Red Sox Road Woes Continue ...Kansas City Royals 4 Boston Red Sox 3...PAPI'S WRIST? Click On The Title Of My Post

Monday night in Kansas City, the Boston Red Sox were beaten by the Kansas City Royals, continuing a seemingly unending string of road calamities. Clay Buchholz was undone by the end of the third inning. After giving up a first inning home run to Alex Gordon, he then gave up three more runs in the third on three singles, two walks and a hit batter. That was all the scoring for the Royals, but it was enough to down the visiters. Sox manager Tito Francona had this to say after the game concluded...

"He was pitching with such confidence, his body language, he was working quicker, he was coming off the mound with some aggression," manager Terry Francona said of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. "But we got into that bind in that one inning. There were a lot of baserunners, and he was trying to be perfect. Just need to limit the damage. He's growing. We talked about when he came back that it's still a work in progress, and we acknowledged that. But I do like the way he went back out and handled himself and stayed out and pitched, because that's the kid we think can really compete in this league."

Peter here, and Tito, I hope you'll be right about Clay (someday). We need him in the rotation. If he should need more seasoning, more time to develop and mature, Bartolo Colon is close to returning to action. He will make a start for Pawtucket tonight and all eyes will be upon him. If only he could stay healthy for a couple more months, Boston's chances of making it to the postseason will be tremendously enhanced. My fingers are crossed. Toes too, and that's a lot tougher.

In other Red Sox news, Mike Lowell was given the night off in order to rest his hip and get an injection into the actual hip joint itself. I take five or six shots of insulin a day, but the needle he was injected with was much bigger. It HAD to hurt. Francona said Mikey might be back tonight, but if he gets another night off, that's perfectly fine. John Lester was named AL pitcher of the month for July, deservedly so. He is the first Sox hurler since Petey Martinez in 2002 and the first lefty since Bruce Hurst, who I remember SO well, in 1988, to accomplish that feat. Congratulations, Jon...you had a great July with many more years to come, all in a Red Sox uniform, I hope.

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I just learned this...Big Papi David Ortiz felt a "click" in his bad wrist after a swing in Kansas City last night. When you click on this post's title, the full story will be right there, right in front of your eyes. Of course, we hope for the very best. Losing Papi would be a near-mortal blow for the club.

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Thanks for stopping in to my little speck of the internet once again and please leave a comment or six. I'll read and respond to each and every one. And to learn more about last night's loss, Big Papi's wrist and Mike Lowell's hip, simply click on the title of this post. It's Beckett versus Bannister tonight in the midwest...who knows, maybe Josh can regain a little bit of his 2007 magic. It sure would be nice! As always, BE WELL.