Big (And I Mean Really Big) Night at the Fens Tonight

Barry Bonds makes his much-awaited Fenway Park debut tonight and our fair town is abuzz over the potential "treatment" he'll get. In fact, the happiest people in the park tonight will probably be Julio Lugo, J.D. Drew, and Coco Crisp because for at least a few minutes, the fans' wrath will be directed elsewhere.

What will Barry's reception be? It's going to be ugly, there's no question about that. Will someone throw a syringe on the field? A few D batteries? Hopefully, there won't be any projectiles. I've heard that some clever soul came up with a Styrofoam thing shaped like an asterisk. That's pretty cool. What would I like to see? I would absolutely love my fellow fandom if every time Barry Big Noggin came to bat, everyone simply turned their backs on him. That would be a powerful statement. We know he's not going to play left field in this series - that would be suicide. Count on him DH'ing throughout the weekend.

Barry's a proven double loser. He's not only a cheater, but he's also a Class A asshole. I read a story today from a Pirates employee who is still incensed that Barry refused to sign a couple of auction items for a benefit to help two children of a fellow Pirates employee who died in a car crash. Shameful. He basically treats everyone around him like cow dung.

But here's a thought on how Barry can do a little bit of image buffing. Would it not be the greatest thing ever if after he hits #754 - one homer shy of tying the mark - he announces his retirement from the game? He'd win a few people back, but I know, I know. In the immortal words of Steven Tyler, dream on.

Update

Two posts in one day -- will miracles never cease?

Well, the Yanks have won their ballgame against the pathetic Diamondbacks and are now sitting 8 games out pending tonight's Sox-Rox result. One other interesting morsel of news - our pal J.D. is in the leadoff hole tonight.

Downright Offensive

Well, at least Terry Francona is showing signs that he knows the offense is struggling. In the first game against the Rockies Tuesday night, he finally dropped Julio "Mario Mendoza" Lugo to the 9th spot in the lineup and elevated Dustin Pedroia to hit leadoff. Of course, Terry's also got to think about the other two black holes in the lineup - Coco Crisp and J.D. Drew. Together, these three have become automatic outs.

Crisp has never materialized into the player we thought we were getting, and Lugo has been absolutely, positively brutal - both in the field and at the dish. It's makes Theo's Shortstop Roulette game that much more maddening when you see what Orlando Cabrera is doing in Anaheim, what Edgar Renteria is doing in Atlanta, and even what Alex Gonzalez is doing for Cincinnati. Gonzalez is hitting .260 with a .305 OBP, 11 HRs, 28 RBIs, and 32 runs. Lugo is hitting .211 with a paltry .270 OBP, 4 HRs, 34 RBIs, and 30 runs. His one saving grace has been his adeptness on the basepaths with 18 SBs. And Drew? I'm no hitting expert, but it looks like he's swinging off his tippy-toes. If I had a dollar for every top-spin groundout to second or first, I'd be a happy man. We can only hope that eventually the law of baseball averages catches up with J.D., and we see the numbers we thought we'd see.

These three musketeers have been scuffling all season, and their woes become that much more frustrating when the whole team is in a slump, which is certainly the case right now. Since that Sunday night loss on June 3rd to the Yankees, the Sox have averaged just under 3 runs per game, and that includes the 10-run anomaly in the second Arizona game. How much of an anomaly was that game? Drew hit 2 HRs and drove in 7!

Remember right before the Yankees series to start June when we had visions of going 16 1/2 games up on the Bombers with a sweep? Foolish, of course. The Sox' pitching has held up reasonably well, but the offensive quagmire has resulted in five full games being shaved off the lead. The Yankees since that series have been white-hot, beating up on lower level teams like Chicago and Pittsburgh. A-Rod and Abreu have been scorching the cowhide.

In the interest of full disclosure, we should also make mention of the underperformance of one Manuel Aristides Ramirez. The paper had a graphic this morning showing that with 8 HR's on June 13th, it's his lowest HR output at this point in his career. Glass is half full says, 'good, that means there's a lot more to come.' Glass is half-empty wonders if Manny's banged up.

At any rate, they better get their act together quickly. Red Sox Nation isn't in panic mode just yet, but it does feel like we're looking in our rearview mirrors, waiting for something bad to happen - like maybe have a military chopper firing on us.

The Sox close out their series against the Rockies tonight, and here's hoping Josh Beckett can shut down the bats. After that, the circus comes to town in the form of the San Francisco Giants and Big Head Barry. I'll have a special post up tomorrow with a suggestion on how Barry could buff up his image juuuuust a little bit. Needless to say, it will be very interesting to see how Bonds is treated by the Fenway Faithful.

