Boston Red Sox baseball team

Brandon Jacobs works out every day in his hometown of Lilburn, Ga. He hits, lifts, runs and — like everyone else in the land of the Southeastern Conference — is waiting for Monday’s BCS Championship Game.

Jacobs has more of a personal stake than most who are not tied to Auburn University. He could have been lining up at tailback behind Tigers quarterback Cam Newton against Oregon.

“I think about it,” says Jacobs. “They told me I would have a chance to play as a freshman, so by now, as a sophomore, I might have been playing.”

Jacobs originally signed to play for Auburn in the summer before his 2008-09 senior year at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Ga. He looked hard at the University of Georgia and a couple of other schools but signed with Tommy Tuberville and Auburn to play tailback, as well as play baseball. He was described by one scouting service as “a tailback in a fullback’s body,” somewhere around 6 feet tall and between 225-240 pounds.

Tuberville eventually was replaced by Gene Chizik, and Jacobs listened to the charge put on him by the University of Florida, but by then he was wrapped up in his high school baseball season.

“Baseball was always my first love,” says Jacobs.

At the time, Donavan Tate, a quarterback and center fielder, was the toast of Georgia high school baseball and so much the darling of the scouts that he eventually was the third overall pick by the San Diego Padres in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft.

But one area scout described Jacobs as one of the “best pure hitters I’d ever seen. He reminded me of an 18-year-old Kevin Mitchell. He could run, he played hard and he made contact. I think he struck out four times his entire senior year.”

Jacobs continued to prepare to report to Auburn that July, but as the baseball Draft approached, he worked out for several teams. He went to Turner Field in Atlanta and put on what one scout described as “a show,” hitting rocket after rocket into the seats. But when the Draft arrived, most teams thought it would cost too much to sign him away from the opportunity to play big-time SEC football, even though the coaching staff had changed.

The Red Sox took Jacobs in the 10th round, and within days had the framework of a deal somewhere in the $800,000 neighborhood, well above the Commissioner’s Office’s slot level for that round, which meant they had to sit on the signing to get it through.

Boston did the same thing last June with 6-foot-2 running back and outfielder Kendrick Perkins from LaPorta, Texas, who had signed to play football at Texas A&M but, after being picked in the sixth round by the Red Sox, quickly announced his intention to play baseball. In past years, Boston did the same thing and signed QB-pitcher Casey Kelly, safety-outfielder Ryan Kalish and punter-third baseman Will Middlebrooks, who were signed with Tennessee, Virginia and Texas A&M, respectively.

Jacobs says that while he will be watching intently and rooting for friends on the Auburn team like tight end Philip Lutzenkirchen.

“I have no regrets,” Jacobs said. “I don’t miss [football]. I love baseball, I had a great experience playing in Lowell [New York-Penn League] this past summer, where the ballpark was packed every night.

“A lot went into my decision to sign with Boston. I thought a lot about the longevity of the career, the injury risk. I really thought baseball was what I was going to play in the long run, and why wait four years to get started. I know I have a long way to go, but I’m very pleased with the decision I made.”

In his first full professional season, Jacobs had modest numbers in his 64 games for Lowell — a .242 average, .308 OBP, .411 slugging percentage, six homers, 26 extra base hits. Most scouts who saw him used the word “raw,” yet were intrigued by his bat and athleticism.

It’s not as if Jacobs couldn’t turn back to football should he not hit. Take Brandon Weeden. He was the Yankees’ second-round pick as a right-hander in 2002, signed, was traded after the ’03 season with Jeff Weaver and Yhency Brazoban for Kevin Brown, was taken by the Royals in the Rule 5 draft and eventually retired. This fall, at the age of 27, Weeden led Oklahoma State to an 11-win season, completing 25 passes in the Alamo Bowl.

Major League Baseball frowns on clubs going above slot to sign amateurs, but those who want to see a continued influx of athletic talents — and know that with the NCAA scholarship limits, college baseball programs cannot attract many lower income and minority kids — feel that teams have to do what the Red Sox did with Jacobs, Kelly and Kalish. Without Kelly, Boston wouldn’t have Adrian Gonzalez, and Kalish is expected to be a regular outfielder by 2012. The Yankees didn’t get what they hoped from Weeden, but they went above slot to sign the Georgia Tech-bound shooting guard Austin Jackson and turned him into a trade for Curtis Granderson. The Tigers went above slot to sign Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin and dealt them for Miguel Cabrera, who may well be headed for Cooperstown.

“I’ll be watching [Monday],” said Jacobs, “but, to be honest, I’m more excited about Spring Training. I’m a baseball player. I’d love to be there in Arizona, but I’d rather be playing in Boston someday.”

