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.
Add another injury to the insult of another Red Sox [team stats] loss.
Josh Beckett [stats] won’t make his scheduled start tomorrow night at Wrigley Field because of right shoulder inflammation. According to a source, Beckett will stay with the team this weekend before being re-evaluated Monday in Boston.
As he left the clubhouse following the Red Sox’ 3-0 loss to the Cubs, Beckett deferred comment until later this weekend.
“I have family here,” Beckett said. “I’ll talk tomorrow.”
Lefty reliever Franklin Morales will take Beckett’s spot in the rotation against the Cubs. He hasn’t made a start in the majors since 2009 with the Colorado Rockies.
Herald - Beckett scratched from start
We get it, Baseball Gods. We get it. It's not the Sox' year. Our dreams of hoisting the World Series trophy this fall crashed and burned several weeks ago. Can you please lay off now and just let us enjoy some of this season? Sheesh.
Hopefully this shoulder injury is just mild inflammation and with a few days rest it'll pass. Losing anybody from this roster at this point is a huge loss, but especially Beckett. He's been guaranteed 7-8 innings of work each time out. They weren't always the prettiest 7 or 8 innings, but since May 15th he's gone at least 7 and hasn't allowed more than 4 runs in any start. In an even year, no less.
It sounds like we won't hear any more about his status until Monday at the earliest, so let's keep our fingers crossed.
On Page 2, Manny is a free man.
Manny Ramirez asked for and was granted his release by the Oakland Athletics tonight.
The 40-year-old Ramirez signed a minor league deal with Oakland on Feb. 20 and hit .302 with 14 RBIs in 17 games with Triple-A Sacramento. But he had only three extra-base hits (all doubles) and struck out 17 times in 63 at-bats.
"Manny believes he has demonstrated that he is ready to return to the major leagues," Ramirez's agents, Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro, said in a statement. "However, given that the Oakland Athletics could not give Manny any assurance that they plan to promote him in the immediate future he asked for his release. Manny thanks the A's for providing him with this opportunity."
Globe - Manny Ramirez released by Athletics
I'm pleasantly surprised by the numbers he put up in Sacramento. Batting over .300 with 14 RBIs through 17 games isn't shabby at all.
But I'm fairly certain this is the end of the line for Manny. I don't know that any team is desperate enough to give their DH role over to a 40 year old Ramirez instead of giving those at-bats to a promising young player.
Sacramento isn't Tampa, but part of Manny's motivation to return was to show that he's better than how he performed with the Rays. He's at least done that.
As far as what he should do now that his baseball career is over? Maybe it's just me, but couldn't you see Manny Ramirez running his own carnival? And wouldn't you pay a lot of money to go there?
Rest of the links:
Herald - Cartoonish Sox not at all funny | Frustrated Dustin Pedroia left screaming | Globe - Slumping Youkilis dealing with a lot | Beckett to miss his next scheduled start | CSNNE - Gonzalez not fit for Boston? | Inconsistencies plague Sox offense | Another mixed bag for Dice-K | WEEI - Breaking down Beckett: A history of the pitcher's shoulder concerns | ESPN - Lucchino still confident in Red Sox
