Game to be made up as opener of doubleheader on Aug. 18

The first showdown between the Red Sox and Yankees in 2006 turned out to be a one-and-done affair.

Thanks to a forecast filled with showers, Tuesday's Sox-Yankees contest at Fenway Park was postponed roughly 35 minutes after the scheduled first pitch. The game will tentatively be made up on Aug. 18 at 1:05 p.m. ET as part of a day-night doubleheader.

Fans who had tickets for Tuesday's game can use them for that first game on Aug. 18, which will now serve as the opener of a five-game series between the rivals at a point the pennant race should be heating up.

In what was already scheduled to be a brief two-game series, the Red Sox were able to settle for a rare one-game sweep, thanks to Monday's 7-3 victory. After a 3-6 road trip, the Red Sox were happy to take what they could get.

"We needed to win one. On top of that, we got a sweep," quipped Red Sox manager Terry Francona.

The move only had a slight effect on Boston's pitching rotation. Josh Beckett, who was scheduled to go against the Yankees on Tuesday, will be pushed back to Wednesday against the Blue Jays. That sets up a terrific pitching matchup between Beckett and Toronto ace Roy Halladay.

Matt Clement will slide back to Thursday. Lenny Dinardo, originally scheduled to pitch on Thursday, will move back to Sunday against the Orioles, with ace Curt Schilling pitching on his regular day (Friday) against Baltimore. Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will take his scheduled turn on Saturday.

"We have the ability now to move Lenny back a couple of days," said Francona. "How it affects us, we don't know. What I was afraid of was playing three innings and losing Beckett, that was the big concern."

The Red Sox are off on Monday, and the way things are standing right now, it looks as if Beckett, Clement and Schilling will pitch in next week's three-game series at Yankee Stadium (May 9-11).

DiNardo (0-1, 7.36 ERA) has been inconsistent in three starts since moving into the rotation to replace injured left-hander David Wells. He thinks that the extra time might do him some good.

"It gives me a couple of extra days of workouts and an extra bullpen day," DiNardo said. "I don't really look at it as adversity at all. It just gives me more rest and I'll try to use it to my advantage, whether it's looking at video or getting stronger or getting an extra workout."

Club doesn't want to rush southpaw back from knee injury

Red Sox manager Terry Francona can already sense that left-hander David Wells is itching to pitch again. Though that is an obvious sign that Wells, who has been battling right knee woes since late last season, is feeling better, Francona also knows that he must proceed with caution.

In other words, the medical staff is prepared to hold Wells back a bit in an effort to prevent reinjury.

"I'm not saying he's not close [to pitching]," said Francona, "but there's been a big variance of how he's felt. We need to try to make the best decisions we can, which is not real easy. You know, we don't want him back for one game.

"Some of the decisions I'm sure we're going to end up having to take out of his hands and put up with the squawking, and hopefully we'll get the pitcher back that we want."

Wells, who is fiercely competitive, will try to end his spectator status the very second he feels he is physically able to do so. But Francona is going to keep a close eye on the veteran's condition.

"I don't think it's out of the question that he's going to come back and feel good," said Francona. "There's got to be a progression though, or we're setting ourselves up to have him not to feel good. He's going to fight it every step of the way, which I understand. I almost kind of respect it because it's part of why he's good. He'll lie to pitch, which is good in a way, but we need to protect him, and at the same time, it protects ourselves."

The Boomer threw off flat ground twice earlier this week, and the next step will be progressing to a mound. Francona was in the process of trying to iron out a schedule with Wells and the training staff.

Wells started the season on a rehab assignment and returned from the disabled list for just one start (April 12) before having a setback.

In other injury news, reliever David Riske (lower back) is nearing a Minor League rehab assignment.

Choi's rehab running out: Tuesday was the 20th and final day of first baseman Hee-Seop Choi's Minor League rehab assignment. Choi, who suffered a left hamstring strain during the final days of Spring Training, will either need to be added to the Major League roster or be optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket; that's assuming the Red Sox can get him through waivers.

Choi has been swinging a hot bat during his rehab stint for Pawtucket, hitting .311 with three homers, 12 RBIs, a .967 slugging percentage and a .476 on-base percentage.

The Red Sox claimed Choi off waivers from the Dodgers on March 24.

Wily Mo settling in: After a rocky start, Wily Mo Pena has looked better at the plate and in the field since his playing time increased.

Wednesday marked the seventh consecutive game Pena was in the starting lineup. The boost in playing time came when Francona elected to give him a shot to be the main center fielder, while Coco Crisp continues his rehab.

"I think he's had good at-bats," Francona said. "He's hitting down at the bottom of the order, that was an area where we were kind of scuffling a little bit. I actually thought his at-bats the other night were really good, and he didn't have much to show for it. I just thought it was the right thing to do to try to get him untracked, because if he does get untracked, he's got some thunder in his bat and the production will be good. Hopefully, that will be the case."

Pena entered the night hitting .275 with three homers and seven RBIs.

Papelbon's streak: When was the last time closer Jonathan Papelbon allowed a run? It was Sept. 19, 2005, against the Devil Rays at Tropicana Field.

Dating back to last season, Papelbon has reeled off 21 1/3 scoreless innings over 19 appearances.

