Hardball Heaven

With Brendan Donnelly hurting and Mike Timlin struggling, wouldn't it be a huge lift if Manny Delcarmen became that 7th inning guy? He came through in a big way in last night's 2-1 win over the Rangers, striking out 600 Club member Sammy Sosa with the bases juiced (no pun intended) in the... 7th inning. Strange game overall - the winning run came during a tag-out play where Youkilis crossed the plate before the out was made. Some dramatics in the 9th when Papelbon thought he beat Kenny Lofton (the fossil had 4 SB's last night) to the bag at first, but was overruled by the ump. Pap got right up in his grill and was thisclose to being tossed, but his teammates got him out of the way. Compared to the David Ortiz situation a couple weeks ago, the ump showed good restraint this time. Coco sat this one out to rest his ailing thumb and Julio Lugo (if you hadn't heard, 0 for his last 31 AB's) was on the pine. Wake seems to be re-discovering his groove. He got the win.

As far as the current standings, we're 10 1/2 up on Toronto - which lost last night - and 11 up on the Yankees, who also won 2-1. Life is good as we approach the 4th of July, which also happens to be George Steinbrenner's 77th birthday.

Oh, the pictures above... So I'm watching the NBA draft this week just for pure entertainment purposes (and to see what the beleaguered Celtics do) and Joakim Noah gets picked 9th by the Bulls. He stands up from his table, and I'm thinking it's the 7-foot version of Carrot Top right before my eyes. Bushy hair all over the place. A seersucker suit with a bow tie (I read a story last night where he was so concerned about getting a stain on his suit that he had three different people hold his coat during dinner). The guy looked like an absolute clown. But you know something? His schtick is going to make him much more money than his stoned tennis pro dad (Yannick, above) ever made. And did I mention that Joakim's mom is a former Swedish supermodel? Thank you, Joakim, for giving me a laugh as I tried to understand what the Celtics had just done. The #5 pick (Jeff Green), Wally Sczerbiak, and Delonte West to the Sonics for Ray Allen? Not being an avid NBA follower, I'm still trying to digest this one. I guess my feeling is it's a good move if they can make another significant move and get a big defender. And that's all the basketball we'll be talking here for a while...

Rare Saturday night home game tonight for the boys. Josh Beckett vs. Robinson Tejada.