Hardball Heaven

The Sox lost a very frustrating ballgame tonight in their series finale against the Blue Jays. The final score was 6-4 but it should have been 10-4 in favor of the good guys -- too many men left on base, too many topspin grounders and strikeouts from J.D. Drew at critical moments. And to be fair, a big strikeout by Kevin Youkilis, who has not had a good second half.

All that said, the bigger picture looks pretty good. Since Clay Buchholz' no-hitter last Saturday, the Sox had won three straight against the Orioles and the Jays, and at this point in the season it's all about winning series. The youngsters - namely Buccholz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia - have injected a huge dose of enthusiasm and excitement, and it's been a lot of fun to watch. Ellsbury looks like the real deal.

As things stand tonight, the Sox have a 6-game cushion on the Yankees, who trounced the Mariners tonight thanks to a couple more bombs from A-Rod. It feels pretty comfortable, but it will be interesting to see how Francona manages down the stretch. He gave the hot-hitting Pedroia the night off tonight, and will most likely keep doing that with players down the stretch.

Looking ahead, it looks like the AL playoff entrants are pretty much set. The Red Sox, white-hot Indians, Angels and wild card Yankees. If that holds true, the Sox would play the Indians in one ALDS and the Yanks would have to tangle with their longtime nemesis.

The magic number is 17 as the Sox prepare to open a 4-game set in Baltimore (aka Boston South).