During an interview with Dennis and Callahan on WEEI Friday, Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling announced that he will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery on Monday. The former Sox ace missed significant playing time after the 2004 season due to an ankle injury, and has nursed shoulder problems since then.  Before this season, Dr. Craig Morgan (who performed surgery on Shilling’s shoulder in 1995 and 1999) advised that Schil’s career could be in jeopardy if he did not have offseason surgery. Instead, Schilling and the team opted to try a rehabilitation plan that would have a better chance of allowing him to pitch this year. This plan was not successful, and Schilling faces season, if not career-ending surgery.  Schilling was quoted as saying that there is a “pretty good chance I have thrown my last pitch forever”. The change of plan comes from MRI results, the increasing amount of pain, as well as decreasing physical abilities. Schilling has been able to throw off of flat ground, but has been unable to throw off of the mound without severe pain. The procedure Monday is focused on alleviating that pain. During an MRI in January, Schil was not able to hold his arm over his head long enough to finish the procedure. He has mentioned having issues with things as simple as turning a doorknob. “If you use a scale of 1-10 and 10 is pitching in the big leagues, I’m at about 3 right now,” Said Schilling. “I’m going in to make it not hurt anymore.”

Fans attending the Friday June 20 Red Sox vs Cardinals game will be in for a special treat. The Red Sox will continue the already days long celebration for the Boston Celtics’ 17th NBA Championship. The Celtics were honored in Boston today with a rolling rally attracting thousands of fans throughout the region. At Friday night’s game, Celtics captain and star Paul Pierce will be throwing out the first pitch. The Red Sox will also wear their alternate Green Jersey. The Red Sox wore this same jersey in 2007 to honor the passing of Celtics legend Red Auerbach. There will also be a pre-game ceremony to honor the Boston Celtics. If you are going to the game, get their early. If you don’t have tickets, get them now! Red Sox Tickets 6-20-08

Whenever J.D. Drew returns to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love shows him anything but affection. Eleven years ago, it was Drew who refused to sign with the Phillies after they drafted him second overall in the 1997 amateur draft and ever since then the boos have been loud and come often whenever he’s in town. Wednesday afternoon, Drew proved that they don’t bother him at all going 4-5 at the plate with a homerun, four RBI’s and scoring two runs of his own to lift the Boston Red Sox past the Philadelphia Phillies 7-4 at Citizens Bank Park in front of another sold out crowd of 45,187. “They’re not going to forget, I know that much,” Drew said. “It’s always one of those situations where you go out there and battle and you’re going to hear things that you don’t normally hear at other parks. It makes it fun.” The four hits on the afternoon tied a career high for Drew who fell just a triple shy of hitting for the cycle and continues to excel in the absence of David Ortiz. Since Ortiz was sidelined May 31st, Drew is batting .441 (26-59) with nine home runs and 22 RBI’s in the month of June. “It’s just a matter if keeping it simple,” Drew said. “When things fall into place, you put your swings on the ball and hopefully good things happen. I’ve hit a lot balls away from where people are standing so that is always nice.” Aside from Drew’s big day, the Sox also received three hits and two runs from 2B Dustin Pedroia. Hitting out of the 4 spot in the lineup, Mike Lowell belted his 11th homer of the year and Sean Casey, who has hit safely in the last 7 games he’s started, added two hits as well. Boston’s 2 through 5 hitters in the battling order combined to go 10-18 on the day with two home runs, five RBI’s and scored four runs. Justin Masterson tossed five innings and allowed two runs on four hits. The effort was good enough to help him pick up the win, he is now 4-1 on the season with a 3.00 ERA. On in relief in the 7th inning, Craig Hansen got himself into a little trouble allowing a lead off single to E Bruntlett. Brunlett stole second, and then Hansen issued a walk to Carlos Ruiz. A wild pitch would move the runners up to 2nd and 3rd base without any outs. Pedro Feliz would rip a single to center field to knock in both runs to cut into the Red Sox lead. Hansen was relieved by Manny Delcarmen who came in and issued a walk to Jimmy Rollins. After the base on balls Delcarmen was flawless, retiring the next six batters he faced to preserve the Sox lead. Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch a 1-2-3 9th inning to record his 21st save on the season. The Sox are off today and return home for two exciting interleague play series. This weekend Boston welcomes the St. Louis Cardinals back to Fenway Park for the first time since the 2004 World Series match up. Following the series, the Arizona Diamondbacks will be in town for three games which will conclude the interleague play schedule for the 2008 season. When the Red Sox return home on Friday night they will honor the World Champion Boston Celtics during the pre-game ceremonies. Tickets for the upcoming homestand are still available!

