Flu hits Red Sox; Delcarmen sent home
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
BOSTON (AP) -The flu is about the only thing that can slow the Red Sox lately.
Boston, which has won five straight games and nine of 10 entering Tuesday's game against the Los Angeles Angels, were without reliever Manny Delcarmen and catcher Jason Varitek.
Delcarmen changed out of his uniform and into street clothes and went home about an hour before the game started. Varitek, who appeared weak while walking around the clubhouse, was also expected to be sidelined with the flu.
''I hope I don't get it like Tek,'' Delcarmen said. ''Tek is really bad right now. I'm going home.''
Red Sox manager Terry Francona said Varitek would be unavailable, too.
''He came in,'' he said. ''We're getting him out of here.''
During his pregame meeting with the media, Francona said second baseman Dustin Pedroia was the backup to Tuesday's starting catcher Kevin Cash.
''Everybody who has always volunteered, (Alex) Cora or (Mike) Lowell, guys who say they can do it, are on the DL,'' Francona said. ''Pedroia was next in line and, at this point, as soon as somebody tells you they can do it, that's good enough. Honestly, the only way we'd ever do it is if something happened to (Kevin) Cash. We're not going to pinch-hit or pinch-run, and as long as someone can go back there and not get hurt and catch it, that's what you look for.''
Third basemen Lowell was placed on the 15-day DL April 10 with a sprained right thumb. Cora, a utility infielder, went on April 16 with a sprained right elbow.
''At least I have an idea if something happens,'' Pedroia said before the game. ''I think the last time I did was in high school.''
When asked if he'd call for fastball from hard-throwing closer Jonathan Papelbon, Pedroia joked: ''I might chase it to the backstop, though.''
Injured Rodriguez not in Yankees starting lineup
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO (AP) -Injured Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez missed his first game of the season, out for Tuesday night's matchup with the Chicago White Sox.
Rodriguez, batting .308 with four homers and 10 RBIs, strained his right quadriceps Sunday at Baltimore. Morgan Ensberg was listed as the starting third baseman against Chicago.
Rodriguez will rejoin the team on Thursday. He will be re-evaluated then to see how well his quadriceps has responded to treatment. It was unknown when he would play again.
The third baseman was in Miami, where his wife gave birth to their second daughter Monday night.
''Everyone is going well. A new baby girl, so that's exciting,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said Tuesday.
''Obviously he has his little quad problem. He'll rejoin us Thursday. I don't know if he'll be able to play Thursday, we'll just how he how the treatments go and how he responds to it.''
The Yankees want to make sure they don't hurry him back too soon.
''We'll make that evaluation on Thursday, where we think he's at,'' Girardi said. ''One thing you can't do is rush him and then lose him for a long period of time.''
But then again, the Yankees need him back whenever he's ready.
''We don't want to DL him if he could be back four or five, six, seven days,'' Girardi said.
Girardi said Rodriguez was planning to get treatment Tuesday.
''Alex is such a great conditioned athlete that hopefully. ... maybe he responds quicker to treatment than a normal being,'' Girardi said. ''He said he was going to shoot for Friday, maybe Thursday, but he didn't think he'd be able to play before that.''
Reds GM Krivsky fired
The Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday fired general manager Wayne Krivsky and replaced him with former St. Louis Cardinals executive Walt Jocketty.
Jocketty, who spent 13 years in the Cardinals front office before coming to Cincinnati this season as special advisor, becomes the club's president of baseball operations and GM.
The team will introduce Jocketty at a 4 p.m. EDT press conference Wednesday.
A former assistant GM with the Minnesota Twins, Krivsky was hired in February 2006 to replace Dan O'Brien, becoming the first general manger to be hired under the Reds ownership group led by Bob Castellini.
The Reds went 152-172 over the past two seasons, finishing no higher than third in the National League Central. This season, the club is 9-12 and 5 1/2 games out of first place.
During Jocketty's tenure as vice president and general manager in St. Louis, the club reached the playoffs seven times and won the World Series in 2006.
Fired by the Cardinals at the end of the 2007 season after a sluggish 78-84 campaign, Jocketty was hired by the Reds January 11 as special advisor to Castellini.