It should be a good night here at Fenway, where King Felix and Tim Wakefield go at it in a classic contrast of young and old, and power vs. knuckleball.

Hernandez was just named the American League's Pitcher of the Month for June, so the Boston bats will have their hands full. The dynamic righty has made two career starts at Fenway, going 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He pitched that epic game here in '07 that overshadowed Dice-K's much-hyped Fenway debut. That night, Hernandez pitched as dominant a game as I've seen live in the last three or four years, firing a one-hitter against the Sox.

Of course, Tim Wakefield has been pitching quite well for the Red Sox and this is his last start before All-Star selections come out on Sunday. Wakefield is easily the most interesting All-Star angle regarding the Red Sox this year. If he could make his first All-Star team at age 42, it would be quite a story.

But the big story in baseball is on the othe coast, as Manny Ramirez's 50-game supsension ends tonight, as he is right back in that Dodgers lineup. The Dodgers are hosting the Padres. What kind of ovation does Manny get? I'm assuming they treat him like a conquering hero, which is a little hard to understand, given the circumstances. But we will have to wait and see.

For more info, make sure to follow along tonight on twitter
http://twitter.com/IanMBrowne

Sunday will mark the seven-year anniversary of the death of the best Red Sox of all-time, No. 9, Ted Williams. For those who miss hearing about the Splendid Splinter, HBO will soon release a phenomenal documentary -- just shy of an hour and a half -- on the fascinating life and career of Ted Williams.

There was a pre-screening for media and VIPs at Fenway Park tonight. It was a lot of fun gathering to watch the film, which took a poignant look at Ted throughout the years, exploring the good and the bad.

Aside from great archival footage, HBO interviewed several key personalities, including Bobby Doerr, Dom DiMaggio, Bob Feller, Tony Gwynn, Nomar Garciaparra, Johnny Pesky, Joe Buck, Robert Redford and writers Richard Ben Cramer, Leigh Montville (Ted Williams biographer) and Dan Shaughnessy.

There is expansive coverage of Ted's entire career. He was such a gifted hitter that the Red Sox moved the fences in 20 feet in right field just to accomodate him and accenatuate the factor he would become. There was resentment from some of the team's veteran players at first, but then they saw that the Kid more than lived up to his advanced billing.

Because of Ted's brashness, he received harsh coverage from the press and always had a contentious relationship with the media. The film does a great job showng viewers that Ted wasn't always the folk hero he was portrayed to be in his later life. Like anyone else, he had flaws.

The one constant in the movie is the examination of Ted's utter rage, which was evident at the ballpark and at home. His second wife spoke of how Ted would do things like rip the phone out of the wall. And at the ballpark, he spat at fans who booed him.

According to the film, Ted once told a writer, "Boston is a lousy town anyways. I'd rather play in New York."

But then there was the other side of Ted. the man who gave so much of his life to the Jimmy Fund, and the Teddy Bear who would talk hitting with anyone who would listen for hours on end.

And the Ted who came back to Fenway long after his career was over and finally tipped his cap to the fans of New England, telling them how much he loved them.

Ted'd favorite home run -- his walkoff (even though they didn't call it a walkoff back then) in the 1941 All-Star Game -- is reviewed. There is great footage of Ted and Joe DiMaggio slapping hands in celebration when Williams crossed the plate.

There were looks at Ted's two stints in the miliatary as a fighter pilot, which robbed him of five full seasons in the heart of his career. Imagine the lifetime numbers Williams would have had if not for his time in the service? This only adds to his lore.

Those are just some of the highlights. There is also his quest for .400, his rivalry with DiMaggio, his failure in the 1946 World Series -- Did you know he injured himself in exhibition games leading up to that Fall Classic? -- his epic last at-bat, and his post-career days.

I love the section about how Ted held a meeting with Tom Yawkey to insist taking a $10,000 pay cut for his final season because he hit just .254 in 1959, the only sub .300 season of his career. Imagine someone doing that now?

There is great, close footage of that tear-jerking moment at the 1999 All-Star Game, when Ted came on to the Fenway field in a golf cart, and then was dropped off near the pitchers mound in his wheelchair as the stars of the day surrounded him.

And yes, there was talk of the controversy following Ted's death, when his head was frozen at a cryogenics lab.

All in all, many of the elements of the film are known by those who have followed Ted throughout the decades. But that doesn't make it any less captivating to watch in the grand way that HBO has pieced it all together.

The film debuts on HBO on July 15.

Sorry guys and gals, I did not make the trip to the land of the crab cakes. I'm home in Boston for some downtime. Figured I'd check in because a little birdie told me a new thread would be helpful for commenting purposes.

It looks from afar like Terry Francona has not lost his touch. A little lineup tweak and J.D. Drew, batting leadoff tonight with Dustin Pedroia to the two-hole, is in the midst of a big night.

Jon Lester putting up zeroes yet again.

I think John Smoltz's start tomorrow night will be far more telling than the one against the Nats the other night when he had what I'm sure was an overpowering combination of rust, adrenaline and nerves.

As for Mike Lowell, the news seems good. Just the fact that they were able to drain all that fluid before the shot shows you there was cause to all the discomfort he has had of late. Best case scenario, Lowell returns to the lineup on Friday night at Fenway. Worst Case scenario, they put him on the DL and he returns for the first game after the All-Star break.

Anyway, talk to everyone soon.

Ian.

Because Jason Bay is a nice guy and a confident speaker, he is approachable on just about any subject.

However, the Boston left fielder, who is eligible for free agency in November, doesn't want to discuss his uncertain future any more with the media. Bay said as much in very polite fashion before Saturday's game.

