The Yankees claimed there was no evidence of an injury when Boston starter Josh Beckett was pulled in the fifth inning Tuesday night. Reliever Manny Delcarmen was given all the time he needed to get ready, rather than the standard eight warmup pitches.
New York wound up losing, and Boston put Beckett on the disabled list the next day.
The protest was turned down Thursday by MLB president Bob DuPuy.
ESPN's Jayson Stark talked to a top major-league scout this week and got a somber assessment.
"I know this is heresy," the scout said, "but I think he's slipping because his velocity is not there. He's only about 89-90-91 m.p.h., especially after about 10 pitches. He's not 93-94 anymore, and it's made a big difference."
Which prompted Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe to relate this story:
"Granted, it probably wasn't the best timing, given that the Sox suffered the worst loss of what has been a very frustrating season," Cafardo wrote. "But this isn't like the days when former Twins GM Howard Fox would walk into manager Ray Miller's office and ask, 'How'd we do last night?'
"Criticize Epstein, if you must, for his team construction, his moves [or lack thereof], but please - spending two hours at a Pearl Jam concert makes you angry?"
Schoeneweis, a graduate of Lenape High in Burlington County, was 1-0 with a 7.90 ERA in 15 appearances.
