I just wanted to start things off by wishing my parents a happy 38th wedding anniversary.
The Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim got the day off yesterday, the by-product of the Angels choosing the 8-day ALDS since they had the best record in the American League. For the Red Sox it was a day of questions that needed answers.
How will Josh Beckett feel during his side session in preparation for his start on Sunday? How will Mike Lowell’s ailing hip feel after playing a whole game on Wednesday night? How did J.D. Drew’s back feel after playing the full game on Wednesday night as well?
How will Josh Beckett feel during his side session in preparation for his start on Sunday?:
“It was a pretty aggressive side, but I think we probably needed to do that,” said Francona. “You’re always checking on health [with all players], but with Josh it’s important. He needs to know going into his start that he has what is available and what he needs to win. Nothing was cut short. His fastball had some finish to it and he threw all his pitches.”
How will Mike Lowell’s ailing hip feel after playing a whole game on Wednesday night?
“I don’t see any problems,” Lowell said. “I actually thought I was going to wake up really sore. I didn’t. So, I’m looking forward to a workout, and I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s game.
“I don’t think I put myself in position to just play one game. I don’t think that’s the right way to do it,” said Lowell. “I’m looking to play the whole postseason and be there every game.”
How did J.D. Drew’s back feel after playing the full game on Wednesday night as well?
Drew agreed. “That’s how I feel now,” he said. “Hopefully everything will continue to improve and you can build endurance and strength as the series goes along. We’ll see how it goes.”
As I said in the post about Beckett, yes he got through yesterday’s side session with flying colors. Now we need to wait and hold our collective breath to see how feels when he wakes up this morning. You can bet that if he’s feeling fine, Terry Francona will make the official announcement that Beckett will indeed start Game 3 on Sunday.
Obviously having both Lowell and Drew in the lineup makes the Red Sox a better team. But how much do you want to play them both especially when you’re still trying to win 10 more games.
Lots of links for you after the jump.
If you missed it, MLB has announced the game times for the remaining games of this ALDS.
Sean Casey is a big fan of Justin Masterson.
The Angels don’t plan on working the count against Daisuke Matsuzka tonight.
Mike Timlin is considering retirement after the season is over.
Angels skipper Mike Scioscia won’t criticize Vlad Guerrero for his aggressive baserunning.
Having Jason Varitek behind the plate is like having a manager on the field.
Daisuke Matsuzaka has settled in with the Red Sox and in life in the United States.
There are some questions about where Buck Martinez got his nickname of “Caballito” for Dustin Pedroia.
Sarah Green says Angels fans suck.
The Boston Red Sox are young at heart.
This one from the Inside Track cracks me up. Jon Lester hasn’t let his game go to hell after he got a hot girlfriend.
Here is the transcript of Nick Cafardo’s chat yesterday over at Boston.com.
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe will be chatting over at Boston.com this afternoon at noon.
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Hartford Courant and Providence Journal websites.
And if you must see what the enemy papers are saying you can check out the LA Times, Orange County Register and LA Daily News websites.
