Sox can't catch a break

They lose to Indians -- and also will lose Varitek, who needs knee surgery

August 02, 2006|Globe Staff

There's a vacancy sign on the captain's chair in the Red Sox clubhouse. That doesn't bode well for them on a night when they lost, 6-3, to the Cleveland Indians and fell into a virtual tie with the Yankees for first place in the American League East after holding sole possession of the top spot for the last 44 days.

Jason Varitek has not relinquished the red ``C" on his chest, but the catcher will need arthroscopic surgery to repair partially torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee, an injury that will require Varitek to join right fielder Trot Nixon on the disabled list, along with starting pitchers Tim Wakefield and Matt Clement. Varitek's surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning, Terry Francona said, and although the manager would not speculate on how long he'll be out, it is expected to be at least a month, according to club sources.

Losing a starting position player a day is not a prescription for success -- the Sox have lost 4 of 6 and are .002 points behind the Yankees -- especially on a night when the starting pitcher, Jason Johnson, is called up from Pawtucket because the man scheduled to pitch, Kyle Snyder, had been pressed into service as a reliever for 4 1/3 scoreless innings a night earlier.

The night would not have been complete without one more casualty, and Mike Lowell obliged by fouling a pitch off his right foot while whiffing for the third time. Alex Cora replaced Lowell at third base in the ninth, but X-rays were negative, and the injury was described as a bruise.

``Those are things that are out of your control, and so you can't really do too much about them," second baseman Mark Loretta said of the back-to-back disablements. ``We just have to find a way to dig deep and the guys who get an opportunity have to step up.

``Hopefully we get [Varitek] back sometime in early September for the final push. But an injury like that, for a catcher, is tougher than it would be for an outfielder."

The Sox looked as wounded as the black bird that briefly took a perch on second base in the eighth inning before hopping its way around the premises. Evidently, the bird could not fly, and neither could the Sox, who managed just one run -- Loretta's first homer in 110 at-bats -- in eight innings against Indians lefthander C.C. Sabathia, the two-time All-Star who had lost his previous three starts but tamed the Sox, who were 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position.