Boston, Beckett exact sweet revenge on sorry Stanks

Sox 10, New York 1
WP: Beckett (19-6)
LP: Wang (18-7)
HRs: BOS-Hinske (6); NYY-Jeter (10)

How many times you think this play will be favorited on YouTube by the Nation over the next few years?

SUMMARY
Afer suffering a gut-punch of a loss last night, today the Sox punched back. Boston rode the strong pitching of ML wins leader Josh Beckett, another impressive performance from the offesne, and an old-school catcher-crushing by Eric Hinske to knock off New York and push the division lead back to 5 1/2 games.

#1 STUNNERS (*big game, supersized results)

-Josh Beckett 7IP, 3H, ER, 2BB, 7K in a matchup of Cy Young contenders Beckett came out smelling like a rose, holding the explosive Stankee lineup to just three hits, setting down 12 batters in a row at one point including 5 of 6 by strikeout

-Jacoby Ellsbury 2-2, 2R, 3BI the phenom began the game on the bench but ended it circling the bases with a pair of hits and runs scored, a stolen base, a trio of ribbies, and more fanfare and phone numbers than he can shake a stick at

-Eric Hinske 2-4, 2R, BI, 2B, HR there's a reason I like to call this guy Big Hit Hinske, beacuase although he doesn't hit much, when he does connect it's usually for extra bases. Thrown in the fact that he went all Ronnie Lott on Georgie Posada in the sixth, and you've got the makings of a Dirt Dog for life

-Derek Jeter 2-4, R, BI the Stankee captain continues to blister Boston pitching, hitting .382 against them this year, and his first-inning home run was the fifth of his 10 this season that he has hit against the Sox.

-Big Papi 3-3, 2BI, 2BB, 2B if he's hurtin then don't let him heal. Ortiz continues to tear the cover off the ball, raising his average to .326 and his OBP to a scalding AL-leading .440 with this perfect performance

PAN's FAUNS (*ditto)

-Chien Ming Wang 5.2IP, 9H, 5ER, 3BB, 3K not exactly the effort you were expecting from the Stankee ace and co-leader in wins, but the wanger's sinker wasn't sinking, Boston eleveated the ball and worked the counts, and Chien can say ciao to the Cy Young now

-Judas Demon 0-4, K one day after sparking his club with another four hit game against his former mates, Demon came up empty when his team needed him most. Nice going, dickhead.

-ARod 0-3, 2K one day after recording the game-winning RBI in the NY comeback win, ARod came up empty when his team needed him most. Way to go, dickwad.

-Tek 0-5, 2K, 8LOB I hate to include the captain here, especially in a win, but his 0-5 showing included stranding 8 men on base, seven when he ended three innings, and striking out with a man on in the seventh and to lead off the eighth. Not good.

RECAP
A long time ago a wise coaching legend uttered the saying that the low of losing felt much worse than the high of winning.

In some respects I can see where that would be true, because even though the Sox took care of business today and dispatched with the Stankees in convincing fashion, running their divison lead back to a comfy 5 1/2 games with 13 left to play, I still found myself looking back to last night's epic meltdown and muttering "if only they had hung on to win that game..."

The divison race would be all but over today and those smarmy, smug pinstriped cockroaches would be getting ready to print their Wild Card-embossed ducats instead of hoping for a replay of 1978.

But that's how us diehards have been conditioned to behave with this club, one that teases us more than Hayden Panettiere in a cheerleader uniform yet always keeps us coming back for more.

And today I think I figured out why: because the high experienced when the Sox win, especially a big game against their hated rivals, feels much better than the low of losing, probably because there has been so much losing that it renders these sublime victories all the more enjoyable.

Okay, I'm doing being psuedo-philosophical now--how 'bout that upside down ass-kicking we laid on those losers today!

The game began under typical sunny-yet-chilly September skies but things turned black for the Faithful in a hurry when Dane Cook threw out the first pitch and then Derek Jeter shot Josh Beckett's 10th pitch of the game into the blacked-out seats in center for an early 1-0 New York lead.

And for a brief but bitter moment all you could hear in the entire Park was Stankee lovers cheering over the silence of the sullen Sox fans. I know, it gives me cold chills too.

When Beckett followed that miscue with walks to ARod and Posada, the mood quickly shifted from cautiously optimistic to "why the fuck does this always happen to us, can't we ever catch a fucking break?" in the blink of an eye.

But Becks got Hideki Matsui to ground out to second on the first pitch he saw, and little did we know that would be the last threat New York would mount against the tough-as-leather Boston ace until his final inning of the day.

The Boston batters wasted no time in getting that run right back when Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz singled off Wang in the bottom of the first, and when Mike Lowell ripped a drive off the left field box seats to drive in the tying run, not only did he notch his career-high-tying 105th RBI but he gave the Sox a much needed shot in the arm after Beckett's shaky start.

Both top-flite hurlers settled in and retired a combined 11 out of the next 12 batters before Wang inexplicably walked Ortiz, Lowell and Drew with two outs in the third to load the bases for Jason Varitek.

If you read above you already know what happened--Tek popped out to Robinson Cano at second to end the threat, and for the 357th time this season the sox came up empty in a bases loaded situation.

Ten more batters went down in succession, including a specatacular sequence when Beckett struck out Posada, Matsui and Giambi in the fourth inning, but that string would be broken up by a play that changed the complexion of the game.

Still smarting from the head-hunting exploits on Kevin Youkilis by both Joba Chamberlain and Scott Proctor this season, and nursing a bandage on his forearm for a recent HBP, the last thing anyone on the Boston side wanted to see was Youk get plunked again.

So when wang nailed Youk on the wrist so hard it looked and sounded as if the ball had hit the knob of the bat with one out in the fifth, let's just say the already tight & tense emotions in this series went to a ho...nuva...level.

Youk would have to leave the game and will presumably have to miss some time despite x-rays showing no signs of a break, but that bit of a bummer for Boston would turn out to be a major source of joy for the Nation in the very near future.

Like as soon as Jacoby Ellsbury began stretching at first base to pinch-run for Youk.

The speedster wasted no time doing something that Youk can only dream of--going from first to third on a single by Ortiz--and after Lowell lined out to Jeter at short, Ellsbury coasted home on a clutch two-out RBI single by J.D. Drew to give Boston a lead it would never relinquish.

Yes, you read that right, a clutch two-out hit by J.D. Drew ended up being the game-winning RBI for Boston.

It was that kind of day.

Reinvigorated by the prescense of the magnetic rookie and the resurgence of the previously fossilized Drew, the Sox would drop the hammer on Wang and the Stanks both literally and figuratively in the bottom of the sixth.

Eric Hinske, who started the game in left but ended up at first after Youk left, began the inning with a double off the Monster, and then Coco moved him to third when he lined a single into left center to set up runners at the corners with no outs.

Wang got Julio Lugo to fly out to shallow center field, and after Coco stole second base uncontested, Pedroia (1-5, 2R) bounced a grounder to second that should have scored the run from third base.

Except Cano decided to fire home to try and nail the sluggish Hinske, and although the throw got to Posada in plenty of time, the momentum of Hinske's mass plus his pigskin mentality caused an enormous collision at home plate as Hinske barrelled over the Stankee backstop in a play reminiscent of Pete Rose's crushing Ray Fosse in the 1970 All Star Game in both force of impact and lingering after effects.

