--OF Jason Bay was out of the starting lineup and wasn't with the team after hurriedly reporting back to Boston to attend the birth of his second child. Bay's wife, Kristen, gave birth to a healthy daughter named Evelyn Jane early Tuesday evening, and the left fielder was expected to be away with wife and baby over the next few days. Bay was able to get to the hospital roughly 45 minutes before his daughter's birth at 6:47 p.m. OF Jacoby Ellsbury started for Bay in left field, and manager Terry Francona was hopeful that Bay would be able to rejoin the team in Toronto on Friday.
--Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is on the verge of agreeing to a contract extension that will keep him heading Boston baseball operations. Epstein and the Sox had been engaged in private negotiations while in the final year of his current deal, and principal owner John Henry originally referenced the deal in the past tense during an e-mail exchange with the Boston Globe on Tuesday afternoon. All parties involved clarified that there is still some work to be done before the pact is completed, but the new contract appears close to complete. "I got a little ahead of where we are today in commenting on what have been refreshingly private negotiations," wrote Henry in an e-mail meant to clarify the status of negotiations. "We are not done, but we expect to have an announcement in the near future. I have asked all involved not to comment until this is finalized." --OF J.D. Drew rejoined the team in Tampa Bay on Tuesday afternoon after attending funeral services for his grandmother in Georgia. The right fielder had also received a cortisone shot into the muscles surrounding his lower back Friday, and he said that he felt improvement over the past few days. Drew hit in the indoor cage and aimed to take batting practice before Wednesday afternoon's game in Tampa Bay. If all goes well, the Sox hope that he will be able to return during a three-game series in Toronto that begins Friday. Drew hasn't played in a game for the Sox since leaving with an injured lower back on Aug. 17, and he has battled intermittent back stiffness and pain ever since.
--RHP Bartolo Colon is expected to pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season. Sox management had been toying with the idea over the last week and met with Colon about a potential move to the bullpen before Tuesday night's game. The 35-year-old was reportedly hesitant to make the transition from starting pitcher to the bullpen after a negative experience with the Angels last season. Colon has appeared in only three games out of the 'pen during his 11-year career, but there isn't any room for him in a healthy Boston rotation.
--3B Mike Lowell continues to gut out a slight tear of the labrum in his right hip, but he seemed to aggravate the injury on a chopper to third base in the fourth inning of Tuesday's loss. Lowell displayed a painful-looking gait to first base after singling in the top of the ninth inning and was removed for PR Jonathan Van Every. Lowell said that he now feels pain in the field when he's twisting his hips and is battling "tightness" when he's slowly running the bases. "It's sore. That chopper didn't really do any justice for me. It's just frustrating. On the off-balance throws it really grabs me and then it goes away," Lowell said.
BY THE NUMBERS: 100 -- RBIs reached by Kevin Youkilis on Sept. 10, a career high for Youkilis and a signal of the offensive breakthrough the Sox slugger has enjoyed this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "My hand is not OK. It's still (bothering) me once in a while. But we're still winning, so I don't pay attention to it. I keep on trying. There's no pain. Clicking. If there was pain, I wouldn't be playing. Pain won't allow you to play like that. It's the same thing, on and off." -- DH David Ortiz, talking about the continued discomfort in his left wrist that he'll be playing through for the rest of the season.
Play FOX Fantasy Football Today >
