Game Two Tonight In Anaheim...Beckett, Drew And Lowell Updates

It's Friday morning, about sixteen hours before the first pitch between the Boston Red Sox and the LA Angels will be thrown. That happens shortly after 9:30pm EDT. Daisuke Matsuzaka is ready to face the Angels best starter, at least THIS year, Ervin Santana. If Boston wins, they will jet home with a commanding 2-0 series lead with their ace, Josh beckett, scheduled to start game three at Fenway on Sunday.

The latest injury news news is this - JD Drew's back did not act up after game one or on the day off, so it's highly likely we'll see him in rightfield tonight. In perhaps the most important injury news, Josh Beckett put the "pedal to the metal" in his workout yesterday. He threw about sixty pitches from a mound and let it all loose with no discomfort whatsoever. I swear if he's handed the ball for game three with his team (OUR team) holding a 2-0 series lead, it's goodbye Angels. But first things first. And the first thing is to WIN game two. The story on Mikey Lowell is more complicated. He's been going through a ton of pain, at the plate and while fielding the ball. Will he play? Here's what his manager, Terry Francona, had to say, followed by something from the man himself. He's such an important cog for this 2008 Boston Red Sox team. That fact alone makes any "should he play" decision crucial...

"We may have to make some changes as we go in the series," Francona said. "I spent a lot of time talking to Mike Lowell this morning. It's not just like a little nagging hamstring he's dealing with. I really don't know what we're going to do tomorrow. It's actually a very difficult decision for me. You've got a guy who's the ultimate gamer. He'll go out there every day. We're going back in a couple days to Fenway, facing a lefty. It's very important having his bat in the lineup. So again, there's some decisions we still need to make. I haven't really actually come to a conclusion yet. Mikey Lowell, what he's going through right now, he's going to pay for later. He knows that. He's beating his body up. As a manager or a teammate, I don't know how you can't respect that from him. He's the ultimate teammate."

"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."

Peter here...well said, Mike. If you're not able to play, you WILL be missed. I have a feeling that we'll see his familiar face and his great "gobble up that ball" defense come 9:37pm EDT...I sure hope so. The Sox are an incomplete team without him in there. But as of now (Friday morning, 6am EDT), both look like they're penciled in as starters. We'll see.

The winners yesterday were the Manny-led Dodgers, who have a two zip lead in their series with the Cubbies, the Phillies, who also have a commanding two zip lead over Milwaukee (they beat the Brewer's unstoppable CC Sabathia yesterday, which continued CC's postseason blues) and the Tampa Bay Rays, a team we are all very familiar with. Maybe too much so! They have a 1-0 lead over the other Chicago team, the White Sox. So today shapes up like this, baseball wise. The White Sox and the Rays will play shortly after 6pm EDT (TBS and TBSHD) with Buehrle vs. Kazmir - great matchup) followed by our very own defending world champs against the LA Halos, with first pitch shortly after 9:30pm EDT (TBS and TBSHD).

That's your Red Sox wrap for Friday, October 3, 2008. For more Red Sox news, simply click on the title of this post. And once again, in this playoff time of year, I'd love to read and respond to your comments. Please please me? And yes, that was the name of the second ever Beatle's single, recorded way back in 1963. Have a great Friday and look for me back here by tomorrow morning, early, REALLY early! But I'll be back before then to read any and all comments, or as the news warrants. I want to thank you once again for stopping in to this little corner of the 'blue nowhere." As always, BE WELL