Greetings from the home of Joel Goldberg as well as one of the game's more underappreciated ballparks. Lots of news for you today.
* Mark Mulder has been activated from the DL and is in the bullpen. Mike Parisi has been optioned to Memphis. The bullpen move is considered open-ended for now.
* Jason Isringhausen has a right knee injury. They're waiting for Paletta to read the MRI before they decide whether to DL him. Izzy himself said they told him he has a strained ligament, a strained tendon and a strain of the knee capsule.
* Ryan Ludwick is batting second, with the hope that hitting in front of Pujols might help him get sorted out. Pujols is at DH once again with Chris Duncan at 1B.
They just announced the Futures Game rosters for Sunday, July 13 at Yankee Stadium. Your faithful correspondent will be there.
Playing for the US team will be Bryan Anderson, who is making a return trip, and Jess Todd. Another sign of the regard in which Todd is held; the guy is pretty exciting.
After spending nine hours in transit from Boston yesterday, I've never in my life been so happy to get to Detroit. And by the way, I have no idea how I made it 33 years without discovering Potbelly sandwiches. Yum! Anyway...
* Pujols had an extensive workout today. If he feels good tomorrow, he'll do a normal pregame workout with a target of being ready Thursday, the day he is eligible to be activated.
* Molina is the starting catcher. Adam Kennedy is the starting first baseman (yes, you read that right).
* Mulder's back injury is being downplayed, and he has not been ruled out for Kansas City. Either he or Boggs will start the Saturday game. He will get to Detroit tomorrow and be checked out.
* Chris Perez is sick and went back to the team hotel.
* Todd Wellemeyer threw a bullpen late this afternoon but I have not heard how it went. However, unless something surprising happens, he's on track for a Thursday start.
* Tom Crean is here, and he brought Packers coach Mike McCarthy with him.
Lots of bits of news to bring you this afternoon from sunny Fenway.
* Molina is out today. He said he feels the same as he did yesterday, but he did not do as well in the imPACT screening today as he did yesterday. So he is on the bench. TLR said he could pinch-hit if needed.
* Still waiting to hear on Izturis, who is meeting with Dr. Paletta today. It seems likely that they will make a move if only to keep from being so short-handed. Per TLR and other sources as well, they would NOT call up a middle infielder if they make a move tomorrow -- instead the expected callup would be Nick Stavinoha.
* Wellemeyer threw a bullpen today and said it went very well. He will throw a light bullpen on Tuesday after the off day, and will be slotted in the rotation either Thursday in Detroit or Friday in KC.
* TLR professed significant optimism regarding Pujols, who will join the team to work out in Detroit. There seems to be a real hope that he could be activated when he's eligible, which would be Thursday in Detroit.
* It's an open question as to who will pitch the ninth if they have a lead today. TLR mentioned several candidates -- Springer, McClellan, Perez and possibly Isringhausen -- but said he does not plan to funnel it to any one pitcher. More a play-it-as-it-goes kind of thing.
* Clement's line last night was bad (six runs in three innings). And unlike with Mulder the day before, there was no mitigating it. TLR: "I don't think it was a plus outing, from what I heard."
* Miles at 2B and Kennedy at DH, as was the plan yesterday before Molina was semi-scratched. TLR said it's not simply a matter of preferring Miles defensively. Quote: "One guy is fresher. I mean, they're both fresh, but Miles needs the playing time."
OK, here's the NEW update. Molina is DH'ing tonight. LaRue is catching. Kennedy moves from DH to 2B, Miles comes out of the lineup.
Yadier Molina was originally in tonight's lineup, batting seventh. But TLR just told us scribes that Molina has been scratched after all. Evidently he feels just fine, and he took BP on the field, but the imPACT testing still did not fully clear him. TLR said Molina would be available to pinch-hit if needed.
Greetings from one of my favorite towns, not to mention my old stomping grounds. Had a delicious sub from Pinocchio's in Harvard Square, picked up a new Kay Hanley album that I didn't even know was out yet, and now I'm coming to you live from the Fens.
To no one's real surprise, Brad Thompson's outing on Thursday was a one-shot deal, and Mike Parisi is back up to add some relief innings.
