Hit and Run with Dan Roche

WBZ Radio's Jonny Miller talked with Sox catcher Victor Martinez on Wednesday afternoon and asked him about a story in the Boston Globe that said the Sox have talked to Martinez about a two year contract to stay. Here's how the conversation with Jonny and Victor went:

Jonny: "There was a report in one of the Boston papers today that said you were offered a two year contract?"

Martinez: "Who said that?"

Jonny: "It was in one of the Boston papers. Number one, would you accept a two year contract?..."

Martinez:  "No....No......No."

Jonny:  "And, would you like to stay in Boston? Would you like to have things worked out?"

Martinez: "I would like to stay, but not on a two year deal. I don't think I'll be signing a two year deal with anybody. We'll see what happens."

Martinez will turn 32 in December and I'm sure he'll be looking for at the very least three years and more likely a 4 or 5 year deal.

We'll have much more soon on the State of the Sox, but just a couple of side notes as far as baseball is concerned on this Monday.

--Roger Clemens gets arraigned for perjury and then has golf plans? No matter what the cause or reason for the golfing gig, you have to give that up. I think everyone would understand. Ridiculous.

--Hard to believe that Aroldis Chapman hit 105 mph on the radar gun this past weekend. Even harder to believe that if it is indeed true....that he isn't up with the Reds yet.

--The Sox need a Colorado Rockies hot streak/miracle to make the postseason now. Have to respect what they've done to get here though. Makes me laugh though to hear the chatter...."Injuries have decimated this team....but......   And then people proceed to crush the team for what they've done.

Like I said more on that later.....

Get ready for non-stop Terry Francona "second guessing" for days, weeks, months, etc....

And, it's the right of every baseball fan. I certainly respect that.

However, I didn't have a problem with Francona sticking with starter Clay Buchholz Saturday night in Boston's crushing 3-2, 10-inning loss to the Tampa Bay Rays down in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Sox took a 2-1 in the top of the 8th inning on a Victor Martinez solo home run. And, instead of bringing in Daniel Bard to start the bottom of the 8th, Francona opted to keep Buchholz in the game.

Buchholz had thrown 107 pitches through 7 innings. He had given up just one unearned run on 3 hits while walking two and striking out five. Buchholz has been one of the aces of the staff from day one. He had pitched into the 8th inning 7 times in 22 starts and was only at 107 pitches.

I didn't have a problem with it. The run he gave up was on a single, an errant pick-off throw and a Sac-fly foul ball down the RF line. He was throwing well. He's a Cy Young candidate. You expect him to get the job done.

Terry Francona felt that Buchholz could get the two righthanders at the bottom of the order in BJ Upton and Jason Bartlett. After that, he had Felix Doubront and Daniel Bard ready.

Didn't work out.

Francona didn't throw the pitch to Bard either.

And, if Bard comes in and gives up a bomb to Upton, Tito will be second-guessed for taking Buchholz out.

That's just the way it works in the game.......

Buchholz hung a curveball to Upton, who rips the home run to left. Tie ballgame.

You draw up a formula for big games and the Red Sox pretty much followed it in their 3-1 series opening win Friday night Florida against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Jon Lester, who gave up 9 earned runs in just two innings of work in his last start against Toronto, came up huge. Lester, who had an extra couple of days rest, didn't have great command but battled all night long. He worked 7 innings, giving up an unearned run on just two hits. He did walk five, but got two double plays and a huge throw out at the plate from Darnell McDonald. Lester struck out 10 Rays.

The defense was big. Two double plays, as I mentioned, as well as that big play in the 6th inning where McDonald gunned down BJ Upton at the plate in a 2-1 game. Victor Martinez did a great job of holding onto the throw and then blocking Upton from tagging the plate. As big a play as you'll find. credit McDonald, who leads the Sox with 7 outfield assists this season. Nice play.

The hitting star was Victor Martinez, who was "on" against Tampa Bay ace David Price. Martinez hits two solo home runs and leads the charge.

The perfect way to start a critical series. Now, it's up to Clay Buchholz to keep it going Saturday night against the always Red Sox tough righty Matt Garza.

It still amazes me that seemingly every day during this 2010 season that the Red Sox have an injury update on one or more of its star players.

The Sox have 34 games remaining and are still alive for a play-off spot...no matter what anyone else tells you. Boston is 5-1/2 games behind both the Yankees and Tampa Bay in the AL East and Wild Card races.

--they play both teams six more times this season

--the Rays and Yankees square off seven more times

Will it be hard to catch either team? Absolutely. Especially with Ellsbury, Pedroia, and Youkilis all pretty much done for the year. Yet, it's possible because this team just won't stop playing hard every day.

The other factor to think about is that if TB of NY dominates the other in those 7 games...then anything can happen.

It starts Friday night. Hopefully, it''ll be a fun September in Boston.

A story that is not exactly surprising, but WBZ-TV has confirmed through a source that Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia's season is in "serious jeopardy" as he continues to deal with problems stemming from a broken left foot.

Pedroia will be in a protective boot for the next 10 days and then will be re-examined by doctors. Hopefully Pedroia will avoid having surgery, but it's too soon to tell.

Pedroia was placed on the disabled list in late June after breaking his foot when he fouled off a pitch in a game on Friday June 25th in San Francisco. He came off the D-L on August 17th, but was only able to play in two games due to soreness in the foot.