Mr. & Mrs. Drew Can Be Proud Tonight

Okay, so we've seen back to back to back to back home runs this year, a no-hitter lost with one out to go in the 9th, the temporary resurrection of Julio Lugo and J.D. Drew in the same game, and now - this caps it off - we just watched Julian Tavarez put down a strange-looking but effective bunt that made it bases loaded for the Sox against the Diamondbacks. That's the beauty of baseball. Just when you think you've seen it all, along comes something completely unexpected. Like I tell my wife all the time, it's my soap opera. And it's better than any of the slop you're watching.

I thought Curt Schilling's near no-hitter on Thursday might serve as a catalyst after the Sox had lost 4 in a row for the first time all season. So far, so good. After avoiding the sweep in Oakland with Schilling's gem, the Sox put the wood to Arizona last night, beating the D-Backs 10-3 behind Drew and Josh Beckett. Drew (along with Lugo) has been a popular whipping boy on sports radio this week. The two big offseason acquisitions (combined 9 years, $106M) are both hitting about .220 and fans around these parts are rapidly growing impatient. For one night anyway, the beleaugered pair showed some of the offense Theo thought he was getting.

Lugo led off Friday night's game with a blast into the left-centerfield seats, but it was Drew who was the offensive star. He smashed two homers and drove in a career-high 7 runs. Combined with a sharp Beckett, the Sox coasted to victory in the opener.

Tonight it's Mr. Tavarez against Arizona's Micah Owings. It's 1-0 right now heading into the third inning.

A couple of random observations and links for your reading pleasure:

- Went to a buddy's 40th birthday party tonight, and in deciding what to bring as a gift, I settled on a book about the 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox. A bunch of us are turning 40 this year, and we all take pride knowing that our Moms carried us/had us during one of the greatest Red Sox seasons ever. So anyway, I'm looking online for a good book, I type "impossible dream" in the Google search field, and this spits out. Ronan Tynan, who just happens to be the house singer for... the Yankees.

- Remember all the different uniform combinations the Oakland A's and Pittsburgh Pirates of the late '70s and '80s had? The Diamondbacks are in that class. Red, black, all sortsa stuff going on.

- I love 'Tek and he's the undisputed leader of this nine, but whoever decided to put the 'C' on the front of his uniform made a bad decision. It just looks silly.

- There's nothing quite like the excitement of watching one of your own pitchers come so close to a no-hitter like Schilling did the other day. I was at a gym in Boston and before you knew it, there was a crowd of around 15 people - old and young - intently watching the TV. When he got the first 2 outs, I thought for sure he had it. But Shannon Stewart thought differently. After the game, Schilling talked about how he shook off Varitek's call for a slider, and said he'd probably play the 'what if?' game for the rest of his life. Who else would be that candid under the circumstances? Schilling's a blowhard, but he's our blowhard. Check out his blog for his thoughts on the near no-no.

- Fat Roger made his Yankee debut today against the mighty Pittsburgh Pirates. He ended up getting a win - 6 innings, 3 earned runs, 5 K's. Solid numbers.

- Trivia question: Who's the only man to have 2,000 hits and 2,000 wins as a major league manager?

- Did your heart skip a little bit last night after Manny got hit in the wrist? Looked nasty on replay, and he's out of the lineup tonight - but all reports indicate that he's fine.

- It's a good week for the Drews. Stephen Drew - J.D.'s brother and the SS for Arizona - just took Tavarez deep for a 2-run homer. 3-0 Diamondbacks.

- NESN had a feature on tonight about the team "barber" - a cat named Lmonstro. This is the guy who does Manny's dreadlocks and Big Papi's funky beard. He actually travels with the team and everything. L-fricking-monstro. Only in America.

- Well, there you have it. I give 'Tek grief for the C and look what he does. He homers in the 6th to make it a 3-2 game, and then he doubles in the 8th to tie it at 3. A good one going on in the desert...

- J.D. Drew continues to be on fire...

- Here's a question for you: in a big game, right now, who do you want starting -- Wakefield or Tavarez? It's an interesting debate but I'd have to go with Tavarez right now. Wake rebounded last time out, so hopefully he can get back into a groove. If he doesn't, and if and when Jon Lester reclaims his spot in the rotation, it will be interesting to see what Tito and Theo do.

- Speaking of Lester, after a couple of solid outings for Pawtucket he had a tough one last night. This gives the Sox the luxury of giving Lester one more start in the minors, and giving Tavarez another start. No need to rush, which must be a nice feeling.

- This is cool -- I just nodded off for about an hour so this is now one of the longest posts ever.

