Jacoby Ellsbury Injury Update

Jacoby Ellsbury will begin his rehab assignment at Triple-A Pawtucket on Monday night against Syracuse. Ellsbury will start in the outfield and will continue rehabbing at Double-A Portland after the PawSox go on the road.

Francona came out and stated that Ellsbury shouldn't need too much time in the minors, so I expect him back by next weekend. The Red Sox really need him back, he brings such a spark to the Boston lineup, and is so much better then guys like Van Every, Hall, ect. As long as he doesn't run into a wall in the minors he should be all set in a week or so.

Lars Anderson The Answer For Red Sox?

First baseman Lars Anderson was rewarded for his hot start with Double-A Portland by today being promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket. If you can remember this guy was one of the Red Sox best prospects, but last season he sucked hitting only .233 with a .328 on-base percentage and 9 home runs for Portland.

This year he has been on fire hitting .355 and has a 1.086 OPS through 17 games with 5 doubles and 5 home runs (he also had 15 RBIs). Now there are some people out there that think he will take over for Ortiz within the next couple of months. If he stays hot that could be true, but I see this move as more of an audition to be traded. If interest around the league gets a little higher maybe this will be one of the pieces the Red Sox can move to land a big bat (Cabrera/Gonzalez). There will obviously be a lot more in that deal (Kelly?), but I think the Sox would prefer to move a guy like Anderson rather then an Ellsbury.

Dice-K/Cameron Injury Update (UPDATED)

Good news all around for the Red Sox today, as Dice-K and Cameron got good news about when they can return to the Sox. Cameron missed yesterdays game because of abdominal pain and they feared he might have an appendicitis, but that isn't the case. They are going to be more tests, but it doesn't sound like it is as serious as first thought.

Dice-K as pronounced himself ready to return to Boston's rotation after throwing 6 scoreless innings in a minor-league rehab start. He thinks he's thrown enough pitches and feels ready, though he knows the decision is up to Red Sox management, which from what I am hearing means he will throw 1 more game in the minors before they bring him up. He is scheduled to pitch again for Pawtucket on Tuesday at Rochester.

Dice-K looked good in his outing, and said he had a good feel for all his pitches. He allowed three hits, struck out two and didn't walk any batters against the Buffalo Bisons. His fastballs ranged between 88 and 92 miles per hour and he threw 86 pitches. No word on who loses their spot in the rotation when Dice-K is allowed to return, though I would think it has to be Wakefield.


***UPDATE***

"Sox outfielder Mike Cameron is returning to Boston to meet with team doctors Friday after an initial diagnosis here showed a possible kidney stone, his agent said Friday morning (ESPN)."

Wakefield To Pitch For Pawtucket Saturday

"Red Sox SP Tim Wakefield (back) will start his rehab assignment for Triple-A Pawtucket on Saturday, not Friday as earlier reported (Sportsline)."

There seems to be a good shot that Wakefield will be back within the next week or 2, which could be huge for the Sox, as they try to round out that bottom of their rotation. It will be really interesting to see who is going to catch his knuckleball every 5th day. Anyways, great news to hear he is close to returning. Hopefully everything goes well on Saturday.

Tazawa Promoted To AAA PawSox

"Junichi Tazawa, the promising righthander signed by the Red Sox out of Japan's industrial league in the offseason, got word Sunday that he has been promoted from Double A Portland to Triple A Pawtucket.

"He's done a real nice job," Portland Manager Arnie Beyeler told the Portland Press Herald, which was the first to report the story. "He's become a really polished guy. It will be interesting to watch him (Boston.com)."

Tazawa has already surpassed the Sox had for him this season. It was thought that Tazawa was a good 2-3 year project, but he might be able to make an impact in the Big Leagues by next year. Tazawa went 9-5 in 18 starts for the Sea Dogs this season with a 2.57 ERA, which is good for second in the Eastern League. His nine wins are tied for second in the league and his 88 strikeouts are tied for third. He also made the All-Star team for AA, so he is ready to take the next step.

Tazawa made the dcision a lot easier since in his last five starts in Portland, Tazawa had a 1.03 ERA with 22 strikeouts and five walks (Damn!!!!). I wouldn't expect to see him this year, but it is nice to know the Sox have yet another rising star coming out of the minors...

Buchholz Almost Throws Perfect Game

"Not only does the young righthander have a 1.30 ERA this season in Pawtucket, but he came within three outs and one single of a perfect game yesterday in Louisville, Ky (Boston.com)."

Buchholz is putting more and more pressure on the Red Sox to find space for him in their rotation. The kid has just been amazing in AAA, and looks like whatever problems he had last year are gone. What is interesting now is if the Sox are going to go out and add another bat to replace Ortiz who do you trade. Boston has a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Dice-K, Wake, and Penny. Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K are untouchables. Wake isn't going anywhere, so that leaves Penny, Buchholz, and Bowden. Smoltz is on his way back, and will likely take a spot upon his return, so the Sox really have a lot of wiggle room to trade some pitching. If they are looking to rent someone for the rest of the season then Penny would be the obvious choice, but if the Sox are looking for a long term solution to filling the Ortiz void then you would have to think Buchholz and Bowden's stock couldn't be any higher.

Just something to look out for....

Timlin Makes Final Rehab Appearance

Timlin pitched a perfect 6th inning in last night's AAA Pawtucket win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (formerly the Ottawa Lynx). He faced three batters, and got each one of them to ground out. He threw 10 pitches, 7 of which were strikes. He also hit 92 on the radar gun (but who knows if the gun was juiced or not).

Timlin should re-join the Sox on Friday when they begin a 3 game set with the Yankees. With the struggles of the Sox middle-relief, it will be a welcome sight to see #50 warming up in the pen.

Some more good news out of Rhode Island is that Craig Hansen has been nearly unhittable. He threw 2 perfect innings in the win over Lehigh Valley, and has allowed only 1 hit in 6 innings this season.

-The Commodore