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Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Lester was removed from Tuesday's game with a lower-left lat strain. He said the injury didn’t occur on any one pitch, but was cramping on him as he worked through the top of the fourth.
“There’s no point in going out there and pushing it right now,” he added. “It’s going to be sore tomorrow, but I think if I would have gone out there in the fifth, I could have really possibly done some worse damage.”
While saying he would "never take myself out of a game if it wasn’t something significant,” Lester also said he doesn't believe the injury will cause a long-term problem.
“We may alter one start, but . . . we’ve got the All-Star break built in," said Lester. "Like I said, I don’t imagine this being a long-term deal. We’ll re-evaluate everything [Wednesday]. Hopefully it was just more of a precautionary-type deal and just a fluke thing and move on.”
CSNNE - Lester confident his injury isn't serious
It was an amusing scene, on Twitter, once it was known that Lester wasn't coming back in to continue his no-hit bid. For a handful of minutes, Twitter was dominated by Sox fans unsure of what was going on, pleading to other Sox fans just as clueless to let them know what was up. It was like a scene from an awful zombie movie. But instead of searching for 'brains', everyone was aimlessly wandering around pleading for injury news. Then, I imagine WebMD had a huge spike in traffic once it was announced that Lester had strained his latissimus.
The positive here is that if you are going to strain your latissimus, you couldn't pick a better time than on the cusp of the All-Star break. You never know how a strain is going to play out (see: Clay Buchholz back) but best case scenario has Lester missing a single start.
Lester's injury only shines light on what an awful mess the Sox rotation truly is. Beckett looks to be back and healthy. Wake is as dependable as ever. Lackey should probably retire and donate his salary to charity. Andrew Miller is doing enough to keep the Sox in a position to win. And it looks like Aceves should get at least one more spot start for Lester.
Not exactly the group we thought we were taking to the ball.
Related links: Globe - Thrown a scare | Herald - Jon Lester’s early exit mars win
On Page 2, Mike Cameron finds a new home
The departure of Mike Cameron will not be a total loss for Red Sox. The outfielder was traded to the Marlins yesterday for a player to named or cash.
According to a major league source, the Red Sox will cover $3 million of the approximately $3.6 million Cameron is owed this season.
The 38-year-old Cameron was designated for assignment last Thursday after hitting .149 with three homers and nine RBIs over 33 games.
Although the Marlins are well out of contention at 38-48, they have playing time available in the outfield and Cameron would figure to be a good role model for players such as Mike Stanton and Logan Morrison.
Globe - Cameron sent to Marlins
If the Red Sox were willing to pay Mike Cameron $3 million to cut my lawn, I'd take them up on that offer too.
I find these sorts of trades to be quite interesting. They're essentially paying the Marlins to take Cameron off their hands by covering most of his salary -- but in exchange for cash (or a player to be named later). How much cash will they recoup later? Will we ever find out? Will we even care at that point?
Do we care now?
These are questions I can't answer for you. Just know that the Red Sox are paying the Marlins millions of dollars so he can babysit their outfielders. At least he won't be stranding runners at Fenway anymore.
Rest of the links:
CSNNE - Game Story: July 5, 2011: Red Sox 3, Blue Jays 2 | Globe - Former Red Sox SS Buddin dies | Herald - Bullpen answers call | Participants replay final out | WEEI - Farrell: Tek missed by 'no less than a foot' | What Jon Lester's injury means for the Red Sox | NESN - Game-Ending Play at the Plate Creates Tale of Two Clubhouses Following Red Sox Win