The Red Sox are on the verge of landing the key piece to their bullpen that general manager Theo Epstein has been searching for all winter.

Bobby Jenks, the closer who was non-tendered by the White Sox earlier this month, has agreed to a two-year, $12 million contract with Boston, a person familiar with negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was not yet final. The agreement was first reported by ESPN.com.

The Red Sox have yet to announce the addition of Jenks, as the club does not comment on any transaction until it is official.

Boston has a four-time All-Star closer in Jonathan Papelbon, who is under contract for one more season. By adding Jenks with Papelbon and Daniel Bard, the Red Sox could have one of the best 1-2-3 late-inning punches in the league.

The other possibility is that the Red Sox could trade Papelbon, who is eligible for arbitration and could make close to $11 million in 2011. Earlier this offseason, Epstein tried to sign future Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera away from the Yankees. If that move had been completed, he would have either traded Papelbon or non-tendered him. Instead, Rivera returned to New York.

Initial efforts to reach Jenks and his agent, Greg Genske, were unsuccessful.

While Epstein pushed hard for other free agents like Scott Downs, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain, Jenks wasn’t a name linked to the Red Sox on the rumor mill, perhaps because of Papelbon’s presence and the assumption that Jenks was likely to land a closing job.

Much like Papelbon, Jenks had a down year in 2010, posting a 4.44 ERA in 55 games. The righty converted 27 of 31 save opportunities. Jenks’ season ended on Sept. 4 because of issues in the ulnar nerve in his throwing elbow.

Jenks would be the latest significant addition to a Boston team that has added star hitters Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford to the roster in the last couple of weeks.

The 29-year-old Jenks broke into the Major Leagues in 2005, starting as a setup man but emerging into the closer by that October, when the White Sox won the World Series. He has made 329 appearances in the Majors, posting a 3.40 ERA and notching 334 strikeouts over 341 2/3 innings. He posted a career-high 41 saves in ’06 and came back with 40 more the following year.

The Red Sox added another body to their infield mix on Thursday, when they acquired Minor League veteran Brent Dlugach from Detroit in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named. The other half of the transaction will have to be finalized by April 15 of next season, giving Boston all of Spring Training to evaluate Dlugach first.

"We see him as a plus-fielding shortstop who's got a little bit of pop as well who provides depth at that position," said Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "This time of year, there are always certain positions where you're trying to build significant depth because of that attrition that happens. You can pick up center fielders, shortstops, catchers, arms, build organizational depth, it often makes sense. He's somebody who I think was in a bit of a roster squeeze in Detroit and we were able to acquire him at a cost that made sense."

Dlugach, a sixth-round selection in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft, has spent his entire career in Detroit's organization. The 27-year-old has played shortstop for much of his Minor League apprenticeship, and he's hit .267 for his career. Dlugach, who batted .258 with 34 extra-base hits for Triple-A Toledo this season, made a brief cameo with the Tigers in 2009.

"We certainly have established shortstops on the Major League roster, but this is somebody who has some well above average defensive skills, and we'll bring him to Spring Training and see where he fits into the organizational hierarchy at short," said Epstein.

Dlugach spent his first two pro seasons in the lower rungs of Detroit's organization, and he didn't make it up to Triple-A for good until 2009. Dlugach batted .294 with nine home runs and 59 RBIs for Toledo in '09 and was named an International League All-Star. Dlugach has scored 247 runs and driven in 234 more during his seven-season Minor League career.

He played his college ball at the University of Memphis, and after playing exclusively as a shortstop for several seasons, he's begun to move around the infield. Last season, for instance, Dlugach played 100 games at shortstop, 14 at third base and two at second base. Now, the Red Sox will evaluate him in regards to a future utility role.

BOSTON — The Red Sox did not like the idea of David Ortiz becoming a free agent, so they made sure it didn't happen. Instead, the club exercised the $12.5 million option on the star slugger, who has reached iconic status during his eight years in Boston.

Ortiz has said in several interviews in recent months that a multiyear extension would be more to his liking than the one-year option. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said the sides discussed multiyear packages earlier this week, but that common ground was not reached. He added that Ortiz responded well to the option being picked up.

"Well, first of all, we're very happy to get this resolved today in a manner that was ultimately acceptable to both parties," Epstein said. "That was important to us, to be honest with you. I don't think we were that interested in picking up an option if it was going to be seen as burdensome to the player or unfair to the player.