In a match up that featured the division leaders of the AL & NL East, Ryan Howard’s two home run display lifted the Philadelphia Phillies past the Boston Red Sox 8-2 Monday night at Citizens Bank Park in front of a sold out crowd of 45,026 fans. The multi-home run game was Howard’s third of the season and 15th of his young career. Bartolo Colon only lasted four innings on the mound for the Red Sox and was pulled from the game after experiencing back stiffness. Colon allowed four runs on six hits and believes he may have injured his back while batting. “I think I did it on a swing,” Colon said through a translator. “We’ll find out more tomorrow, but I think I’ll make my next start.” For the Phillies, starting pitcher Cole Hamels tossed seven innings of solid baseball allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out five in his outing. The win improves his record on the season to (7-4) and in convinced that this is not the last time he will be seeing Boston. “I believe we’re destined to play each other in the World Series,” Hamels said. “We can compete with them any day of the week.” Besides back-to-back home runs by Dustin Pedroia and J.D. Drew in the 5th inning, the Sox were never really able to get anything going against Hamels and the Phillies. The 24-year old was in control the entire outing and was very tough once he was ahead in the count. “He’s not the type of guy you want to fall behind,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “He’s terrific.” On in relief, Mike Timlin allowed four runs on four hits in only 2/3 innings of work for Boston. The appearance raises his ERA to 7.06 on the season and makes one wonder if it is only a matter of time before the Red Sox decide to cut ties with the veteran. At 42 years old, Timlin has been in MLB for 21 years and just does not have the same kind of stuff he used to. With pitchers Dice-K Matsuzaka and Clay Buchholtz almost ready to return to the club, the issue of roster spots will arise and Timlin’s spot will certainly be one that they consider to replace. Tonight the Sox look to bounce back into the winning column as they send Jon Lester to the hill. Lester, 5-3 on the season, will be up against veteran southpaw Jamie Moyer who boasts a 7-3 record. Many moons ago (1996), Moyer pitched for the Red Sox before being dealt away to Seattle in a trade that brought Darren Bragg to Boston. Since being traded, Moyer has gone onto win 171 more games. Another great call by former GM Dan Duquette. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm EST.

Josh Beckett pitched seven scoreless innings allowing only 6 hits to lead Boston past the Cincinnati Reds 9-0 yesterday at Great American Ballpark. Not only was Beckett phenomenal, but the Red Sox bats came to life even without sluggers David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez in the lineup. The Sox were able to produce nine runs on 12 hits including four homeruns on the afternoon. Coco Crisp, Jacoby Ellsbury, J.D. Drew and Dustin Pedroia all went yard in the rubber game of the three-game series. The win improves the Sox overall record to 44-28 and the team has now won 9 out of their last 12 games. “We swung the bats early real well, we spread it out and had a good day at the ballpark,” manager Terry Francona said. Besides his homerun in the3rd inning, Ellsbury also made a little history stealing his 32, and 33 base of the season which is good enough for a Red Sox rookie record. Kenny Lofton holds the American League rookie record of 66 stolen bases back in 1992 and many believe that if he stays healthy, Ellsbury will have a chance to top this mark. “It’s pretty neat to do something that hasn’t been done in Red Sox history for 100 years,” Ellsbury said. “Still, it’s all about getting momentum in the game. I wouldn’t say it’s deflating to steal second and third then score, but it does establish momentum with Josh on the mound.” Homer Bailey took the loss for the Reds. Bailey, now 0-3 on the season, was once considered the Reds top pitching prospect in over a decade and has struggled in all three of his major league outings this season. In 12 1/3 innings of work Bailey has allowed 12 earned runs, walked 10 and surrendered six home runs to opponents. Manager Dusty Baker was hesitant to comment about the young pitchers future with the team or if he’d be demoted to the Triple-A club. “There’s got to be some discussion,” Baker said. “If you’re not making pitches, and that’s your job, you’ve got to figure out what’s up and why. They hit him pretty good.” David Aardsma and Mike Timlin pitched scoreless 8th and 9th innings to preserve the win for Beckett, whose record improves to (7-4) on the season. Since losing Ortiz to the DL, Drew has provided a much needed spark from the middle of the lineup. During the month of June, he is batting .447 with seven homer runs and 16 RBIs. The Sox will now travel to Philadelphia for a three game series against the Phillies. Bartolo Colon pitches tonight for Boston while Cole Hamels will hurl for the Phills. Tonight’s first pitch will be at 7:05pm at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA.

