A few items to peruse as the Red Sox and Yankees grind it out on Sunday Night Baseball…
- Matthew Pouliot of NBCSports.com continues his "Restoring the Rosters" series with a look at the Cardinals. "Producing the game's best player and one of the top five pitchers only goes so far," writes Pouliot. "The Cardinals' lack of pitching depth leaves them right in the middle of these rankings."
- As Dennis Manoloff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports, reliever Chris Perez has now thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings out of the Tribe's bullpen. He was acquired from the Cardinals in early July (along with Jess Todd) for third baseman Mark DeRosa, who is batting .234/.303/.445 with eight home runs and 15 RBI in 128 at-bats for St. Louis.
- Pedro Martinez allowed four earned runs over six innings Sunday in his return to Flushing, New York, but escaped with his second victory in three starts with the Phillies. Interestingly, he was given a standing ovation when he first took the mound. “The ovation, that’s exactly the response I expected because of the mutual bond I have here,” Martinez said. “I respect them and I love them." (Quote courtesy of the Associated Press).
