FanHouse BobbyKielty

Our MLB editor provides weekly dispatches from major league games in Notes From the Clubhouse.

Bad news for Boston fans Monday night. The Red Sox will place designated hitter David Ortiz on the disabled list after an MRI revealed the slugger had a torn tendon sheath in his extensor carpi ulnaris -- a muscle in the wrist. Ortiz is certain to miss at least a few weeks, though the Boston Herald has reported that he will miss at least a month and could face season-ending surgery.

Manager Terry Francona did not indicate the injury was quite that serious, though he will confer with Ortiz, GM Theo Epstein and the team's medical staff tomorrow in Boston.

Big Papi struggled in April, but he was his usual slugging self in May putting up a line of .318/.409/.617 (AVG/OBP/SLG) over the last month. No team in baseball is prepared to replace that kind of production, but the Red Sox are deeper than any other organization in the game and are prepared to make do while Ortiz gets healthy. Francona said after the game that reserve first baseman Sean Casey would likely see additional time while Ortiz is sidelined, but the most likely lineup Francona will put out there will probably feature Manny Ramirez at DH and Jacoby Ellsbury, Brandon Moss and maybe even Bobby Kielty or Kevin Youkilis splitting time in left field.

When asked about seeing more time as a designated hitter, Ramirez said "I love it. I love to DH," though he then went on to joke that if he played there too much it might hurt his chances at getting the Gold Glove he so covets. "It's nice to give him a blow and still keep his bat in the game," said Francona of playing Ramirez at DH.

If the Red Sox were merely losing Ortiz for a few weeks, there wouldn't be much to worry about, but Big Papi's injury is just at the top of a long list of concerns for the reigning champs.

Boston will miss Ortiz, but they'll do a very good job of filling the void in the short-term

Top of the 4th:

Todd Helton and his sexy goatee saunter into second base with a double. (Seriously, look at the fullness on that thing. Rahr.) There have been a ton of hits off the Green Monster tonight.

Beckett records his sixth strikeout of the night against Garrett Atkins. Your turn Brad Hawpe.

And you strike out, too. I Hawpe you do better next time, sir.

It's still 4-1 Boston.

Bottom of the 4th:

Tim McCarver and Joe Buck are just fawning of Troy Tulowitzki. His parents must be proud. McCarver referred to his arm as a "Howitzer" or something like that. I don't know what that means. Someone smarter than I, please enlighten. (Update: Commenter Joe alerts me a howitzer is a type on cannon. Thank for that.)

Also, this just in from the wisdom of Tim McCarver: David Ortiz = clutch.

How long do you think it takes Manny to do his hair in the morning? Speaking of Manny, he smacks a double into right-center. (It actually looks like he hustled to second!) We got Big Papi on third, Manny on second. Two outs.

This little spoons game thing in the Red Sox bullpen: does this annoy anyone else?

Jason Varitek rips one down the line. Papi and Manny score. It's 6-1 Boston. It's looking bad for the Rockies. Very, very bad. J.D. Drew strikes out. Inning over.

A good point was made in the comments of my post about NLCS hyperbole; despite the fact that the Rockies and the D'Backs are probably the two best teams in the NL this year, most so-called experts didn't expect them to be good this year and so rather than actually trying to understand why they're good, they just spew gobbledegook about "hustle." That makes this AL version a bit harder because both the Sox and Indians were "supposed" to be good. Still, Tim McCarver will find a way.

Player: Dustin Pedroia
What you'll likely hear: "He just reminds me of David Eckstein so much with his big heart and the way he hustles and isn't afraid to get dirty and play the game right!"
The truth: You know how people invariably compare white athletes to other white athletes and black athletes to other black athletes? At best, it's a lazy way to do things. Now the trend has extended to short people. This year, in his rookie season, Pedroia hit .317/.380/.442. Eckstein has never topped one part of that stat line in his seven-year career. David Eckstein is short. Dustin Pedroia is good.

Player: Paul Byrd
What you'll likely hear: "He sure is a crafty pitcher and that makes him as tough to beat in these big games as anyone. Just look at game 4 of the division series when he finished the Yankees off."
The truth: Take a look at this line: 5 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR. Do you want anything to do with that in a playoff game? I don't. That's Paul Byrd's game 4 line with runs removed. The Indians won that game in spite of his start, not because of it. It kills me that of all the great ALDS performances the Indians had, somehow his is held out above the others despite the fact that it wasn't that impressive to start with and was mostly luck anyways.