- I just so happened to awake from my slumber at the perfect time. The Sox and D-Backs are into the 10th inning and Mike Lowell just hit a pinch-hit sac fly to drive in Big Papi for the go-ahead run. Papelbon comes on for the save and allows a couple of baserunners, but he's throwing lighting bolts and the Sox close it out. A very nice win.

- Well, the best I could do on my comeback win research -- as of May 27th, after the Sox had beaten the Rangers in Game No. 49, they had 17 comeback wins. Pretty damn amazing.

- Trivia answer: Joe "Karl Malden" Torre

- I know I'm rambling so I'll end it on this note: Dice-K against Randy Johnson today. Appointment TV.

This Guy Puts Lou Piniella to Absolute Shame

Check out one of the all-time great 'manager goes nuts' videos.

Catching Up

Fried hard drives, healing avulsions, sick kids, an even sicker wife... these are just a few of my excuses for the infrequent blogging over the last couple weeks. As a former sports talk show host in Boston once famously said, "I apologize a thousand times!!"

But lucky for you - my three loyal readers - I've been storing up items for discussion like a chipmunk stores nuts. So without any further ado, let's opine and spectate.

First things first. The most important question on the minds of all Boston sports fans this morning, Sunday, June 3rd? How will the Bruins get back into the playoffs in 2008?? I jest, of course. The Bruins are practically extinct in this town as are the lottery luckless Celtics (shame on all of us for thinking a 39% chance to land Oden or Durant really meant a 100% chance). If anything, the last few months here in Sportsville has reinforced the fact that Boston is very much a two-sport town, and with the Patriots and Red Sox as our representatives, we're probably the best two-sport town going right now.

Anyway, let's chat about these two teams for a moment. The Patriots are in sleepy, offseason mode after their buying/signing/drafting frenzy. Randy Moss took part in a recent passing camp, and from all accounts was looking good and getting acclimated to the offense. Unfortunately, the headline out of Foxborough in the past two weeks has been a tragic one: the untimely death of 24-year old backup defensive lineman Marquise Hill. Hill died in a Memorial Day weekend jet skiing accident in his hometown of New Orleans. The other interesting tidbit on the Pats concerns the team's Hall of Fame, which is getting ready to induct the best wide receiver from my day, Stanley "The Steamer" Morgan. Old No. 86 caught many a TD pass from Steve Grogan and Tony Eason, and has always been underappreciated around here. Congrats to Stanley.

Now, let's get to the principals, our first-place, juggernaut Boston Red Sox.

As we sit here this morning, following last night's 11-6 victory over the Yankees at Fenway, the Sox are 20 games over .500 at 37-17. They lead the second-place Orioles by 11 games and the next-to-last-place Yanks by a whopping 13 1/2. The Sox' incredible start and the Yanks' incredible unraveling have been equally stunning to watch.

Let's go around the horn with some thoughts on each of the blood rivals. We'll begin with the Yanks, because it's simply more fun to analyze this car wreck.

- We begin our Bronx Tale on the afternoon of Sunday, May 6. The scene: Yankee Stadium, the 7th inning stretch. All the sweathog peasants are asked to direct their bloodshot eyes to George Steinbrenner's private box, where a certain fat, overpaid Texan is dressed in (appropriately) a pinstriped suit and holding a microphone. "Well, y'all, I'm coming back," says 45-year old Roger Clemens. "The Yankees dragged me out of retirement (must have been hard) so I'll be seeing y'all soon..." The sweathogs and WFAN radio bitch Suzyn Waldman go bonkers. At the time, the Yankees are a workable 5 1/2 games behind the Sox, and it's widely perceived that Clemens' surprise announcement will serve as a kick start.

- Alas, the story has not played out the way they hoped. Since Clemens' breathless announcement, the Yankees have gone a pathetic 9-15, while the Sox have been sensational at 17-7. In the process, the Yanks have lost 8 1/2 games. And Roger's been watching the implosion from remote, Triple-A outposts.

- The implosion hasn't just come on the field, which has made this plummet even more entertaining. Whether it's Jason Giambi putting his foot in his mouth about past steroid use, or A-Fraud making the tabloids as he esquires a busty blonde in and out of North America's finest strip joints, the newspapers in NYC have been having a blast. How'd you like to have been Mrs. A-Fraud, finding out about her cheesy, a-hole husband's infidelities by looking at the back page of the Post?

- And there's been a few A-Fraud on-field issues as well. There was the rolling block/flying elbow he threw at Dustin Pedroia a couple weeks back, and then the situation in Toronto this past week where he was rounding third on a pop up to the Blue Jays' third baseman, yelled 'mine' to deke him into thinking the shortstop was going to take it, and the ball fell. Lots of interesting debate over whether it was a bush play or smart baseball, with a lot of MLB old-timers saying it was fine, and and most contemporary players crying foul. With A-Fraud, though, one must consider the history. He first shows his true colors in the historic, epic Yankee collapse in the 2004 ALCS, with the feminine swipe on Bronson Arroyo. He then gets into it with Jason Varitek, which results in A-Fraud getting a mouthful of Rawlings catcher's mitt. The guy is as talented as they come, but it's pretty clear that he's a loser of the highest order.