Over the past month, the Boston Red Sox have watched Jon Lester hurl a no hitter, Manny Ramirez blast career home run number 500 and to add to the list of milestones, Wednesday Bartolo Colon hurled career victory number 150 in the Red Sox 6-3 victory at Fenway Park over the Baltimore Orioles. The win improves Colon’s season record to 4-1 and puts the Red Sox at a 41-27 overall mark, good enough for first place in the AL East. “I don’t really think about the wins,” Colon, who signed a minor league contract in spring training, said through a translator. “Every start I do, I’m starting to feel a little better.” In only five starts this season, Colon has more than half as many wins as he tallied over the previous two years with the Los Angeles Angels where he went a combined 7-13 over 29 starts with a 5.72 ERA. So far this season, the pitcher fans have seen in Colon resembles that of the Cy Young winner in 2005 that won 21 games. “He’s been tremendous for us,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “To get a guy you didn’t have when spring training started and all of a sudden he’s right in the middle of the rotation helping us win games, it’s been big.” It also didn’t hurt that the Red Sox put up five run on the scoreboard in the 1st inning to provide Colon with a nice cushion to work with throughout the early innings. Hitting out of the 7-spot in the lineup, Jason Varitek blasted his 7th homerun of the season, a 3-run shot that capped the scoring in the 1st inning. The homer was his first in 16 games and helped the Red Sox jump out early and stay on top. The Orioles made a little noise in the 9th inning, scoring twice off of relief pitcher Mike Timlin to pull within 3 runs with the tying runner at the plate. The Sox called upon Jonathan Papelbon to record the final out and with runners on 1st and 2nd base, Papelbon was able to get Brian Roberts to ground out to end the game earning his 19th save of the season. In the rubber game of the three game match up, Jon Lester will take the mound for the Red Sox who look to win their 10th series of the year at Fenway. The only series match up that they have lost was a three game set back in April that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim took 2 of 3 from the Sox. Lester will be up against Jeremy Guthrie who’s record stands at 3-6. He’s faced the Sox twice already this season, both games resulting in Orioles wins. Tonight’s first pitch has been changed to 6:05pm EST because of the NBA Finals. Following the game, the Sox will head out on a six game road trip that begins a four consecutive series span of interleague play match ups. Over the weekend Boston will visit the Cincinnati Reds for three games and then travel to Philadelphia to take on the Phillies in another three game series before returning home for a three game set against the Cardinals and then Diamondbacks. Last season, the Sox went 16-6 against the NL, including their World Series sweep over the Colorado Rockies. Dating back to 2006, Boston has enjoy much success against the NL going 35-10 overall in interleague play.

