No question McCoy Stadium has earned the reputation as a necessary, if not popular destination for rehabbing Red Sox. PawSox fans have become spoiled with heavyweights such as Curt Schilling, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek making pit stops in recent seasons.

Roll out the red carpet and prime yourself for a rock concert environment later this week, for the latest Red Sox scheduled to drop by Ben Mondor Way will almost certain bring the house down in a big fashion.

We’re talking B-I-G, as in Big Papi.

By now you must have heard the news that David Ortiz is slated to spend three days beginning Thursday in Pawtucket. No doubt the ticket counter will have a fair share of customers waiting oh-so patiently when the shades are flicked at 9 this morning.

If waiting in line to score primo tickets to the summer’s hottest event at McCoy (all due apologies to the Dropkick Murphys, who played at the ballpark over the weekend) isn’t your thing, head to pawsox.com, where the box office is open, 24/7.

Secretly some PawSox officials crossed their fingers in hopes Ortiz’s rehab would coincide with the July 17-20 series with Toledo.  Reading and hearing about Ortiz progress from hitting off a tee to taking batting practice started to make the circling of dates a popular exercise.

All the anticipation finally gave way to reality, for the deal breaker was the close proximity between Fenway Park and McCoy (Red Sox officials expressed their desire not to have Ortiz travel, which is why the second leg of his rehab will take him to Double-A Portland).

There aren’t too many bigger names in today’s game than Ortiz, who just might be granddaddy of rehabbers paying a visit to McCoy. Get set for three electric nights of Big Papi attacks, for the slugger belongs to your Pawtucket Red Sox over that span.      

***

Jeff Bailey, Joe Thurston, Chris Carter and Jonathan Van Every are all-stars. It’s a badge of honor the four Pawtucket Red Sox will proudly carry into the Triple-A production of the midsummer exhibition.

The four aforementioned PawSox, who will be joined by pitcher Charlie Zink Wednesday night in Louisville, represent a huge chunk why Pawtucket is perched atop the IL North and sports one of the best records (60-39 heading into last night’s first half finale in Norfolk) in all the minors.

But all-star nods are about individual achievement and a reflection of the numbers put up. Thurston is near atop the IL batting list (.312) with Bailey and Van Every tied for the team lead with 23 home runs (good for third most in the IL) while Carter’s 19 puts him in fourth.

Bailey, Thurston, Carter and Van Every share this in common; they’ve all been summoned to Boston at some point to fill-in. The stays may have been short and their at-bats few, but what truly makes them all-stars is that they’ve come back to Pawtucket and picked right up, playing at the same high level that led to getting called up in the first place.

Baseball is full of tests, and one of them is to see how players react upon getting sent down. Apparently Bailey, Thurston, Carter and Van Every have passed which their all-star nods attest to.

All have had a taste of baseball life in Boston and all want to make sure they remain on Theo Epstein’s radar. All it takes is one phone call to Pawtucket manager Ron Johnson’s cell phone to confirm the message every player in that Pawtucket locker wants to hear: “Get up to Boston.”

“With the team we have, we all want to contribute to the success,” Thurston said earlier this month. “You might not get to play as much if you do go up to Boston because it’s a come-of-the-bench role, but once you come back down you want to help just to get back up to [the bigs]. I want to help my team win, but I hope to get another opportunity.”

“All-Star selections are great, but those guys have continued to play well [upon being returned],” said Johnson. “If they get that second chance, they’ll be ready to go.”

***

Here’s wishing good luck to Pawtucket’s Jeff Xavier, whose quest to participate in the upcoming Summer Games in Beijing gets underway today. A member of the Cape Verde’s national team, Xavier’s team draws New Zealand in the preliminary round with Germany and Dirk Nowitzki and recent addition Chris Kaman next up tomorrow.

Cape Verde is one of 12 countries to descend upon Athens, in hopes of landing one of the three Olympic berths up for grabs.

***

Last Monday’s District IV contest pitting perennial league power Lincoln and Cumberland American was as good a ballgame I’ve witnessed this spring/summer. And I’m taking into account high school, American Legion and the PawSox.

Those who flocked to Garvin Field, which is the host field for the upcoming state tournament, were treated to a crisp game. A lot was packed into a 2-1 game won by Cumberland American, ranging from strong pitching on both sides, power displayed by American’s Brian Belisle, the grandson of legendary Mount St. Charles hockey coach Bill Belisle (who was in attendance as part of an estimated crowd of 400) and Lincoln’s Will Brit. There was also a game-saving catch by Cumberland’s Chris Cambio.  

“Wasn’t that a lot of fun?” said Lincoln manager Charlie Hien with a beaming smile afterward.