ALDS GM2: Manny's 9th-inning bomb propels Sox to 2-0 series lead

Sox 6, Angles 3
WP: Papelbon (1-0)
LP: F. Rodriguez (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Manny (1)

Amazingly after 21 postseason homers, good for 2nd place all time in MLB, this was ManRam's first walk-off job. He made sure to admire it appropriately.

SUMMARY
Manny Ramirez put his nagging oblique injury and some earlier shoddy fielding behind him when he launched a titanic 3-run homer over the Monster and onto Lansdowne Street off Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez in the bottom of the 9th to give Boston 2-0 advantage over LA in the ALDS.

#1 STUNNER Ramirez 1-3, R, 3BI, 2BB, GW-HR
He had only notched one extra base hit since returning from an oblique injury in the last week of the season, but Manny, who always had a flair for the dramatic, made sure his first homer since August 28th was a memorable one.

Indeed it was only the 5th walkoff homer in Red Sox postseason history.

GAGME F. Rodriguez 1/3IP,1H, 2R, BB, K, GL-HR
The kid called K-Rod made a name for himself in the 2002 playoffs, when the flamethrowing phenom helped the Halos win the world Series. But by trying to sneak a fastball by Manny in the 9th tonight, he might have assured his team doesn't get out of the first round in 2007.

RECAP
The Red Sox extended their postseason dominance over the Angels, beating them for the eighth straight time in the playoffs, but it took some terrific work by the beleaguered bullpen, a slew of bases-on-balls, and a fortuitious play by the son of a minority owner in order to extend that streak.

Boston stepped one win closer to the ALCS when Manny Ramirez clubbed a game-winning homer off Francisco Rodriguez with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but before that spectacular finish could occur the Sox took thier sweet time getting to that point as this game had more twists and turns than a Stephen King novel.

Oh, did I mention the high priest of horror was also involved in this memorable October matchup?

Daisuke Matsuzaka (4.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 3BB, 3K) made his MLB postseason debut, and unfortunately for the Sox and the Nation, he pitched pretty much like he has for most of his inital season in the majors--halfway decent yet still not quite good enough.

The rookie righty really only had one bad inning, when he allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in the second, but it was his lack of command and inabilty to shut the sputtering Angels lineup down that forced Terry Francona to pull his #2 starter with two outs in the fifth with the score only 3-2 Los Angeles.

As a dissapointed & dejected Dice-K left the mound, he got his first taste of what life can really be like as a member of the Boston Red Sox when a smattering of boos rained down on him, a sharp reminder that a big contract, high expectations and postseason failure make for a hostile work environment in the best baseball city in America.

Welcome to playoff baseball in Beantown, Diceman.

The reason the Faithful were so upset was because another high-paid, high-profile bust, J.D. Drew, actually came through in the clutch in his first playoff game in a Boston uni, stroking a bases-loaded, two-out, two-run single off Anaheim starter Kelvim Escobar in the first inning to give the Sox an early 2-0 lead, only to have Matsuzaka blow that lead mere minutes later.

The worst part about it is that the second inning could have been a one-run affair. Dice-K allowed a leadoff walk to Casey Kotchman and an infield single to Kendry Morales but then retired the next two batters, with Kotchman scoring on a fielder's choice grounder by catcher Jeff Mathis to slice the lead to 2-1.

Except Matsuzaka had one of his patented phases when he forgets he's supposed to be an elite pitcher and allowed back-to-back doubles by Chone Figgins and Orlando Cabrera to give the Angles a 3-2 lead, and even though he retired Vlad Guerrero on a grounder to end the inning, the boo birds that came out for the first time in Dice's brief Boston career and reminded him that the feel-good vibes of the regular season are gone when the hardware is on the line.

The score remained that way for a few innings, with both teams committing baserunning blunders along the way, but the fifth inning brought not only Matsuzaka's departure and the Red Sox tying the game but the entrance of another Bartman-like play into postseason lore.

