Red Sox Roster

Terry Francona to do some juggling

BOSTON -- It's no secret that the Boston Red Sox are not big fans of interleague play, especially when playing in a National League park.

Even though the Red Sox have had success against NL clubs, compiling a 145-111 record since interleague play began in 1997 for the fourth-best mark in the majors. In fact, Boston leads the big leagues with a 100-53 record since 2003, and the Red Sox have won 21 of their past 27 interleague series, beginning in 2007.

So why do players such as Kevin Youkilis and manager Terry Francona say they're not big fans of interleague play?

Simple: The Red Sox are built a certain way and this type of schedule is not conducive to their roster.

Sure, there are times when the interleague schedule works to a team's advantage, but that's not always the case.

"Sometimes you catch a break, sometimes you don't," Francona said. "Every manager, I bet, would be saying the same thing. You want to be judged on an even schedule. Our division is tough enough as it is.

"We all have opinions and we would love to see a more balanced [schedule]. Then, if you win or you lose, you're playing the same teams or the same strength of schedule."

Francona also admitted, somewhat surprisingly, that he would like to see the designated hitter used in both leagues.

"Yeah, I like the DH. I'm a little surprised I said that, but just watching games, and I think it creates jobs for players, but I think the game is actually more fun," he said. "So many times pitchers go out there, and that's when people go and get popcorn. I understand there's some so-called strategy, but having the DH is better because it makes the game more fun."

The Red Sox are 5-4 this season in interleague play, winning two of three against the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers, but dropping two of three to the San Diego Padres.

The interleague schedule presents some challenges for Francona.

There's no way you want to take David Ortiz's bat out of the lineup, but in games at NL parks there is no DH. Believe it or not, Ortiz is very good defensively but he can only play first base, which means slugging first baseman Adrian Gonzalez has to play elsewhere to utilize both big bats.

Francona recently spoke with Gonzalez, and both agreed playing the outfield during the upcoming schedule would be a strong possibility. Gonzalez has done it in the past, but only for two games while he was playing for the Texas Rangers in 2005. He also played outfield in winter ball.

$20+ million of the Red Sox DL roster, MLB | BallHyped Sports Blogs

The Boston Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in MLB over the past few weeks, but they have something average teams could not afford right now, $20 million dollars of salary sitting on the disabled list. That $20 million is tied up in just two players, and two players which have not been very productive for the Boston Red Sox this season either, LF Carl Crawford and RP Bobby Jenks.

Carl Crawford recently joined the DL for the Red Sox with a Grade 1 hamstring strain and Jenks has not appeared in a game for Boston since June 7th while dealing with a back injury. The injuries don’t seem to be bothering the core of the team, as the Red Sox over the course of the month of June post offensive number which would make the New England Patriots jealous.

Neither have these two players have been a difference maker for the Red Sox this season, yet, if you combine their salaries, they total more than half of the entire roster salary for the Tampa Bay Rays who are just 4.5 games behind them in the AL East. Were these two players wise decisions for Boston to acquire at the cost that came associated with them?

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