- Aside from the A-Fraud foibles, it's easy to see why the Yanks have sucked the bit. No pitching, no hitting. Simple as that. A bunch of Triple-A retreads have taken the ball for them so far this year, and the bazillion-dollar lineup has been dreadful. Just when they show minor blips of having a pulse, they flatline again.

- The events of this weekend have summed it up well. Coming into this three-game series with the Sox, the Yanks had to be thinking: '...if we can get 2 or even sweep, then we've got Roger coming back on Monday against the White Sox, we can get some momentum.' And things were looking good for a while. They started out with a win Friday night by knocking Wakefield around pretty good, and when Jorge Posada hit a three-run bomb to give them a 4-3 lead yesterday on Schilling, things felt a little shaky. Not to fear, though. The Sox fought back and eventually took the lead. Mike Lowell plowed into two Yankees (Cano first, then Mientkiewicz who suffered a concussion). Okajima and Papelbon closed the door. And, for the cherry on top of the sundae, it was announced by the Yanks that Clemens had suffered a groin injury in his last rehab start and wouldn't be pitching against the White Sox on Monday after all. One step forward, four steps back. Beautiful, ain't it?

As for the Sox, it's been a steady drumbeat of just winning series. In stark contrast to the Yanks, everything has come up roses for them. They lose Beckett, and Gabbard comes up from the minors and pitches his heart out. They lose Big Papi for a couple of games, and it doesn't matter because we've got Big Youk lighting it up. Manny hasn't started to hit. Coco Crisp and Julio Lugo have been anything but tablesetters. And J.D. Due has been a huge disappointment so far. Disappointing to the point of wondering how a seemingly intelligent GM like Theo Epstein saw it appropriate to reward him with a 5-year, $70 million deal.

But again, all the negatives have been vastly overshadowed by the positives. That's what a 13 1/2 game lead over the Yankees will do.

The starting pitching has been fabulous, and the bullpen fabulouser. Signing Okajima looks like a brilliant move. In fact, I'd say the team MVP's so far are Oki Dokey and Kevin Youkilis, who has been on a monster tear. Coming into this season, I felt Youk was a weak link on this team - the one guy that didn't deserve to just be handed a starting spot in this lineup. Man have I been proven wrong. He's been phenomenal - both at the plate and in the field. At the other corner, Mike Lowell has defied the 'slow bat' skeptics and is again off to a fast start with the stick. He's been uncharacteristically sloppy with the glove, but that should come around. Still, it will be interesting to see what happens with the corner spots as the year moves on. Several media reports suggest that the Sox are still peddling Lowell. Could they be looking at Helton or Teixiera at first, and moving Youk back to third? Time will tell...

Fortunately, their lightning quick start gives them the luxury of not having to worry too much about their concerns. The Yanks don't have that luxury. Instead, they've got an aging owner in Tampa (some reports say he's suffering from Alzheimers) trying to decide which head should roll next. They fired the friggin' trainer a month or so ago to shake things up. I think it's time for the team masseuse to go.

Great one on tap for tonight on ESPN. Josh Beckett tries to go to 9-0 against Andy Pettite. Hopefully, Roger will be watching from his plush K-Club living room, ice packs on his 45-year old joints, as his good buddy Andy makes sure the spectacular implosion continues.

Pinch Me

Sorry for the 10-day hiatus. I developed an avulsion on my right middle typing finger so I had to give it time to properly heal.

A lot has happened since we last left you. The Sox are currently playing their 10th game since May 7 (the back end of a doubleheader against Detroit) and are bidding to be 8-2 if they can pull out a win. They went to Toronto and swept them bums, then took 3 of 4 from the Orioles (including an incredulous comeback win in the Mother's Day finale). So far, they've taken 2 of 3 from the Jim Leyland-led Tigers. Just had to post this picture of Leyland and the old stove-pipe Pirates hat from the late 70's/early 80's.

The Yankees, on the other hand, have not exactly rallied around the Texas Con Man. The bazillion dollar lineup continues to underachieve, John Damon is getting old, Giambi's banged up, Matsui's power is gone, Bobby Abreu looks absolutely clueless at the plate. The returns of Mussina and Wang haven't given them a big jolt. Mariano Rivera is very hittable. And on and on. Bottom line: as we sit here tonight, at 8:06 p.m. on Thursday night, May 17 - with a healing avulsion, no less - the Red Sox have an 8.5 game lead on New York and it could be 9.5 by night's end. Pinch me. (Tigers just tied up the nightcap at 1, with back to back doubles by the resurrected Magglio Ordonez and the ever-steady Carlos Guillen).