Matsuzaka ran into two out trouble again in the top of the fifth when he surrendered a single to Maicer Izturis and then walked Kotchman on four pitches, the last one scooting past Varitek for a wild pitch that sent Izturis to third and brought Tito out of the dugout.

Javier Lopez replaced the disgraced starter and got Morales to ground out to Lugo at short, and Boston was forced into a situation it had not been too succesful with over the last few weeks of the season--having to go to the bullpen early.

Thankfully in the bottwom of the frame the Sox tied it up when Dustin pedroia led off with a double, and after Youk grounded out, David ortiz drew the second of his ALDS-record four walks, the fisrt of his tywo intentional freebies, setting up Manny for a big RBI situation.

Cue the Twilight Zone music.

Ramirez battled Escobar, fouling off a few pitches, but it was one foul ball in particular that will be rembered for a long time to come in the Commonwealth.

As Manny's pop up soared towrds the seats, mathis raced over to the rail of the photographer's section and reached into the stands to snag the ball. Only a young kid named Danny Vinik, the son of a part-owner of the team, reached over Mathis' glove and snagged the ball first, and as Mathis swore in idsgust, Vinnick was congratulated by everyone around him, including Boston's best famous fan, Stephen King, who was seated one row behind the kid they're calling the anti-Bartman.

Given new life Ramirez drew a walk from the rattled escobar, and the bases were loaded for Boston's top RB I man and most consiustent clutch hitter all season, Mikle Lowell.

Lowell lofted a flyball to centerfield, deep enough to score Pedroia with the tying run, and suddenly the problem became how Francona was going to piece together a potential game-saving combination out of his embattled bully.

Turned out it wasn't an issue as the Boston penb reverted to pre-Gagne form, turning in 4 1/3 scoreless innings, starting with Manny Delcarmen's 1-2-3 sixth.

After Manny D. plunked Guerrero with one out in the seventh, Hideki Okajima came in for his postseason debut and got Garrett one eye Anderson on a fly ball to center and then struck out Izturis, and after he set down the first two batters of the eighth, Francona went to his closer to get the final four outs.

The last out of the eighth proved elusive as Howie Kendrick reached on an error by Lowell, stole second and third like a mouse on a trweadmill, and then Papelbon walked Juan Rivera and allowed hiom to skate to second before he fanned Figgins to end the inning, exiting the field with a fist-pump and a primal scream that said to his team let's go out and win this fucking thing.

It took a couple of innings, but in the final inning that's exactly what they did.

It all started with a leadoff single by Julio Lugo, and after Pedroia grounded him over to second, Mike Scioscia brought on K-Rod to face the heart of the Boston order.

Rodriguez struck out Youk, making him look silly in the process, and then everyone watching knew Papi was going to draw the free pass again in order to see if Manny could finally make the move backfire.

Boy did he ever.

After taking the first pitch for a ball, Manny tracked a Rodriguez heater right to his whellhouse and turned on it quicker than Mike Vick's cousin, crushing the ball high, far and deep into the Fenway night, and before he made it to home plate the entire team was there, ready to jump around in celebration of Manny's 21st postseason longball.

And so it took a number of wacky plays, a number of clutch hits, and a little intervention by a fan to get Boston to the brink of its 3rd ALCS in four years, and it will be up to Curt Schilling to puch the Sox ticket to the next round on Sunday afternoon in Anaheim.

Oh and what could make a win like this sweeter?

The Indians knocked off the Stanks in 11 innings to take a 2-0 lead in that series with help from a sudden swarm of pesky insects.

Looks like stephen King might be more powerful than we thought.

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ALDS Notes: Beckett's gem continues to impress a day later

One day after one of the most impressive postseason performances in Red Sox history, the accolades keep pouring in for the new Mr. October.

