A kidney stone and some sore ribs plague injury-ridden outfield

-- A lot of the Sox's defensive woes this week can be attributed to one of my greatest concerns going into this season, two starting outfielders out of comission at the same time.

The Sox dropped two of three to the Twins, with Ellsbury out longer than expected after colliding his ribcage with Beltre's knee on a sliding catch attempt Sunday, battling a great bit of soreness the whole week while missing action.

Then there's Mike Cameron. At age 37 I was worried about his heightened risk for injury, but who would've seen a kidney stone coming. What was called an abdominal strain before Thursday's Twins game turned out to be a kidney stone trying to pass, causing the veteran center fielder a great deal of pain.

According to Terry Francona, Cam underwent a medical operation Friday to pass the stone and could return as early as Saturday.

Still, the Sox are shallow in outfielders and having both Ells and Cam out through Friday hurt badly. While he has not yet been placed on the DL, Ells return is unknown.

J.D. Drew however shockingly enough has been almost 100 percent. Seems that he and Francona have learned how to best pace his strides on the diamond for the long haul.

Jeremy Hermida has proven a worthy backup, but utility man Bill Hall is no replacement for Ells or Cam -- even in the short term.

Looks like Sox prospect Reddick may see some time in the majors earlier this year than planned. I say call him up from Pawtuckett with Dice-K next week and they can take the carpool lane.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry