Injury Bug Forces Sox to Improvise

With the Red Sox setting off on a strenuous 10-game road trip, we the fans are about to see whether they can find some band-aids to patch their cuts and bruises, or if they will limp into second place on the road.

In the same few days when CF Coco Crisp returned from a long DL stint, 4 other sox replaced him, and one more was optioned down.

RHP Mike Timlin (right shoulder strain), LHP David Wells (hit by comebacker), LHP Lenny DiNardo (neck strain???), and RF Wily Mo Pena (wrist injury) were all inactive for the first two games against the Blue Jays in which the Sox went 0-2 behind Clement and Beckett.

The real challenge for the Red Sox now will be filling the shoes of the walking wounded.

There are reports that the Sox have been scouting designated Twins RHP Kyle Lohse, though he walks far too many batters to be a real asset.

Slated to replace Wells tonight is AA righthander David Pauley, making his Major League debut. Like DiNardo, his key will be keeping the ball low, and hoping that the Sox lineup bashes lots of run support.

Crisp has jumped back into the lineup and will fill the void left by Pena, though the Sox will certainly miss that power option.

The pressure is on with the Yankees only .5 games back, and the Blue Jays silently keeping pace, back 1.5 games. If the players come together as a team to stop the leaks, it might be done. Otherwise this might be a Titanic disaster of a road trip.