Don't believe me? here's a small sample:

"No one was quite sure who would emerge as Boston's ace entering the season. It's no longer up for debate. {Beckett} moved the ball inside and out, up and down. He located his fastball and didn't leave anything over the plate. Mike Scioscia's club had no clue what was coming."--Jeff Goodman, FOXSports Net

"Beckett was undoubtedly the last person many Red Sox fans mentioned before going to sleep Wednesday night and the first they will mention when they wake up. That kind of adoration happens when a pitcher dominates in the postseason the way Beckett dominated the Angels."--Jack Curry, NY Times

"We've seen the miracle of Curt Schilling's bloody sock in 2004. We've seen Pedro Martinez climb out of the bullpen with a strained muscle under his right shoulder blade in 1999 and pitch six innings of no-hit ball. We've seen Luis Tiant grunt, groan and sweat his mustache off on his way to a 163-pitch night in the 1975 World Series."

"Yes, there may have been more dramatic pitching performances in Red Sox postseason history. But there have been no more authoritative than Josh Beckett's four-hit shutout of the Los Angeles Angels at Fenway Park."--Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant

See what I mean.

But no matter how many writers have tried, there really aren't enough words to describe the masterful effort Beckett turned in last night at Fenway. it was a performance for the ages, a dominating, devastating, demoralizing evisceration of a talented playoff team, one that had it taken place in Game 7 of the World series a la Beckett's last postseason start would be considered one of the greatest postseason performances of all time.

But the way you hear the man himself talk about it, it was just another day at the office.

Among the certain Cy Young winner's attention-deflecting remarks, Josh downplayed the comparisons to that 2003 win over the Stanks in the Bronx, saying the only thing similar are the results, and the humble-yet-fiery Texan refused to accept the fact that he now will likely now be included in the group of the best playoff pitchers in the history of the game.

"I think those are all things that you should worry about when you retire."

Josh, dude, you've thrown two consecutive postseason masterpieces and are one of only three men to own three career playoff shutouts, you're about to win your fist Cy Young, were the majors only 20-game winner this season, and have just put your team on your back and said "hop on boys, I;m gonna be the horse that takes us to the promised land."

Do yourself a favor, okay: enjoy it a little.

You deserve to.

Other Game 1 Notes:

-Although I was thrilled to learn that my local cable company added TBS HD just in time for the play-in game Monday night, I must say the new MLB playoff network has not impressed.

Poor sound quality has been voiced by a number of viewers, and some of that must have to do with the terrible announcers. How we got saddled with Ted who the hell are you? Robinson and Steve Stone Age I'll never understand, but Dry & Dryer had me pining for the ear-bleeding tones of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.

Oh and they were late coming back from commercial break a couple of times. Look, I know it's your first time, and you gotta pimp your products, but don't pull that shit in the playoffs, guys.

-Don't forget about that other postseason hero: when David Ortiz hit his 9th postseason home run in the third off of John Lacking, it gave him at least one hit in 16 of the 18 postseason games he's played in since the start of the 2004 playoffs. Boston is 7-2 in the postseason when the big fella goes yard, and his longball matched Cap'n Tek's club record for playoff homers.

Oh, and the last time Papi faced the Halos in the postseason? His 10th-inning homer sent them packing in the 2004 ALDS and proved to be the springboard for the championship run.

-Manny Ramirez' first inning single gave him at least one hit in 21 of his last 22 playoff games. Since his return from the oblique injury, ManRam is batting .380 (8-21), but seven of those hits have been singles

-Jacoby Ellsbury got his first taste of the postseason when he replaced Manny in left field for the 9th. And in true phenom style, he made a fantastic sliding catch of a Chone Figgins liner leading off the inning just a few minutes later

-Youk joined a select group when he homered for his first postseason hit, and the slumping first baseman added a double and scored two runs. Ironically Youk's first career hit was also a homer.

-Anyone ever wonder how in the heck Reggie Willits is white and Howie Kendrick is black? We need someone to investigate this odd phenomenon.