Anthony Reyes has been scratched from tomorrow's start and is going on the DL with an elbow strain. Brad Thompson will be activated to take his roster spot as well as his scheduled start.
Hello, all! Did you miss me? It was a good stretch of time off, and I'll be blogging about Bonnaroo soon (highlights: Against Me!, Drive-By Truckers, Pearl Jam playing "All Along the Watchtower").
In the meantime, lots to tell from the ballpark today:
* Yadier Molina is at the park. He worked out and said he's feeling pretty good. He wants to play tomorrow, but it's unlikely. Thursday or Friday is a good guess.
* Chris Carpenter said that after visiting Dr. Andrews, he will not have additional surgery. The hope is that rest will heal his irritation, and he expects his down time to be very brief.
* Todd Wellemeyer has been scratched from his Thursday start. Anthony Reyes is the expected replacement. Nobody sounds too worried at this point, indicating it's more precautionary than anything.
Discombobulated notes and thoughts from a long day of ball and draft. And big, big ups to Lee Hurwitz, who pinch-hit on draft stuff at the last moment when we learned it would be a doubleheader today.
M's reads on the draft: * I liked the Wallace pick, because I believe he is a legitimate, big-time bat. And even if he doesn't cut it at 3B, and even if he's ready for the show while Pujols is still around, is it really the end of the world to have a tradeable big-time bat?
* I was much less crazy about the sandwich pick, not because there was anything wrong with Michael Lynn, but because philosophically I like higher-risk players with sandwich picks. It's sort of like playing with house money. You get a bonus pick, use it on a high-upside guy. This fellow seems much more like a low-risk, low-reward type.
* The guy who intrigues me most other than Wallace is Scott Gorgen, who according to the reports has everything but a body that looks like a pitcher. There just sound like there are no negatives with him except that he doesn't have the prototype body.
* Nationals Park is, well, it's fine. It's a huge upgrade from RFK, and it's a very nice looking park on the outside. From the inside, there's nothing wrong with it, but it doesn't really stand out. I put it on a tier with Cincinnati, rather than the really terrific new parks like San Francisco, Pittsburgh or even San Diego and Philly.
* You have to figure that they will make a move before Friday's game. The most likely scenario seems to be optioning Mike Parisi with a reliever coming up. The next time through the rotation, that spot will be skipped anyway, thanks to the off day.
* I don't really know what there is to add to the late game tonight. Truly a remarkable game, with so much that went into it. As for the early game, i was puzzled by pulling Wellemeyer, but obviously the pinch-hitter worked out well. I do think that by getting him out so early, they put themselves in a position in the late game where they had to stick with a couple of pitchers longer than they would ideally like to. Then again, staying with those pitchers worked out, to the tune of five RBIs. Funny game sometimes, and just another piece of evidence that you really should evaluate based on the decision rather than the outcome.
Your faithful correspondent will be off for a good while, recharging while the club is on the road. I'll be back in a week and a half, ready to kick it in high gear for quite a long while.
It's very easy for me to remember some of the big birthdays, since the utterly awesome Mrs. Dude's b-day falls a day after my dad's. So happiest of birthdays, Mrs. Dude -- love you tons and miss you.
...so by at least one measure, it's still not too late to say this:
A big, big, big happy birthday to my dad. Because honestly, with no disrespect to any of your dads out there, I have the best dad in the history of humankind (best mom too, truth be told).
Greetings from Nationals Park, where evidently at least one more line of storms is on the way. If you're settling in to watch the game, be prepared for a long night.
* Pujols is out at least tonight with discomfort in his left calf. TLR says best case scenario is that he'll be back Friday in Houston, while Pujols hopes to play tomorrow. Dicey weather here mens Friday under the roof is a much better bet, it would seem.
* Ankiel is also out, probably for a couple of days, because he's come down with an infection in his scraped right knee. He was sent back to the hotel after he was checked out and treated.
* STL lineup: Ryan 3B, Barton LF, Mather CF, Ludwick RF, Glaus 1B, Molina C, Miles 2B, Wellemeyer P, Izturis SS. Yes, that is correct -- he flipped Mather and Ludwick in the outfield today.