The Red Sox got a splendid performance from Bartolo Colon (pictured) in his second Red Sox start. He sure looked like the Colon of old as he went seven innings and allowed just one run. He was consistently hitting 95 and 96 MPH on the radar gun. But for a long time last night it looked like he might come away with nothing.

As for the third game in the last four, the Red Sox lineup was retired in order for the first three innings without a man reaching base. It reached 11 straight last night before David Ortiz put an end to it by taking Felix Hernandez over the centerfield fence to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

But the rest of the offense was silent through the seventh. Seattle tied the game at 1-1, and it had the makings of another game the Sox would lose without getting more runs. The Mariners had opportunities to score more, but couldn't cash them in, thanks to Colon.

It was revealed today that the shoulder woes that shut Curt Schilling down for nearly two months in 2007 has resurfaced again, and it sounds like it might be a lot more serious than what ailed him last season.

It sounds like for sure he won't be ready for Spring Training, and right now Schilling and the team are in a dispute over whether he should have surgery for a possible torn rotator cuff. It is now also rumored the club attempted to void his $8 million deal for 2008 over his troubled shoulder.

Schilling saw the doctor who did surgery on his shoulder back in 1995, but he was not speaking publicly about it. Surgery was kill the 2008 season for him, and it might just be the end of his career as well. He just turned 41, and you have to wonder how much he could have left if he undergoes the knife.

If Schilling is out for any extended period, this might open the door wide open for Clay Buchholz. We will see what happens. 38Pitches should be interesting reading over the next few weeks.

Here is the Boston Globe's story about it:
http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/02/07/schilling_sidelined_with_more_shoulder_issues/

The Red Sox came to terms today with free agent first baseman Sean Casey. They signed a one-year, $800,000 deal with the former Reds, Tigers and Pirates player.

Last year, in a poll of Major League baseball players, Casey, known in baseball circles as "The Mayor," was overwhelmingly voted "The Nicest Guy in Baseball." He's always had a rep for being a nice, chatty guy. Curt Schilling said Casey is "the nicest human being on the planet."
He figures to take over the backup first base position that Eric Hinske held last year, and should be the lead pinch-hitter off the bench. Casey hit .296 with the Detroit last season in 143 games, and is a career .301 hitter.
I'd love to see the Red Sox give him the number he wore in Cincinnati: 21. To the best of my knowledge, the last signiificant player of the team to wear that number was Mike Torrez, right?

Bat Of The Week: Chipper Jones - .565, 6 R, 2 2B, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1.773 OPS

Chipper had a monster week, making only 10 outs on the way to hitting 4 homers, driving in 7 and putting up an OPS over 1.700. Buster Olney thinks that Chipper’s approach at the plate right now is the best it has ever been. I think I would have to agree. Jones’ injury history certainly has to scare fantasy owners as naturally none of this means anything he isn’t on the field. Given the gaudy numbers he has put up over the past 3 years (in remarkably quiet fashion) he is simply a risk worth taking at this point. As far as availability I'm guessing he isn't available in most leagues (depending on how deep you league is). If you have him don't trade him away right now. If he cools down substantially or gets a little banged up you could get some worth for him but as for right now definitely keep on riding this.
Arm Of The Week: John Danks – 2 GS, 2-0, 14.2 IP, 8 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 12 K

The fan who caught Manny Ramirez' 500th home run ball at Camden Yards returned the ball to Manny on Saturday night, and asked for nothing in return.

Damon Woo (pictured), a former Navy SEAL, and a former Massachusetts resident living in Manhattan, just wanted Manny to have the ball back.

"You hear about the big money that some of these baseballs go for, but this was Manny's accomplishment. Being a big baseball fan, this just felt like the right thing to do," Damon said.

A really refreshing thing to hear after so many of these stories of fans trying to squeeze every buck out of moments like this. The Red Sox gave Damon and his brother two prime seats to Sunday's game after they met Manny in the clubhouse after Saturday's game. Manny gave them autographs, including a signed bat.

Ramirez says he will auction the ball off for charity, and one memorabilia expert says that the ball was worth at least $10,000, perhaps more.

Sometimes pointing to where it hurts doesn't give the best clue as to what's wrong. It doesn't help that human anatomy can vary so much.