"That was a component of these talks, to make sure that ultimately David was content and comfortable playing on the option. Because if you're going to pick up an option of this magnitude, you want to make sure it does work for both sides. He's happy now. We made sure of that before we reached our final decision. Both sides are moving forward, committed to the 2011 Red Sox winning as many games as we possibly can."

Efforts to reach Ortiz were unsuccessful.

By exercising the option before Thursday's midnight ET deadline to do so, the Red Sox secured Ortiz's services for 2011 and continued a relationship with a player who has had some of the biggest hits in franchise history.

"David is a player who is very important to our ownership and to our fans, and given these feelings — the fact that he's still very productive and the fact that there was a one-year solution built into the contract, this seemed like not only the most likely outcome, but also the one that balanced all the variables and factors in the most appropriate manner."

If Boston had declined the option, Ortiz would have been a free agent for the first time since the Minnesota Twins released him following the 2002 season.

In light of the contracts signed by established veteran designated hitters like Vladimir Guerrero and Hideki Matsui last winter, it's unlikely Ortiz would have received an annual salary as high as $12.5 million on the open market. But Epstein acknowledged that for a player of Ortiz's stature, it came down to more than just pure business.

"I think we're dealing with a player who has made unique contributions to the success of the franchise since this ownership group has been here, and that can be a factor in resolving these situations as well," said Epstein. "Ultimately, we're in the business of winning, and we have to build a team that wins and you have to make tough decisions. Given the fact that it's a one-year deal and the fact that it was built into the contract to begin with, and the good feeling about what David has done in the past and meant to this franchise and what he currently means to the franchise and this ownership group, this really made sense.

"Not to mention, the most important factor of all — he's still very productive and he's arguably the best and most impactful player at his position in the game. That [meshes] with our winning approach."

In addition, the Red Sox will also exercise the club option on reliever Scott Atchison, who returned from a two-year stint from Japan and turned in a solid season.

The Sox declined the options on Bill Hall and Felipe Lopez. Hall was a valuable utilityman for Boston in 2010 and could factor into the team's plans for next season depending on how the offseason shakes out.

"We'd love to have Bill Hall back under the right circumstances," Epstein said. "I thought he blossomed this year in the super-utility role. He played so well, in fact, especially in terms of his power production, that he might attract interest from a number of teams as an everyday player to get more substantial playing time. If that happens, I'm sure that would be of interest to Billy. But if later in the offseason he's in a position to consider a super-utility role and based on the moves we've made with our everyday players that type of player makes sense on our roster, I'm sure we'll be talking. He was nothing but a great teammate while he was here, and a contributing player."

Lopez was a late-season pickup after being released by the Cardinals. He is likely to seek a more prominent role elsewhere.

But the most significant news of the day, by far, was that Ortiz — who turns 35 in two weeks — will continue his tenure with the Red Sox. The left-handed designated hitter has gotten off to nightmarish starts in each of the past two seasons, and both times he dealt with enormous scrutiny, answering near daily questions about whether he was finished as a productive hitter.

In 2009 and 2010, Ortiz responded in dramatic fashion, particularly this past season. After hitting .143 with a homer and four RBIs in April, Ortiz went on a tear in May, hitting .363 with 10 homers and 27 RBIs and was named the American League's Player of the Month.

"I think each of the last two years, the most impressive part of David's performance has been the way he's bounced back from the tough starts," Epstein said. "You know, this is not an easy market to recover after a difficult start, especially a player of David's stature and all the attention that his performance gets on a daily basis. The fact that he was able to dig himself out of really difficult holes both times and go on to put up impressive seasons, that was encouraging, and certainly if he gets off to a better start next year and is able to maintain that level of production, it bodes well."

Ortiz's 2010 season was his most productive in just about every category since 2007, as he hit .270 with 32 homers, 102 RBIs and an .899 OPS.

Big Papi became a cult hero in Boston in 2004 when he produced countless clutch hits in the club's march to its first World Series championship in 86 years. Ortiz came up big again in '07, as the Red Sox won it all for the second time in four years. The Red Sox have qualified for the postseason six times in the eight years Ortiz has been with the team.

Since coming to Boston, Ortiz has become a fixture not only at Fenway, but also in the community. Ortiz is one of the only players on the team who spends much of the offseason in the area, and he even has a restaurant — Big Papi's Grille — in a Boston suburb.

When Ortiz first arrived in Boston, he was a platoon player just competing for playing time with Shea Hillenbrand, Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar and Jeremy Giambi. But starting on June 1 of that 2003 season, Ortiz blossomed into one of the most feared hitters in the game.

