Game Preview: Atlanta @ Sox GM3

Hudson (5-1. 1.77) vs. Gabbard (NR)
2P NESN HD

It's a beautiful day in Red Sox Nation. Well, at least in the Tampa Bay chapter it is.

How can that be, you ask? It's been raining since Wednesday, our top pitcher is on the DL, our rightfielder is hurting and seeking out the batting average cellar like a bunker buster looking for Uday Hussein, and our team just got waxed more painfully than Steve Carrell in "40 Year Old Virgin" last night by the Braves.

To which I say, you got some good points there.

But perhaps I've turned into an optimist during my 14 years in South Florida, away from the five-day rain storms, sports talk radio hosts from hell that constantly remind me how gloomy things can be, and how when a few things go wrong with our team (rain wreaking havoc with the schedule and rotation), it can feel like the end of the world as we know it.

Because from where I'm sitting, the Sox are in great shape.

Q-When was the last time this team had this big of a division lead this late in the season?
A-Never. In fact, this is only the second time in history that a team has owned a 10-game lead 40 games into the season. The last time was in 2001 when the Mariners won a record 116 games.

Q-Despite last night's shellacking and the Sox worst shutout loss since 1990, which team still owns the best record in major league baseball?
A- You guessed it...

Q-Which team has the best ERA in the American League?
A- Okay, Oakland, but the Sox are mere percentage points behind in second place (3.23-3.45).

Q-Which team is currently second in the majors in batting average (.277) and runs scored (226)?
A- Okay, you get my point, I'm done with this foolish game.

My point is despite perceived thoughts of trouble or the typical "sky is falling" mentality of RSN, the Sox are still in the best shape at any point during a regular season since 1995 when they finished the season with a 7-game advantage over the Stanks.

And, speaking of the Evil Empire, the dire condition that Boston's arch enemy is in gives Red Sox fans another reason to rejoice; the Stanks dropped another half game and two places in the standings yesterday and now reside in fourth place behind Baltimore & Toronto, 10.5 games out. Plus, they also lost another starting pitcher when starter Darrell Rasner broke a finger on a hard chopper by the Mets' Endy Chavez. The injury could sideline Rasner for up to three months.

Rasner now joins wounded hurlers Carl Pavano, Jeff Karstens, Phil Hughes, and the recently recovered Mike Mussina & Chien Ming Wang on the list of injured Stankee starters. When New York trots out the immortal Tyler Clippard tonight against the Mets, it will be the 11th different starting pitcher New York has used this season. When Hansack started for Boston last night, it marked the first time someone other than the original starting five of Beckett-Schilling-Matsuzaka-Wakefield-Tavarez didn't start a game for Boston this season.

Things are getting so bad in the Big Apple that ESPN.com columnist Jeff Pearlman openly called for Joe Torre's firing this morning on the front page of the site, and Jason Giambi's recent re-visitation of his steroid use has caused the team to consider voiding his contract.

See, things could be worse... Boston owns a large division lead, and with a loaded pitching staff and a deep bench, it gives Tito a plethora of choices for lineups (Pedroia batting 5th?!), rotations (Gabbard was one of four potential starters for today's game), and makes for sunny times in RSN.

Now, all they have to do is go out and face the the guy with the third-best ERA in the majors and try and beat him with a kid making his fifth major league start, then fly to the Bronx for a 3-spot with the reeling wounded Stanks.

And you know what they say about a wounded animal?

Kick 'em when they're down!

GO Sox!