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player ready...Roberto Hernandez was terrific Wednesday night in his perfect ninth inning and got the job done again in Thursday night’s ninth. But manager Gene Lamont said that doesn’t mean the ninth now automatically belongs to Hernandez.
“Would I use him in the eighth? Yeah,” Lamont said Thursday. “In the ninth? Yeah. Would it definitely be `Bert’ in the ninth inning, no matter what happened? No.”
Situations will dictate, Lamont said.
“I don’t think one night makes you forget about everything else,” Lamont said. “Like if you’re hot and have one bad game, you don’t forget about everything good that’s happened, either. But I liked what I saw.”
So did he: Hernandez has things in perspective.
“I haven’t done anything yet,” he said before Thursday’s game. “I just happened to have a pretty decent ninth inning for a change.”
On Lamont’s plan: “That’s a decision he has to make. I just want to help the team win.”
Worth the wait: The Sox victory Wednesday was their fifth of the year in their last at-bat. Four came in June.
A blip: Mike LaValliere threw out 21 of 29 would-be baserunners last year, which is a pretty amazing percentage. This year, he’s 4 for 25. LaValliere offered no excuses.
“I haven’t thrown as well as I should,” said the catcher, whose left hand was still puffy Thursday from getting hit by a backswing Wednesday night. “There’s some times when we haven’t had a chance. That’s going to happen. But I’m not happy with the way I’ve been throwing personally.”