--RHP Clay Buchholz will report to the Arizona Fall League with a group of other Red Sox prospects as part of his offseason program. The Red Sox plan to have the 24-year-old throw 25 innings in the league after a poor rookie season. The front office opted not to bring Buchholz back up to big leagues when rosters expanded in September, and it's expected that the youngster will continue working on his fastball in Arizona. In addition to Buchholz, prospects Aaron Bates, Josh Reddick, T.J. Large, Ryne Lawson, Beau Vaughn and Mark Wagner will play fall ball for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Buchholz finished the season with a 2-9 record and a 6.75 ERA in 16 games.
--RHP Curt Schilling once again chose WEEI 850 radio in Boston as a bully pulpit to toss a collection of verbal barbs at departed LF Manny Ramirez on Wednesday afternoon when the discussion turned to the mercurial slugger. Schilling was speaking on the air with former Sox players Lou Merloni and Brian Daubach, along with radio host Glenn Ordway, and the right-hander strenuously highlighted Ramirez's consistent unreliability as a teammate. "(Manny's) level of disrespect to teammates and people was unfathomable," said Schilling of an outfielder who is garnering MVP consideration during his short-but-brilliant stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers. "The guy got to dress in a locker away from the team for seven years. And then (when) he's on this crusade to get out of here, all of a sudden he's in the locker room every day, voicing his displeasure without even having to play the game that night." Schilling added, "There were times when you had players who were on like fire duty, 'Show up tomorrow, I'm not sure if you're playing or not, we've gotta find out what (Manny) wants to do.' That's not fair to anybody."
--RHP Bartolo Colon left the Red Sox on Wednesday afternoon and reported back to the Dominican Republic to deal with a personal issue. It is now unclear when he'll return to pitch again for team, and in what capacity that will be. Manager Terry Francona and pitching coach John Farrell had voiced interest in talking about a possible bullpen role for the rotund righty, but the 35-year-old didn't appear very interested in working out of the 'pen. The Sox had scheduled a side session for Colon on Wednesday, but that was scrapped when the hurler left the team. Colon is 4-2 with a 3.92 ERA for the Sox this season, and it's unknown when his next mound appearance will come.
--SS Julio Lugo fielded groundballs prior to Wednesday night's loss and appears to be inching closer to a return from a severely strained left quad. Manager Terry Francona estimated that Lugo is operating at roughly 80 percent of his maximum efficiency and still has some hurdles to clear before returning to the active roster. "We have to get him to full-out maximum effort," Francona said. Lugo has been on the 15-day disabled list since July 13 and is going to be hard-pressed to reclaim the starting job from rookie SS Jed Lowrie.
--RHP Tim Wakefield and RHP Paul Byrd appear to be in competition for the same playoff rotation spot as the Sox enter the final two weeks of the regular season. With a playoff bid close to a certainty, the veteran knuckleballer's candidacy took a hit Wednesday when he experienced his second mound implosion in his last three starts. Wakefield is 2-3 with a 7.43 ERA in five starts since coming off the 15-day disabled list with tightness in the back of his right shoulder. Byrd has been solid for the Sox since arriving in trade. He is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA in six starts for Boston.
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.
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