Ortiz's six 30-homer seasons with Boston tie him with Manny Ramirez for second on the club's all-time list, trailing only Ted Williams, who did it eight times. With the Red Sox, Ortiz has hit .286 with 291 homers and 932 RBIs. In his career, he is a .281 hitter with 349 homers and 1,170 RBIs. He has been an All-Star six times in the last seven seasons.

The walk-off hit has become an Ortiz trademark, as he's produced 18 of them in his time with the Red Sox, 11 of them home runs.

Now that his option has been picked up, Ortiz can add to those totals, and in turn, his legacy.

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BOSTON — Marco Scutaro drifted back to catch a popup, and it seemed that Clay Buchholz’s performance was about to continue with another shutout inning in what could have been his 17th victory.

But as Scutaro reached back to snag it, the ball stunningly ticked off his glove, and the entire course of the game shifted badly for Boston.

Adam Jones raced all the way home from first to tie the game with two outs in the top of the sixth, and yet another thoroughly frustrating night was in full motion for the Red Sox, who took a 9-1 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night.

“He didn’t get behind it,” said manager Terry Francona. “The ball, once it starts [carrying], you can see once it got over his head, he wasn’t going to catch up to it. That’s a shame, because we’re going into that sequence thinking, ‘OK, maybe Buck can go another inning. We have [Daniel] Bard and [Jonathan Papelbon].’ That certainly didn’t end up being the case.”

Scutaro, who has played shortstop for most of the season before recently switching to second base to protect his ailing right rotator cuff, was unavailable for comment during the media access period after the game.

Instead of having Buchholz come out for the seventh, perhaps setting off the Bard-to-Papelbon handoff that Francona envisioned, everything deteriorated for the Sox.

If the dropped popup off the bat of Felix Pie was the first dagger, the three-run homer by Ty Wigginton that hooked around Pesky’s Pole an inning later was the finishing blow.

The home run pitch was served up by Scott Atchison, who had posted a 0.75 ERA over his last eight outings.

“Really, I was up a little bit, but I made a couple pitches, and then Wigginton did a good job with a pitch that was away. It was up a little bit, but it was away, and that was the difference in the ballgame,” said Atchison.

On a night when the middle of Boston’s order was nearly silent, those two moments were enough for the Orioles, who blew it open even more with four runs in the ninth inning off Papelbon.

The Red Sox are 1-4 on this six-game homestand and have slipped to nine games behind the Yankees in the American League East and 6 1/2 in back of the Rays in the AL Wild Card standings. Francona’s team has 11 games left in 2010.

“The last three or four innings weren’t real good,” Francona said. “I would think we’re all kind of frustrated, giving up that amount of runs after playing a real clean, crisp game. We didn’t have much to show offensively. Their guy [Brad Bergesen] is adding and subtracting and locating. We really weren’t doing much. Back a couple of hours, [Ryan] Kalish’s ball hits the warning track [for a ground-rule double] and it looks like it’s a huge play. When you look back now, it doesn’t seem like it. But no, it was a well-played, crisp game, and the last three innings were the opposite of that.”

Buchholz threw 112 pitches over six innings, just 66 for strikes. But he allowed just four hits and no earned runs and lowered his ERA to 2.39.

Not only has Buchholz been dominant during his breakout season, but he’s been remarkably consistent.

“I’ve felt good every time I go out there,” Buchholz said. “I don’t feel like I’ve lost anything as far as velocity on the fastball or pitches getting out of my hand and not having the feel for all my pitches. The last couple starts, I’ve actually felt good with every pitch that I have, and [I've] been able to throw them for strikes and throw them out of the zone for chase counts. It definitely feels good to have a little bit of consistency. Every time I go out there, I expect to do good, too.”

Papelbon, who hadn’t pitched in a week, was used in an unusual situation — the Red Sox were down by four when he entered in the ninth.

“He really wanted the inning of work and needed it,” Francona said. “And then he came out and they’re early-count swinging and getting hits. They about batted around and only had 17 pitches. But once the inning got going, he started using his pitches, but by that point, he had already given up some damage.”

Papelbon said he felt a lot better than the results proved.

“I don’t think I was rusty from not pitching in a week,” he said. “I thought I went out there and threw some pretty good pitches out there. I thought my delivery was pretty good, and I thought I threw the ball well. I thought the ball came out of my hand well. The outcome wasn’t good, but I thought I threw the ball well. I think in the situation, the ballgame that we were in, that it is what it is.

“I was coming in, trying to get some work in. That team came out swinging the bats, ambushing some first pitches. Nothing you can really do about that.”