Pedroia is hitting .288 with 12 HRS and 41 RBI in 75 games this season.

Nick Cafrado of the Boston Globe first reported the story.

The decision made by Johnny Damon to not return to Boston is a head-scratcher in many ways, but it is also understandable.

I think Johnny is making a mistakeby not coming back to Boston. If I had a chance to talk with him, I would have simply told him that returning would have fixed a problem that he'll have when his career is over. Damon has had a tremendous career and is a borderline Hall of Fame candidate. He helped the Red Sox achieve something they hadn't been able to in 86 long years when they won the World Series in 2004. Damon will always be loved for that in this city.

I would tell Johnny that the reason why he was treated poorly in this city and ballpark when he returned was simply because of the uniform he was wearing. Put a Yankee uniform on any former Sox player and the boo-birds will come out in full force. I know Damon was one of THE main reasons why the Sox won the WS, but again, it doesn't mater. Kevin Mllar, Derek Lowe, Dave Roberts, Gabe Kapler, Pedro Martinez.....all came back and received standing ovations. They all were wearing other uniforms.

I guarantee that if Damon came back to Boston and played for the Sox he would receive all the love he deserves.

And, it would change how he would feel about his career when it was over. I know it would. He wouldn't be angry or bitter about Boston management and its fans.

Now, I also understand that he's human. It couldn't have been much fun from 2006 to now to come back to Boston and get treated harshly. At the park, on the streets, out to deinner, etc...I know it was tough on Johnny. And, yes he knew when he signed with NY for 12-million dollars more that he would hear it from the fans. However, I don't think he ever dreamed it would as bad as it was every time he came here. And I'm sure he's angry about that and not really sure what would happen if he came back.

Damon also wanted desperately to stay with Boston when he was a free agent. He tried to tell Terry Francona and others that he had a huge offer from another team. He just wanted to have a chance to negotiate again with the Sox. However, Boston had given him a 4 X 10-million dollar offer. Even though it wasn't as "take-it-or-leave-it" as Damon thought it was, Johnny thought that was it. So, he took the offer which was 30-percent higher. 30-percent! That's a lot.

Damon also said he felt a loyalty to the Tigers. I appreciate that. He likes his teammates. However, he's only been there since February and he's not expected to re-sign. I suspect he may feel a stronger loyalty to Jason Varitek and David Ortiz.

So, as much as I respect Damon's decision not to come back, I'm still disappointed. I thought he could help this team as it heads to Tampa Bay for a season-defining this weekend. Would have been great to have him. And long-term for Johnny it would have been a great thing as well.

There could be several reasons as to why the Red Sox claimed Johnny Damon off of waivers from the Detroit Tigers.

Damon, even at the age of 36, can hit and score runs. He's got an OBP of .355 and has scored 65 runs in 111 games. In each of the prior 12 seasons, Damon scored 93 runs or more. We also know what he brings to a clubhouse...a passion for the game, an every day calmness, toughness, and respect.

The Sox may have claimed him knowing that Damon would not want to come here and thus would be keeping him away from the Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays.

The Sox could use the marketing. Damon was adored by many fans and perhaps it would help sell tickets down the stretch.

I just think Damon would help the Sox if he came here. He was part of the greatest comebacking team in history and with Jacoby Ellsbury down, they could use him.

WIll Damon accept? WIll he waive his no-trade clause to come here? Good question. I think if Ortiz, Tek, Wake, Tito and others get to him...then they can convince him to come here.

Meanwhile, I think the majority of Sox fans would welcome him back with open arms. Yeah, some fans ae angry that he left for the Yamkees, but I would think they would also understand that baseball is a business. And, that without Damon the 2004 Sox don't win the World Series.

It's a no-brainer. Get Johnny Damon back in a Red Sox uniform.

Alex Speier has another positive update on rehabbing Sox outfield prospect Ryan Westmoreland as he comes back from brain surgery.

I remember running into a doctor this spring who is a friend of mine right after the news broke that Westmoreland was going to have the surgery and his thoughts have stuck with me every time I've seen Westmoreland or read about him.

The doc basically said that although it would be a dangerous surgery, there was no reason to think that it went well...then Westmoreland should able to have a full recovery. And yes, that included one day being able to play baseball again.

Now, as far as how good Westmoreland would or could ever be....well, he said nobody knows that.

However, it just struck me how positive the doctor was that Westmoreland would be ok.

And, that's how I've looked at this story this summer while also praying that Westmoreland will be able to pursue his dream.

So let's all keep our fingers crossed.....

The general sense you get from the Red Sox these days is that they are very proud of where they are. And, well they should be.

This is a group that sits at 71-54, a whopping 17 games over .500 despite all the injuries.

We will never see a season like this again. These injuries just won't stop.

The two that put me over the top were Jarrod Saltalamacchia coming in here after the Sox tried to trade for him for years and being forced to the sidelines with a leg infection. And then Carlos Delgado goes on the DL with Pawtucket as he tries to get into form for a final shot at the big leagues.

Are you kidding me?

Yet this team never stopped trying. Says a lot about the character of these guys as well as manager Terry Francona.

Do they have anything left? Don't know, but they are worth watching simply out of respect for what they've done to get to this point.