*Series Preview: Twins at Sox (*final series of the season)

Minnesota Twins (77-81) at Red Sox (94-64)
4-game series @ Fenway
Standings: BOS up 3 gms in AL East, MIN 17 GB in AL Central
Season Series: BOS leads 2-1

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Thu 705 Bonser (7-12, 5.09) vs. Beckett (20-6, 3.14)
GM2 Fri 705 Slowey (4-0, 4.57) vs. Matsuzaka (14-12, 4.48)
GM3 Sat 705 Silva (13-14, 4.22) vs. Wakefield (16-12, 4.80)
GM4 Sun 205 Garza (4-7, 3.92) vs. Schilling (9-8, 3.87)

Preview:
The last series of the regular season begins tonight at Fenway Park when Josh Beckett will try to win his 21st game against the disappointing Minnesota Twins.

Let's all hope the celebrating will follow about three to four hours later.

Boston can wrap up its first division title since '95 tonight with a win and a Stankees loss at Tampa Bay, and judging by New York's makeshift lineup for the first game after clinching its 13th consecutive postseason appearance, they have already conceded this two horse race to the front runners.

Now all the Sox have to do is go out and take care of business and lock this sucker down and we can all party like it's 1995. Whatever that may entail.

They certaainly have the right man for the job on the hill as the club's pitching MVP Beckett will attempt to secure yet one more major victory for his team this season. The Cy Yong frontrunner has been on a roll for the last month, rolling up four straight wins and limiting opponents to just 7 runs in 28 innings for a 2.25 ERA in that time.

Boston should also benefit from the fact that it will not have to face Twins ace Johan Cytana, who pitched last night at Detroit. That means the Sox will face the sorry quartet of the erratic Boof Bonser, rookie righty Kevin Slowey, puzzling-but-talented Carlos Silva, and youngster Matt Garza.

Not exactly the 1972 Baltimore Orioles rotation.

So Boston should have a good chance to win the East tonight. Manny is back and swinging a hot bat (4-5 in fist two games since coming back), J.D. Drew has found his sweet opposite field swing at just the right time (11-36, .305 w/ 9 RBIs in his last 10 games), and Jacoby Ellsbury, Papi and Lowell just keep cranking out big hits every single night.

And a makeshift Stankee lineup is going up against Scott Kazmir in the Rays home finale.

All the Sox need is for their season-long savior to carry them to one more clutch victory, and then the Sox and the Nation can crack open the bubbly and prepare to take on the Indians when the real season starts next week.

Go Sox!