"Lower Body Injury" has nothing on this.

Think the NHL's "lower body injury" description is equal parts vague and mysterious? Hah! Terry Francona, manager of the Boston Red Sox has pushed the envelope of non-descriptive medical issues just that much further . . .

"Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez was out of the lineup [for today's game against the Detroit Tigers] with what Francona called 'intestinal turmoil,' but was used as a pinch hitter in the eighth inning after the Tigers gave him antibiotics."

"Intestinal turmoil"

We look forward to that malady in the injury reports to come to a newspaper near you very soon.

But we'll avoid the locker room in which it makes its appearance.

What, you mean he WON'T take the minimum just to play in New York?

Our old pal Larry Brooks must be beside himself this morning. Henrik Lundqvist is getting pinched by the salary cap (not to mention the the $14.4 million in cap room eaten up by the two new shiny toys) and will be taken to arbitration so as to "buy time," in Ol' Lar's words, for resident genius Glen Sather to "make roster moves."

Yeah, that's a way to go...go cheap on your franchise goaltender, pay him half of what he's worth this year on a one-year arbitration deal, then try to negotiate a long-term contract with him . . . and Lar, who must be the keeper of the checkbook inventory for Sather, is even talking in terms of Sheldon Souray as a free-agent signing. That signing -- for a defenseman who tied for the league lead in power play scoring among defensemen but was a -28 for the year* -- should make Lundqvist feel truly loved.

That second helping of $7-million center is looking like it might cause a case of indigestion in New York before too long.




* No full-time Caps defenseman was worse than -14.