Boston ponders which bat to ice in Denver

By MARC TOPKIN, Times Staff Writer
Published October 26, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [AP photo] David Ortiz had three hits, including two doubles, and drove in two runs during Wednesday's Game One.

BOSTON - Red Sox manager Terry Francona wasn't willing Thursday to reveal how he will adjust his lineup for the weekend games in Colorado without the designated hitter.

But he was more than willing to discuss how the rule hurts the Sox since they'll have to play without DH David Ortiz (who seems likely to move to first base assuming his right knee can handle it), 3B Mike Lowell (who seems likely to stay where he is) or 1B Kevin Youkilis (who seems likely to sit out).

"When it really comes down to the reality of it, two out of the three play, and it's really disappointing because we like when all three of them play," Francona said. "They've all been mainstays in our lineup. They all do different things. There's going to be some things we have to think about that we don't know yet, and it's no big secret because we're not there.

"David has some issues with his knee. That is certainly important, and we have to at least pay attention to it. If we play Youkilis at third and Ortiz at first we're playing two guys out of position, which isn't real good, either."

Lowell said there isn't much they can do about it: "It's going to be one of the guys that has been a pretty big piece all year. That's what we have to deal with."

ANOTHER HONOR: If the baseball writers who vote for the official AL Rookie of the Year Award think the same way as uniformed personnel, Rays RF Delmon Young doesn't have much of a chance at winning.

Boston 2B Dustin Pedroia on Thursday won the Players Choice outstanding rookie award voted by his peers. Pedroia also won the Sporting News' award that polls players and managers.

PITCHING IN: Boston's Curt Schilling joined Detroit's Kenny Rogers as the only over-40 pitchers to start and win Series games. Two others, Dolf Luque and John Franco, won in relief. ... Hideki Okajima became the first Japanese-born pitcher to appear in a Series game.

WELL-CONNECTED: Francona heard from coaching colleagues Bill Belichick of the Patriots (who e-mailed) and Doc Rivers of the Celtics (who texted), and Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo (who called).

ABOUT WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Boston's Josh Beckett became the ninth pitcher to have four wins in a single postseason, one shy of the record, and has the lowest opponents batting average in postseason history, .159 (minimum 40 innings). ... The 12 total doubles in Game 1 are a Series record. ... Besides allowing seven runs, Rockies reliever Franklin Morales committed the first Series balk since David Weathers in 1996.

TUNING IN: Fox reported the best Game 1 ratings since 2004, with a 10.5 rating and 18 share translating to 16.9-million viewers, a 31 percent increase over last year's St. Louis-Detroit opener. The 2004 St. Louis-Boston opener had a 13.7 rating and 25 share.

MISCELLANY: Both teams are scheduled to work out today in Denver, with Game 3 set for Saturday. ... With Jacoby Ellsbury's stolen base in the first inning Thursday, Taco Bell is on the hook for a free taco to everyone in America, with redemption Tuesday from 2-5 p.m. ... The Sox are the 11th team to win at least six straight Series games. ... First-pitch temperature was 48.

[Last modified October 26, 2007, 01:15:53]