Hardball Heaven

So what the hell is up with our supposed young ace, Josh Beckett? Man, has he been downright disappointing since he signed the big $30 million contract last month. Tonight, the Tigers pounced on him early for five runs, and the Sox ended up losing 7-4. The 8th inning was the key frame as Rudy Seanez gave up a couple more runs in the top half, and then third base coach DeMarlo Hale suffered a brain fart in the bottom half waving Manny Ramirez home from second on a sharp single. Manny - not being very, ah, fleet-footed - was out by a country mile. (We'll give DeMarlo a pass, though; as Francona said after the game, 'pretty good when you guys (media) are asking him questions for the first time in mid-August...')

The play was a huge rally-killer, though. Had Manny pulled up at third, it would have been bases loaded, 1 out, 7-4 ballgame, and a hot Wily Mo coming up. All in all, a very frustrating night particularly with the Yankees and White Sox both winning. If this is the best Beckett can give us, we're in deep doo-doo.

Sox are now 2 games behind New York, and 3 games behind Chicago for the wild card. Curt Schilling vs. Jeremy Bonderman tomorrow in Game 2.