Let's see - other important news and notes:

The Sox are starting to get hit with some key injuries. Josh Beckett - who was throwing lights out in his last start - had to come out early due to a skin problem on his right middle finger. The team was very careful not to call it a blister, as Beckett has a long history with blister problems, and instead called it an avulsion, or small tear.

J.D. Drew chased after a home run ball in the Tigers opener and hit the short right field bullpen wall pretty hard. He's day to day with a sore back.

Mike Timlin's on the DL with shoulder tendinitis. Manny had a little hammy issue.

On the bright side, the Sox have some decent pitching depth (Tavarez pitched a gem esarlier today and Snyder has been steady) and they just sent Jon Lester to Pawtucket for some starts so he may be close to returning.

See, that's how it is here in the Nation since the magical events of October 2004. We're glass is half full - at least sometimes.

Why, take for example, the wonderful news that Roger Clemens let the Yankees "come and get 'im." While some of us no doubt let our minds wander - and think about the storybook ending that Clemens could have if he ended his career in Boston - this is a much better scenario. We hate Roger, we hate the Yankees, and it's going to be awfully fun watching them miss the playoffs this year. Who thinks Clemens will face the Sox in that early June series at Fenway?

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad; Yanks in Panic Mode

Since we last left you, the beat has gone on for the Sox. They won Friday's makeup game against Seattle in dramatic fashion, with a late Manny blast, and then they traveled to Minnesota and took 2 out of 3 from a tough Twins team at the Metrodome. Wakefield was superb Friday night, the Sox lost to Johan Santana on Saturday, and then they won a nailbiter yesterday, 4-3.

They're following the same formula - good pitching, timely hitting, good defense. Francona gives Manny a day off and starts Hinske. They win. He puts Alex Cora in there and the guy has been Pete Rose, rapping out hit after hit after hit. The middle relief continues to be outstanding. Papelbon is a-ok. As we wake up this morning, the Sox can enjoy a day off knowing that they've got the second-best record in baseball (behind, believe it or not, the Milwaukee Brewers). They've got a 5.5 game lead on the Yanks.

Speaking of the Yanks, it was announced yesterday at hallowed Yankee Stadium that Roger Clemens has finally settled on the highest bidder and will be wearing pinstripes again this year. Big announcement at the park - stopped the game, Roger speaks on a microphone from the owner's box, says he's "privileged" to be back, etc. Membership indeed has its privileges - according to news reports, the Yanks will pay Rog a prorated $28 million through the rest of the year. He still gets his schedule/travel quirks that he had in Houston. The general consensus is that the decision came earlier than expected, and it's easy to see why. The Yanks have been trotting out Triple-A slop two or three times a week, and they're in danger of falling out of the race in May. They HAD to do this. Still surprised that he's walking away from the posh home gig, though. More on the ridiculous Roger recruiting process in a separate post.

When it's firing on all cylinders, the Yankee rotation now looks pretty tough. Clemens, Pettite, Wang, Mussina, Hughes vs. Schilling, Beckett, Dice-K, Wakefield, and (eventually) Lester.

The Yanks are in action tonight against Seattle while the Sox are en route to Toronto for a three-game set.

When All Else Fails...

... why, fire the trainer, of course. All the pulls, strains, and aches that have befallen the Yankees so far this season came to a head yesterday when the team summarily dismissed the dude who leads the pre-game stretching routine. Classic George. To be fair, the rash of injuries has been pretty unbelievable. Then, of course, you've got your daily Carl Pavano health issue. What a colossal waste of money - I love it. Think George wishes he owned an NFL team, where there's no such thing as a guaranteed contract?

Anyway, back to our team. The Sox got back to their winning ways last night with a 6-4 victory over Oakland. Josh Beckett wasn't electric, but he was still pretty damn good. Beckett is now 6-0 on the young season, and is the first Sox pitcher to win six straight since Roger Clemens did it in 1991. Every hitter in the lineup had at least one hit and what stood out for me is key contributions - both at the plate and in the field - from Coco Crisp and the ever-steady Alex Cora. After an unlucky season last year, Coco is finally flashing some of the tools that caught Theo's eye.
The Mariners are in town tonight for a makeup game, which means we get to see Ichiro go against Dice-K again. After that, the gang is off to Minnesota to play the Twins this weekend.