For only the second time in 17 games, the Boston Red Sox lost at Fenway Park in Tuesday night’s game to the Baltimore Orioles 10-6. In a rematch of last weeks pitchers duel between Josh Beckett and Daniel Cabrera that last 13 innings, fans at Fenway saw the exact opposite in what some would even call a slugfest. The two lineups combined for 23 hits and 16 runs in a game that lasted 3 hours and 27 minutes. Aubrey Huff led the O’s lineup crushing 4 hits on the night including a go-ahead 2 RBI single in the 7th inning off of Hideki Okajima. Coming into the game, Okajima had retired Huff 6 out of the 7 times they’d faced each other, with three strike outs. “He threw a couple of heaters that I couldn’t get to that were pretty well placed today,” said Huff. “He left me a changeup up a little bit. Other than that, we’ve been patient against him.” The Sox jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning but did strand two runners on base and ground into a double-play in the inning, limiting their chances to do any further damage. Beckett was unable to hold the 1-0 lead for long, surrendering 4 runs in the top of the 2nd inning. He allowed three doubles in the inning while walking and hitting a batter as well. After that frame, he was able to settle down a bit, pitching through the 6th inning not allowing any more runs while retiring 9 of the final 10 batters he faced. The Sox chipped away at the 4-1 deficit by plating two runs in the 3rd inning. They loaded the bases with no outs but were unable to come up with a big hit. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis both grounded into fielder’s choices, which allowed for the Boston runs to come home. In the 5th inning, Dustin Pedroia led off with a walk and J.D. Drew followed him up be blasting his 9th home run of the year over the visitor’s bullpen into the right field bleachers. Manny Ramirez then belted his 15th home run of the year over the Monster for back-to-back shots to put the Sox ahead 6-4. Ramirez has now homered in 4 consecutive games against Baltimore. Okajima was again unable to shut down the Orioles in the 7th inning. He allowed three runs on two hits and two walks to put the Orioles ahead 7-6. They would add three more runs in the 9th inning off of Craig Hansen to put the game out of reach. One of the runs was unearned at the hands of a Dustin Pedroia error. During an attempted double play, Alex Cora threw a rocket to Pedroia at 2nd and he was unable to come up with the ball securely allowing everyone to be safe. Cora, playing in place of the struggling Julio Lugo at short stop, had a particularly rough game at the plate. He went 0-3 and grounded into two double plays. The double plays both followed failed attempts to lay down sacrifice bunts. Tonight, the Red Sox send Bartolo Colon to the hill to pitch against Baltimore’s Garrett Olson. Both starters have above average numbers thus far. Colon’s record stands at 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA and Olson is 5-1 with a 3.86 ERA. Olson faced Boston on May 31st pitching 5 innings while allowing only 2 runs. He did not factor into the decision in a game the Sox would eventually win 6-3. Colon faced the Orioles on June 1st and earned the win going 6 innings with 5 strike outs in Boston’s 9-4 win. The final game of the homestand and series on Thursday has been moved from a 7:05pm start to a 6:05pm first pitch because of the NBA Finals.

Do you need the absolute best tickets Fenway has to offer? Need to impress clients, in-laws, girlfriend, etc? Chances are you’re looking for some of the most coveted seats in the park. High demand seats include: Green Monster Seats, Dugout Boxes, EMC Clubs, Bud Roof Decks and Pavilion Club Seats. The list below will tell you what games these tickets are in stock for, so you don’t have to click around game by game. Check back often as this list will be updated frequently. Green Monster Seats: Available for the following dates – July 11, July 12, July 13, July 25, July 28, July 30, August 2, August 3, August 13, August 14, August 16, August 17, August 29, August 31, September 2, September 8, September 10, September 13, September 22, September 24, September 26, September 27. Dugout Box Seats: Available for the following dates – Available for all remaining home games except 7/8, 7/13, 7/25. EMC Club Seats: Available for the following dates – Available for all remaining home games except 7/8, 8/13. Home Plate Pavilion Club: Available for the following dates – Available for all remaining home games except  7/7, 7/8, 7/9, 7/11, 7/25, 7/26, 7/29, 8/16, 8/31. Pavilion Club Seats:  Available for the following dates – Available for all remaining home games except 7/8. Budweiser Roof Deck: Currently unavailable for any game. To view and purchase tickets for any Red Sox game click here. This list was updated on 7/7/2008.