As a dazed and confused Posada dragged himself back to battle, Boston made sure there would be no comeback today when Ellsbury singled to left to drive in Coco and pPapi doubled to deep center to plate Pedroia, and when Ellsbury motored all the way around from first, eluded a groggy Posada's tag and scored the Sox fifth run of the game, something told me there would be no repeat of yesterday's collapse.

Proof was provided in the top of the seventh when Beckett ran into his first spot of trouble since the first when he "accidently" pegged Giambi with a pitch with two outs in the inning, prompting a warning from both benches and a wry smile from Joe Torre, and then Cano reached on a bloop single to center that gave New york runners at first and third with one last hope to salvage another comeback.

But Beckett got Melky Cabrera to strike out on four pitches, and soon after that the game would get out of hand, in a good way.

Boston put it away in the seventh when four New York relievers combined to allow four runs on two hits and four walks, the highlight being a two-run single by Ellsbury (this guy can do no wrong right now) that ran the score to 8-1 to officially put the game out of reach.

Fittingly Hinske would close out the scoring when he blasted a solo homer off someone named Scott Ohlendohf with one out in the ninth, and by the time Bryan Corey got the Ball Stealer to ground into a double play to end the affair, the concentration of the Nation turned to Sunday night, as a decision had to be made as to which event was going to garner full screen statues on the PIP, Rocket/Schilling or Brady/Tomlinson.

Seems like the Sox provided an answer for that dilemma tonight.

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Game preview: Stanks @ Sox, GM2

Wang (18-6) vs. Beckett (18-6)
Fenway 355 FOX

Not much needs to be said about this one. The fragile state of the Red Sox Nation is riding on the broad shoulders of ace Josh Beckett, who will also have the Cy Young award on the line in this pressure-packed early Autumn showdown.

Trouble is Becks will be opposed by New York's Cy candidate, Chien Ming Wang, who in addition to brandishing an identical record to Boston's top starter has also been the glue that has held the brittle New York pitching staff together most of the season.

After last night's catastrophic collapse the entire Boston organization and fanbase will be praying that the man who has carried the team, pitching wise, to the Eastern division lead will be able to once again come through with a win that might end up saving this season from slipping into the category of infamy.

If not, well there's plenty of football on this weekend, and that Pats/Chargers showdown will become Must See TV for many.

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Bombers bitchslap Bosox with 8th inning comeback

Stanks 8, Sox 7
WP: Bruney (3-1)
LP: Papelbon (1-3)
SV: Rivera (27)
HRs: NYY-Giambi (14), Cano (17)

Vinnie Chase didn't need to bring Drama to the game, there was enough to go around at chilly Fenway tonight

SUMMARY
I'm not quite sure where to begin with this latest humiliating defeat suffered at the hands of baseball's version of evil incarnate.

Boston was cruising along with a 7-2 lead heading into the eighth inning, and then the wheels didn't just fall off, the whole friggin' vehicle exploded. Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon surrendered six runs on seven consecutive Stankee hits, and in the blink of an eye a potential pennant-clinching win turned into another bloody, beyond-the-point-of-comprehension defeat at the hands of the band of palmetto bugs from the Bronx.

#1 STUNNER Judas Demon 4-6, 1R, 1BI, 2-2Bs
Once again the former Sox savior twisted his $13 million dollar knife in the hearts of his old mates & fans. As soon as the hairless rat led off the contest with a squibber that eluded Dice-K and resulted in him reaching base, I had that "here we go again" feeling. Unfortunately with these dicks that feeling is rarely wrong.

PAN's FAUN(s) Oki & Paps 1 1/3 innings, 6H, 6R, BB, 2K, 2HRs
Not in a million years would anyone believe this game would go down the way it did--with the New York hitters battering Boston's two best relievers like a relentless summer storm, pounding Oki for three extra base hits including two homers, then pouncing on Papelbon as soon as he uncustomarily entered the game with no outs in the eighth.

RECAP
Just when you think you've seen it all when it comes to these two bitter rivals, you witness something that you've never seen before.

And as has been the case for most of the second half of this season, scratch that most of the last century except for one magical year, the end result was not something Red Sox fans wanted to see.

The New York Stankees continued their torrid march to whatever it is they are striving for--redemption? recognition? respect?--by stomping on the hearts & souls of the Sox and the Nation by scoring an improbable comeback win in what turned out to be the second longest nine inning game in baseball history.

At 4 hours and 43 minutes that's what I call a slow torture.

Making matters much worse was the fact that the night which ended on such a down note started out looking like the Sox would win its first game against these assclowns since June 2nd.

Boston, playing with a lineup that included late-addition Jacoby Ellsbury in center due to a hip bruise on Coco Crisp and Bobby Kielty in left due to the continued unavailability of manny Ramirez, jumped on steady Stankees starter Andy Pettitte for a run in the second, another in the third and then hung a three spot on the lurch-like lefty in the fourth.

The first run scored of the game courtesy of Mr. Ellsbury, who is fast becoming the Brad Pitt of the Boston scene; his seeing-eye single past the second baseman plated Kevin Youkilis, who had led off the inning with a single and made it to third on a Varitek walk and Kielty groundout.

After Daisuke Matsuzaka (5.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 5BB, 7K, HBP) recorded a rare 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, Boston scratched another run of Pettitte in the bottom of the inning, but it could have been even more.

David Ortiz (2-4, R) led off the frame with a towering double high off the Monster, and when Mike Lowell followed with a hard single up the middle, DeMarlo Hale decided to send the big fella despite his achy shoulders, balky knee and propensity to get thrown out an any base every time he attempts to take an extra one.

Centerfielder Melky Cabrera, making manager Joe Torre look like a genius for not letting chicken-armed Judas Demon occupy his old haunt for this series, threw a seed to Georgie Posada at the dish and Papi was nailed by a New York mile, one of the first signs that not all would go well for the hometown team tonight.

Borton bounced right back when Youk (2-4, R, BI) walked and then New York suffered ofrom one of their many mental and psychial gaffes when J.D. Drew slammed a ball to first that got through Giambi and trickled into shallow right, allowing Lowell to score and setting up runners at 1st and 3rd with two outs.

But Pettitte (4IP, 9H, 5R, 4ER, 2BB, 5K) got Tek to strike out swinging, and what could have been a big inning turned out to be another in a long line of missed scoring opportunitites that have plagues this club the entire second half of this season.

New York finally took advantage of Matsuzaka's wildness in the fourth when Posada led off the inning with a double over Ellsbury's head in center and Hideki Matsui, facing his countryman and former Japan League opponent, ripped a triple over Drew's head and around the rightfield corner to score Posada and get the Stanks right back in the game.

But I don't think anybody was expecting the highest scoring team in the majors to get shutout tonight.

Following that damage Dice-K walked Melky Cabrera to get himself in more trouble, but he got Cano to K and induced Cabrera to ground into a double play to escape further damage.

The Sox would take advantage of that turn of events when they scored a trio of runs on five hits in the bottom of the fourth.

Kilety began the inning with a double past ARod down the third base line, then Ellsbury, who has hit in all 12 games since his Sept. 1st callup, blooped a single into center field to set up a 1st and 3rd, no out situation for Lugo.

The error-prone SS (he made his 19th E earlier in the game) struck out swinging, but during the at bat pickoff artist Pettitte semed to have Ellsbury nailed leaning off first and when he threw over there it looked as iff Ellsbury was a dead duck.

