Hardball Heaven

As predicted, after a day of gnashing our teeth we're officially back on the bandwagon - at least through the upcoming 5-game Armageddon this weekend against the Yankees at Fenway.

Last night's sweep-averting 6-4 victory over the Tigers was a surprise considering the pitching matchup of 43-year old David Wells against Detroit phenom Justin Verlander. In typical Wellsian fashion, the portly portsider went 6-plus innings, gave up 10 hits and a couple of home runs, and got the key outs when he needed them. By contrast, Verlander struggled with his command all game - he ended up walking 7 - and the Sox took the lead in the 5th on a Big Papi homer into the Sox' bullpen. The Tigers clawed back to take the lead, but Coco Crisp hit a clutch double in the 6th to give the Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Craig Hansen was the bridge to Papelbon, who finally had a clean 1-2-3 inning to seal the deal.

Even better, the Bombers lost to the Orioles last night 3-2, so the lead is 2 as the big, big series gets underway this weekend. Today's an offday for the Red Sox, while the Yanks play the Orioles - and hopefully that one goes 26 innings.

The Sox reportedly have also made some personnel moves. The Herald is reporting that they've finally obtained some left-handed hitting in the form of Blue Jays corner infielder/outfielder Eric Hinske and Carlos Pena, the young slugging first-baseman from Haverhill who began his career with the Tigers, then fell off the radar. He's been in the Yankees' farm system, most recently at AAA Columbus. Not sure what the plan is for both guys, but Hinske may be able to add some lefty pop while Nixon and Varitek are on the DL.