BOSTON – And they thought the worst was behind them.  After pulling out of the team wide slump that led to a 3-11 start to the year, the Bootleggers have battled hard since then to get to the .500 record they currently possess along with the division lead.  Now, they are going to have to continue their quality play without the help of their two best offensive threats.

Couture (.339/12/42)

The ink was not even dry on Gaston Couture’s new $62 million contract before he broke a bone in his elbow – landing him on the DL for the next 8 months.  Losing a year of his prime is not exactly what the ownership had in mind when they guaranteed him almost $21 million per year over the next three years.  Couture’s spot in the order and the field will be taken by Bobby Moore, the young outfielder acquired in the off-season in the Cruz deal.

Baker (.339/15/42)

Four days after Couture went down, CF Randy Baker went down with a hip strain that landed him on the 5 week DL.  Unfortunately, in an odd turn of events, the next day he strained his oblique – adding an additional 8-9 weeks to his DL stint.  This is Baker’s eighth and ninth trip to the DL, respectively.

“We’ve been down before this year, we’re just going to have to dig a little deeper and continue battling for next few months.  Randy will be back this year and we plan on being in contention when he returns. That will give us a nice boost as we hope he will be able to continue his productive season.  We’re in a good position and we have a lot of depth as well as strong pitching staff.  We’ll be fine,” said GM Rob Carlson in a prepared statement.

Carlson also stated that angry outfielder Nick Steele will see some additional playing time. “We never like to see our players taking their frustrations out through the media, but he will not be going anywhere, the rumors are false.  We’re not paying him $10 million per year for nothing.  Now is the time for him to prove himself.”