Shane Victorino goes 0-2 in rehab start vs Red Wings
- The Red Sox outfielder is rehabbing a hamstring injury.
- He hopes to rejoin Boston by the weekend.
- Victorino says don't count the Red Sox out.
Shane Victorino is a devout fan of late reggae singer Bob Marley.
The Boston Red Sox right fielder uses Marley's "Three little birds" classic as his walk-up music, and the crowd at Fenway Park serenades the line, "Cause every little thing, gonna be all right."
A real feel-good moment in baseball. But it begs the question: Will every little thing be all right with the 2014 Red Sox, who seem to have one foot on a banana peel and the other on ice as they attempt to defend their World Series title?
"We have a long way to go, with 90 plus games left," he said Monday night from Frontier Field. "Anything can happen. We're not where we want to be, but it's a division that can be taken."
Victorino continued his second rehab stint of the season with the Pawtucket Red Sox against the Red Wings. He batted second and played right field, going 0-for-2 (groundout, strikeout) before being pulled for pinch-hitter Mike McCoy in the sixth inning.
He is sidelined with a strained left hamstring, the same injury that sent him to Pawtucket on rehab in April. He is expected to play Tuesday, sit out Wednesday and play in Thursday's 1:05 p.m. game at Frontier.
"It's getting better," the 11-year veteran said. '"I'm taking it one day at a time and seeing how it progresses each and every day."
There's talk that, if all goes well, Victorino could join the Red Sox on the West Coast this weekend.
"It's a little too early to jump to conclusions, but yeah I'm headed in the right direction," he said. "want to get there as fast as I can. I want to stay healthy the rest of the year and not have these injuries resurfance."
The Red Sox stunned the baseball world last season, winning the World Series one year after losing 93 games. Victorino was a big part of the resurgence and cemented his place in Red Sox lore with a grand slam in the seventh inning of Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Detroit Tigers.
He joined Jim Thome as the only players to hit two postseason slams. The Red Sox went on to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 2 in the World Series, giving Victorino his second championship (he was part of the Phillies' 2008 team).
Asked about that slam Monday, he answered, "That was last year."
The defection of free-agent center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury to the archrival Yankees in the offseason was only the beginning of Boston's problems. Shortstop Stephen Drew was a free agent before finally coming to terms on a new contract on May 21. Third baseman Will Middlebrooks and Victorino went on the disabled list in early April and began rehab stints with Triple-A Pawtucket. Middlebrooks is back with the PawSox on a rehab stint (fractured finger) and also went 0-for-2 Monday.
Starting pitcher Clay Buchholz was sidelined in late May with a knee injury and is expected to pitch Thursday for Pawtucket against the Red Wings.
The Red Sox lost 10 in a row in May. Then won seven straight. Then lost five in a row. They entered Monday just 31-39 and nine games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.
Victorino, 33, began his latest rehab stint on Saturday in Pawtucket. It was his first game action since reinjuring his right hamstring at Tampa Bay on May 23. The "Flyin' Hawaiian" is expected to play at Frontier again on Tuesday night and then be re-evaluated by the Red Sox, whose outfield has been one big dud from the plate this season.
Even Victorino, who is making $13 million this year, is hitting just .242 in 21 games.
"It's been a very frustrating season," "he said. "Any time you're injured it's not fun . . . not being able to help the team in any way."
JMAND@DemocratandChronicle.com
Twitter.com/jmand