Hardball Heaven

Well, it coulda shoulda woulda been an impressive sweep of the defending world champs in their house, but it wasn't meant to be. After beating the ChiSox 9-6 on Saturday in the series' second game, the Red Sox lost to their stockinged brethren yesterday (last night), 6-5 in 19 innings. That's right - 19 innings. This one just kept going and going, and when it was all over, 40 players had participated, and 569 pitches had been thrown by 16 pitchers. In the bad news department, Varitek and Nixon went a combined 0 for 17 yesterday, and our superstud closer, Jon Papelbon, gave up a rare 9th-inning run for a blown save. In the good news department, the bullpen -- particularly Delcarmen, Hansen, and Tavarez -- was outstanding late in the game.

So we head into the All-Star break with a 3-game lead over the Yankees. Sox are 20 games over .500, at 53-33. Yanks are 50-36. When play resumes on Thursday, the Sox will be taking on the Oakland A's, and the Yanks will be hosting these same White Sox.

Enjoy the break. Monday and Wednesday are the only two days during the year that the four major sports leagues in the U.S. are quiet, so use the time to get reacquainted with family and friends! I'll have a mid-year recap to share in the next couple of days.