Pap Smear

The Nation wakes up shocked this morning that our closer supreme, Jonathan "Pap" Papelbon, gave it up in the 9th inning last night to some surfer dude named Travis Buck. Papelbon had been near-perfect so far this year, but his velocity was off last night and more importantly, he wasn't putting the ball where Varitek's mitt was. Buck capitalized with a two-run bomb in the top of the 9th to tie the game at 4 and the A's scored the eventual game-winner in the 10th.

All the naysayers are questioning the velocity issue, wondering if Pap's shoulder might be acting up again. People - it's one blown save. The guy's human. If it happens a couple more times over the next week, then we might have something to talk about. What hurts is that the Sox blew 3-0 and 4-1 leads, and wasted another solid outing from Curt Schilling. That's beisbol.

They're back at it tonight, with Chad Gaudin (1-1, 2.54) going against Josh Beckett (5-0, 2.48).

Moss Remains the Hot Topic

Being a sports radio host in this town is like being on auto-pilot. The news just keeps happening all around you, and you just have to sit there for a couple of hours every day, give your opinion, and listen to many others'.

The hot topic in Boston today continues to be the Pats' signing of Randy Moss. Here's a couple of good links from today's papers that shed some light on the player the Pats may be getting, and how pleased some of his new teammates are. Tom Brady actually agreed to re-work his contract to allow the deal to happen.

- Cris Carter on Randy Moss
- Brady restructures contract -- after all, it beats the hell out of throwing to Kelvin Kight
- And here's another good one on what adding Moss to the offense does strategy-wise

In baseball news, the Sox - those guys with the best record in Major League Baseball - resume play tonight against Oakland at Fenway. Curt Schilling, who has been positively outstanding since his Opening Day stinker, goes against Joe Blanton.

Someone also told me - and I don't believe it - that hockey and basketball playoffs are going on? I had no idea.

All in All, A Pretty Darn Good Weekend

Let's do a little recap:

- The Sox stomp the Yankees on Friday night in the Bronx, sending the New York papers into 'Fire Joe' mode.

- On Saturday, the much-hyped NFL draft starts at noon, and the Brady Quinn drama takes center stage. Rumors start flying around that the Patriots are hot on the Randy Moss trail, who wants out of Oakland. The Pats end up taking much-maligned Miami safety Brandon Merriweather with their first pick in the first round, then trade the second pick away. The draft, by the way, takes a loooooong friggin' time.

- Later on Saturday afternoon, Julio Lugo leads off the game against Jeff Karstens and hits a ball that cracks the pitcher's goddamn fibula. As if the Yanks don't have enough problems. Miraculously, New York's Filene's Basement Japanese retread, Kei Igawa, comes in and stymies the Sox. The Yanks win 3-1, potentially saving Torre's job for another day.

- But Sunday takes the cake. Turns out the Randy Moss rumors are accurate (Adam Schefter of the NFL Network is one connected dude). In a deal that reminds me of how they stole another questionable character, Corey Dillon, before the 2005 season, the Patriots trade a 4th-round pick in this draft for one of the most electric wide receivers to ever suit up. Problems abound to be sure, but a low risk move for the Pats. Moss wants to win a Super Bowl, he's been completely vetted by Belichick and Pioli, and he's taking a $6 million pay cut in 2007. I repeat, a $6 million pay cut. If he slips up, he's gone. In the span of two months, Tom Brady went from having Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney as his 1 and 2 receivers to having Randy Moss and Donte Stallworth. Add in all the other moves this team has made in the offseason, and it's clear that they want to continue the dynasty. Look out, Indy.

- And finally, the Sox take the finale at Yankee Stadium by the score of 7-4. In six games against the Yankees, the Red Sox this year are 5-1, have outscored the Yanks 40-28, and have outhomered them 12-6. Best thing about today is that it was Julian Tavarez vs. Chien Ming-Wang and we won. And Hideki Okajima - our new setup man - has been ungodly. In 12 2/3 innings so far this year, he's struck out 17, walked three, given up 5 hits and has a paltry 0.71 ERA. Not too shabby.

Bonus Photo #2

Just had to post this awesome picture, in light of the ridiculous Curt Schilling bloody sock B.S. from this past week. From the witty guys over at Deadspin.

Bonus Photo #1

My buddy Bobby was at Yankee Stadium last night, hanging out in the official Yankees' luxury suite. Here's the view from the box. I told him to leave a heaping pile of crap on the rug. Not sure if he followed through.