No, it's not Carrot Top after a week-long bender, it's Bobby Kielty! Terry Francona announced Kielty would start Friday night against Cleveland in place of J.D. Drew. According to Francona, the match-up against C.C. Sabathia prompted the decision. Kielty is hitting .310 with two home runs and seven RBI in his career against C.C. Drew has only faced him three times and is hitless.

Skeptics, such as myself, would argue it is really Drew's tough season and A-Rod-like weakness in the post-season that contributed to the switch. Drew struggled all season before heating up in September. While he was able to stay in the line-up without injury, his power numbers weren't there - 11 home runs and 64 RBI for the 70-million-dollar-man. In his career, Drew is a .227 hitter in the post-season with nine RBI in 30 games.

Thinking ahead? Drew is also hitless against Carmona and a career .200 hitter versus Byrd. Kielty has never faced Carmona but has a .333 average against Byrd in 30 at-bats with four home runs and eight RBI.

I'm all for giving Kielty the shot. Drew simply hasn't done the job and his inflated contract means nothing in October. Not to mention, the list of guys I'd rather see with two-on and two-out instead of Drew includes Abe Vigoda, Buddy Ebsen, Ted Kennedy, and the Six Flags guy.

On Sunday, Bobby Kielty made a nice first impression on the crowds at Fenway Park with a spectacular, home-run-robbing catch and two hits in his Boston debut. But another place he hopes to leave his mark is the clubhouse poker table, where he's become quite adept at separating teammates from their cash.

In an interview in yesterday's Boston Herald, Kielty touched on his poker prowess, noting that he's looking forward to playing a few hands with his new teammates. He also noted that at some point, he'd like to work his way to the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas.

"That's something I do plan on doing at some point," he said. "I enjoy the game. I'm very good from a math standpoint. I took Calculus 1, 2, 3 and 4, so this all came to me pretty well. Poker involves a lot of luck, too, but it's also a matter of trying to figure out all of the percentages."

Considering Manny Ramirez' reputation for being a bit loose his money -- the dude famously left $10,000 in his glove compartment while with Cleveland -- I can only suspect that Kielty's licking his chops to engage the slugger in a few hands of Texas hold 'em.

Billy Beane really knows how to kick a guy when he's down. A day after designating Milton Bradley for assignment, the Athletics traded the board game loving outfielder. So where do you trade a disgrunteld player who's unhappy with his playing time? Why to Kansas City of course.

The Oakland Athletics traded outfielder Milton Bradley to the Kansas City Royals for pitcher Leo Nunez, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reports. The Royals will pay Bradley's entire salary as he is owed $2.3 million for the remainder of the season.

Considering the Athletics already have Nick Swisher, Mark Kotsay, Jack Cust and Shannon Stewart in the outfield, with two more outfielders set to come off the disabled list in Bobby Kielty and Chris Snelling, trading Bradley was the most logical choice for the A's. Especially since he's spent more time on the disabled list than in the field.

As for Bradley, he's going to get his wish. That playing time he's been lobbying for is finally his. Sure it's in Kansas City, but beggars can't be choosers.

Previously at The FanHouse:
Milton Bradley Is Done In Oakland

Was there a chapter in Moneyball that I missed that talked about injured players leading to division championships? I don't remember myself, but then again that happens a lot when the books I'm reading don't have a lot of pictures.

The newest Athletic to be headed toward a date with the disabled list is Mike Piazza. Piazza sprained the AC joint in his right shoulder after colliding with Mike Lowell in the sixth inning of a 6-4 Oakland loss against Boston on Wednesday night.

He's expected to be out 4-6 weeks.

"It's really frustrating," Piazza said while wearing a sling in the quiet A's clubhouse. "I felt like I was starting to swing the bat better. It's a tough setback."

It's a very tough setback.

It's never a good thing to lose your cleanup hitter, especially when he has the best batting average (.291) of any regular in your lineup. It's even worse when your ace is already on the shelf for a few more weeks. Of course, Piazza won't be lonely on the DL, he'll be joining Milton Bradley, Bobby Kielty, Mark Kotsay, and Esteban Loaiza.

In what could make things even worse, Nick Swisher replaced Piazza on Wednesday night after being out the previous six games himself with a troublesome hamstring. While grounding into an inning ending double play in the 8th inning, Swisher looked more than a little gimpy, and at this point I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up on the disabled list as well.


Previously on the Fanhouse:
Harden Out Until Mid-May