Baseball notebook: Yankees’ loss under protest
The New York Yankees have filed their protest of Tuesday night’s loss to the Boston Red Sox.
A spokesman for Major League Baseball confirmed to the Associated Press on Wednesday night that the commissioner’s office received the official paperwork before today’s early deadline.
New York claimed there was no indication of an injury to Red Sox starter Josh Beckett before he came out in the fifth inning. Still, reliever Manny Delcarmen was given all the time he needed to warm up on a damp and chilly night.
The Yankees, who were leading 5-0 at the time, protested to umpire crew chief Larry Vanover after the inning. The team then had 24 hours from the final out of Tuesday night’s 7-6 loss to submit its protest to the commissioner’s office.
Boston put Beckett on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday with a lower back strain. The right-hander had skipped his previous turn in the rotation because of back spasms.
General manager Brian Cashman explained, however, that the issue for the Yankees was not whether Beckett was hurt. Their protest centers on the way he was removed from the game and whether Delcarmen should have been given only the standard eight pitches to warm up.
MLB is expected to respond within five business days.
Tigers rookie Boesch off to historic start
Detroit rookie outfielder Brennan Boesch is off to a record-setting start. According to STATS LLC, Boesch is the only player to hit at least .387 with 19 RBIs, three homers, two triples and have 10 multihit games in his first 20 games since at least 1952.
Clearing the bases
Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez returned to Florida’s lineup after being benched Tuesday for taking shots at manager Fredi Gonzalez and teammates a day after getting yanked from a game for not hustling. … Cleveland placed outfielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list with a deep bone bruise in his left knee. Shelley Duncan was recalled from Triple-A Columbus to take Sizemore’s roster spot. … Tampa Bay reliever J.P. Howell had season-ending surgery on his left shoulder in Birmingham, Ala. The Rays say they are optimistic that Howell will be ready for the start of the 2011 season. … San Francisco activated second baseman Freddy Sanchez from the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Eugenio Velez to Triple-A Fresno to make room for Sanchez. … Jorge Posada has a broken bone in his right foot that the Yankees say will sideline their catcher for three to four weeks.