BOSTON — Though lefty Felix Doubront (upper left pectoral strain) won’t pitch in another game this season, the Red Sox are getting him back on a throwing program. The idea is for Doubront to turn it loose in a side session in the last weekend of the season so he can be assured that he is fully healthy going into the winter.

“Doubront is going to play catch [Wednesday], hopefully,” said manager Terry Francona. “He’ll get looked at again tonight by [medical director] Tom [Gill]. The idea is to get him out to start maybe at 60 feet tomorrow, and then by next weekend, which is the last weekend, get him to throw a bullpen [session]. We talked about this the other day, to make sure there’s not a recurrence or something grabs on him. And then we’ll go from there, whether he goes to Fort Myers first. We’ll see how aggressive he gets before he leaves here.”

Doubront pitched 12 times for the Red Sox this season, going 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA.

McDonald’s perseverance finally pays off
BOSTON — Darnell McDonald entered Tuesday night’s game with the Orioles with 302 at-bats, which was nearly three times his previous career high, set last year while with the Cincinnati Reds.

After spending nearly all of the previous 12 seasons in the Minor Leagues, this has been a magical year for the outfielder, who has found a home with the Red Sox.

“I didn’t envision getting 300 or whatever amount of at-bats I’ve gotten,” said McDonald. “It’s been a dream come true for me. I’ve worked hard to put myself in this situation. For it to come and get the opportunity for an organization like this and to be able to play in a place like this has been unbelievable.”

The way McDonald looks at it, perhaps he can give hope to other journeyman players who go from one Minor League affiliate to the next, wondering if there will be a payoff.

“I could be at home right now watching September baseball,” McDonald said. “Just continue to work hard throughout the years. Never stop believing. I hope this helps somebody else down the road that’s in the same position that I was in, following your dream, not knowing if it’s going to happen — all the things that go through your head when you’re battling through the Minor Leagues. If you continue working hard and believing in yourself, it can happen. For me, it was this year with the Red Sox.”

There were indications right from the start this would be a special season for McDonald. On April 20, the day Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron were both placed on the disabled list, McDonald was summoned from Triple-A Pawtucket shortly before game time. All he did that night was hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer and then a walk-off single off the Green Monster. He has been on the roster since.

This, even though Boston informed him after the May 24 game at Tropicana Field he was being designated for assignment. But in that instance, the Red Sox smartly waited until the last possible minute to make the move official. And when Ellsbury had a setback, they elected to keep McDonald on the roster after all. McDonald spent an entire day in a hotel room in St. Petersburg thinking he had been released and wondering what the next chapter would bring.

“That’s another example,” McDonald said. “You never know. Yeah, I could have been somewhere else right now. That’s how I’ve looked at things my whole career. Everything happens for a reason. The only thing that could have been better for me this year would have been getting to the playoffs and experiencing that. One thing I have learned over the 13 years I’ve been playing is just worry about the things that you can control and just not looking too far ahead and just enjoying every day. That’s the approach I’ve taken this year — just trying to enjoy every day.”

Manager Terry Francona raved about McDonald before Tuesday’s game, both for his enthusiasm and his performance. McDonald hopes to be back in Boston in 2011.

“I’d love it,” McDonald said. “I want to find a home. I love all my teammates here. There’s a lot of good people. My family loves it here. I can’t say enough good things about how they do things here. From Day 1, even in Spring Training, they made me feel a part of the team. They sit you down and try to tell you what their expectations are, and as a player, that’s all you can really ask for — people to communicate and be up front with you. They’ve done a good job of that here.”

Ellsbury can sympathize with Hamilton
BOSTON — Knowing as well as anyone what a nuisance rib injuries can be, Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will soon commiserate with Rangers star Josh Hamilton, who learned Tuesday that he has small fractures in two of his ribs.

When Ellsbury, who won’t play again this season, suffered his initial injury this season following an April 11 collision with teammate Adrian Beltre, Hamilton was one of the first people he sought out for advice.

You see, Hamilton was also hindered by rib woes in 2009. The Rangers are all but sure to win the American League West, which means Hamilton’s timetable for returning will be a huge topic of conversation.

“Yeah, I know what he’s going through,” said Ellsbury. “I talked to him when I had mine. He said, ‘When you start feeling better, take another two weeks.’ Obviously I didn’t listen to that. Yeah, we all want to get out there and play. Hopefully he gets back there as soon as possible and he’s able to play at his high level that he does.”

Even though Hamilton knows more than he wants to about rib injuries, Ellsbury will still reach out to him.