But Ellsbury took off for second base and beat the thrown from Giambi there. And the legend continues to grow.

That play proved huge when Dustin Pedroia (1-5, R, 2BI) responded with a scorching single into centerfield which scored Kielty and Ellsbury and made the score 4-1 Boston, and when Papi and Lowell both followed with singles, the last a bounder off the mound that allowed Pedroia to score, it looked like this was going to be a celebratory night in the Fens for sure.

When New York chased Matsuzaka from the game after he loaded the bases on a double and two walks in the sixth, he was still eligible or the win as Mike Timlin could escape the bases loaded, two-out jam.

The veteran reliever got Demon to hit a hopper back up the middle that went over Timlin's head and by the time it finally landed Demon had his second infield hit of the night and New York has its second run, but when Timlin got Derek Jeter (1-6, R, BI, E) to strike out swinging to end the inning, the mood was celebratory as the Sox were just nine outs from bringing this victory home.

Boston added to the lead with a pair of runs off reliever Jose Veras in the sixth on RBI singles by Youk and Drew (2-5, BI) to pad the lead even more, but then the fact that Dice couldn't make it out of the sixth and Gagne's ineffectiveness forced Tito to use his bullpen in an unconventional way, a turn of events that would soon come back to bite Boston in the ass. Hard.

Javier Lopez and Hideki Okajima combined to work a scoreless seventh, and after Boston went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, New York put together one of those innings that will make this game an instant entrant for the Stankeeography treatment.

The inning got off to an ominous start when Giambi blasted a solo shot off Okajima to open the frame, the first longball Oki had allowed to a lefty all season, but one batter later that total would double when Cano (-5, R, Bi) crushed an Oki offering high and deep to straightaway centerfield for back-to-back jacks that made the score 7-4 Boston.

No biggie, right?

Unforyunately, wrong.

Okajima then walked the nine hitter Cabrera to bring up Demon who promptly lashed a double to the gap in left center to set up a 1st & 3rd, no outs situation and forced Tito to do something he has rarely ever had to do before: bring Papelbon in for the six out save.

From the get-go you could sense that something was...wrong with the situation, bringing in your lights-out closer who hadn't allowed a run in his last 16 appearances and who had been coddled more than a newborn since his shoulder injury last September, and Jeter confirmed the suspicions when he blooped Paps' first pitch into right field for an RBI hit that made the score a scary 7-5.

Needless to say the mood in the Nation got considerably darker.

Things went from dark to depressing in a hurry from there as Abreu crushed a Papelbon fastball to the Wall to score both Demon and Jeter aand tied the game at seven, and before you could say "what the fuck just happened", ARod drilled a single to right to score Abreu, who had advaanced to third on another Lugo error on the relay throw the play before, and suddenly, silently the Stanks had somehow stolen the lead and the life out from under the Boston ballclub.

Other things happened from there, like Papelbon getting out of the innning, Boston getting a coule of runners on base yet leaving them helplessly starnded there as usual, but things really ended right then and there.

Once again New York had to come to Fenway late in the season and crushed the hopes of a confident Boston team, and once again they had treated a do-or-die game like a stickball contest at the local playground.

And once again with a division title at stake and pride, dignity and an ever-eroding confidence at stake the Sox caved in like Mike Vick's cousins. Some of the more ignominious standars established tonight include:

-the second longest 9-inning game in ML history, behind one of the BMII maulings from last August

-the first time Boston had blown a lead since April of 2005

-the first time New York had overcome a 5-run deficit to win on the road since May of 2004

-the first time Papelbon had allowed three consecutive hits in his career

-one of the most embarrassing, deflating, and demoralizing losses in the long and mostly miserable history of the Rivalry for Boston

And so another chapter was added to the Boston/New York tome, a weighty volume that seems to become more and more weighted to the side of Evil with every passing year.

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Series Preview: Stanks @ Sox

NY Stankees (83-63) at Red Sox (89-58)
Three game series Fenway Park
Standings: BOS up by 5 1/2 games over NY

Probable Starting Pitchers:
GM1 Fri 705 ESPN Pettitte (13-8) vs. Matsuzaka (14-12)
It's put up or shut up time for Dice-K, who after showing flashes of brilliance this season has fallen flat on his innocent-looking face the last month (1-4 record, ERA over 9.50). To get off the schneid, he will have to beat New York's second-best starter; Pettitte has won seven of his last eight decisions, and Clemens' ball boy has carried the shaky staff through the roughest stretch of the season.

GM2 Sat 355 FOX Wang (18-6) vs. Beckett (18-6)
What can you say about this one except that it is a battle of the team aces, it could decide the Cy Young race, and whichever team loses tonight, the other starter will have the weight of the team on his shoulders in this start. No pressure, fellas!

GM3 Sun 800 ESPN Clemens (6-6) vs. Schilling (8-7)
This one shapes up to be a classic matchup--about four years ago. Now it looks like an ad for male enhancement products.

When 45-year-old Roidger Clemens takes the Fenway mound opposite 40-year old Schilling on Sunday Night Baseball, not only will these two grizzled champion warhorses be relegated to secondary ace status on their own teams, they will probably be the secondary viewing choice of most of the Nation with the Pats taking on the Chargers in Foxborough at the same time.

Season Series: NY leads, 8-7

Preview:
The Stanks roll into Fenway for this final regular season matchup with the Sox as one of the hottest teams in baseball over the past three months.

Since ending May with a record of 22-29 New York has ripped off a 60-34 mark to take a commanding 3 1/2 game lead in the Wild card standings while slicing a 14 1/2 game deficit behind Boston to a steady 5-7 games for the past month.

Boston, meanwhile, has cooled considerably since its torrid 36-16 jaunt through the season's first two months, posting a down-to-Earth record of 53-45 from June 1st until now, a record that includes a lot of heartbreaking losses, sloppy pitching and lack of timely hitting.

Hitting hasn't been the problem for New York, which leads the majors in runs scored, batting average and on base percentage, but that's to be expected when you have the probable MVP of the league mashing 52 homers and 140 ribbies for you.

For a change Boston will enjoy being the hunted and not the hunter in this season series finale. The Sox have been in first place for most of the season, and despite that diminished AL East advantage, they still control their own destiny as far as the division title goes: keep winning, and it's theirs for the first time since '95.

I'm not going to spend a lot of time dissecting this thing--we all know what's at stake and what has happened in the past and what needs to be done. Win 2 of 3 in this series and the East is all but theirs. Lose a couple or three and the race is going to come right down to the wire, and with consecutive series sweeps under New York's belt, the specter of 1978 will be hanging over the Hub like a thick, depressing fog.

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Sox/Stanks: Countdown to Armageddon

Best saying ever-- it's true when they win, and it's true when they lose.

T(-) six hours till the beginning of the end for the Stanks.

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Sox/Stanks: The Final Series

Bring it on, bitches!

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Just like old times: Papi powers Sox to walk-off win

Sox 5, Tampa Bay 4
WP: Papelbon (1-2)
LP: Reyes (2-3)
HRs: BOS-Papi, 2 (31); TB-Upton (24)

SUMMARY
David Ortiz conjured up memories of 2004 when he launched not one but two home runs tonight at Fenway, the first a three-run bomb in the third inning that got the Sox back in the game and the second a two-run shot off closer Al Reyes that won it in the bottom of the ninth.

