DETROIT -- There's a whole lot of coughing and wheezing going on around the Boston Red Sox lately, and we're not talking about how the bullpen reacted to being given a one-run lead in the eighth inning Friday.
If you're wondering what hit the Red Sox harder, the flu or Mikie Mahtook's two-out, pinch-hit double against reliever Robby Scott that tied the game in the Detroit Tigers' 6-5, home-opening victory, it was really no contest. Within the past 10 days, at least five players and two coaches have been stricken to the point where they have had to be quarantined.