, hit for Tim Wakefield in the seventh and flied out.
Lowell said he should be available today.
“This is an arthritic condition,’’ Lowell said. “How far along or how bad, I don’t know, ’cause I feel pretty good. When everything doesn’t feel flared up, I feel pretty good.
“Maybe I just wasn’t as informed about what an arthritic condition really is because I’m calling [the doctors] in a panic, they’re like, ‘You’re doing great.’ I’m like, ‘Really?’ So, in that sense, there’s no panic on their side.
“They say it’s totally normal. But that doesn’t help you when you’re sitting on the bench.’’
Save room for drama
With no margin for error, Jonathan Papelbon had yet another eventful inning.After inducing Chipper Jones to pop out, Papelbon faced Brian McCann, who ripped one.
The pitch was blasted to right-center, where J.D. Drew caught it on the warning track, just in front of Jacoby Ellsbury. Papelbon yelled at himself after the catch, later admitting he was upset with himself.
“When I have my good stuff like that, I should not get beat,’’ Papelbon said. “It was just not located where I wanted it.’’
Garret Anderson followed with a double to center, but Papelbon locked up his 18th save by getting Casey Kotchman to ground to second.
Starting to roll
Wakefield’s six shutout innings continued a stretch in which Sox starters have been very good, with a 3.38 ERA since May 30. “It’s not a competition, but I think we feed off each other in pitching well,’’ Wakefield said. “Everybody in the rotation’s done well, and knowing that we have such a great bullpen, I think says a lot, too, about how we’ve pitched as a unit.’’ . . . Jason Bay got a day off for just the second time, with the Braves starting Javier Vazquez, against whom Bay is 2 for 12 with five strikeouts. “When Theo [Epstein] was doing his stuff, the one thing I was told was you’ll really like the fact that this kid doesn’t like to not play,’’ Francona said. “He wants to play every day. I think we got pretty much a room full of guys they really do want to play. That’s good. He’ll never tell you he needs a day off. That’s why, again, I’ve got to keep an eye on him because he won’t tell you.’’ Asked who told him that, Francona said, “My peeps.’’ . . . Lowrie was scheduled to get back in game action yesterday after missing time because he was hit by a pitch in the back of the knee. Francona said there was significant improvement with Lowrie’s knee. He also said that the shortstop might be out through the All-Star break. “We’ve kind of told him all along, let us know how you feel,’’ said Francona. “When you think you’re ready, we don’t want to rush you. Even when things weren’t going real well here, we said kind of just stay on the schedule and we’ll try not to make decisions based on how we’re playing. Because that’s not a good way to do it. I think it’s easy to do, but it doesn’t help anybody.’’Just a bit outside
During Jacoby Ellsbury’s at-bat in the ninth inning Friday against Mike Gonzalez, the Braves pitcher let a pitch sail about 5 feet behind Ellsbury’s back. It didn’t come close to hitting him, but it did provoke a quizzical look toward the mound. Ellsbury struck out in a 10-pitch at-bat. “I’ll just say he has good control,’’ Ellsbury said with a big grin yesterday. Josh Beckett had hit Nate McLouth in the rear end in the third inning . . . Hitting coach Dave Magadan was fined $500, along with being suspended one game, for going onto the field Wednesday in Washington . . . Francona was discussing Green’s career path, and said, “We had him and Lugo going kind of back and forth and he took advantage of it. Now all of a sudden he feels good about himself. What a career changer for Greenie. Now he’s looked at a little differently. Good for him.’’ It was suggested to Francona that Green got his chance because of the WBC. Francona quipped, “The WBC finally helped us.’’Amalie Benjamin can be reached at abenjamin@globe.com. 
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