Lowell – not A-Rod – a priority for Red Sox

While the Boston Red Sox celebrated at Coors Field after their second World Series sweep in four years, general manager Theo Epstein was serenaded with two pieces of advice.“Re-sign Lowell!” the sizable contingent of Boston fans yelled from behind the visitor’s dugout. Then they broke into a chant of, “Don’t sign A-Rod!”

Before the champagne-style sparkling beverage had dried from the traditional post-game party on Sunday night, the Red Sox brass was reminded of the difficulty facing them if they’re going to have a chance at a third championship any time soon.

Among the potential free agents are third baseman Mike Lowell, the World Series MVP, and Curt Schilling, a star of the team’s 2004 title. Other players eligible for free agency include knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who can be brought back with a team option, and spare outfielders Eric Hinske and Bobby Kielty.

“Free agency to me is very new, so I’m going to take it step by step,” Lowell said while clutching the World Series MVP trophy. “I’ve never hid the fact that I enjoy playing here in Boston. I have great teammates, a great manager, great coaches, so we’ll see what happens. But I’m more focused on celebrating right now.”

Lowell, who made $9 million this year, is expected to be a target for the New York Yankees now that Alex Rodriguez has declared himself a free agent. Once coveted by the Red Sox, Rodriguez became the focal point of much of the locals’ Yankee-hating venom after he engineered a trade to New York.

So when word trickled into the stands that A-Rod had opted out of his contract – in the middle of Boston’s coronation – the fans let the team’s brain trust know how they felt. Team president Larry Lucchino said he heard the chant, but wanted to savor the title before turning to 2008.

“We’re staying out of that discussion right now,” Lucchino said. “It was kind of strange timing. But trying to predict what certain players and certain agents do in free agency is a fool’s exercise.”

Schilling said in spring training that he would come back for a one-year deal at his current salary, $13 million. But that was before injuries limited him to 24 starts and a 3.87 ERA as he converted himself from a power thrower to a contact pitcher with slower stuff.

The Red Sox already have control of Wakefield and young starters Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Jon Lester – not to mention Clay Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter in his second major-league start. The lineup is stocked with youth, too: rookie of the year contender Dustin Pedroia, still-a-rookie Jacoby Ellsbury and first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

“It bodes very well,” Lucchino said. “You’ve got to have a second generation of baseball players in order to have ongoing success. You’ve got to draft your own, sign your own, and grow your own.”

Boston chairman Tom Werner said the team’s brain trust had an epiphany in August of last year, after a five-game sweep by the New York Yankees essentially eliminated the injury-depleted Red Sox from the 2006 playoff chase.

“We said we’ve got to do a better job,” Werner said Sunday night.

They went after Matsuzaka, paying an unprecedented $51.11 million just for the rights to talk to him. But they also went after Japanese reliever Hideki Okajima, who cost them just $2.5 million for two years and proved to be a crucial bridge to closer Jonathan Papelbon.

A role player picked up midseason after he was waived by Oakland, Kielty hit what turned out to be the game-winning homer in Game 4 when Boston beat the Colorado Rockies 4-3 to complete the Series sweep. As much as big-money stars like David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez and Matsuzaka, spare parts like Kielty were the key to Boston’s victory this time.

So, while the decisions on Lowell and Schilling will be important, the Red Sox will pay as much attention to the pinch-hitters and middle relievers who might be needed in 2008.

“We had a saying in 2004 after the season: ‘Any schlemiel can win once,”‘ Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said at Coors Field on Sunday night. “This was about championships, plural.”

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Major League Baseball criticizes A-Rod and his agent over timing of announcement

Major League Baseball had this message for Alex Rodriguez and agent Scott Boras: Shame on you.Boras announced during Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night that A-Rod was opting out of the final three seasons of his contract with the New York Yankees. The timing left baseball officials livid.

“We were very disappointed that Scott Boras would try to upstage our premier baseball event of the season with his announcement,” Bob DuPuy, baseball’s chief operating officer, said Monday in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

“There was no reason to make an announcement last night other than to try to put his selfish interests and that of one individual player above the overall good of the game,” DuPuy said. “Last night and today belong to the Boston Red Sox, who should be celebrated for their achievement, and to the Colorado Rockies, who made such an unbelievable run to the World Series.”

Red Sox fans sure took notice fast. After their team won the title for the second time in four seasons, they stood behind the visitors’ dugout at Coors Field and chanted: “Don’t sign A-Rod!”

“Kind of strange timing,” Red Sox president Larry Lucchino said after Boston completed its sweep of Colorado.

New York, which failed to make the World Series in all of Rodriguez’s seasons, maintained Monday that it will not attempt to re-sign A-Rod now that he has opted out.

