Valentine: Roster was weakest ever

TORONTO — Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine says his team's roster is beyond depleted.

Give me some help: Bobby Valentine says the Red Sox have been plagued by a depleted roster. AP

Valentine was asked before Friday night's game in Toronto what part of his last-place club would benefit most from some extra call-ups.

"Are you kidding?" Valentine said. "This is the weakest roster we've ever had in September in the history of baseball. It could use help everywhere."

Winding down a forgettable season, the Red Sox began the day with a record of 64-80, 17? games behind Baltimore and New York in the AL East. Boston, 11-29 since Aug. 1, would be eliminated from the division race with a loss Friday and a win by either the Yankees or Orioles.

The Red Sox have lost 18 of 23 overall. Among AL teams, only Cleveland and Minnesota have worse records.

Boston's roster has been thinned by trades and injuries. Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez and Nick Punto were dealt to the Dodgers last month, along with injured outfielder Carl Crawford. Veteran Kevin Youkilis was traded to the Chicago White Sox earlier this season.

Slugger David Ortiz and rookie Will Middlebrooks are two of the five Red Sox currently on the disabled list, a list that also includes long-term absentee John Lackey. Former MVP Dustin Pedroia is away following the birth of his second son, but is expected to rejoin the Red Sox in Toronto sometime this weekend.

For now, Boston has only five outfielders on its roster and, with Pedroia gone, just five infielders.

Outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and Friday night's starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka, are among the Boston players who have missed extended periods this year. In all, 27 players have made 34 trips to the DL.

Valentine said Boston might add "one or two players" from Triple-A Pawtucket in the coming days. Pawtucket completed a three-game sweep to win its first International League championship since 1984 on Thursday, and will have a one-game playoff against the Pacific Coast League winners, either Reno or Omaha, next Tuesday.

"If there are people who could be brought up, we should bring them up," Valentine said. "But I don't know that there's a lot of guys left."

OAKLAND — Oakland Athletics pitcher Brandon McCarthy stopped by the clubhouse to visit his teammates Friday, just more than a week after getting hit in the head by a line drive.

He was a jokester as usual and worked on a crossword puzzle.

"I told him he should fill in a crossword and put a bunch of letters backward," reliever Jerry Blevins said. "He said, 'I'll fill all the slots in with smiley faces.' It was really fun. He's still the same old guy."

"Everybody was really excited to see him and I think he was very excited to see us, too. There's just nothing that compares to the clubhouse atmosphere and just having him back and being around the guys, it's hard to beat that," he said.

McCarthy underwent two hours of surgery late on Sept. 5 after he was hit in the right side of the head earlier in the day by a liner from the Los Angeles Angels' Erick Aybar.

The right-hander and Oakland's opening day starter was released from the hospital Tuesday.

The 29-year-old McCarthy sustained an epidural hemorrhage, brain contusion and skull fracture on the play. The pitcher wasn't available to the media Friday.

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