On a Roll

The Sox' charter should immediately depart for Las Vegas for a few hours before today's game against the Yankees, because everything they're touching right now turns to gold. Terry Francona is King Midas. Dice-K starts walking the most potent lineup in baseball and they still pull out a win. The bullpen is firing on all cylinders. Josh Beckett - who could have suffered whiplash last year from all the gopher balls he gave up - is 5-0 and looking like Cy Young timber. The beat goes on, and we still haven't seen the real Manny or the real Dice-K. As of this morning, Saturday, April 28, 2007, the Red Sox have the best record in baseball and Yankee fans - who will NEVER admit it - are worried.

Last night in the Bronx, we got a typical, slow, American League game. The Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but then Dice-K got wild and the walks came back to kill. It should be noted that the home plate umpire last night absolutely sucked, for both teams. The guy had one of those strike calls that comes 20 seconds after the pitch. Unbearable. The Yanks took the lead 4-2, the Sox scrapped back to tie it up, and then they blew it open in the late innings to win 11-4 going away. At one point, and I want to emphasize this was only for a split second, I actually felt sorry for Joe Torre. He won my everlasting respect when he had all of his guys stand on the top step on Opening Day 2005, when the Sox raised their banner and gave out their World Series rings. Very classy move.

But back to the present. After Andy Pettite couldn't get it done last night, the Yanks now send someone named Jeff Karstens to the mound to tangle with Tim Wakefield. They got Chien Ming Wang back this week, and Mike Mussina's due back any day now. And all the talk is they'll go hard after 56-year old Roger Clemens. What's most surprising to me about the Yanks is that their offense is struggling in a big way right now. Like the old Soviet Union hockey teams, they just keep rolling all-stars over the boards, but they're not getting it done. They don't have a single extra-base hit over the last 20+ innings, and Bobby Abreu is mired in a 1 for 20-something funk. They'll get it going, no doubt, but it's awfully gratifying to see the Sox capitalizing right now.

Another Wily Mo(ve) by Tito

It had been a tough game to watch until Wily Mo Pena stepped into the batter's box in the top of the 8th against Orioles closer Chris Ray. The Sox had been leaving men on base seemingly in every inning. Bases loaded, couldn't capitalize. Leadoff doubles, nothing. The Orioles were up 2-1 and the Orioles decided to walk Jason Varitek to load 'em up again with one out. Wily Mo's been a whiffing boy lately, so the immediate thought was 'we have to hit for him.' Would it be Eric Hinske? Christ, Doug Mirabelli? Alex Cora? Tito Francona chose to stick with Pena and once again, his decision paid off in a big way. Pena took Ray very deep (the only type he hits) to left center. Grand slam. 5-2 Sox lead. Papelbon warming up. O-v-e-r.

The boys now have the best record in all of baseball, and I have to say, I'm liking what I'm seeing even if it is late April. Oh, and the Yanks lost to the Jays tonight.

All the talk before the game revolved around some inane comments made by Orioles broadcaster Gary Thorne during last night's game. In a nutshell, he claimed that Mirabelli told him that Schilling's bloody sock in Game 6 of the ALCS was a fraud. I shall not dignify Mr. Thorne's comments any further by writing about them. As my buddy Lebeau would say, that was just STUPID.

Speaking of the Spankees, the Sox fly from Crabland to NYC tonight where Daisuke makes his debut tomorrow night on the big stage - weather permitting. Could this finally be the year that the Sox win the goddamn division? The Yankees are circling the drain (which I'm sure I also declared last year at this time). Hell, it's fun to say. Just imagine how red Georgie Porgie's face must be right now. A $200 million payroll and they're raiding their minor league pitching staffs.

Sox Sweep Yanks

The Red Sox held on last night to complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees at Fenway. It was the first time since 1990 that they've swept New York at home. Mike Lowell had two big homers, Papelbon shut 'em down in the 9th, and these are the days when we love to read the Gotham rags.

Four Score

The Sox just set a team record by homering four consecutive times off Yankee starter Chase Wright. Manny, J.D. Drew, Mike Lowell and the Captain all went deep. Back to back to back to back. First time in 27 years they hit three in a row, and first time in franchise history for four. Wily Mo Pena was the fifth batter and believe me, he tried for it but couldn't deliver. Great moment when Varitek's ball went sailing out. Interestingly, Drew was part of the Dodgers' four-homer string last September in a game against San Diego.

Unfortunately, Derek Jeter just hit one into the first row of the Monster seats off Dice-K -- so what was a 4-3 lead is now a tie ballgame in the top of the 5th. Dice-K against A-Rod right now with one out. You know A-Rod wants to take the Diceman deep after Jetes just did. And A-Rod goes down swinging feebly at a curveball. Two outs, Juicer Boy Jason up, 1 and 2 count. Strangely, I've been able to mentally block out Joe Morgan tonight. It's a wonderfully peaceful feeling. Juice Boy pops up to Varitek. Sox coming up in the home half of the 5th.