“No chance,” Hank Steinbrenner, a son of owner George Steinbrenner, said Monday at Legends Field. “Not if it’s made official.”

Hank Steinbrenner did not make much of Boras’ timing.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he said. “But I’m sure there’s a lot of people that aren’t very happy about it. Other baseball people, the commissioner’s office, the Red Sox.”

Hank Steinbrenner said the team left messages with Rodriguez, and “we really wanted to meet with him.”

“We wanted him to stay a Yankee. We wanted to let him know how much we wanted him,” he said. “The bottom line is … do we really want anybody that really doesn’t want to be a Yankee? How the heck can you do that? Compare him with (Derek) Jeter. Jeter, since he was a little kid, all he ever wanted to do was play shortstop for the Yankees. That’s what we want.”

New York was preparing to offer Rodriguez a four- or five-year extension worth between $25 million and $30 million annually and had hoped to meet with A-Rod to present the offer.

“We expressed our interest in keeping him in pinstripes, and requested the opportunity to convey those feelings to him directly with the Steinbrenner family in an open, face-to-face dialogue,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said in a statement.

Cashman sounded as if Rodriguez’s stay in the Bronx was over.

“Alex was a key part of our success over the last four seasons, and I appreciate having the opportunity to work with him,” he said. “I only wish we could have raised a championship trophy together during his time here, which was the ultimate goal we all shared.

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Devil Rays claim Birkins, designate Casanova for assignment

The Tampa Bay Devil Rays claimed left-hander Kurt Birkins off waivers from the Baltimore Orioles and designated catcher Raul Casanova for assignment on Monday.Birkins split last season between the Orioles and Triple-A Norfolk, starting two of 19 games he appeared in for Baltimore. The 27-year-old was 1-2 with an 8.13 ERA and made his first major league start at Tropicana Field on Sept. 3.

Casanova, 35, hit .253 with six homers and 11 RBIs in 29 games last season

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Red Sox parade route to include duck boats again, flatbed truck for Papelbon

The city of Boston will host a rolling rally for the World Series champion Red Sox beginning at noon Tuesday.The team will be carried on amphibious vehicles called duck boats from Fenway Park, down Boylston Street and through Copley Square. They will follow Boylston along the lower part of Boston Common then turn left onto Tremont and continue past City Hall Plaza.

The parade will pause at three spots – Copley, across from the Parkman Bandstand at Boston Common and at City Hall – so closer Jonathan Papelbon can dance his now-famous Irish jig on a flatbed truck, accompanied by Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys. There will be large TV screens set up at each location.

Unlike in the 2004 victory parade, the duck boats will not enter the Charles River. The parade will end at New Chardon and Cambridge Streets.

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Hasselbeck, Branch, other starters out of practice as “careful” Seahawks return from bye

Seven days off still wasn’t enough for Matt Hasselbeck and some other Seahawks starters.Seattle’s quarterback wore a knit cap instead of a helmet as he rested his strained oblique during practice Monday, the team’s first day back from a bye-week vacation given by coach Mike Holmgren.

Receiver Deion Branch, right tackle Sean Locklear and left guard Rob Sims also sat out as trainers tried to capitalize on another players’ off day Tuesday to get extended rest for some sore starters.

Holmgren wasn’t exactly thrilled that a seven-day break will end up being nine for Hasselbeck and friends.

“It wasn’t my call. It was our training staff,” said Holmgren, who spent his week off riding his motorcycle at his desert home outside Phoenix. “I wanted them to practice, and I think we are being a little careful, you know. But I will go with what they tell me.”

The coach then issued a promise: “They are all practicing Wednesday.”

Hasselbeck said after practice that “I haven’t tested it too much but I think I’ll be fine.”

His hiatus allowed for the return to relevance of Charlie Frye, but just for one day.

Though it was only practice, Frye ran a starting offense for the first time since Sept. 9 when he began the season as Cleveland’s starting quarterback against Pittsburgh. He was benched early in that ugly loss. Two days later, Cleveland traded him to Seattle for a sixth-round draft pick.

The NFC West-leading Seahawks (4-3) play at surging Cleveland (4-3) on Sunday.

Frye has been the Seahawks’ third-string quarterback, not appearing in a game and only in practice with the scout team until he also ran the first team Monday. Usual backup quarterback Seneca Wallace also took snaps with the starting offense.

Hasselbeck, who had the best September of his career, was injured when St. Louis pass rusher Claude Wroten drilled him in the rib cage as he threw an incomplete pass in the second quarter of a 33-6 win Oct. 21. Hasselbeck finished the game, but was in such need of treatment in the ensuing days that he had to cancel a family vacation to Disneyland during the bye week.