UP NEXT: GM 2 Fri 8:37 @ Fenway
Escobar (18-7) vs. Matsuzaka (15-12) (no pressure, Diceman!)

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ALDS Game 1: Beckett decimates helpless Halos

Sox 4, Angels 0
WP: Beckett (1-0)
LP: Lackey (0-1)
HRs: Papi (1), Youk (1)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox only needed Kevin Youkilis' solo shot in the first inning to take game one of this opening round playoff series because Josh Beckett pitched what can only be described as a masterpiece. Beckett, using a bevy of baffling pitches, surrendered just three singles in nine innings, retired 19 straight batters at one point, and threw first pitch strkies to 25 of the 31 hitters he faced.

Oh, and his closest competitor for the Cy Young, LA's John Lackey, got shellacked again at Fenway, making Beckett's performance all the more impressive.

#1 STUNNER "Cy" Beckett 9IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 8K
As good as this 20-game winner has been all year, this was far and away the best performance of his season and possibly his career. I know all about Game 7 at New York in 2003, but he was just a fireballing kid then; this was a virtuoso effort.

BTW, this was his third postseason shutout, tying a major league record, and his second in a row, following that Game 7 gem. Nice.

GAGME Lackey 6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 4K
Granted this outing wasn't as bad as his 11-hit, 7-run meltdown back on August 17th, but with one out in the third Boston had already amassed 8 hits and a walk, and if not for a couple of fortuitous calls and a trio of double plays, this beating would have been a lot worse.

RECAP
Boston kicked off the 2007 playoffs with the best pitching performance we've seen all year from their All Star ace Josh Beckett, the kind of shut-down statement start that propels teams to series wins and sets the tone for the rest of the postseason run.

Beckett surrendered a fluke single to Chone Figgins off Dustin Pedroia's glove six pitches into the game, then didn't allow another baserunner until Vlad Guerrero lined a single to left with one out in the seventh, a string of 19 batters in a row that left the Angles players shaking their heads in disbelief and the Fenway Faithful giddy with relief.

After weeks filled with shaky play and injuries to key players followed by a late surge that netted them their first division title since '95, no one was real sure which Sox team would show up in this series.

Would it be the club that got tooled by the Angles in the first two games of a three game set in Anaheim in early August, or would it be the team that averaged more than 8 1/2 run in its six wins vs. Anaheim this season and treats John Lackey like its own personal chew toy?

Thankfully for the psyche of the Nation the answer was the latter, as Lackey's troubles against Boston (1-6, 6.27 ERA lifetime), especially at Fenway Park, where he was 1-4 with a 7.46 ERA in 7 career starts coming in, continued to bite him in the ass.

Following Figgins' leadoff single Beckett retired Orlando Cabrera, Vlad, and Garrett Anderson on a grounder with Figgins at third to escape the inning unscathed, and Youk wasted no time in getting him the only run support he would need on the night when he launched a 2-1 offering from Lackey into the Monster seats with one out in the bottom of the inning to give the Sox an early 1-0 lead.; it was Youk's first career postseason hit.

One of the major contributors to the late-season struggles reared its fugly face afterwards thought when consecutive singles by Papi (2-3, R, 2BI) and Manny were wasted when Lowell grounded out and Drew flied out, leaving both big men stranded.

Ortiz would more than make up for that missed opportunity and provide Beckett with what turned out to be a comfy cushion when he turned on a hanging Lackey curveball and crushed it into the right field seats with one out in the third, scoring Youk, who had reached on a double, and sending the crowd into a typical Fenway playoff frenzy.

One thing we know for sure: screw the knee injury, if it's the playoffs, it's time for Papi to shine.

Boston tacked on what wound up being the final run scored in the game when Manny (1-3, R) followed Papi's blast with a walk, alertly moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on yet another clutch RBI single by Mike Lowell, and even Drew grounding into a double play two pitches later couldn't get the record Fenway crowd in a foul mood.