Joe Morgan: A One-Man Wrecking Crew

It's a beautiful night here in Boston. The Sox and Yanks are just getting underway. Dice-K's on the hill for the Sox. A-Rod's on fire for the Yanks. National TV. Two continents watching. And goddamn Joe Morgan - the same shit that hit a bloop single off Jim Burton in the '75 World Series to win it for the Big Red Machine - is still haunting us by being just plain BAD. His badness - color commentating-wise that is -is at its apex right now. He is unlistenable, and it absolutely boggles the mind to think that he somehow won two Sports Emmys for his work. His game "commentary" should be piped into the cells at Guantanamo or any other hellholes in the world - that'll get people to cave and spill their guts...

Anyway, I digress. Sports' greatest rivalry is out there for all to see, I'm looking forward to watching the Yanks try to solve Dice-K, and I'm not going to let Joe Morgan ruin it for me. I'm stronger than that. I'm turning the sound down.

Dice-K starts off by getting Damon and Jeter and now has two strikes on Bobby Abreu. One early trend so far this year: the umps aren't being very generous to the Diceman on the corners, and he seems to get pretty frustrated if he feels he's getting squeezed. Abreu draws a walk.

Hey, this guy's alright. He just hit A-Rod in the shoulder on his first pitch. That's one way to keep the ball in the park. Now Giambi hits a double between Manny and Coco and just like that it's 2-0 Bombers. Cano grounds out to end the inning. Here's hoping the Sox can handle young lefty Chase Wright. It's about time for a certain dreadlocked #24 to get hot...

Sox start things off the right way in their half of the first. Lugo walks, and steals second, and Youk draws a walk. First and second, nobody out, for Big Papi. Cool to see Ortiz wearing No. 42 tonight - brings back memories of Mo Vaughn. The Sox were rained out the night they were scheduled to recognize Jackie Robinson so they're doing it tonight. Papi pops up. Manny's turn, and if ever a guy was due...

Young Mr. Wright is mostly a junkballing lefty, with a low 90 mph fastball. And Manny just missed a fat pitch and flies out to right. Two out for J.D. Drew. Single would be nice here. Strike out. End of first, Yanks leading 2-0.

Sox Win a Thrillah...

Just back from a week spent in the Sunshine State, and the Red Sox - a bad call on Dice-K in Toronto aside - haven't skipped a beat. They took 2 of 3 from the Blue Jays after the Jays inexplicably removed ace Roy Halladay, and last night Jason Varitek and the Sox gave A-Rod and the Yanks a full facial, winning a come-from-behind thriller after NY had built a 6-2 lead and turned the game over to Mariano Rivera.

The Sox were clad in green hats and shirts last night in what seemed like another shameless 'event' dreamt up by Dr. Charles -- until Don-O and RemDawg told us it was Celtics/Red Auerbach night at the ballyard. The Cooz was in the booth during the game, telling stories about 'Ahnold' and the old days. Love the Cooz. And Wick Wobey gwabs the weeebound.

Anyway, starting pitcher-wise, last night's matchup between Curt Schilling and Andy Pettite was the marquee matchup of the series. The big story on both sides was the blistering start Alex Rodriguez is off to. A-Rod had hit 10 homers coming in, including two walk-offs. He hit his 11th in the top of the 4th to give the Yanks a 2-0 lead, and then Varitek hit an opposite-field two-run homer off Pettite to tie it up in the bottom of the inning. An inning later, the en fuego A-Rod hit a three-run homer off Schilling (with Crisp falling over the wall in an attempt to make the catch) to give the Bombers what seemed like a commanding 5-2 lead. But the Yanks bullpen couldn't get it done. Singles by Mike Lowell and Varitek made it 6-4, and then Coco Crisp had a huge triple to tie it up at 6-6. Alex Cora then delivered a single over Pretty Boy's head for a 7-6 lead. Since Papelbon had pitched the night before, Francona went with lefty Hideki Okajima to get the last three outs.

All in all, a very satisfying win in what was a great game to watch. The Yanks could have used a W as they send youngster Jeff Karstens to the mound today against Josh Beckett, which seems like a mismatch on paper. Tomorrow night, it's Dice-K vs. Chase Wright on national TV (Joe Morgan Alert! Joe Morgan Alert!!).

The Sox are currently in first place with a 10-5 record, and the Yanks are in second at 9-7. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- now is the time to hit the Yankees while they're down. They don't have Wang. They don't have Mussina. The Sox have a huge pitching edge right now and need to fully exploit it. On the other hand, the Yanks have the hottest hitter on the planet right now who's singlehandedly keeping them afloat.

Gametime today is 4:00 p.m. on Fox.