Dice Strong In Buffalo; No Appendicitis For Cameron

Driving to the Buffalo airport yesterday*, I noticed the lights were on at (ugh) Coca-Cola Field; the highway goes right past the outfield. On the return, everything was dark. It turns out the Paw Sox were there in the afternoon and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched six scoreless innings.

Dice allowed three hits and no walks, with two strikeouts (86 pitches, 57 strikes). He pitched econo in the fourth and fifth innings, needing a total of only 13 pitches!

With 11 scoreless AAA innings, he feels he is ready for Boston:

I think I've thrown enough pitches at this point to be ready to pitch in the big leagues. ... I'm confident. ... I feel ready. Beyond that point, I really have to leave the decision up to the powers that be.

And the PTB have given no updated timetable for his return.

Mike Cameron does not have was appendicitis. He was scratched from yesterday's lineup about an hour before the game because of discomfort in his lower abdomen (which he first noticed on Wednesday).

Jacoby Ellsbury said he was at about 10% when trying to hit balls off a tee. "I still can't really take a deep breath without getting a sharp pain [in the lower chest area]. ... I don't want to make any predictions on what's going on."

Brad Mills got his first win of the season as manager of the Astros. After an 0-8 start, Houston beat the Cardinals 5-1 yesterday.

*: More fun and games at the border.