Francona on Lowell, Lowrie and more
Terry Francona said during his weekly conversation with WEEI's "Dale and Holley Show" that Mike Lowell, sidelined with a hip injury, will probably return to the Red Sox' lineup Friday, while shortstop Jed Lowrie, out since May after wrist surgery, will be activated no later than Saturday.
A few of the Red Sox manager's noteworthy comments:
On the status of Lowell and Lowrie:
"We certainly have some decisions to make. And Theo and I have talked a bunch about this, I don't think that's any secret. We're going to have a couple roster moves coming out of this break. One, to get Buchholz on, and then there could be two that day. We’re either going to activate Mikey Lowell on Friday or Saturday and also Lowrie most likely on Saturday . . . So we're looking at a couple of roster moves, and they're important ones. I think things worked out well. Not having Mike Lowell was tough for us. We moved [Kevin Youkilis] over to third, and I hope people understand how easy my job is because Youk can do that. [Mark] Kotsay has filled in great, [Aaron] Bates filled in, gave us a big day the other day. But having Youk and Lowell as our corner guys and having Kotsay fill in all over the place, that gives us our best team.”
On how Lowrie might be used upon returning from his injury:
“If he comes back Saturday, or close to Saturday, he's not going to be at 100-percent efficiency. He's not going to be ready to play every day. So it's actually going to be a pretty good situation. We can use our shortstops -- and again, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself here -- we can use who we have and also give Jed a day built in in between. That's probably going to be the best of both worlds.”
On pitchers Tim Wakefield and Josh Beckett not getting used in last night's All-Star Game:
"I don't doubt that Joe [Maddon] probably did a really good job of communicating with everybody. And it's especially hard in a National League city because you have the pitcher coming up. I bet you that game was going 100 miles an hour. And again, I thought he did a good job. As a fan of Wakefield or the Red Sox, you're always going to want to see everything cater to our guys, and I'm probably in that boat too. But I think as a representative of the American League, I thought they pulled it off really well."
On why Clay Buchholz will start Friday:
"Coming out of the break, we really wanted to line up our pitching. And when you have the fourth day out of the break . . . it really gives you a lot of rest. It can also lead to a tough day coming back. That's why we're working out tomorrow night. We can get a little heavy just because of the time off. And it's a tough assignment to draw. So what we're thinking is that Buchholz is going to be very excited, turn him loose, and maybe he absolutely deals, which would be great, and we also line up the rest of our pitching. And there's something to be said for keeping Buchholz engaged in what we're doing. This kid has gone down and done everything we've asked. I don't think 'throwing him a bone' is the right way to say it, but keeping him engaged in what we're doing and showing him we believe in what he's doing, I think there's something to be said for that."
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I hope Bucholtz dominates on Friday and makes it nearly impossible to send him back down again.
He's an important part of the Sox future and needs to be in Boston and not wasting his time in AAA.
I can understand not playing Beckett, but Wake!?! Unacceptable! 17 years in the majors, 42 year old FIRST TIME All star and he doesn't get to play? Will never be able to understand that one.
This is the kind of long-term thoughtfulness that makes Francona maybe the best manager the Red Sox have ever had. Others have been as good at managing games and pitching, but nobody has ever put the short and long term together like him.
Nick Green really hasn't hit well lately. He may have been wearing down a bit. This is good timing.
Save Lugo, dump Green!
y don,t the sox have beckett,lester,#3 smoltz or dice k,wake,then penny.Y is penny going sat. then lester,?
Buchholz and Penny are being showcased for possible trades, hopefully for Toronto is blown away by Clay and we can land Roy. I like Clay and the future is important, however, our lineup is getting a little old and we can't go into the playoffs with Beckett, Lester, Wakefield and Smoltz. That is unfair pressure on Beckett and Lester to have to pitch gems every time out.
Save Green, dump Lugo!
Even if Buchholz pitches a complete game shut out on Friday he's probably still going back down. We just don't have room for him with all the old farts we have on this team.
the reason for the rotation is because both Penny and Smoltz have not made it past the 6th inning and are too taxing on the bullpen. Beckett/Lester/Wake have been able to eat up more innings so makes sense to spread them out. Cleary things will change for the postseason.
Masterson to Triple A. Remember where you heard it first
You must be drunk, Joe if you think Green is wearing down.
Wake needed to be kept in reserve in case the game tied. If that happen we probably would have seen 3-5 innings of him. In that sense, I was kinda rooting for Crawford to NOT make that damn catch. Wake would have been brought in.
The point is to win the game, not to entertain you and me. But damn, Wake's my guy, I so wanted to see him.
It would have been very difficult and risky to have Wakefield pitch in the All Star Game, not to mention being very unfair to all the A.L. catchers, so I can see why he didn't pitch. As for Becket, he had just pitchhed a complete game 2 days prior.
Lugo is a Yugo!
Lugo is a Yugo!
Lugo is a Yugo!
Can't field, can't make the BIG hit, can't keep his head in the game!
Think Pavano, Think Renteria, think Boswell... BUST-BUST-BUST
LUGO IS A YUGO - GET HIM OUTTA BOSTON!!!
Buchholz will pitch friday to showcase him to the Jays for a Halladay trade, IMHO. Just don't put Bard in the package, we need him for our future closer when Papelbon flies the coop.
> Save Lugo, dump Green
ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Must be Lugo writing that one :)
Corey, the all-star game now holds some significance. Starting wake could be risky, he's either dominant or awful. Both managers are out there to win, as it could help them down the road. The fact that a rival manager chose wake over a guy like Adam Lind, or his own player Pena is good enough for him. No respect lost for not playing him.
Terry:
I went up on the Red Sox Depth Chart today and was shocked to find Mark Kotsay listed as number one at first base - your all-star! You said recently you want Youk and Mike "at the corners'.
What's going on??
DB
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