Manny mashes Jays: No opposing player has victimized the Blue Jays more than Manny Ramirez. The star slugger's 49 homers against Toronto represents the most that the franchise has allowed to one player. With 122 RBIs lifetime against the Blue Jays, Ramirez ranks fifth. The retired quartet of Harold Baines, Cal Ripken, Robin Yount and Rafael Palmeiro are the only players who have driven in more runs against Toronto than Ramirez.

When Boston won it all in 2004, Keith Foulke was the man with the knack for closing the deal. Now, there's a new kid at Fenway Park who has shown through the first month of the season that he can give Red Sox fans a calming sense of relief.

After posting a 10-for-10 save worksheet in April, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon was named the American League Rookie of the Month on Tuesday.

In 13 relief appearances, the 25-year-old Papelbon dominated with 14 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball while striking out 14 and walking just two. He finished the month as the Major League leader in saves and was a runner-up to Jose Contreras for AL Pitcher of the Month.

"It's good to get accolades like that," Papelbon said. "Obviously, AL Rookie of the Month is pretty cool, and I'm excited and proud to get that honor. I just want to keep it coming."

Papelbon had the opportunity to gain some AL experience last year when the Red Sox used him in a variety of roles. He finished the year 3-1 with a 2.65 ERA over 34 innings, and he came into this season looking to build on that foundation.

Papelbon has done that in grand style while recording a strikeout in all but two of his appearances. It marks the second time in three years a Red Sox player has captured a Rookie of the Month award. Kevin Youkilis received that honor in 2004.

Boston manager Terry Francona fully appreciates what Papelbon has meant to the Boston bullpen after being thrown into the pressure-cooker.

"He has given our bullpen just a great lift," Francona said.

Francona said Papelbon's contributions go far beyond the save numbers. Largely because of Papelbon's consistency, Francona has been able to arrange the back end of his bullpen in a manner that helped the Red Sox begin play on Tuesday with a one-game lead in the American League East standings.

"More than Pap just saving games, it has allowed [Mike] Timlin to pitch consistently where he is supposed to and it has really freed us up to have Foulke face more left-handers than he would have if he was in just a certain role," Francona said. "That has really helped a lot."

Other AL rookies who made an impact in April were: Seattle catcher Kenji Johjima (.267, two homers, 12 RBIs); Detroit starter Justin Verlander (3-2, 3.52 ERA) and Texas starter John Koronka (3-1, 4.25 ERA).

Why the name "Fenway"? 

Constructed for the 1912 season, the new ballpark was named by then Red Sox owner John I. Taylor because it was built in an area of Boston known as the Fens. As Taylor said, "It's in that section of Boston, isn't it? Then call it Fenway Park."

 

Taylor, by the way, was also the person who changed the club's name from the Pilgrims to the Red Sox in 1907.

 

What is the meaning of that seat painted red in the bleachers? 

The seat in the right field bleachers is painted red to mark the spot where the longest measurable home run ever hit inside Fenway Park landed. Ted Williams hit the home run on June 9, 1946 off Fred Hutchinson of the Detroit Tigers. The blast was measured at 502 feet. Legend says that the ball crashed through the straw hat of the man sitting in the seat — Section 42, Row 37, Seat 21.

After two rain delays, Fenway Park finally hosted its first professional baseball game on April 20, 1912. (The first official game played in Fenway actually occurred on April 9 when the Sox beat Harvard University, 2-0.) The Red Sox defeated the New York Highlanders — later known as the Yankees — before 27,000 fans,7-6 in 11 innings. The event would have made front page news hadit not been for the sinking of the Titanic only a few days before.

 

Even after the Sox made Fenway their home, they didn't always play their games there. Occasionally, the Red Sox scheduled their "big games" at Braves Field to accommodate larger crowds — like those that were over 42,000 strong for Games Three and Four of the 1915 World Series. Boston won that year too, beating the Philadelphia Phillies.

 

Fenway Park's peculiar dimensions were not intended to provide a tempting target for home run hitters, but to keep non-paying customers out of the park.

 

In left field, there was a steep 10-foot embankment that ran in front of the wall where fans were allowed to sit. The Sox' Duffy Lewis was so skilled at playing balls hit to the ledge that it became known as Duffy's Cliff.

Fenway Park remained unchanged until a May 8, 1926 fire destroyed bleachers along the left field line. John Quinn, the owner at the time, simply carted the charred remains out of the park; because of a lack of funds, he didn't bother to rebuild the bleachers. Left fielders didn't complain — they were able catch foul balls for outs behind the stands.

 

Tom Yawkey, who bought the financially strapped club in 1933, began a major overhaul of the park. The revitalization project, however, came to a screeching halt on January 5, 1934 when a second fire ravaged the building for five hours. Few areas of the ballpark were left undamaged.

 

Construction crews worked diligently to reconstruct the ballpark in time for the season opener on April 17, 1934. And when Fenway Park did open that day, it had a new look.

 

Concrete bleachers replaced the wood bleachers in centerfield. Duffy's Cliff was leveled off — though not completely. And the 37-foot wooden left field wall was replaced by a more durable, 37-foot sheet metal structure. In 1936, a 23-1/2-foot tall screen was added on top of the wall to better protect the windows of buildings on adjoining Lansdowne Street. When the wall's advertisements were covered by green paint in 1947, Fenway Park's signature feature — the Green Monster — was born