“He had a rib injury last year, so he’s been through this. I’m going to talk to him,” Ellsbury said. “I worked out with him in the past. I know he wants to play and wants to get out there. It’s unfortunate. Swinging the baseball bat, the rotational [aspect of it], it’s everything in baseball. Hopefully he doesn’t do any chiropractic stuff like I was doing.”

Ellsbury tried to come back twice this season — once in May and again in August — only to suffer refractures both times.

Even if the Red Sox had gotten back into postseason contention, Ellsbury doesn’t think he would have played again this season. His last injury was a collision in Texas on Aug. 13.

“[Dr. Lewis Yocum] told me not to,” said Ellsbury. “He said, ‘Unless you want to do the same thing again, you have to let it heal. You have to give it a rest.’ I wasn’t getting any rest. I was trying to get back there and play and try to do everything. It’s one of those things. You just have to give it rest. That’s what it is. … Trying to hit, that’s not rest. Rest is rest. I won’t do any baseball activities until December. [There's] no reason to do anything now.”

While Ellsbury’s 2010 season was limited to 18 games, he is optimistic that he’ll bounce back in a big way next year.

“I’ll be ready to go by Spring Training,” said Ellsbury. “You have to look at the positives. In my situation, I have two extra months of working out maybe over everyone else. I’ll come back stronger, faster and a better baseball player next spring. You have to take the best out of everything. That’s the way I’m looking at it.”

Worth noting
Clay Buchholz, who started Tuesday’s game, was named the BoSox Club Man of the Year. He was chosen both for his performance on the field and for his efforts in the community. Buchholz will be presented his award at a luncheon on Wednesday. … Righty setup man Daniel Bard has been brilliant in his first full season with the Red Sox, and manger Terry Francona can see why. “He’s gotten good, and now, he wants to be great,” said Francona. “He takes care of himself, he works hard. I don’t think people quite understand how much of a weapon guys like he can be.” … What is Kevin Youkilis up to these days? “Therapy, range of motion, trying to start working on a little bit of his strength,” Francona said. “He’s doing OK. He’s getting stuff done. He’s kind of limited. Everybody tries to do something. Like even [Mike Cameron]. They’re used to do something, so they don’t like sitting around. So you try to work on something.”

BOSTON — Knowing as well as anyone what a nuisance rib injuries can be, Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury will soon commiserate with Rangers star Josh Hamilton, who learned Tuesday that he has small fractures in two of his ribs.

When Ellsbury, who won’t play again this season, suffered his initial injury this season following an April 11 collision with teammate Adrian Beltre, Hamilton was one of the first people he sought out for advice.

You see, Hamilton was also hindered by rib woes in 2009. The Rangers are all but sure to win the American League West, which means Hamilton’s timetable for returning will be a huge topic of conversation.

“Yeah, I know what he’s going through,” said Ellsbury. “I talked to him when I had mine. He said, ‘When you start feeling better, take another two weeks.’ Obviously I didn’t listen to that. Yeah, we all want to get out there and play. Hopefully he gets back there as soon as possible and he’s able to play at his high level that he does.”

Even though Hamilton knows more than he wants to about rib injuries, Ellsbury will still reach out to him.

“He had a rib injury last year, so he’s been through this. I’m going to talk to him,” Ellsbury said. “I worked out with him in the past. I know he wants to play and wants to get out there. It’s unfortunate. Swinging the baseball bat, the rotational [aspect of it], it’s everything in baseball. Hopefully he doesn’t do any chiropractic stuff like I was doing.”

Ellsbury tried to come back twice this season — once in May and again in August — only to suffer refractures both times.

Even if the Red Sox had gotten back into postseason contention, Ellsbury doesn’t think he would have played again this season. His last injury was a collision in Texas on Aug. 13.

“[Dr. Lewis Yocum] told me not to,” said Ellsbury. “He said, ‘Unless you want to do the same thing again, you have to let it heal. You have to give it a rest.’ I wasn’t getting any rest. I was trying to get back there and play and try to do everything. It’s one of those things. You just have to give it rest. That’s what it is. … Trying to hit, that’s not rest. Rest is rest. I won’t do any baseball activities until December. [There's] no reason to do anything now.”

While Ellsbury’s 2010 season was limited to 18 games, he is optimistic that he’ll bounce back in a big way next year.

“I’ll be ready to go by Spring Training,” said Ellsbury. “You have to look at the positives. In my situation, I have two extra months of working out maybe over everyone else. I’ll come back stronger, faster and a better baseball player next spring. You have to take the best out of everything. That’s the way I’m looking at it.”