#1 STUNNER ahh, let's see, who's deserving, oh yeah...Papi 2-5, 2R, 5BI, 2HR
On a night when he surpassed the 30HR/100RBI plateau for the fifth straight season and became only the third member of the Sox to do so, David Ortiz provided the Nation with a huge feel-good win and some valuable breathing room heading into the Stankees series.

PAN's FAUN Reyes 1/3IP, 1H, 1BB, 2ER, HR
Nearly one month to the day that he blew a 1-0 lead by allowing two runs to the Sox in the bottom of the ninth, Reyes must have had a major case of deja vu because this was a near carbon copy of that meltdown. Actually, this one was a lot better, or should I say worse?

RECAP
He's as good as Bird.

He's as bad as Snakes on a Plane.

He's Super Papi.

How else do you explain a man who has the strength to lift an entire Nation on his back, the ability to come through in the clutch when his team needs him the most, and the power to please a bloodthirsty fanbase as well as the Madison Avenue suits with his epic blasts and Vitamin Water smile?

I mean the guy missed most of five games in late July with two achy shoulders that have been nagging him ever since, then sent shockwaves through the Nation when he announced that he will undergo offseason surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, a problem that flared up as recently as Monday when he needed the night off, and now he hits his first walk-off home run of 2007?

If that's not superheroic I don't know what is.

David Ortiz provided his team and fans with a huge come-from-behind victory over the resurgent Rays tonight when he blasted a pair of homer off a pair of Tampa Bay pitchers and although each homer was huge in it's own right it was the one that travelled the shortest distance that provided the biggest bang.

The Rays had jumped out to a 4-0 lead before I had even arrived home from my son's practice when they plated four in the first off shaky starter Jon Lester (3.2IP, 8H, 4ER, 4BB, 5K ) on a pair of run-scoring singles and a two-run homer by centerfielder B.J. Upton.

As usual the Sox had their share of scoring chances fall by the wayside, something that could be expected with Mike Lowell sitting this one out with what could be food poisoning and Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench nursing a sore wrist courtesy of his collision with the Wall the other night.

In the bottom of the first Pedroia singled with one out but was doubled off first when Carlos Pena snagged Papi's hot shot down the line for a bang-bang inning-ending double play, and Boston left the bases loaded in the second when Eric Hinske grounded out following a single by J.D. Drew, a double by Brandon Moss and a walk to Coco Crisp.

But have no fear, because in the third everyone would find out that the old Big Papi was indeed still here.

After Rays starter Edwin Jackson (6IP, 8H, 3R, 3BB, 6K) allowed a leadoff single to Julio Lugo and a one-out walk to Pedroia, Ortiz stepped up with one thing in mind--getting the team back within striking distance of a win.

Then again we're talking about a team that just pulled off a win after trailing by seven runs in the fourth inning, so I guess 4-0 wasn't exactly the edge of the abyss or anything.

Still, when Ortiz turned on an 0-1 Jackson offering and deposited it over the visiting bullpen in right, it felt as if a weight had been lifted off everyone's shoulders, the weight of having to win this game with New York breathing down their necks.

Thanks to his three-run jack that cut the Rays lead to 4-3, that weight got a hell of a lot lighter.

Handed a new ball game Lester couldn't take advantage, and when he allowed two base runners with two outs in the third and hit the 97-pitch plateau, Tito pulled him in favor of Tavarez in order to preserve the young lefty's arm as well as his psyche.

Julie came in and immediately got Brendan Harris to hit into a fielder's choice ground out, and he would go on to provide three innings of no-hit, no-run ball, another sorely needed shot in the arm for a recently sagging bully.

Unfortunately the Sox would keep amassing baserunners only to leave them stranded on the basepaths: two in the fifth, one in the sixth, two in the seventh.

Time was ticking down and Boston was running out of innings, but at least the bullpen kept the deficit at one run, a key factor in the comeback to follow.

Manny D. relived Julie with two out in the seventh and retired pinch hitter Greg Norton on a nifty behind-the-back glove save right back to the mound, and he was victimized by a single that fell in between Pedroia (2-4, R) and Drew before retiring Aki Iwamura for the second out of the eighth.

Tito then summoned Hideki Okajima to pitch to Carl Crawford with an important insurance run in scoring position, and Oki came through big time when he fooled CC with a knee-buckling curve to end the threat.

The Sox went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning against Dan Wheeler, then Francona called upon his closer to come on and keep the game at 4-3 heading into Boston's last at bat.

Papelbon accomplished that mission when he retired Pena, Upton and Delmon Young on 12 pitches, setting the stage for the ninth inning fireworks.

On Aug 14th Reyes entered a game at Fenway with the Rays leading 1-0 and promptly served up a game-tying homer to Lowell a double to Tek and a game-winning hit by Coco, so when he walked Lugo to lead off the ninth it had to seem like deja vu all over again.

He did manage to get Pedroia to fly out for the first out of the inning, but then up stepped the Big Man to the dish, and if you squinted real hard you could see the signs of yesteryear all over the place--screaming fans, pennant race, scared shitless opposing closer.

After working the count to 3-1 it looked like they were doing the old "unintentional intentional walk" thing, until Reyes left the next pitch in Papi's wheelhouse, and he turned on it and lofted it high but not particularly deep into the right field corner.

Too bad for the Rays Delmon Young took a circuitous route to the spot the ball would land, because when it popped out of the glove of a fan ion the front row of the bleachers, it was clear had the confused kid reached the correct spot at the wall he would have had a decent shot at making a game-saving catch.

Alas the ball did find the pay dirt beyond the wall, and as Papi rounded the bases on that familiar journey preparing to get slammed on the head by his giddy awaiting teammates, the Fenway Faithful jumped up and down in delight, I jumped out of my seat screaming, and all seemed right with the world again.

That's the kind of things superheroes can do for a city. And a Nation.

Bring on the Stanks!

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Game Preview: Tampa Bay @ Sox

Jackson (4-14, 6.00) vs. Lester (4-0, 4.47)
Fenway 705

I don't have much time to preview this one or wrap up last night's slugfest because I'm on my way to my son's LL practice, but let's just say if Boston doesn't win this game and take the series, there is going to be a ton of hand-wringing going on in the Nation for the next 36 hours or so afterwards.

Boston's AL East lead currently sits at five games, meaning it cannot afford to lose tonight while the Stanks continue to pound the Jays. Should the Sox lose this game and New York wins the next two vs. Toronto (Boston is off tomorrow), the margin could be reduced to a measly 3 1/2 games by the time the Bummers come to town Friday night for the first of three games.

I don't think I need to point out to any of the Faithful that a 3 1/2 game lead coupled with another three-game Stankee sweep would be disastrous for Boston's hopes of securing their first division title since 1995.

Not that there's any pressure on Jon Lester to go out there and pitch lights out in order to prevent such a doomsday scenario from taking place or anything.

By the looks of the pitching matchups a win tonight is all but a lock. Although Edwin Jackson has pitched much better in the second half of the season, including a victory over Boston when he allowed just one run and five hits in six innings on Aug 22nd, he is still 10 games under .500 and has an ERA of 6.00.

Lester, meanwhile, continues to look more & more comfortable every time he puts another start under his belt and distances himself from the one-year absence from the game.

He has won his last three starts and in his last four he has allowed 16 hits and 8 earned runs in 25 1/3 innings for a 2.84 ERA, and more importantly he has appeared to be better, longer while also being faster and stronger.

Sorry, got caught up in all the Kanye cross-promoting.