Below are two images of the large intestine. There are 3 sections visible ... the ascending colon on your right side (left in pictures), the transverse colon that goes across the top, and the descending colon on your left side (right in pictures).

Foul tips and other observations: I suppose there will be some lingering effects from the Japan trip, whether it's an extended case of jet lag for a few players or, less likely, a team-wide outbreak of the dreaded Giambi Parasites. And given their hellacious early schedule - they have five games with the Yankees, three with the Angels, three with Detroit, and two with Cleveland in a stretch from April 8-27 during which they have exactly zero days off - they'll be fortunate to escape the season's first full month with a .500 record . . .

Many of my ancestors came to this country less than a generation ago. (Many have yet to make the trip!) One thing I have in common with them (not a brogue, but my father could slip into his with ease) is insanely low cholesterol.

That's why this study caught my eye:

An Association Between Hypocholesterolaemia And Colorectal Carcinoma In An Irish Population

What a surprise, Duke and UNC are meeting once again for an ACC Regular Season Title.

A lot is at stake here, the winner will clinch the ACC Regular season title as mentioned above and possibly a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. Plus, that number one seed will likely be playing close to home in Raleigh the first two rounds and then down the road in Charlotte for the regional.
Duke beat the Ty Lawson-less Heels the last time at Chapel Hill, but now Lawson is back and almost at full-strength. The Heels are a different team with Ty Lawson, without Ty they don't have much depth at guard, especially PG. The defense changes too, Greg Paulus will not have the outstanding game like he had last time with Lawson on him. The majority of the time he had Quinton Thomas guarding him, who is not by any means a great defender. Paulus will have a tougher time finding open three's.

First, my apologies for leaving this place dark too often lately during the most important innings of the season. (It's so much more pleasant without the Yankees, isn't it?) It bugs the hell out of me when I have something to say and no time to say it. It's been all hands on deck at the Globe - funny how that happens when there's an special baseball section to crank out every night - and the freelance (read: paying) stuff has to be the second priority, even though I genuinely enjoy writing the blog more than any of it. I do have a preview of Curt Schilling's big night

Now, did anyone, even the most cockeyed optimistic Tampa Bay Rays fan, ever think that the title I just wrote here would be true?

Well, it is, as they moved into first after a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles this past weekend, and another stinker by the Red Sox in Oakland, as they lost another series on the road, 6-3. The Red Sox are now in second place, 1/2 game behind Tampa Bay.

No, Jon Lester didn't pitch another no-hitter yesterday. We go through this crap every time a pitcher throws a no-hitter: Can he duplicate what Johnny Vander Meer did in 1938? Who cares. I just wanted a good outing from Lester and a win yesterday. Didn't get either. Lester struggled against the A's yesterday. He didn't have it, allowing a run in the first after David Ortiz' top of the first blast, and allowed three earned runs in five innings.

(Jon also revealed yesterday that his dad John is also suffering from non-Hodgkins lymphoma, the same disease he has so far successfully fought. Our thoughts and prayers to Mr. Lester in his fight with it.)

I was rather disappointed to find out over the weekend that Jacoby Ellsbury had an autograph signing at a couple of locations in Massachusetts last week, and that the fans who showed up had to pay $125 a pop to get a picture or baseball autographed by the newest Red Sox star.

I've never paid for anyone's autograph, and I never will. But I am not against the concept. If people want to shell out good money to get them, so be it. And I'm not against players doing it, especially those old time players who need the money.

And Jacoby is by far not the only young player who has done something like this. He is making the bare mininum right now, as he is a rookie, which is still some pretty good money. If he was doing this for a charity (as what Curt Schilling does for ALS and Shade), it would be rather commendable.

The baseball world lost two pitchers over the last day who were part of two important championship teams in New York baseball history: Johnny Podres of the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers (pictured) and Don Cardwell of the 1969 New York Mets.

Johnny Podres will forever be remembered in baseball history as the pitcher who won Game 7 of the 1955 World Series, beating the Yankees, 2-0, and setting off wild celebrations as the borough of Brooklyn had its first and only championship. Podres, who was from upstate New York, was just in his third year with the Dodgers, and won just 9 games in 1955, but mowed down the Yankees and Tommy Byrne (who ironically just died last month) in that deciding game.