That's because the game was actually more exciting when Boston was not at bat, and you could tell as the game went on that Beckett was turning in a performance that was nothing short of remarkable.

Not only was Becks setting down LA batters at a rapid clip, but it was the way he was doing it that made the feat all the more amazing. Utilizing a variety of pitches including his usual 97 mph heater, a nasty low-90s slider and a knee-buckling 77-80 mph curve, Beckett was not so much as pitching to the Angles hitters but pitching through them, like a brand new John Deere plowing a field of knee-high grass.

In the fourth he needed just 10 pitches to cut down the trio of Cabrera-Guerrero-Anderson again; in the fifth, after pesky Maicer Izturis managed an 8-pitch at bat before popping out to short, Beckett needed only five more pitches to retire Casey Kotchman and Howie Kendrick; and in the sixth he absolutely tortured Mike Napoli and Reggie Willits, getting them to whiff on 77 mph yakkers before Figgins lined out to Coco Crisp, who made a nice sliding catch to extend Beckett's streak to 18 batters in a row sent back to the bench.

By the 7th Lackey was gone, who in all fairness held on to keep the game close after those first few innings, and although Boston squandered a couple of possible scoring chances and had four calls go against them (a phantom foul tip by Kendrick, a bogus caught stealing on Lugo, and two horrible strike-three calls on Youk and Manny in the 5th), thanks to Beckett's dominance the game was all but over.

The string of retired batters ended with one out in the seventh when Guerrero fought off a sinker in the dirt and a 97 fastball on the hands and lined a single into left field, drawing a polite applause from the appreciative crowd, but Becks shook it right off and needed just five pitches to get out of the inning.

With one out in the eighth Howie Kendrick singled past Lowell and under Lugo's glove for the Angels third hit of the night, and Tito had Papelbon & Okajima ready in case Beckett began to peter out.

Fat chance. After Manny Aybar's grounder forced Kendrick at second, Beckett made pinch hitter Kendry Morales look like a Little Leaguer, running the count to 1-2 before freezing him in his place with a wicked 96-mph curve that appeared to come from left field and bisect home plate like a laser-guided missile.

The Sox went down in order against Earvin Santana in the bottom of the inning, and then all that was left was for Beckett to close the book on his third playoff shutout.

Another managerial move by Francona paid off when Jacoby Ellsbury, freshly inserted in left field for defensive purposes, made an excellent sliding catch of a sinking Figgins liner to lead off the ninth, one pitch later OC grounded out to Lowell, and after Guerrero notched his second single of the night and with Papelbon looking on from the pen and the applause rising to a deafening crescendo in the park, Beckett got Garrett Anderson to fly out to Coco in deep left center to put a cap on what will go down as yet another brilliant postseason performance for a man who is starting to make a habit of turning in such efforts.

Now Boston can relax and enjoy the off-day tomorrow, secure in the knowledge that if Dice-K can shut down this stumbling Angels lineup on Friday, the series could be all but over. And with Beckett assured of another start should it go more than three games and LA riding a 5-game postseaosn losing streak, one could almost assume that this series is done.

But we'll take it one game at a time. As long as each of the next two games are victories, we'll be alright.

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ALDS Sox Drawer: Roster, rotation, game times all set

Tim Wakefield's back keeps him off the roster for round one, Dice-K gets the start in Game 2, and best news of all--no day games!

Here's the schedule for the 2007 ALDS between Boston and the Angels.

GM1 Wednesday @ Boston 6:37EST
Lackey vs. Beckett

GM2 Friday @ Boston 8:37EST
Escobar vs. Matsuzaka

GM3 Sunday @ LA of A 3:07EST
Schilling vs. Weaver

IF NECESSARY:
GM 4 Mon @ LA 9:37EST
GM5 Wed @ BOS 8:37EST

The good news is that no games are scheduled for the early afternoon (great, no skipping work). The bad news is that Game 3, which will be started by Schill in order to give him extra rest, is Sunday at 3:07 EST, which puts it smack dab in the middle of the Pats game at Gillette against the Browns. Not like that game won't be a slaughter, especially by that time, but still, we Boston fans like to be able to enjoy both our beloved championship-caliber teams without any aggravating PIP crossovers involved.