Anyway, the Sox should be able to ride the strength of last night's come-from-behind beatdown and an improving young pitcher to a much-needed victory over the Rays and its worst starter.

If not tomorrow will be a very long and uncomfortable day in the Hub.

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Boston beats Tampa Bay despite missed extra point

Sox 16, Tampa Bay 10
WP: Corey (1-0)
LP: Switzer (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Ellsbury (3), Papi (29), Pedroia (7), Drew (8); TB-Pena (39), Harris (11)

"What kind of name is Dioner, anyway? Get the fuck out of my way!"

SUMMARY
Boston established another franchise first tonight when it became the first Sox team in history to win a game by six or more runs when it had trailed in the game by at least seven runs.

I know, it's a crazy fucking stat. Let's just call it a monster come-from-behind win and leave it at that.

#1 STUNNER Boston offense 16 runs, 20 hits, 4 walks
One night after getting stymied for no runs on five hits the Sox offense exploded on the hapless Rays pitching staff. Every member of the Boston lineup had at least one hit, and only Mike Lowell, who had four base knocks on the night, failed to record an RBI.

PAN's FAUN Tim Wakefield 3IP, 10H, 7ER, 0BB, 4K
For the second consecutive start Wakefield pitched like shit, and whether it's the back injury or another dead spell for his dancing knuckler, 19 hits and 13 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings ain't gonna cut it.

RECAP
And to think I nearly threw in the towel on this one.

Right after Carlos Pena hammered another "remember me" post-it note into the seats in center field for a three-run bomb that made the score 8-1 Devil Rays in the top of the fourth, I said "that's it" and turned the station to a car appraisal show on Discovery HD.

But then a funny thing happened. The show ended and I had already seen the episode of "Rides" that came on next, so I hit the last channel button just to see if the Sox had made a dent in the gigantic deficit.

I was somewhat shocked to see Julio Lugo barrelling over Rays catcher Dioner Navarro as the ball bounced away from home plate and the umpire signalling Lugo safe at home with Boston's fifth run, so much so that I ran to the back office where I had the game on the conventional TV and backed up the DVR to see what the hell I had missed.

Turns out Boston put together a nice rally after looking like leftover hamburger meat for most of the first few innings, but little did I or anyone else know that little four-run uprising would mark the beginning of an historic comeback.

A comeback seemed out of the question when Tampa Bay, winners of 13 of its last 17 contests, tuned up troubled Sox starter Tim Wakefield like Kid Rock on Tommy Lee, scoring four runs in the second inning on five hits including a Monster home run by Brendan Harris and RBI hits from Navarro (4-4, 3R, 2BI) and Aki Iwamura.

Birthday boy Jacoby Ellsbury got the Sox off the schneid of not scoring on the Rays in 17 innings when he launched a rocket into the Sox pen with one out in the third off Rays starter Andy Sonnanstine (3.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 1BB, 3K) to cut the deficit to 4-1, but that glimmer of hope seemed all for naught when Tampa Bay scored four more runs in the fourth, highlighted by Pena's mammoth blast to straightaway center off Kyle Snyder, his 39 longball of the season.

Did I mention the Sox had this guy last season and let him walk? Anyone see any Big Papi/Minnesota comparisons here? No? Okay.

Anyway, it was right about here that I clicked over to DHD and learned about the value of a restored 1965 Oldsmobile JetStar while the Boston lineup, despite a large number of Fenway no-shows due to the wet weather and woeful opponent, kept plugging away at Sonnanstine until they could get to the soft underbelly of the Rays pen.

Luckily for me the show ended, a repeat came on, and I got the chance to see the Sox make history for like the 45th time this season.

Cool.

The comeback started when Mike Lowell (4-5, 3R) and J.D. Drew led off the fourth with consecutive singles, and after Youk popped out, Coco followed with a single to right center to load the bases for Lugo with one out.

One day after I ripped Tito for using him in the leadoff spot Lugo (2-5, R, 2BI) proved he belongs in the rear when he laced a solid single to left to score Lowell, and when Kevin Cash, subbing as Wake's caddy due to Mirabelli's tweaked hammy, shot a single past Harris at second to plate two more runs, the score was suddenly 8-4 and early enough that a comeback no longer seemed out of the question.

Rays manager Joe Maddon removed Sonnanstine after that and brought in Scott Dohman, who promptly walked Ellsbury (2-5, R, 2BI) walked to reload the bases, and then Dustin Pedroia skied an 0-1 offering into center field where B.J. Upton camped under it and came up firing, and it looked like Lugo would be a dead duck at the plate.

And he would have been had the ball not bounced off Navarro's mask and squirted harmlessly away, and just for good measure Lugo plowed into the portly backstop as if to say "we must protect this house."

Or something like that.

Even though Papi flied out to end the inning the damage was done, both scoreboardical and psychological, and despite an RBI double by Iwamura (3-6, R, 3BI)off Javier Lopez ran the score to 9-5 in the fifth, the best of the Boston comeback was yet to come.

The fifth inning rally began exactly like the fourth, with Lowell and Drew (3-4, 4R, BI) leading off with singles and just waiting to get driven in by the other salivating Sox sluggers. This time Youk walked to load the bases, and the bottom of the lineup proceeded to deliver three consecutive run-scoring at bats: a sac fly by Coco(2-4, 2R, 2BI), an RBI double by Lugo, and a sac fly by Cash that was shallow enough for Delmon Young to nab Youk but his throw went up the line instead.

It was that kind of night for the Rays.

The score was now 9-8 Rays with four innings to go, but it would only take one more frame for Boston to put this one out of reach.

After Pena (3-5, R, 3RBI) singled to lead off the sixth, Tito brought in Bryan Corey to pitch to Upton. It took nine pitches for Corey to get Upton to strike out swinging, then only one pitch to induce Delmon Young to ground into an inning-ending double play, a feat that surely inspired the offense to do what came next.

The Sox would send 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, and six of those hitters would score as the Sox battered three Tampa Bay pitchers and officially turned a near-disastrous loss into an enjoyable, kick you heels off and relax type win.

Dustin Pedroia (2-5, R, 2BI) got the festivities started when he rocketed a solo shot into the Monster seats to tie the game at nine off Jon Switzer, and when Papi (2-4, 2R, BI) followed with a single to left, Switzer was gone and it was Grant Balfour's turn to get spanked.

Balfour allowed a single off the Wall to Lowell, then walked Drew to load the bases again for Boston, and that bought the struggling Youkilis (2-4, 2R, 3BI) to the plate with a chance to win the game at his sweaty, meaty fingertips.

Youk's second-half troubles have been well-documented(.239 since the break), and his recent 4-18 stretch had started the "should they get rid of Youk" talk radio crap all over again.
And then the chrome-domed overachiever crushed a 1-0 pitch from Switzer high and deep off the triangular seam of the Wall, a ball hit so hard it ricocheted all the way to right field, and by the time Youk pulled into third with his second triple of the season, the slump was over, the love was back, and the Rays were officially dead in the water.

But just to make sure, Coco knocked in a gassed Youk with a double, and then two batters and one pitcher later the now 24-year-old Ellsbury ripped a single into left center to score Coco and make the score 14-9, and Tampa Bay fans were left wondering how the fuck their baseball team could outscore their football team and still lose!

Game over, right?

Wrong again, ass breath.