Given the heated interest in resistant starch (RS) these days, lab rats' diets have been getting pretty darn starchy. And by the looks of it, their colons are healthier for it.

Sauerkraut!

But it has to be unpasteurized (Don't heat it above ~130 degrees F. either.) - Or else all those species of beneficial Lactobacillus will sacrifice their lives for a sterile kraut.

As a source for probiotics, fermented cabbage is a great alternative to fermented dairy foods. And the levels of good bacteria are typically higher in raw sauerkraut than in cultured milk products.

Sauerkraut is also high in vitamin C:"In 1776, Captain James Cook was awarded the Copley Medal for demonstrating that sauerkraut could be used to allay scurvy in British crews on long sea voyages."

Sherri's comment spurred some thoughts I have about intestines, primarily the colon or large intestine. Lots of good thinking to do about intestines. Nothing subtle about them.

Irritation and inflammation of the large intestine are common. It makes sense, though, that such an indispensable organ (system) would be capable of such patent communication.

Symptoms involving the colon range from mild to severe. They can be intermittent or chronic. The causes are myriad. They include one or a mix of ... a bacterium, a virus, a parasite, yeast, a particular food or foods, supplements and drugs, a stretched stomach, hormones, an immune issue, certain mental states. (90% to 95% of the serotonin in our body is in the GI tract, not the brain. There are different kinds of receptors though, and different kinds of drugs based on those receptors.)

Here was Part 1.

I'm surprised by what I'm discovering about the possible carcinogenic effects of meat. I'm also surprised that these points weren't raised in any of the literature I read so far surrounding low-carb diets, which almost universally promote meat consumption. I've been experimenting with low-carb diets as a way to manage my blood sugar. But with the recent diagnoses of cancer in my family, I'm revisiting their safety.

J. D. Drew and Mike Lowell both hit grand slams on Thursday afternoon, as the Red Sox completed a clean sweep of the Kansas City Royals, 11-8.

Drew went deep in the second, and Lowell hit one in the sixth, as it looked like the Sox were cruising in a laugher. It was also the first time that the Red Sox hit two grand slams in the same game since July 2003, when Bill Mueller hit two (one from each side of the plate) in his three home run game against Texas.

But the Achilles heel of the Red Sox struck once again, and that is their middle relief. Craig Hansen gave up two runs in the seventh, including a home run, and David Aardsma gave up a three-run shot in the eighth. Granted the game appeared to be won, but it forced Terry Francona to bring in Jonathan Papelbon, who proceeded to put two on before getting the last out for the save.

My perception of Matt Stairs through the years? A fat guy who could hit a little. A better version of Morgan Burkhart. I doubt he'd take either of those comments as compliments.

But as I was poking around baseball-reference.com for some Blue Jays info a day or so ago, I happened upon http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/stairma01.shtml">his page and quickly came to this somewhat surprising realization: Stairs has had a remarkable and distinctive big league career. Judging my the numbers, he's much more accomplished than you - or at least I - ever realized.

Justin Masterson (pictured) faced the unenviable task of trying to follow up Jon Lester's no-hitter last night, but certainly did himself proud, as he pitched 6 1/3 innings of quality work, allowing just one run on three hits (all by Alex Gordon) as the Red Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 2-1, at Fenway last night.

It was just his second MLB start (I was at his first back on April 24), but once again Masterson couldn't have been better. He was brought up just for this one start from AA Portland, and he was sent back, not to Portland, but to AAA Pawtucket. He left the game in the 7th inning with the 2-1 lead.

Hideki Okajima struggled in the eighth, filling the bases on a double and two walks and getting two outs. Jonathan Papelbon came on to strike out Billy Butler to preserve the lead, and then got Kansas City 1-2-3 in the ninth to get his 13th save of the year. The Red Sox got two early runs off Gil Meche and made them stand up, as Masterson struck out five and walked three.

Hey TSF readers, I am back to lay some more baseball insight into this fine fine blog. Back in July I wrote a post judging the trade deadline deals, and I'm back to look at what has gone on this offseason so far, and what could potentially take place.

Santana Mania

In the immortal words of Henry Hill in the classic movie Goodfellas: "The way I see it, everyone takes a beating sometime."

The Red Sox took one on Friday night.

