Mike Lowell, the third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, will be placed on the disabled list due to a strain to his right hip. His placement will be retroactive to June 28th.

Last October, Lowell had surgery on the same hip. Since it is a surgery repaired hip, there is some concern surrounding the team. However, this move is thought to be more of a precautionary measure.

On the season, the 35-year-old native of Puerto Rico is hitting .282 with ten homers, 41 RBIs, 30 runs and 18 doubles. Since June 19th, Lowell only has nine at-bats due to this injury. In that stretch he is only 1-9.

Jeff Bailey will be brought up from the minor leagues to replace Lowell. Bailey is able to play in the outfield and at first base.

The Red Sox are currently 47-29. They have the best record in the American League and the second best record in baseball — slightly behind the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Mike Lowell - Red Sox (Image: Zuma Press)

Last season, Daisuke Matsuzaka was one of the best pitchers in baseball. In the offseason, he won the MVP as he led Japan to the World Baseball Classic championship. But now the native of Japan is in the middle of having a horrible season.

As they try to figure out what is wrong with him, the Boston Red Sox have told Matsuzaka that he will skip his next start. In Matsuzaka’s place, the Red Sox will go with John Smoltz, who will be making his season debut.

Last season, Matsuzaka was 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA. He appeared to be well worth the huge contract he received prior to the 2007 season. This year? Not so much.

In eight starts, Matsuzaka has an 8.23 ERA with a record of 1-5. In 35 innings of work, he’s given up 59 hits, 18 walks and eight homers.

Red Sox manager Terry Francona thinks he knows where Matsuzaka’s struggles originate.

Said Francona: “It all started with the WBC. It’s become obvious that his velocity wasn’t what it was.”

Sources in Boston are split about whether Matsuzaka is simply fatigued or may have something physically ailing him. Just to make sure, the Red Sox are going to put him through a full medical exam.

Daisuke Matsuzaka - Boston Red Sox (Image: Zuma Press)

David Ortiz, the slumping slugger for the Boston Red Sox, is trying everything to get his season back on track. The next thing he’ll try is to check his vision.

Although Ortiz says he has always had good vision, he has suffered from dry eyes lately. On Monday, he’ll head to the doc to make sure he can see the big E on the eye chart.

David Ortiz - Can You See Me Now? (Image: Zuma Press)

The Red Sox would love for Ortiz’s struggles to be vision related. Right now, he’s hitting .188 with one homer and 21 RBIs. That is a far cry from a player who hit 54 homers in 2006, batted .332 in 2007 and knocked in 148 RBis in 2005.

In April, Ortiz hit just .230 and Red Sox fans were worried. But after the 33-year-old hit just .143 in June, those worries turned into panic.

Even though David Ortiz hit his first home run of the season last Wednesday, that didn’t turn around his season. In fact, Big Papi is struggling more than ever now.

David Ortiz Struggling (Image: Zuma Press)

The hefty designated hitter is batting .195 and has one homer, 18 RBI, 15 runs and 39 strikeouts. Last season, Ortiz was slowed by injury but wasn’t anywhere this bad. Right now, he’s one of the worst hitters in the American League.

There have been whispers of lowering Ortiz in the batting order to get him out of the three spot. Those whispers are now getting louder. The Red Sox have a lot of capable hitters and Ortiz has become a liability in the middle of the lineup.

According to a few sources close to the team, it sounds like Ortiz could see himself hitting in the fifth or sixth spot starting as soon as Monday.

Despite Ortiz’s struggles, the Red Sox have been able to keep their place atop the AL West with a 26-18 record. However, with the rival New York Yankees streaking up the standings, Boston’s time on top of the division could be ending if Ortiz doesn’t start hitting — or if the Red Sox don’t at least move him down the batting order.

Francisco Rodriguez, the star closer for the New York Mets, was taken by ambulance from Fenway Park to a local hospital. According to Jerry Manuel, the manager of the Mets, Rodriguez suffered back spasms and was unable to walk. It’s unknown how long Rodriguez will be out of action.

On the season, Rodriguez has 12 saves and no blown saves in 20 appearances. His record is 1-0 to go with a 0.87 ERA. Last year while with the Los Angeles Angels, he set a major league record with 62 saves in one season. He broke the record formerly held by Bobby Thigpen of the Chicago White Sox.

Without Rodriguez, the Mets were able to defeat the Boston Red Sox on Saturday by a final count of 3-2. In the top of the ninth inning Omir Santos hit a two-run homer to give New York the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, J.J. Putz filled in for Rodriguez as the closer and was able to pick up his second save of the 2009 baseball season.

Francisco Rodriguez - New York Mets Closer (Image: Zuma Press)

David Ortiz has been given a few days off to clear his mind and rediscover his groove at the plate. His in-season vacation will be over on Tuesday when the Boston Red Sox take on the Toronto Blue Jays.