After Manny D. pitched around a pair of singles in the top of the eighth, Boston decided to add to the carnage when David Ortiz and J.D. Drew took Juan 50 game 'roid suspension Salas yard, Papi's a classic Papi job into the bully on the first pitch of the inning and Drew's a straightaway number that rattled the camera stanchion in center one out later, an impressive shot that along with his two other hits silenced the sea of bashers for at least one day.

The only thing left of any consequence by now was the reappearance of banished, errr sore shouldered reliever Eric Gagme, who made his first appearance since Aug 26th when he took the mound for the ninth inning.

With a new 'do that makes him look less like Seth Rogen and more like Sasha Baron Cohen, the rested Gagme was an exact replica of tired-shouldered Gagme, allowing a single to Harris to lead off the inning and later a single to Navvaro that would bring Harris home with Gagme's 11th run allowed in 12 appearances with Boston.

But it didn't matter. The fans who were still there were just happy to have witnessed such a historical comeback, and the Faithful who had already left or clicked off the TV set didn't even know the former Cy Young winner turned future beer league closer was on the mound.

I'm just glad I wasn't one of them.

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Sox Drawer: The Aftermath of the Lineup from Hell

First of all I want to say I hope that everyone is honoring the 6th anniversary of Sept. 11th, both the memories of the victims and the courage of the survivors, rescuers and the thousands of people who have poured their hearts and lives into the recovery and rebuilding effort.

It's hard to believe that we are already six years removed from the greatest tragedy in modern American history, and hopefully before the 10th anniversary this day will be a national holiday as it so rightfully deserves to be.

Never forget.
--------------------------------------------------------- Many people today have criticized the patchwork lineup that Tito trotted out last night to face the Rays and Sox killer Scott Kazmir, but not many have suggested what the manager was to do without the services of Manny & Papi and with J.D. Drew becoming more of a liability every day.

Which is why you have me.

I meant to do this in my piece last night, but I had a computer problem as I was finishing my post so I had to get up super early this morning and finish it, and at that hour I couldn't remember that I was supposed to back up my Tito bashing with a counter-argument.

So here is a comparison of Tito's starting nine last night and the one I would have chosen to oppose Kazmir:

TITO/J ROSE
1. DH Lugo / RF Drew
2. CF Coco / 2B Pedroia
3. 2B Pedroia / LF Ellsbury
4. 3B Lowell / 3B Lowell
5. RF Kielty / DH Youk
6. 1B Youk / C Tek
7. C Tek / CF Coco
8. LF Ellsbury / 1B Hinske
9. SS Cora / SS Lugo

Loyal reader Red Sox Bat Boy commented that no matter what lineup Francona penciled in for the game at least Drew's name wasn't in it. And with a .254 average and an uncanny knack for being at bat but not coming through with a clutch hit in nearly every game over the past couple of weeks, it's hard to argue with that logic.

But I am going to have to disagree here, and it's simply a numbers game. Although Drew's average is horrible, he does have an OBP of .357, which is good for seventh on the team among the regulars and 62 points higher than Tito's leadoff choice, Lugo.

Plus if you stick him at the top of the order there's considerably less chance he will hit into a soul-crushing, rally-killing, inning-ending double play.

From there you have Pedroia in his normal two spot, the team's hottest hitter Ellsbury sandwiched between Dustin and RBI machine Mike Lowell, the slumping Youk taking a day off from the field and DHing in the five-hole, rounded out by Captain Clutch, Coco, Big Hit Hinske (remember, he doesn't get many hits but they're usually big, and he's got more pop than Kielty) and Lugo bringing up the rear where he belongs.

I dare anyone to tell me that lineup wouldn't have had a better chance of putting some runs on the board than the band of oh brothers Tito ran out there instead.

Not that I'm trying to tell a World series-winning manager how to do his job or anything.

More notes from last night:

-The 1-0 shutout loss was the first such game at home for Boston since the infamous Mike Mussina near no-hitter on Sept 2nd, 2001.

I have a particularly fond memory of that game, as I was back home in Boston that weekend and watched it at my grandparents house in Wakefield. I distinctly remember sitting on the edge of my seat in their kitchen praying for someone to get a hit off that a-hole Mussina, and jumping for joy when Jurassic Everett singled in the 9th to rain on the Stanks near-parade.

Two days later the family and I flew back to FLA.

It was exactly one week before the hijackers would leave from Logan.

Never forget.

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Kazmir Karves his way through ragtag Sox lineup

Tampa Bay 1, Sox 0
WP: Kazmir (12-8)
LP: Schilling (8-7)
SV: Reyes (24)
HRs: None

SUMMARY
Rays ace Scott Kazmir continued his mastery of the Bosox by tossing seven innings of five-hit shutout ball, walking just two while striking out 10 Boston players in leading Tampa Bay to its 13th win in its last 17 games.

#1 STUNNER Kazmir 7IP, 5H, 2BB, 10K
With 10 more strikeouts tonight the 23-year-old lefty now has fanned 109 Boston batters in 96 1/3 career innings against the Sox.

PAN's FAUN Tito Francona
He is rewriting the book on juggling lineups this season, and I know he's hamstrung by injuries, but the starting nine he rolled out there tonight against a top-notch starter was an abomination.

RECAP
After following this team for the better part of 25 years and witnessing a plethora of pitiful lineups, perhaps due to the foggy onset of my 40's, I cannot remember an odder starting nine to take the field for the Sox than I watched line up against the Rays tonight.

And it starts right from the top.

Literallly and literally.

Terry Francona had already been strapped for solutions without the services of his mercurial left fielder and cleanup hitter Manny Ramirez for the past couple of weeks, and when word came out of Yawkey way that Papi was going to need the night off as well, presumably to rest his achy knee but more realistically due to his .147 lifetime average vs. Kazmir, well you knew what Tito might scratch together had the potential to be, shall we shay, unconventional.

How unconventional was it?

How about your 5' 9" second baseman, who has 8 homers and 52 RBI in his career, batting in Big Papi's #3 slot?

Not bad enough?

What about using your .240-hitting shortstop as your tablesetter, placing a guy at the top of the order who has a .249 OBP for the season in control of jump starting the offense?

Still not de,err impressed?

How do you explain burying electric rookie OBP machine Jacoby Ellsbury in the eight spot? Huh? I know he's facing a tough young lefty, but let the kid with the hottest hand on the club try to jump start the makeshift lineup?

I could go on about Bobby Kielty, he of the .319 slugging percentage, batting fifth, or having Alex Cora, mired in a 1-20 slump, bringing up the rear of this motley crew, but I don't want to harp.

Let's just say that Tito's merry ragtime band of a lineup cost the Sox this game and leave it at that.

Because against a pitcher like Kazmir, who has enjoyed some of the most successful games of his young career against this club was like sending Britney Spears out onstage first at an awards show.

A disaster waiting to happen.

The hard-luck victim of all this lineup lunacy was Mr. Curt Schilling, who for the third straight start contributed a quality start only to see his efforts get wasted due to a dearth of offense once again.

Schilling (6IP, 5H, ER, BB, 5K), who in his last three starts has allowed 19 hits and six earned runs in 19 innings for a 2.84ERA, showed more promising signs of fully recovering from his shoulder injury as he scattered five hits and a walk through the first five innnigs and only got into real trouble once, and that small indiscretion ended up costing him the win.