The other big news out of the Boston camp was the announcement of the roster for the first round. Terry Francona gave the media the list of players who will be participating, and there was was one notable name that did not make the cut: 17-game winner Tim Wakefield.

Here is the entire roster:

Pitchers:

SP-Josh Beckett (R)
SP-Daisuke Matsuzaka (R)
SP-Curt Schilling (R)
CL-Jonathan Papelbon (R)
RP-Jon Lester (L)
RP-Eric Gagne (R)
RP-Hideki Okajima (L)
RP-Mike Timlin (R)
RP-Manny Delcarmen (R)
RP-Javier Lopez (L)

Starters:

C-Jason Varitek
1B-Kevin Youkilis
2B-Dustin Pedroia
SS-Julio Lugo
3B-Mike Lowell
RF-J.D. Drew
CF-Coco Crisp
LF-Manny Ramirez
DH-David Ortiz

Bench:

INF/OF-Eric Hinske
2B/SS-Alex Cora
OF-Jacoby Ellsbury
1B/OF-Bobby Kielty
C-Doug Mirabelli
C-Kevin Cash

Evidently the back injury that sidelined Wake for one start in early September, which led to fellow non-rostered player Clay Buchholz' no hitter, has flared up again, and coupled with the fact that Boston only needs three starting pitchers with the 8-day format, Wake's exclusion was understandable.

Still, the loss of a veteran of 17 postseason games who also won a career-high tying 17 games this season could come back to hurt Boston, especially if Matsuzaka or Schilling run into any early trouble in their starts. Sure Lester will fill that role, but a greenhorn over a steeled playoff veteran? Even with the memory of Aaron Bleepin' Boone lingering, I'd still take my chances with Wake over Lester.

Also, Julian Tavarez was left off thanks to a horrendous finish to the season in which he allowed 11 earned runs over his final 12 innings (8.25 ERA), including a 3H-3R-3IP stink bomb in the season finale on Sunday.

The other most notable thing about the roster is the fact that the Sox will carry three catchers, with Tito rationalizing that the extra backstop will be useful in pinch hit and late game substitution situations.

Obviously rookie spark plug Jacoby Ellsbury made the cut, and don't be surprised to see him enter very early in games depending on the score and situation. He's been to hot (hit in 23 of 26 games and batted .390 in September) and is too potent an offensive weapon not to have on the field, plus he will need to spell Manny late for defensive reasons with Manny's range still limited by his oblique injury.

The Angels also had some glaring omissions from their own roster, including overrated outfielder Garry Matthroids Jr. and always-injured starter Bartolo Colon. Matthroids has been battling patellar tendinitis in his left knee for weeks, while Colon has added an elbow injury to the lengthy list of health issues he's had in his career.

Good ole' Bartolo, the only opener you can count on him being available for is the grand opening of an In & Out Burger.

So the roster has been finalized, the rotation determined and the start times are in.

Now it's up to Josh Beckett and the Boston offense to start this series off right with a win tomorrow night, and hopefully by 3:07 on Sunday the Sox will own a 2-0 advantage, the Pats will be annihilating the Brownies 45-7, and Schill will be preparing for one more magnificent postseason performance.

Go Sox!

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Sox end season with a loss, but who the hell cares?

Minnesota 3, Sox 2
WP: Garza (5-7)
LP: Tavarez (7-11)
SV: Nathan (37)
HRs: BOS-Varitek (17)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox wrapped up the 2007 regular season with a meaningless game that ended in an inconsequential loss. Terry Francona began pulling starters midway through and used 16 position players, and Boston escaped the season finale with mission no. 1 accomplished: everyone stayed healthy for the playoffs.

