Odds & Ends

Hideki Okajima and Daisuke Matsuzaka are still getting used to the differences in MLB basballs. Jeemer:

A lot of the balls you get [in the major leagues] are different from one another. Some are bigger than others, and some feel different than others. The American ball is totally different from the Japanese ball. There is a much better feel with the Japanese ball ... but I'm still not used to it.

Having Eric Gagne as an additional set-up man will help the Red Sox avoid overusing Okajima. Jeemer has pitched more then 70 innings only twice in the last 10 seasons. He's pitched 51.2 so far this year.

Jonathan Papelbon on Gagne:

For me, it's more special and more intriguing than I can put into words ... [A]nybody that's going to come over here and set your ego aside says a lot about a person. I think for our bullpen, it's absolutely huge.

Said one MLB executive: "I just assumed [Gagne] was going to go to the Yankees. They needed him the most."

Dave Roberts on Gagne: "What an unbelievable fit that is. A high-intensity guy in a high-intensity city. That's perfect."

David Ortiz's third-inning home run off Eric Bedard last night was his first off a lefty since last September 24.

Mike Timlin -- right shoulder soreness or fatigue -- threw a 24-pitch side session yesterday.

Manny Ramirez was named American League Player of the Week for the period ending July 29 after batting .393 with four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, seven runs scored and an .857 slugging percentage. Ramirez, who was 7-for-14 during the four-game series in Cleveland, has won the award 15 times, more than any other player.