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Baltimore Orioles: On the eve of the return of Jerry Hairston, the Orioles have found a rather unorthodox solution to their crowded second base picture. Hairston has missed the better part of the year with injuries. In that time, his good friend Brian Roberts has done well filling in. So, when Hairston comes back, he will be made the designated hitter and put into the number nine hole in the batting order, reports Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post. One of baseball's so-called "unwritten rules" is that a player cannot lose his job because of an injury. Sheinin speculates that the rule has a statute of limitations of one year. "I don't know that the prototypical DH [has to be] a [number] 3, 4 or 5 hitter, that power-type guy," Manager Lee Mazzilli told Sheinin. "With our lineup and the way I like to run our guys, [Hairston at DH] fits in with our style of play."

Boston Red Sox: Byung-Hyun Kim's starting days with the Red Sox are over -- at least for the time being. Kim got hammered by the Indians last night and found himself out of a starting job by the end of the fourth inning. "We're in a very competitive area in what we're trying to do," manager Terry Francona told Bob Hohler of the Boston Globe. "And right now it's just not working [with Kim] starting. I don't think it's fair to him or to us, so we're going to make a change for now." Kim's nightmare outing included a pitch on which he completely missed Jason Varitek's target, crossing up his catcher and allowing two runs to score. His rotation spot will be taken by Bronson Arroyo. Kim has the choice to report to the bullpen, Triple A Pawtucket, or the team's training and rehabilitation center in Fort Myers, Florida, writes Hohler.

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