Bad News for Boston

The Red Sox’s disabled list is getting awfully cramped. Josh Beckett has surpassed a month on the table with a lower back strain; Jacoby Ellsbury will pass that plateau this week with fractured ribs; Jeremy Hermida has fractured ribs as well; Mike Lowell’s strained right hip has kept him down since earlier this week; and Jed Lowrie/Junichi Tazawa have missed the entire regular season .

Add at least one more name to the tally, as Dustin Pedroia was placed on the 15-day DL with a fracture in his left foot. Clearly this one hurts the most. Pedroia is one of the best players in baseball. Not only that, but he was in the midst of perhaps his finest season yet. The early timetable on his return suggests that he’ll miss quite a bit more than the 15 days, which leaves Boston in an uncomfortable position of having Bill Hall man second base while they search around for a potential replacement. As a matter of fact, Boston just acquired Eric Patterson via trade. And well, he’s not replacing Pedroia, and he may not even be able to suitably replace Hall.

As if matters couldn’t get any worse, Clay Buchholz left his start tonight against San Francisco after one inning on the hill. He suffered a leg injury on the basepaths, which prompted Boston to strain their bullpen. Buchholz grabbed his hamstring which may be the culprit and there’s no word on the severity, nor, obviously, on his status moving forward.

Boston has climbed back into the playoff hunt after a hellacious April, but those fortunes could turn once more if they continue encountering an injury bug with the vengeance of an angst-filled Cthulhu.