BOSTON, MA (The Spread) – The Boston Red Sox will be without closer Andrew Bailey until at least the All-Star Break.
Bailey will have surgery on Wednesday to reconstruct the UCL in his right thumb. He was examined on Monday in Boston and it was discovered then that surgery was likely the closer’s best option. It’s a huge blow for a Boston club that is having all sorts of problems with its pitching staff this spring.
“I don’t think it will be before the All-Star break – is what the trainer told me,” manager Bobby Valentine said when asked for a timetable for Bailey’s return.
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“That’s a tough break. He was sitting right next to me in spring this year, and the whole spring he was saying `I feel really good, really good,’ and then something like that happens,” said Clay Buchholz, who started Tuesday’s 8-7 win over the Washington Nationals in Boston’s final spring training game. “I think everybody in there feels for him. He’s going to play a big role on our team as soon as he’s back, but it’s tough. There’s going to have to be a couple of guys on this team step up and fill some shoes, and it’s going to be big shoes to fill.”
According to oddsmakers the Red Sox are currently 10/1 to win the 2012 World Series and 5/1 to win the American League Pennant this season. They’re also 9/5 to win the American League East and have an over/under of 89.5 for total number of wins during the 2012 regular season.
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