McDonald’s perseverance finally pays off
BOSTON — Darnell McDonald entered Tuesday night’s game with the Orioles with 302 at-bats, which was nearly three times his previous career high, set last year while with the Cincinnati Reds.

After spending nearly all of the previous 12 seasons in the Minor Leagues, this has been a magical year for the outfielder, who has found a home with the Red Sox.

“I didn’t envision getting 300 or whatever amount of at-bats I’ve gotten,” said McDonald. “It’s been a dream come true for me. I’ve worked hard to put myself in this situation. For it to come and get the opportunity for an organization like this and to be able to play in a place like this has been unbelievable.”

The way McDonald looks at it, perhaps he can give hope to other journeyman players who go from one Minor League affiliate to the next, wondering if there will be a payoff.

“I could be at home right now watching September baseball,” McDonald said. “Just continue to work hard throughout the years. Never stop believing. I hope this helps somebody else down the road that’s in the same position that I was in, following your dream, not knowing if it’s going to happen — all the things that go through your head when you’re battling through the Minor Leagues. If you continue working hard and believing in yourself, it can happen. For me, it was this year with the Red Sox.”

There were indications right from the start this would be a special season for McDonald. On April 20, the day Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron were both placed on the disabled list, McDonald was summoned from Triple-A Pawtucket shortly before game time. All he did that night was hit a game-tying pinch-hit homer and then a walk-off single off the Green Monster. He has been on the roster since.

This, even though Boston informed him after the May 24 game at Tropicana Field he was being designated for assignment. But in that instance, the Red Sox smartly waited until the last possible minute to make the move official. And when Ellsbury had a setback, they elected to keep McDonald on the roster after all. McDonald spent an entire day in a hotel room in St. Petersburg thinking he had been released and wondering what the next chapter would bring.

“That’s another example,” McDonald said. “You never know. Yeah, I could have been somewhere else right now. That’s how I’ve looked at things my whole career. Everything happens for a reason. The only thing that could have been better for me this year would have been getting to the playoffs and experiencing that. One thing I have learned over the 13 years I’ve been playing is just worry about the things that you can control and just not looking too far ahead and just enjoying every day. That’s the approach I’ve taken this year — just trying to enjoy every day.”

Manager Terry Francona raved about McDonald before Tuesday’s game, both for his enthusiasm and his performance. McDonald hopes to be back in Boston in 2011.

“I’d love it,” McDonald said. “I want to find a home. I love all my teammates here. There’s a lot of good people. My family loves it here. I can’t say enough good things about how they do things here. From Day 1, even in Spring Training, they made me feel a part of the team. They sit you down and try to tell you what their expectations are, and as a player, that’s all you can really ask for — people to communicate and be up front with you. They’ve done a good job of that here.”

Doubront ready to ramp back up
BOSTON — Though lefty Felix Doubront (upper left pectoral strain) won’t pitch in another game this season, the Red Sox are getting him back on a throwing program. The idea is for Doubront to turn it loose in a side session in the last weekend of the season so he can be assured that he is fully healthy going into the winter.

“Doubront is going to play catch [Wednesday], hopefully,” said manager Terry Francona. “He’ll get looked at again tonight by [medical director] Tom [Gill]. The idea is to get him out to start maybe at 60 feet tomorrow, and then by next weekend, which is the last weekend, get him to throw a bullpen [session]. We talked about this the other day, to make sure there’s not a recurrence or something grabs on him. And then we’ll go from there, whether he goes to Fort Myers first. We’ll see how aggressive he gets before he leaves here.”

Doubront pitched 12 times for the Red Sox this season, going 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA.

Worth noting
Clay Buchholz, who started Tuesday’s game, was named the BoSox Club Man of the Year. He was chosen both for his performance on the field and for his efforts in the community. Buchholz will be presented his award at a luncheon on Wednesday. … Righty setup man Daniel Bard has been brilliant in his first full season with the Red Sox, and manger Terry Francona can see why. “He’s gotten good, and now, he wants to be great,” said Francona. “He takes care of himself, he works hard. I don’t think people quite understand how much of a weapon guys like he can be.” … What is Kevin Youkilis up to these days? “Therapy, range of motion, trying to start working on a little bit of his strength,” Francona said. “He’s doing OK. He’s getting stuff done. He’s kind of limited. Everybody tries to do something. Like even [Mike Cameron]. They’re used to do something, so they don’t like sitting around. So you try to work on something.”

With his season at Triple-A Pawtucket over, right-hander Michael Bowden has been summoned back to the big leagues, the Red Sox announced on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old will be activated for Tuesday night's game against the American League East-rival Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park.