Just a badly played game all around. Bartolo Colon made his first lousy start in four appearances, and he also made two errors that led to three unearned runs. The Red Sox had some early opportunities, but could cash none of them in. Manny Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury both sat out with the injuries they suffered on Thursday night (both are day-to-day).

The Seattle Mariners coasted to an easy 8-0 victory at the Fens. It was awful and ugly, and the less said about it the better.

Before the game, the suspensions were announced for the brawl on Thursday.

The Fox column is on hiatus until pitchers and catchers head south, yet I've still got baseball on the brain, so let's chase some headlines . . .

The University of Arizona has produced some talented and top point guards the last decade or so, with some of them moving onto the NBA and some just looking to get their careers started.

It is pretty unbelievable how many great point guards have come through this program. It all started in 1991 with Khalid Reeves who went on to play 6 successful seasons in the NBA for the Heat, Hornets, Nets, Mavs, Pistons, and Bulls.

The very next season in 1992, Damon Stoudamire came along. Every one knows about the short lefty who's been playing in the NBA forever. He helped take the Blazers to numerous playoff runs and a few Western Conference Final Runs. Stoudamire is still in the NBA to this day, playing for the Grizzlies.

I had a blog post focusing on these two drawings that I plan on turning into Gocco prints for collage started, but never got to finishing it.

Then Jon came hold and told me that he had bad news. That a friend of ours has colon cancer, he's 38 years old and has three small children.

I deleted my original posting and started over.

I'm at a loss about what to say now I am so stunned and sad. Jon is over there now. Prayers/ good vibes/ whatever you have would be great. Their youngest is one and a half years old. Their oldest boy is six.

Speaking of cancer before all this unfolded I went to a mom's group I had never been to and one of the moms I ended up talking with is a Neurologist specializing in brain tumors and epilepsy. Needless to say she was interested in my story and I was interested in her line of work. She said that sadly other than surgical advances very little has changed in the last thirty years for brain tumor treatment.

I want to go to sleep now. It is really hard to be productive when your mind wanders to some very real and close to home troubles.

Plus the neighbors are smoking and making something ridiculously stinky. I think it might be pot. They are always smokers but it rarely filters into our place like this. It's giving me a headache.

Well, it looks like that blowhard gene doesn't skip a generation after all.

Seriously, how much are you loving the Hank Steinbrenner Era? He's a Jennifer Love Hewitt-diggin', tabloid-courtin', droopy-joweled version of his old man, right down to the ubiquitous blue blazer. (What, no white turtleneck? Step it up, son!)

Yes, the Steinbrenner boy possesses that famous Steinbrenner bluster. Unfortunately for him, he hasn't quite mastered the art of the ultimatum quite like his dear ol' bloviating daddy did.

And now here is the second inning that Pedro Martinez pitched in the 1999 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. Pedro was letting it all fly that night, and here he goes through the heart of the National League lineup, striking out Mark McGwire and Jeff Bagwell. Matt Williams, after reaching on an error, was thrown out stealing. (Thrown out stealing? Matt Williams?) Pedro wound up striking out five of the six hitters he faced, one of the greatest performances ever by an All-Star Game pitcher. (It's a quick clip too, just 2:20.)

This All-Star appearance took its toll on the great Pedro. I was at Fenway Park the following Sunday for his first post-All Star start, against the Florida Marlins. It would be one of Pedro's worst outings of his career, as he gave up 12 hits and 9 runs (7 earned) in 3 2/3 innings. He would shortly afterward land on the disabled list. Here is that game, which the Sox came back and won, 11-9:

The Mets and Johan Santana reached an agreement tonight on a six-year extension to his current contract, so after he takes a physical tomorrow, he will officially become a member of the New York Mets, and his trade from the Twins goes into effect.

The deadline for getting a deal from the Mets was extended two hours tonight, and Santana personally came in on the negotiations. The deal he reached with the Mets is he will get a six-year extension to his current contract, worth $137.5 million, along with a seven million dollar signing bonus to his 2008 salary. The total of the seven years comes out to just over $150.7 million. He will average about $22 million per year over the life of the contract.

The Mets also gave him six guaranteed years, something the Mets were reluctant to do. This will also make Santana the highest paid pitcher ever.

The balance of power has just shifted in the National League, and this should make the Mets the odds on favorite to win the 2008 National League pennant.