“Now I get to listen to everybody else talk about the fun, exciting trips,” Hasselbeck said, adding he was one of about six Seahawks training room regulars last week.

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Broncos RB Henry inactive for the game Monday night against Packers

The Denver Broncos deactivated leading rusher Travis Henry for the game Monday night against Green Bay because of sore ribs.Henry hurt his ribs in the third quarter against Pittsburgh in last week’s 31-28 win. Henry has also been hampered by right ankle and knee ailments this season.

He has 549 yards on 119 carries this season. Undrafted rookie Selvin Young will start in Henry’s place.

Fullback Mike Bell and defensive end Jarvis Moss were also inactive for Denver.

Green Bay’s inactive list included center Scott Wells, running back Brandon Jackson and tight end Bubba Franks.

The Packers didn’t activate Koren Robinson, the wide receiver who rejoined the Packers at practice this week after his one-year suspension ended. The team’s roster exemption expires Tuesday, when the Packers would have to make room on their roster to add him.

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Romo cashes in on new contract with Cowboys

Tony Romo didn’t have to wait until the offseason to get his big payday from the Dallas Cowboys after all.Romo has agreed to a six-year, $67 million deal that will be announced Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the contact has not been announced.

The contract, which will become effective this week and provides salary cap relief for Dallas, includes $30 million in guaranteed money.

“It’s a great feeling you have when the organization and the people stand behind you, and you can be the quarterback for a long, long time,” Romo said. “It’s a neat feeling that, `You’re our guy, we like you.’ … It makes you feel good as a person and a player.”

Cowboys spokesman Rich Dalrymple said the team would have no announcements Monday night. Other club officials did not immediately return calls.

Ken Kramer, who negotiated the contract for Romo, also was not available for comment.

Recently, quarterbacks Matt Schaub of Houston ($48 million) and Marc Bulger of St. Louis ($65 million) received six-year contracts. Bulger got $27 million guaranteed.

Schaub’s Texans are 3-5, while Bulger’s Rams are 0-8. Both have also been injured this season.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, are 6-1 and lead the NFC East.

Romo hoped to get a new deal this past summer. Team owner Jerry Jones opted to let the relatively unproven quarterback go into his first year in charge just to make sure he was worth a huge commitment.

The answer came quickly. Romo was the NFC’s offensive player of the month in September and Dallas finished October with the No. 1 offense in the conference.

With Jones confident he had the right man for the job, it made sense to get the deal done now because Dallas is able to apply some of the salary cap impact this season.

Romo is in his fourth year in the NFL, but has started only 17 games. He’s won 12 and done so in such dazzling fashion that Roger Staubach’s grandson likes wearing Romo’s No. 9 jersey, not his grandpa’s No. 12.

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Rams lose another offensive lineman, guard Incognito

It’s back to the salvage yard for the winless St. Louis Rams, who lost their third offensive lineman to a season-ending injury Monday.Guard Richie Incognito’s right kneecap popped out of place, a partial dislocation with accompanying cartilage damage, in the first quarter of Sunday’s loss to the Browns. Incognito was optimistic after the game that the injury was not serious, but after an MRI exam coach Scott Linehan said surgery would be required followed by a “somewhat lengthy recovery time.”

The news was more encouraging on running back Steven Jackson, sidelined by back spasms in the first half after a strong start against Cleveland. An MRI exam on Monday revealed a bulging disk, but Linehan is optimistic he could return to the lineup without missing a game.

The Rams (0-8) have a bye this week and play next at New Orleans on Nov. 11.

“Maybe it’s good timing that we have the bye this week, for him,” Linehan said. “Certainly I would think he wouldn’t be able to play this week.”

The Rams will practice Tuesday and Wednesday before getting four days off to lick their wounds. Linehan, 8-8 in his first season with the Rams, was told a few weeks ago his job was not in immediate jeopardy and said Monday team president John Shaw has been “very supportive.”

“I met with him yesterday and there’s no plan to meet with him this week,” Linehan said. “I talk to John every week.”

Linehan, never a head coach before the Rams hired him, said he’s doing his best to cope with the Rams’ plight.

“I’ll always say this, I’m one of the luckiest people in the world to have one of these 32 jobs and be in this position,” Linehan said. “I don’t think I’m having the luckiest season of my career.”

Tackle Alex Barron is the only offensive line starter to avoid injury. Tackle Orlando Pace (shoulder) and guard Mark Setterstrom (knee) also are out for the season and center Brett Romberg was out Sunday with two sprained ankles, although he could be back after the bye.