Bowden has had two short stints coming out of the Red Sox bullpen this season. The first came in July, when he made three appearances, tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings. The second callup came in mid-August, when Bowden yielded four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3 innings. In his career, Bowden has a 7.27 ERA in 27 total innings. All but two of his appearances have come in relief, and that's likely to be the role he'll play the remainder of the season.

With Triple-A Pawtucket, Bowden went 6-4 with a 3.66 ERA and a .222 batting average against over 105 2/3 innings. He began the year in the rotation, going 4-3 with a 3.77 ERA over 16 starts before switching over to the bullpen. As a reliever, Bowden had a 3.20 ERA in 15 games.

BOSTON — The thunder returned to Boston's offense on Monday night. Electricity came back to Fenway Park, which had been unusually quiet during a frustrating three-game weekend sweep to the White Sox.

A series the Red Sox probably need to sweep to have even a fighting chance to stay in contention was kicked off with a 12-5 victory over the Rays. Boston trails Tampa Bay by 6 1/2 games and the White Sox by a half game in the American League Wild Card standings with 24 games left in the season.

If Sunday's loss seemed as deflating as any the Red Sox have had in 2010, there was no carryover.

"This weekend was tough," said Sox slugger David Ortiz. "We played some good games but just didn't score enough runs in the first two games, and [Sunday] was a crazy day when we scored some runs and they bounced back and scored some. There's not much you can do about that but come back and play the way we did today."

The offense erupted early, as Ryan Kalish's grand slam in the bottom of the fourth gave Boston an 11-2 lead. It was Kalish's second slam and third career homer. The two slams by a rookie tied a club record, last achieved by Bob Zupcic in 1992.

"Oh man, what a good swing," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I mean, [Andy] Sonnanstine at the time looked like he was having trouble commanding. He got a little cutter that came back over the plate and took a very welcome swing. Good for him."

It was fitting that the big hit was delivered by a rookie. Much of buzz before the game centered around the promotion of Lars Anderson, who made his Major League debut, getting the start at first base. While Anderson went 0-for-4, he thoroughly enjoyed watching his friend Kalish produce the game-breaking slam.

"It was great to see," said Anderson. "I'm not surprised at all. That guy is one of the most dynamic players I've seen as far as all the tools just being together. It's pretty fun to watch."

Kalish has been playing almost every day since his arrival on July 31.

"We have a lot of young guys coming with a lot of talent," said Ortiz. "It's good to watch them do good things so you can count on them the following year."

But next year wasn't on Kalish's mind when he stepped up with the bases full against Sonnanstine with two outs in the fourth.

"Obviously I'm just trying to work a good count and stay relaxed up there," Kalish said. "That situation can get tense and he really was throwing a lot of cutters. It was a 3-1 count, I was just looking for something in your zone, and I was trying to hit the ball hard and it was really nice to hit one out."

Tampa Bay's difficulties started long before Kalish's slam.

Ortiz (two-run shot) and Adrian Beltre smacked back-to-back homers in the bottom of the first, swiftly overcoming the 1-0 lead Tampa Bay built in the top of the first.

"They were both fastballs," said Rays starter Jeff Niemann. "Ortiz was 3-2, he fouled a couple off and I was really trying not to walk him. Beltre, I thought that was a pretty good inside fastball that he turned on and got it."

The problems for Niemann intensified further in the second. Kalish led off with a single and with two outs, Tampa Bay's starter walked Daniel Nava and J.D. Drew. Victor Martinez capitalized by ripping a two-run single to right. Sonnanstine came on in relief, but not much changed. Ortiz smashed an RBI double off the Monster.

Riding the wave of support was lefty Jon Lester, who overcame a 29-pitch first inning to improve to 16-8 on the season. Lester threw 94 pitches over his six-inning stint, allowing four hits and two runs while walking three and striking out 10.

"I've always said it makes it easier pitching when guys go out and score runs like they did tonight," Lester said. "That was a big game for us."

With a big lead, Francona sent righty Robert Coello out for his Major League debut to start the seventh. But that didn't go well at all. Coello got just one out while allowing three this, three runs and two walks. Dustin Richardson came in and walked the only batter he faced. But Scott Atchison (1 2/3 shutout innings) and Hideki Okajima (scoreless ninth) restored order.

The Red Sox will try to chip one game closer Tuesday night when Daisuke Matsuzaka faces David Price.

"Confidence is a huge thing," said Kalish. "Like I said, I try to go out there every day and not put too much pressure on yourself. You can't get too high on things, you can't get too low. Tomorrow you have to come back and get another win. We're playing from behind, and tonight hopefully can give us a spark."