David Ortiz, Boston Red Sox (Image: Zuma Press)

In the three games without Ortiz, the Red Sox went 1-2 against the Seattle Mariners. Their lone win was a 5-3 victory on Saturday when Josh Beckett picked up his fourth win and Jonathan Papelbon picked up his tenth save.

Boston only managed 11 runs in those three games so taking Ortiz out of the lineup didn’t exactly open up the floodgates. When the native of the Dominican Republic returns, the Red Sox are hopeful that he can find the power that has made him one of the most feared hitters in the game over the last half decade. Currently, Ortiz is hitting .208 with no homers and 15 RBIs.

One interesting note is that manager Terry Francona didn’t guarantee Ortiz would return to his customary spot in the batting order. Ortiz usually bats third but that could apparently change when he returns against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.

On Monday, Boston has the day off.

David Ortiz has long been a staple in the middle of the Boston Red Sox lineup. On Friday, manager Terry Francona decided to give Ortiz a day off. The manager hinted that Ortiz will be held out a few days in hopes of getting the slugger out of his slump.

The 33-year-old native of the Dominican Republic is hitting .208 with no homers and 15 RBI in 34 games this season. Perhaps his worst game came on Thursday when he was 0-for-7 at the plate.

Ortiz doesn’t have a homer in 144 at-bats — the longest stretch of his career without a long ball in more than eight years. Between 2004 and 2006, Ortiz had at least 41 homers in each season, including 54 home runs in 2006. Prior to last year, he had at least 100 RBIs in each of his five seasons with the Red Sox.

When Ortiz eventually returns to the lineup, Francona said that he will still bat third in the lineup.

David Ortiz, Red Sox

Evan Longoria of the Tampa Bay Rays still gets questioned about Desperate Housewives. He still gets asked about Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs. However, Evan Longoria (no relation to Eva Longoria) is quickly making a name for himself.

In his second season in the big leagues, Longoria might be the hottest hitter in the entire game. Against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, he went 2-for-4 with a walk, three runs and five RBI. In the first inning, Longoria hit a two-run homer that put the Rays up for good. When the bashing was all done, the Rays had a 14-5 victory over the Red Sox.

Helping Longoria bash were Carlos Pena, Pat Burrell, Akinori Iwamura and Ben Zobrist. Each of those hitters finished with two RBI. On the mound, Scott Kazmir gave up three earned runs in five innings to pick up his fourth win of the season and lower his ERA to 5.92.

For the Red Sox, Jon Lester gave up eight earned runs in 4.1 innings and now has a 6.31 ERA on the season. Despite the loss, the Red Sox are still 19-12 on the season, while the Rays are 15-17.

The 23-year-old Longoria is hitting .367 with 11 homers and 44 RBI. The RBI total is the highest in all of Major League Baseball. If he keeps hitting at this pace, he may get his own ABC television show before too much longer.

Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays (Image: Newscom)

Tim Wakefield wasn’t fabulous but he was good enough to help the Boston Red Sox beat the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. The 42-year-old knuckleballer won his third game of the season as the Red Sox were victorious by a final count of 10-6.

In five innings of work, Wakefield allowed seven hits and two walks while allowing five earned runs and striking out five batters. His ERA for the season is now 2.91 and he has a record of 3-1.

At the plate, Mike Lowell was 2-for-5 including a homer in the fifth inning. Reigning AL MVP Dustin Pedroia was 2-for-3 with two runs, one RBI and three walks.

For the Rays, Carlos Pena was the hitting star. He hit his 11th home run of the season in the 4th inning and finished the night 2-for-3 with one run, two RBI and two walks. Starting pitcher Jeff Niemann got lit up in his three innings of work — allowing five earned runs on seven hits.

With the win, the Red Sox improved their record to 15-9. The loss dropped Tampa Bay to 10-15.

Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (Image: Flickr)

Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox started a brawl recently when he threw the ball over Bobby Abreu’s head after the Los Angeles Angels slugger had called a timeout. On Tuesday, Major League Baseball decided to suspend Beckett for six games for his role in starting the brawl.

Josh Beckett Suspended (Image: Flickr)

The 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander wasn’t too pleased with the decision:

“I respect the job they have to do,” said Beckett, “but I don’t agree.”

After the incident, Angels manager Mike Scioscia called for Beckett to be suspended. Once he heard of the suspension, he agreed.

“It makes us feel good that Major League Baseball really supported our position,” said Scioscia, “especially since we were somehow portrayed as the aggressors in that.”

Following the brawl, three members of the Angels were ejected, while no one on the Red Sox was ejected.

Beckett has a 1-1 record after two starts with a 3.46 ERA.