Two top backups also are out. Adam Goldberg (knee) is on injured reserve and Todd Steussie, released with an injury settlement after breaking his foot in the preseason, could make his season debut against the Seahawks on Nov. 25.

“It’s something I never want to go through again,” Linehan said. “I’m sure nobody can really go back in their past and say ‘When we lost our entire offensive line, this is what we did …’ “

The situation has left the Rams scouring the waiver wire for replacements. Milford Brown, who’s made seven starts at guard and tackle; Brandon Gorin, who made his first start at right tackle on Sunday; and Nick Leckey, who filled in at guard after Incognito’s injury, all were released by the Arizona Cardinals in the last few months.

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Smith won’t pin Urlacher’s inconsistent play on arthritic back

Brian Urlacher’s bad back isn’t the only painful issue facing the Chicago Bears these days. It may be the most important one, though.Although Urlacher told foxsports.com an arthritic back is limiting his performance, Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith insisted Monday the team does not “play players that are injured.” He dismissed the notion that Urlacher’s inconsistency is the product of his pain.

And Smith said he’s “not disappointed” the six-time Pro Bowl linebacker revealed his condition, even though he wondered why Urlacher would do that.

Yes, Smith was a bundle of inconsistencies, just like his team.

A 16-7 loss to Detroit on Sunday sent the defending NFC champions reeling into their bye week with a 3-5 record. They’ve been rattled by injuries, and it’s no secret that Urlacher’s back has been bothering him the past few months. He missed a significant portion of training camp and has frequently been held out of practices this season.

Yet, he never acknowledged the pain was affecting his play until the story posted Sunday that he is having trouble bending and backpedaling. He also said he recently saw a specialist in Pittsburgh, who confirmed an earlier diagnosis by team doctors.

“The thing that’s so frustrating is there is no clear cut solution to give me relief,” Urlacher told the Web site. “I just have to deal with the pain.”

Urlacher continued his recent pattern of giving short answers to the Chicago media on Sunday, saying “probably” when asked if the report was accurate. He did say he will start answering fans’ questions on the Web site, and his first blog entry was posted on Monday.

“Do players play with pain?” Smith said. “Yes. Weekly, daily, players play with pain. To be truthful, Brian has felt a lot better lately.”

Urlacher said in Monday’s blog his back “felt pretty good yesterday.”

In the story posted Sunday, he was quoted saying the back problem is more painful than the season-ending hamstring injury he had late in the 2004 season.

The pain seems to be a logical explanation for Urlacher’s inconsistencies this season, but Smith dismissed that idea.

“He’s not injured,” Smith said. “He can still play at a high level, which he’s done.”

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Saints climbing back into NFC South hunt

The New Orleans Saints “ain’t” done quite yet.Just when it looked like the “Aints” of old were back and fans were ready to reach for the grocery bag masks they wore during the futile seasons in the early 1980s, the Saints started winning again.

New Orleans (3-4) has won three straight, scoring early and often in a pair of convincing road victories against Seattle and San Francisco.

Head coach Sean Payton was pleased enough following the Saints’ 31-10 triumph over the 49ers on Sunday to give his players Monday off.

“This has been a pretty steady group of guys that have been working hard and are committed to winning,” Payton said Monday afternoon. “We have guys who understand how much work we have to do still and how difficult this is.”

When the Saints opened 0-4, it appeared their season was all but lost, to the shock of fans who had high expectations following New Orleans’ appearance in the NFC championship game a season ago.

Drew Brees had nine interceptions and only one touchdown pass through the first four games. The Saints were beaten by no less than 17 points in each of their opening three losses. In their fourth game, they statistically outperformed Carolina, only to be done in by penalties, dropped passes and two missed field goals in a 16-13 setback.

That was when Brees, with the help of improved blocking by his offensive line, started to look increasingly like the Pro Bowl pick he was last season. Against San Francisco, he threw for a season-best 336 yards and four touchdowns while completing nearly 80 percent of his passes.

In the Saints’ past three games, he’s thrown for 801 yards and eight touchdowns with only one interception.

Payton said there was never anything wrong with his quarterback beyond the fact he was pressing and trying to do too much while his teammates also struggled.

Most of Brees’ turnovers occurred when the Saints were playing from behind and taking risks to try to get back into games, the coach said.

“I’ve said before that when you fall behind by 21 points and you’re playing catch-up, the job description for the quarterback really changes immensely,” Payton said. “You become one-dimensional and you have to take some chances that you normally wouldn’t take. … He’s not afraid (when) behind like that to worry about personal statistics if it’s going to take being aggressive to get back into a game.”

As soon as Brees’ protection improved and the Saints started getting leads, their quarterback’s ability to move the ball showed itself again, particularly against the 49ers

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