No baseball game? No matter.
Rain may lead to the cancellation of a ballgame, but it can do nothing to prevent an education in Five Things on the eve of a day-night double-header between the Red Sox and Twins.
JOIN THE CLUB, NICK GREEN...AND BE CAREFUL, FOR SHORTSTOP IS A DANGEROUS PLACE IN BOSTON
The everyday shortstop role for the Red Sox has been something of a hot potato. Since the start of the 2004 season, nine different players (Orlando Cabrera, Alex Cora, Cesar Crespo, Nomar Garciaparra, Alex Gonzalez, Jed Lowrie, Julio Lugo, Pokey Reese, Edgar Renteria) have manned the position for at least 25 games.
No other team has endured such a merry-go-round at the position. So it shouldn’t come as a great surprise to see more flux at short.
Lowrie underwent wrist surgery on Tuesday, involving a repair of the scapholunate (S-L) ligament and the removal of the fractured ulnar styloid bone that had caused his strength loss as a left-handed hitter.
Manager Terry Francona said that the surgery went as well as the doctors had hoped. Lowrie will remain in a splint for roughly the next 10 days, at which point his stitches will be removed and a rehab program can commence.
The Sox are hopeful that Lowrie can begin swinging a bat again in roughly six weeks. Doing so would be in keeping with the estimates that he might be able to return in June or July, prior to the All-Star break.
Lowrie, of course, inherited the starting shortstop role last year when Lugo tore his quadriceps muscle. Now, it is Lugo who soon will inherit primary domain over the starting shortstop role thanks to Lowrie’s injury.
Lugo reported to Triple-A Pawtucket on Tuesday to commence his rehab assignment. The plan had been for Lugo to play on Tuesday and Wednesday, take Thursday off (an off-day for the PawSox) and then play again on Friday through Sunday. At the conclusion of those five games, Lugo was scheduled to be reassessed to see if he was ready to return to the big-league roster.
That plan, however, was forged before Tuesday night’s game in Pawtucket was rained out. It remains to be seen whether the timetable is tweaked as a result.
Regardless, it would appear that Nick Green will be the starting shortstop through at least Sunday. That being the case, with eight games at short thus far this year, he stands an excellent shot at becoming the 10th Sox player to reach the 25 games mark at shortstop since the start of the 2004 season.
THE KEVIN YOUKILIS DEAL IS A GREAT ONE FOR THE RED SOX
First, the disclaimer: Kevin Youkilis has every reason to be happy with the four-year, $41.125 million deal he signed this winter. The 30-year-old first baseman is likely to spend the next four – and perhaps five, assuming that the Sox pick up a team option in 2013 – seasons in a city where he loves to play, for an organization that fulfills everything that he seeks in a franchise.
He’s happy with his deal, and has had no regrets since signing it.
“(With a long-term deal) you have the luxury of going out there and not worrying about stats or anything like that,” said Youkilis. “You just go out and play the game to play the game.”
A player should never be criticized for “leaving money on the table” so long as he desires the security of a long-term deal and is happy with the contract that he signs. Youkilis fits both categories. That said, if there was any question about whether the deal was a good one for the Red Sox, it evaporated on Monday.
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman signed a long-term deal that, in many ways, mirrors the one that Youkilis signed with the Sox. Zimmerman inked a five-year, $45 million deal. More relevant for the comparison with Youkilis, Zimmerman will receive a total of $41.175 million for his final two years of arbitration eligibility and his first two years of free agency. Youkilis’ contract guarantees him $50,000 less ($41.125 million) than that sum over the final two years of his arbitration eligibility and first two years of his free agency.
Zimmerman is a fine player, and still considered a potentially elite talent. The 24-year-old has a career .282 average,
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