Having already lost one series to the Seattle Mariners this season, the Boston Red Sox made sure to even the score with yesterdays 2-1 win at Fenway Park. The victory also helped the Sox win the three game set 2 games to 1, avenging their 2 games to 1 series defeat in Seattle in late May. The Sox have won 8 of their last 10 games and currently sit atop the AL East ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays by 1 1/2 games. Justin Masterson pitched another gem for Boston tossing 6 strong innings allowing only 1 run on 3 hits. The victory improves his record to 3-0 on the season with an ERA of only 2.59. These numbers are certainly good enough for the Sox to consider keeping him on their active roster even after Clay Buchholtz and Dice-K Matsuzaka return from the DL. “Anytime you get called up, you want to do your best,” Masterson said. “I am just trying to give us a chance to win.” So far, mission accomplished for the rookie right hander. “Every time he takes the ball, the organization’s got their chest out a little, as they should,” Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. “This isn’t a fluke. He’s been prepared very well how to pitch, how to act and how to compete. It’s exciting.” J.D. Drew blasted the go-ahead home run in the 6th inning, giving the Sox the 2-1 lead for good. The homer was Drew’s 8th of the year. Since DH David Ortiz was placed on the DL, Drew has continued to produce day in and out since being moved into the 3rd spot in the line up. Over the past 8 games, Drew is hitting .519 (14-27) and has hit safely in all 8 of the games. Once Masterson exited the game, Boston’s bullpen continued its recent dominance. Craig Hansen issued a walk to the first battered he face but then retired the next three batters recording 2 strike outs. Hideki Okajima worked a perfect 8th and Jonathan Papelbon came in to pitch a perfect 9th recording his 18th save of the season. Some good news was announced to Red Sox nation before the game when Francona publicized in a press conference that Jacoby Ellsbury would return to the lineup on Tuesday evening. Ellsbury suffered a wrist sprain against Tampa Bay making a diving catch in center-field and had not played since but will be available for the Baltimore series. Tuesday’s starting pitching match up features Josh Beckett going against the O’s Daniel Cabrera. Beckett is coming off a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay while Cabrera suffered a 7-5 loss to Minnesota in his previous outing. The two met in Boston’s 5-2 win a week ago that went 13 innings. Both pitched well but neither factored into the decision. For seats to the Red Sox vs. Orioles series, contact Ace Ticket today!

Right now, the Boston Red Sox have the mentality that before every game they must prepare themselves for battle, and occasionally they even end up fighting. Thursday night benches cleared and tempers flared, yet again, in Boston’s 7-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park. The win was the Red Sox 13th consecutive victory at home, the longest streak in baseball since 2006. Following up Wednesday night’s fiasco where words were exchanged between Rays manager Joe Madden and Sox outfield Coco Crisp, Rays starting pitcher Jamie Shields tried sending Crisp and the Sox a message that the Rays weren’t about to take anything from anybody any longer. Shields plunked Crisp in the thigh with a fastball to open up the 2nd inning. “I protected my own players and that’s what we need to do around here,” Shields said. “We’ve been getting stomped around the last 10 years and it isn’t going to happen anymore. I had to let them know early and let them know right away.” After the beaming, Crisp threw aside his bat, tossed his helmet away and then rampantly charged the mound, running directly towards Shields. “I charged the mound. (Shields) tried to hit me with a punch,” Crisp said. “I’m not upset at all. We fought. That’s all it is. There were some cheap shots there. (Carl) Crawford came sliding in. I don’t know why he was pulling hair, scratching. After that it was three, four guys on one.” After dodging a Mike Tyson-esk roundhouse from Shields, Crisp was able to land a few shots before being tackled by catcher Dioner Navarro from behind. Both benches cleared and Rays DH Jonny Gomes was quick to reach the mound and land multiple punches on Crisp who lay restrained, on the ground, unable to fight back. Once everything settled down, Crisp was ejected for charging the mound, Gomes was tossed for his role in the fight and Shields was told to hit the showers as well for having instigated the whole thing with the errant pitch. This is the 5th benches clearing brawl between the two clubs dating back to the year 2000. It’s the first one, however, when the two teams have been in 1st and 2nd place in the division with a little more at steak in the outcome of the game. The game itself wasn’t much of a contest. Boston took a 3-0 lead in the first inning on Manny Ramirez’s 13 homerun of the season. The blast cleared the green monster seats in left and landed somewhere in between Lansdowne Street and the Mass Turnpike. Manny would add a 2 RBI single in the 4th inning that made the score 7-1, which would prove to be the final. Jon Lester earned his 4th victory of the season tossing 6 1/3 innings of ball for the Sox, allowing only 1 earned run on 8 hits. He struck out 5 batters and walked none on the outing lowering his ERA to 3.50 on the season. The Sox now welcome the Seattle Mariners into town for a three game weekend series. Less than two weeks ago the M’s took two of three games against Boston out in Seattle so the Sox look to stay hot at home against their Western Conference foes. Tonight, Bartolo Colon looks to stay perfect on the season in an attempt to improve his record to 4-0. He will be up against Felix Hernandez in a rematch of the May 26th game that Boston was victorious in 5-3. During the last ten games, Boston boasts a 7-3 record while Seattle has posted a 3-7 mark. First pitch tonight is at 7:05pm EST.