Hitting the wall

Then, in the third inning of last night's 7-2 loss to the Tigers, right fielder J.D. Drew, for whom they haven't made a baseball card big enough to list all the times he's been on the disabled list (seven), nearly impaled himself on the fence in front of the bullpen in a futile attempt to catch Brandon Inge's home run off Tim Wakefield. Drew remained in the game but came out in the top of the eighth for Eric Hinske with what was described as a lower back bruise.

The fact that he didn't immediately head to the clubhouse is encouraging, but with Drew's fragile reputation, warranted or not, he will be closely watched. He left the clubhouse before reporters arrived last night.

"I think they made the fence a perfect height to ruin your back," said third baseman Mike Lowell. "It's not high enough where you can run into, but it's low enough where you feel you can make a play.

"I hope he's all right. It looks like he hit right in the middle of his back. He can't feel too good."

And the Sox have hit a part of their schedule where they want to keep their roster as intact as possible. Besides this four-game set against the defending AL champions, they have the Atlanta Braves, always a tough assignment, coming in for the weekend, then they're off to New York, where the Yankees can't afford to lose more ground, and Texas, never a favored destination. Then it's home for three-game sets against the revived Indians and the Yankees, who are expected to have a Rocket in their pocket by then.

"I think that's the key to any ball club's success, staying healthy with your players," catcher Doug Mirabelli said after the Sox lost for only the second time in their last nine games and fifth in the last 19. "You saw what happened when our guys went down last year.

"You lose some of your key guys, there's a reason why they're in the starting lineup. The guys that are their backups are there to give those guys days off, not to play an extended period of time."