Lugo's death knell begins

With the All-Star Break finally behind us, it's time to take a look ahead at what the second half has in store for us. One thing it doesn't have in store for us is Julio Lugo's presence in a Red Sox uniform. Now, while the Red Sox could always throw us a curveball, it's highly likely that the following will occur:Red Sox activate SS Jed Lowrie, option 1B Aaron Bates to Pawtucket.Activating Lowrie is more of a necessity than activating Lowell first. If Lowell draws the first activation (unless the Sox make a secondary move such as optioning Daniel Bard, both cannot be activated together) the Sox will play Friday's game with no infield backup, given Lugo would go to make room for Buchholz. Activating Lowrie first and giving him a start at third would at least enable the Sox positional flexibility should an injury in the infield occur. If Green or Pedroia needs to exit the game, it can be managed. With Lowell on the roster, it would take some creative (and unp...