Greg Norton (2-3, R) got the winning rally started when he doubled over Ellsbury's head and off the scoreboard to lead off the fifth inning. Catcher Dioner Navarro, who ironically leads the Rays in sac bunts although he is portly and can't hit worth a lick, then moved Norton over to third, and four pitches later Josh Wilson launched a sac fly to right to score Norton with the games one and only run.

Not like that was the end of the excitement, though.

Aki Iwamura and Carl Crawford bot followed with two-out singles to put Schill and the Sox in a real jam, and the veteran had to know that any more runs allowed would make it drastically tougher for the lineup to comeback, and with Rays leading power man and longshot MVP candidate Carlos Pena at the dish, the game was basically on the line right then.

Schill merely got Pena to wave at a crowd-inspiring splitter to end the threat, and the way the old man escaped a tough spot just like the old days had the giddy Faithful believeing a comeback was just around the corner.

The Sox had put the leadoff batter on base in four of the first five innings, so when Varitek worked a walk to leadoff the bottom of the fifth the crowd could sense a potential rally was at hand, especially with Bostonian Idol Ellsbury coming to bat.

But Kaz induced the wunderkind to ground into a fielder's choice, forcing Tek at second, and then things got ugly from there.

After Cora ran the count full, he sliced a sinking line drive into center field that looked as if it were going to drop in for a hit, but B.J. Upton came gliding over to snag the shot before it could fall to the turf, catching not only the ball but everyone including Ellsbury, who was at second base already, off guard.

As Jacoby turned and hightailed it back to first Upton unloaded a cannon back to the infield and nipped Jacoby just before he got back to the back for a demoralizing inning-ending double play, and just like that one of the Sox best chances to get back in the game had gone up in flames.

Boston finally got two base runners on in the same inning when Kielty singled and tek walked with one out in the seventh, but Kazmir got Ellsbury (1-3) to whiff on a swing that only a lumberjack could love, then got Cora to tap into a force out to squelch the threat.

The last golden scoring chance Boston would get came when Joe Maddon finally removed Kazmir after the seventh and Dan Wheeler came in for the eighth. Wheeler walked Coco with one out, then saw him steal second easily as he struck out Pedroia looking for out #2.

The tying run was now in scoring position with money Mike Lowell at the plate and Ortiz on the on deck circle to pinch hit, and the crowd could sense something was about to happen here.

Unfortunately that something was Lowell staring at a filthy breaking pitch from Wheeler right down the middle of the plate for strike three, and with that Boston's last gasp chance at getting this game even went by the wayside.

Boston did get a measure of revenge for the Ellsbury gaffe after Delmon Young led off the 9th with a single off Mike Timlin, then got burned like Jacoby when he took off for third on a high deep drive to center by Brendan Harris.

Trouble was Coco made another one of his nightly spectacular catches, tracking the ball all the way back to the wall, timing his leap and hauling the ball in, then he fired it back to Cora who relayed to first to catch the napping Young for the "take that" double play.

But the feel good play would quickly be forgotten when the Sox, including pinch hitter papi, went down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, and the Sox and the Faithful realized they had just been punked by not only the Rays and Kazmir but by their own manager as well.

Tito, here's a bit of advice for ya: you want to beat a pitcher who treats you as his personal chew toy, don't start your second baseman in the spot reserved for your power hitting DH for starters, numb nuts.

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Series Preview: Tampa Bay @ Sox

Tampa Bay Devil Rays (60-83) @ Red Sox (87-57)
Fenway Park 3 game series

Probable Pitching Matchups
GM1 Mon 705 Kazmir (11-8, 3.79) vs. Schilling (8-6, 4.04)
GM2 Tue 705 Sonnanstine vs. Wakefield
GM3 Wed 705 Jackson vs. Lester

Season Series: Sox lead 9-3

Preview:
Let''s face facts: Boston has now played these guys enough in the past two months to be able to exchange Christmas cards with Rays players and their families, and we all know that anything less than a sweep of the cellar-dwellers is considered a failure.

So I'm not going to add anything else that we don't already know.

The Sox need to win all three games to keep the 5 1/2 game cushion over the New York A-Rods, who have the night off tonight before the start bludgeoning the Jays in Toronto tomorrow.

The only things you really need to know heading into this series is that Manny will probably miss this set so he can try to get back for the Stanks series this weekend, and it looks like Big Papi's balky knee will keep him out of at least tonight's game if not more.

That leaves Boston with a quizzical lineup for tonight's opener. Not only will Lugo leadoff as the DH, but Pedroia will bat third, Kielty will play right and Alex Cora, in the midst of a horrid 1-20 slump, will play short and bat ninth.

Combine that lineup with Sox killer Scott Kazmir and you got the recipe for what could be a tough game to win in the opener.

Let's hope Schill continues top progress from his midseason malady and can go six or seven strong innings, get enough offense to take a lead into the final frames, and then let the rested bullpen steer the game into the winners garage.

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Sox Drawer: State of the Sox

The outfield situation is getting sticky, some starters are struggling (ahemDiceK) and there's magic number on the Globe homepage.

Time to assess the current situation of our Sox.

For the love of Ellsbury what's gonna happen in the outfield?

Face (of) the Nation--Ellsbury has wowed everyone with his skills and stills

While Manny rehabs his oblique in the healing sunshine of FLA and J.D. Drew lugs the burden of failing to meet even the lowest of expectations into each at bat, something totally expected is happened around the Hub: Ellsbury fever is gripping the city.

From Cohasset to Coral Gables and points beyond every member of the Nation is enamored with the first Navajo Native American to play major league baseball, be it for his rugged good looks, ability to scale outfield fences in a single bound or race around the basepaths as if he's trying to turn back time.

Or perhaps the love affair has blossomed out of the simple fact that the kid can flat out hit (.411 in 16 games this season, nine straight games since his Sept. 1st callup), and that's something that the $70 million pariah who currently occupies right field cannot make claim to.

Many a tantalizing prospect has come down the Pawtucket pipeline over the decades, but perhaps none with the combination of speed, power, agilty, good looks and at the exact time when the player in front of him is iritatating the Nation with his piss-poor production and "what, me worry" attitude.

I mean everyone knew Boggs was a great hitter and deserved his chance to play, but nobody was screaming to take Carney Lansford, a batting champ and Gold Glove-caliber third baseman, and sit him on the bench.

But that is quickly becoming the case with Ellsbury and Drew, so the question is, what do the Sox do with Ellsbury when Manny comes back in a week or so and you have Coco Crisp entrenched at center (for this season at least) and the multi-million dollar awful investment Drew anchored to right?

I'm not sure what Tito will come up with but this guy has authored more lineups this season than a former FOX executive, and my guess is he will rotate the positions enough so that Ellsbury plays regularly somehwre on the field, and as that magic number dwindles down he will rest some of the regulars and let Jacoby flaunt his stuff every day, then use matchups and game situations to determine his playing time in the playoffs.

Either way this kid has sewn up the right to patrol the Fenway outfield permanantly beginning next season. The decision will be up to Theo & co. which one of the incumbents to jettison in order to make it happen.

Matsuzaka's recent struggles have to concern Sox
The numbers are hard to ignore for the 26-year old Japanese rookie: in his last five starts the Diceman is 1-4 and has allowed 32 hits and 28 earned runs in 26 1/3 innngs for a 9.57 ERA, plus his strikeouts have decreased (seven in his last three starts ) while his longball total escalates (six in his last fourt starts, 23 for the season).

So what's the problem?

