--3B Mike Lowell sat in on a conference call with his agents, hip specialists and Sox team doctors on Friday afternoon and it was determined that the gutsy third baseman will attempt to play next week. Lowell will sit out the next 4-5 games after tweaking the partially torn labrum in his right hip last Tuesday, and the Sox hope that the third baseman can return during Boston's final seven-game homestand of the season. Lowell and the Sox expect that rest as well as treatment and medication will allow him to play fully in the postseason, but there's also a chance the tough third baseman won't be able to fight through the painful injury. "We'll try to play him enough next week where he's healthy enough to play, but also hasn't lost so much at the plate," said manager Terry Francona. "That'll be determined some on how he feels. Maybe there's a day we could DH him. I don't know. We're right smack in the middle of a pennant race, too. (The point is) for him to be as healthy as he can. So we'll take the next four or five days and see if we can get him there."
--RHP Bartolo Colon was suspended without pay by the Red Sox on Friday after leaving the team for the Dominican Republic two days before, and then reportedly deciding that he didn't want to pitch out of Boston's bullpen. The 35-year-old had twice skipped meetings in Tampa with manager Terry Francona and pitching John Farrell to discuss his immediate future with the Sox, and had previously appeared hesitant about pitching relief. Colon is likely to stay in the Dominican Republic for the rest of the season, and it's highly doubtful the rotund righty will ever throw a pitch for the Sox again. --1B Sean Casey entered Friday night with a lifetime .548 batting average (14-for-26) against Toronto RHP A.J. Burnett and cranked a clutch two-run double in the fifth inning against the electric-armed right-hander. The two RBIs on Friday night doubled the number of runs batted in that Casey has amassed since Aug. 1, and was undoubtedly the biggest hit that the lefty swinger has enjoyed in some time. With Lowell out of the lineup over the next four or five days, Casey is a player that will be expected to receive a great deal of playing time at first base. Casey is hitting .333 with 15 RBIs in 64 games for the Sox this season.
--OF Jacoby Ellsbury is riding a 10-game hitting streak during which he is hitting at a .326 clip (15-for-46) and showing the same kind of offensive spark that he displayed last September. Ellsbury is also third in the American League with 31 infield hits this season, which is the highest total for a Sox player since former OF Johnny Damon piled up 33 infield hits in 2005. Within the 31 infield hits, Ellsbury has also racked up nine bunt base hits in his rookie season.
--RHP Manny Delcarmen earned the win in Friday night's game and has worked 7 2/3 scoreless innings during a red-hot stretch for the 26-year-old setup man. Delcarmen has an 0.47 ERA in his last 15 appearances and has watched his plummeting ERA drop from 4.53 to 3.44 during that time. The young righty has always had jaw-dropping stuff and the ability to dominate, and it seems that he's putting everything together just in time for the Sox. Delcarmen along with RHP Justin Masterson and LHP Hideki Okajima have given the Sox a strong bullpen corps with the playoffs looming.
BY THE NUMBERS: 5 -- Number of one-run losses that the Sox suffered at Tropicana Field at the hands of the Rays this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "We're fine. We've just got to keep on playing. I never noticed the difference between winning the division and the Wild Card. As long as you're in, you're in." --DH David Ortiz, talking about a preference of entering the playoffs as a division winner or wild card entry.
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