The Red Sox will be without 33-year old righty starting pitcher John Lackey for the 2012 season due to Tommy John Surgery. Lackey was awful in 2011 for the Red Sox. He pitched in 28 games (all starts) for the Red Sox last year and he was 12-12 with a 6.41 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. He has now pitched in 61 games (all starts) in his first two years with the Red Sox and he is 26-23 with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Lackey has been a complete waste of money for the Red Sox since they signed him a couple of winters ago. Maybe he hurt his elbow drinking beer in the dugout during games.

23-year old lefty swinging outfielder Ryan Kalish is officially done for the season as he will have season ending surgery tomorrow for a bulging disc in his neck. Kalish played in only 24 games in A+AAA-ball this year due to injuries and he was 21 for 92 (.228 avg, .585 OPS) with 11 runs scored, 0 homers, 11 RBIs and 4 stolen bases. Kalish looked solid as a rookie in 2010 for the Red Sox as he played in 53 games in which he was 41 for 163 (.252 avg, .710 OPS) with 26 runs scored, 4 homers, 24 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. The Red Sox still have high hopes for Kalish.

The Red Sox have placed 32-year old righty swinging 3B Kevin Youkilis on the 15-day disabled list due to a back injury. Youkilis has played in 110 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 105 for 395 (.266 avg, .861 OPS) with 64 runs scored, 17 homers, 78 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. Jed Lowrie and Mike Aviles will likely share 3B while Youkilis is out of action. Lowrie has played in 64 games already this year for the Red Sox and he is 58 for 227 (.256 avg, .689 OPS) with 28 runs scored, 4 homers and 27 RBIs. Mike Aviles has played in 13 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 10 for 34 (.294 avg, .629 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 1 RBI and 1 stolen base. 24-year old righty swinging catcher Ryan Lavarnway has been called up to replace Youkilis on the active roster. He went o for 4 with a whiff in his major league debut last night. He has played in 110 games in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 122 for 417 (.293 avg, .931 OPS) with 71 runs scored, 30 homers, 85 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Lavarnway came into the 2011 season as the Red Sox’ #16 prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America.

The Boston Red Sox have found out that 26-year old righty starting pitcher Clay Buchholz has a stress fracture in his lower back, which will likely cost him to miss the rest of the season. Buchholz has started 14 games for the Red Sox so far this year and he is 6-3 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He has now pitched in 78 games (76 starts) in his first five years with the Red Sox and he is 35-24 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. This is part of the reason the Red Sox went so hard after Erik Bedard at the trade deadline.

The Red Sox have placed 35-year old lefty swinging RF J.D. Drew on the 15-day disabled list due to a left shoulder impingement. Drew has played in 77 games so far this year for the Red Sox and he is 51 for 233 (.219 avg, .622 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 4 homers and 21 RBIs. The Red Sox have called up 28-year old switch-hitting infielder Drew Sutton to replace Drew on the active roster. Sutton played in 26 games for the Red Sox earlier this year and he was 14 for 47 (.298 avg, .787 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 0 homers and 7 RBIs. 24-year old lefty swinging Josh Reddick might get the shot to take over full-time in RF while Drew is out of action. Reddick has played in 33 games for the Red Sox this year and he is 37 for 101 (.366 avg, 1.046 OPS) with 22 runs scored, 4 homers, 20 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Reddick has been really impressive for the Red Sox so far this year.