Obviously fatigue and lack of having been through the grind of a 162-game major league schedule would have to be the prime reasons for his recent nosedive, but the bigger question is, will he be able to recover from this dead arm period in time for the playoffs, or is he a ticking timebomb of potential burnout/injury ready to explode?

Boston has tried to provide some relief to the rookie who has almost reached his career high total for innings (205) with another couple of starts plus the postseason to go, but the big picture is he is being counted on to be the number two starter when the postseason begins, and a guy who has a multitude of pitches but is not getting guys out and is allowing a ton of homers isn't the guy you want starting Game 2 on the ALDS against a Cleveland or Anaheim.

No they need to get it straigtened out and quick ,even if it means sitting him out for a srat here at the end of the season to let him recharge his batteries and get prepared for the real grind that he has yet to experience--the MLB playoffs.

Magic number time already?! okay, I'll play along
Thanks to the Globe for reminding everone that with any combination of 14 Boston wins and/or Stankee losses the sox will officially clinch their first AL East title since 1995.

Get the confetti and streamers ready.

With a three game set against the Rays up next starting tonight and then a three gamer against New York, the number could be reduced to less than double digits in less than a week.

Then again by that time the season will be almost over seeing as there is only 18 games left, so what this number means is that Boston could clinch the division as long as they continue to win and the Yanks lose a few along the way between now and the end of the season on Sept. 30.

Thanks for keeping us up to speed on this, guys.

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Bye Bye Birds! Beckett & Coco help dispatch O's

Sox 3, Baltimore 2
WP: Beckett (18-6)
LP: Bradford (2-7)
SV: Papelbon (35)
HRs: BAL-Mora (14), Markakis (18)

SUMMARY
On the day the Pats began their march to another title, Josh Beckett and the Sox made sure no one forgets about the other potential championship club in town.

Beckett tossed seven solid innings and Boston got a pair of RBIs from Mike Lowell and a clutch hit from Coco Crisp along with another save from Paps to finish the season series off with Baltimore.

#1 STUNNER Beckett 7IP, 7H, 2ER, 0BB, 8K, 2HR
The All Star ace continued to do what he has done all season long--put the team on his back and pitch them to victory, although he needed a little help from his friends when two longballs jeopardized his 18th 'W'.

PAN's FAUN Chad Bradford 1.1IP, 2H, ER
The former Sox sidearmer got the job done when he induced Mike Lowell to ground into a double play to end the seventh, but then the journeyman allowed a leadoff single to start the 8th and then surrendered a single by Coco that scored the winning run.

RECAP
They didn't go down without a fight.

Then again overdone fowl never does.

The Sox finally dispensed with the blasted orange & brown birds from Baltimore this afternoon at Fenway South, err Camden, and even though the series record will stand at 12 games to six for the Boston, it sure seemed a lot closer than that.

To make sure I wasn't on crack (again) or something, I did some intense fact checking (aka the season summary panel on the ESPN box score of the game) and found that of the 18 contests only six were decided by three runs or more but the other 12 games came down to one, two or three run margins.

And what's even more amazing is that the two teams, sharing the same division but at opposite ends of the spectrum record-wise, played seven games that were decided by just one run.

Fitting that today's finale fell into that category (also ties in nicely with what I'm trying to do here).

For the third consecutive game the Sox jumped out to an early lead against the Baltimore starter, this time striking for a a pair of runs in the third off promising Oriole righty Jeremy Guthrie.

The inning began innocently enough when Guthrie (5IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 5K) retired Alex Cora and Jacoby Ellsbury on six pitches to open the frame. Then Dustin Pedroia (3-5, R) pushed a single into center, and Big Papi followed that with a double past the dreaded shift to set up men at second & third for team MVP Mike Lowell.

Instead of walking the league's 5th leading RBI guy with first base open and Manny Ramirez in Florida, Guthrie and manager Dave Trembley decided to pitch to the Sox third baseman.

Lowell drove the first pitch he saw from Guthrie into short left center, a hit that not only was just hard enough to get through the infield but just soft enough to allow the big fella to score all the way from second, but also forced center fielder Tike Redman to overthrow the cutoff man so Lowell could get into scoring position as well.

I'm beginning to believe he absolutely can do this shit when ever, where ever and however he wants.

Beckett did allow at least one baserunner in each of the first three innings, but he also struck out the side in the third, so even though Boston blew another scoring chance in the fourth by stranding Tek & Ellsbury on the bases, everyone assumed Becks would make the runs hold up until the Sox could tack on a few more and cruise to victory.

Well this being the blasted brown birds we should have realized things wouldn't be that easy.

Melvin Mora cut the lead in half when he launched a one-out solo shot off Josh in the fourth, and when Boston failed to produce a run despite getting the first two batters on base in the sixth off Guthrie, things started to tighten up a bit.

Nick Markakis took it to sphincter level tightness when he rocked a leadoff homer to deep left center to open the bottom of the sixth, and suddenly that "easy" victory and series win just got a lot more difficult to attain.

But the snakebit Orioles lost their second young hurler in a matter of weeks when Guthrie had to be removed due to a strained ribcage muscle, the same injury that ended the season of ace Eric Bedard, and we all know what happens when the Os dip into that pen.

Good things happen. For the other team.

Pedroia led off the seventh with a single off Jamie walker, then Trembley brought in Bradford to pitch to Lowell. The strategy worked when Lowell hit into an inning-killing double play on a 1-2 count, but the Sox would get the las laugh next inning.

But not before Beckett worked his way into and out of a major jam in the bottom of the seventh.

He started his trouble by plunking Baltimore catcher Ramon Hernandez to open the inning, a not-too subtle retaliatory strike for the Cabrera/Pedroia fiasco and Hernandez' subsequent diarrhea of the mouth during the ensuing fracas I'm sure. A sac bunt and groundout got his pinch runner, Brandon Fahey, over to third with two outs, and the game was on the line with Brian Roberts coming up.

The plucky Roberts had been a thorn in Boston's side all season, so most of the Nation had fingers crossed that Becks could retire the resilient second sacker one more time.

After staring at the first pitch for strike one Roberts took the next two pitches for balls and then proceeded to foul off six more pitches while the entire Nation was ready to turn the PIP off and watch the Pats unhindered.

And then Beckett threw one of his sick splitters in the dirt, inside and low, and Roberts hacked at it like an over matched Little Leaguer, and from there it was up to his offense to bail the pitcher out and earn him that league-leading victory.

That task got off to a good start when Drew singled off Bradford to start the eighth, stole second after Youk was robbed of a hit by Roberts and went to third on a fly out to center by Tek for out number two.

So Boston was in the same position Baltimore was in just an inning earlier--man on third, two outs, base hit could win the game.

Only difference was Coco came through.

The object of Cabrera's ire the other night gave Baltimore and its beleaguered fans another reason to piss and moan when he hit a Bradford pitch sharply into center to plate Drew with the go-ahead run, and with the Beckett win in the bag and Papelbon warming in the pen, it was all over but the Baltimore cryin'

Papelbon actually made things interesting when he allowed his first baserunner in his last 25 batters, a one-out single by Mora, but then things returned to normal as he whiffed both last night's hero Scott Moore and unheard off rookie Freddie Bynum to end the game, the season series, and probably officially ended the season for any remaining Orioles fans out there.

After all, the Ravens kick off their season tomorrow night.

And I know the fans in the Inner Harbor are definitely ready for some football.

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