Damon Stays Put...Boston Red Sox Might Play Two But Rain Is Probable For Game # 1

Johnny Damon of the Detroit Tigers will stay exactly that...a Detroit Tiger. He has decided NOT to come to Boston. Tiger manager Jim Leland explains...

“Is he going to play here the rest of the season? Yes, he’s going to play. Is he going to play every game? No. He hasn’t played every game up to this point. Am I going to sit Johnny Damon on the bench and forget about him? No, he’s going to play a lot. Am I going to look at a kid once in a while and give him a day? Yeah. It’s that simple.’’

Put that way, Jim, yes, it IS fairly simple. I don't know if Damon wanted to avoid playing in the AL East or something else but it didn't take long for him to make up his mind. He said this yesterday...

“I don’t plan on waiving the no-trade clause. Initially, I thought long and hard about it, but after going around and talking to a bunch of my teammates, they want me here. And they feel we can make a strong push, at least make this AL Central race interesting. That’s why I’m going to stay. I’ve said all along I love playing for Detroit, for the city, for the fans. These guys really like me here.”

Have a nice off season on the golf course, Johnny. The Boston Red Sox will try to avoid a similar golf fate by making a big push in the next five plus weeks. They'll play a day/night doubleheader today thanks to the never ending rain of Tuesday. The precipitation finally stopped here in Hartford three or four hours ago so by 1:10pm EDT the tarp should be off the field. Maybe. The forecast, which I'm listening to in the background, calls for scattered showers but Boston must get these Mariners games in. It's Seattle's last appearance at Fenway this season. The pitchers? Josh Beckett will face Dave Pauley followed by the Felix Hernandez-Jon Lester feature at 7:10pm EDT.

That's it from here now. It would be so nice if the Sox pick up two wins today because right now, they're running to stand still. The Yankees were victorious last night so as Bruce wrote and sang, it's been "one step up, two steps back." I hate to say it but I'm getting used to it. I don't like it.

Click on this post's title for the live radar. After you click, just scroll the huge USA map eastward (to the right) with the blue bar at the bottom of your screen until New England is shown. You can center it North or South with the blue bar on the screen's right side. This is the best radar site I have ever stumbled upon...by far. Bookmark it if you want to keep up with any (un)expected precipitation any month of the year. As always, BE WELL.