"To be honest with you, there's been all the contract talks and what have you and I've kind of just gotten to the point now where I'm going to not talk about it," Bay said. "I don't mean that in a bad way. You go to a new city and someone there wants to ask you about it. Until there is a press conference or until it's the end of the season ... it's really a moot point to me."

"I've gotten to this point without really worrying about it. so far, so good. If it comes up, great. If not, kind of pleasantly surprised kind of how easy it is living the now. I'm having fun with these guys winning games. Winning games helps on any level. If we win ballgames, my contract status is a side note."

But what is not a side note is the season Bay is having. He is third in the AL with 19 homers and first in RBIs with 69.

Jason Bay is out of the lineup for just the second time this season, with the Red Sox facing a pitcher in Javier Vazquez that he is 2-for-12 against lifetime. But it's more just a chance to get Bay a day off, then the matchup issue.

Julio Lugo is back in the Boston lineup for the first time since June 13.

"Lugey, when he has been called upon, has actually swung the bat real well," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "He got the bunt down last night. Again, I feel about him like I feel about everyone else. I don't want to just let him not be sharp enough to help us win games. Greenie has played well, I think everyone knows the background there. I just think it's a good day for him to play."

ATLANTA -- Though it was overshadowed on a night Josh Beckett reeled off his latest gem and David Ortiz hit a mammoth home run, Red Sox manager Terry Francona reached a personal milestone, winning his 800th game. This, in Boston's 4-1 triumph over the Braves.

Francona became the ninth active manager to have that many wins, joining Tony LaRussa, Bobby Cox, Joe Torre, Lou Piniella, Jim Leyland, Dusty Baker, Bruce Bochy and Mike Scioscia.

Seven of those nine -- including Francona -- have won at least won World Series. Baker and Bochy, who have both managed pennant-winners, are the only two on the list not to own a World Series ring as a manager.

Francona is 800-731. With the Red Sox, he is 515-368.

Perhaps most impressive about Francona's resume is what he has done in October. He has a record of 28-14 in the postseason and is the only manager in Major League history to record wins in his first eight World Series games.

The Red Sox could give Francona a chacne to extend that streak this season, as they have a 45-28 record and lead the Yankees by four games in the American League East.

-- Ian Browne

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell was out of the lineup for the fourth time in the last six games on Friday night. You might not see Lowell at all this weekend as a starter. The tightness in his hip is lingering, and Lowell expects he will get a synvisc shot in his right hip early next week, perhaps by Monday.

The good news about a synvisc shot is that it only requires about a 24-hour recovery period.

There is no Jacoby Ellsbury tonight. The center fielder banged up his right elbow crashing into the wall in Josh Bard's double Thursday night. Kotsay is playing center. Ellsbury expects to be back in the lineup on Saturday.

John Smoltz, the future Hall of Famer, formally begins his career with the Boston Red Sox tonight, pitching here in the Nation's Capital. It should be good theater for sure, as evidenced by the sight of several national writers in the press box, including Gordon Edes of Yahoo!, Jack Curry of the New York Times and Ken Rosenthal of Fox and Foxports.com.

Meanwhile, Big Papi David Ortiz is back in the cleanup hole for the first time since 2005 on a night Kevin Youkilis is out of the lineup. Just a rest for Youk as manager Terry Francona adapts to National League rules. It will be interesting to see if Ortiz settles into the cleanup spot between Youkilis and Bay, to give them more of a right-left effect in the middle.

Jed Lowrie's rehab has been set back a couple of days after he got belted in the knee earlier this week. Lowrie should be back in the PawSox lineup by Saturday.

The only thing Jason Varitek likes talking about less than his hitting are whatever injuries might be bothering him at a given time. The captain, uncharacteristically, left Nationals Park following Tuesday's game without speaking to the media. This is probably because he knew the topic of his sore left shoulder would come up.

Multiple times during the game, NESN cameras caught Red Sox trainer Paul Lessard working on Varitek's shoulder. After the game, once fully showered and dressed, Varitek went back into the trainers room to have additional treatment or consultation.

All manager Terry Francona would reveal on his weekly radio appearance this afternoon on WEEI is that Varitek is, "A little beat up."

That said, the captain is in the lineup tonight, batting sixth. Though Varitek wouldn't use it as an excuse, you wonder how much the ailment has had to do with his bat going quiet in June.

After clubbing his ninth and 10th homers in a win over Minnesota on May 28, Varitek hasn't gone deep since. In June, Varitek is hitting .196 with five RBIs.

I'll update in a little bit once I get to the clubhouse to see if Tek or Tito has anything else to add on the subject. Because Varitek is intensely private about injuries, my guess is that Francona will have his back and not elaborate all that much.

More later, and be sure to keep following me on Twitter, where the updates are frequent throughout the night at http://twitter.com/IanMBrowne .

With a view of the Capitol clear as day from the press box, I am coming to you live from Nationals Park, where the Red Sox and Nats are going at it the next three nights.

No David Ortiz in the Boston lineup tonight, as the Red Sox are without the DH for the next three days. Manager Terry Francona will mix and match during those days. With the lefty going tonight, this was the logical night to sit Big Papi, hot bat and all.

SS Jed Lowrie will play again for Triple-A Pawtucket tonight and take tomorrow off. The Red Sox are in no rush here as he needs the reps.

As for Daisuke Matsuzaka, he is back in Boston, working out but not doing any throwing.

The Red Sox and the medical staff will sit down with him on July 2 -- the off-day -- and formulate a more structured plan for the right-hander, who figures to spend a considerable amount of time on the disabled list. When he comes back, the Red Sox want him to be Dice-K. And the best way they think that can be accomplished is for him to sepdn a lot of time strengthening his shoulder.

More later, and be sure to keep following me on Twitter, where the updates are frequent throughout the night at http://twitter.com/IanMBrowne .

thx,

Ian.