SarroSports

8/23/08 12:26am

Red Sox outfielder JD Drew is no stranger to the disabled list and theres a chance he will be heading there again very soon.  The Doctors at Mount Sinai hospital informed drew that he has a herniated disk in his back and prescribed Drew a curse of anti-inflammatory medicine after giving him an MRI exam.  This injury does not come at a good time for the Red Sox who are 4 1/2 back in the American League East and in a virtual tie in the wild card with the Twins.  Drew has never played more than 146 games in a season and has missed his last four games with what he said was a sharp pain in his back.

Sox manager Terry Francona  announced yesterday, that Drew would be in the  lead off spot Friday night in Toronto.  After MRI results came back and the issue was a herniated disk, plans changed and Dustin Pedroia filled in for Drew once again at the top of the order.  This is a huge blow to the Sox line-up with Drew being a crucial part of their success all season.  Drew has been asked at times to hit all over the batting order, including in the third spot when Sox slugger David Ortiz missed time with a partially torn tendon in his left wrist.  In 2007 the Sox right fielder did not produce as expected after signing a five year 70 million dollar deal, but 2008 has been just the opposite.  Drew leads the team with a .408 on base percentage, often working counts and drawing walks.  The power production has been back, hitting 19 home runs which is 8 more than he had all last year.  This is due to a new approach at the plate, going with what pitchers are giving him and hitting to all fields.  Last season drew seemed to become pull happy rolling his hands over on  outside pitches, often resulting in a ground out to the second basemen.  All season, Drew has been staying on the ball longer showing the talent that every GM in baseball has been drolling over since his rookie season in 1998.

A herniated disk is not an unfamiliar issue to Red Sox right fielders and unfortunately has shown that it can shelf a player for an extended period of time.  Back in 2004, Trot Nixon was diagnosed with a herniated disk and missed almost two months of the season.  Fortunately for the Red Sox, herniated disks come in many varieties and Drew’s might not me a major issue.  With the Rays and Twins playing their best baseball of the season, Drew needs to find a way to get back in the Sox line-up before its too late.

-Sarro