The Sox finished the regular season with a record of 96-66, tied for the best record in baseball, and ended up winning the East division by two games over New York. They will open the American League division Series against the AL West champion Angels on Wednesday night at Fenway, with Josh Beckett scheduled to pitch opposite LA of A's John Lackey.

The times of the first round have yet to be determined, but Game 2 will be Friday in Boston, with the matchup likely being Curt Schilling facing Kelvim Escobar, and Game 3 will be on Sunday out in Orange County where Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his MLB postseason debut when he squares off against Jered Weaver.

Tonight the team gets to rest and let the grind of the regular season seep out of them, recharge the batteries for what should be a tough ALDS, and then after taking care of business in the opening round, start preparing for what could be the third ALCS between the Sox and Stanks in the last five years.

The regular season was fun, memorable, and historic for many reasons.

But this postseason has a chance to be one for the ages.

The drive to bring championship No. 2 of the new millennium to the Hub begins on Wednesday in what will be an electric atmosphere in the best baseball city in the world, and by this time next week we could know if another meeting with the Bombers is in the cards.

But first things first for the club. First enjoy the rally tomorrow, then shoot 18 holes or lounge around your cribs all day Tuesday, because on Wednesday the white-hot spotlight of the postseason will be beaming down on Beantown.

And there's no place else the Sox and its Nation of faithful would rather be.

Congrats, Sox, and let's kick some Angels ass.

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Game Preview: 2007 Season Finale (Sox vs. Twins)

Boston will put a cap on the regular season with an utterly meaningless game against the Twins

Garza (4-7) vs. Tavarez (7-10)
205 @ Fenway Park

The Red Sox will finish the 2007 season this afternoon at Fenway in game that carries about as much importance as a mid-March matchup at Chain O' Lakes Park.

How meaningless is this contest?

With both the East title and best record in baseball wrapped up, Boston elected to scratch scheduled starter Curt Schilling and replace him with scrub starter Julian Tavarez, a move that says as much about the Sox postseason pitching plans than the unimportance of this contest.

With nothing left to play for Schilling will be rested presumably to start Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday against the Angels, and Tito will cross his digits and pray that nobody gets injured in this game today, even if he has to pull every regular before the fourth inning.

As the hangover subsides and reality sets in, this game will give Boston a chance to sit back, relax, and asses their postseason plans. Decisions need to be made on who will make the roster and who will be left off, but by electing to begin their series on Wednesday it appears the sox will be content to bring only three starters into the first round.

Obviosuly ace Josh Beckett is the No. 1 man, and by pulling Schill today to set him up for Game 2, that would leave struggling starter Daisuke Matsuzaka to start Game 3 in Anaheim on Sunday. And with Wakefield pitching poorly the last month + and Clay Buchholz being shut down with the dreaded but convenient "tired arm" syndrome, it makes sense for Boston to use three starters for a series that will be stretched out over eight days.

So there's nothing left but the shutting down of the regular season and getting on with the postseason plans today at Fenway, and you can bet by the middle of this game all the regulars will be relaxing in the clubhouse, the Sox brass will be brainstorming their playoff roster, and the Faithful will be gearing up for the rally Monday evening at City Hall Plaza.

Like last year the Sox are playing another meaningless game on the last day of the regular season.

But this time its for all the right reasons.

Congratulations and thanks for an awesome, memorable regular season, BoSox.

Now let's get to work on scheduling another duck boat invasion come late October.

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Simply the Best: Sox win + Tribe loss gives Boston the best record

Sox 6, Twins 4
WP: Wakefield (17-12)
LP: Blackburn (0-2)
SV: Okajima (5)
HRs: BOS-Drew (11), Lowell (21); MIN-Mauer (7), White (4)

Things are going so well right now even Drew is right in the middle of the good times

SUMMARY
A day after wrapping up its first AL East title in 12 years the Red Sox secured the best record in baseball and homefield advantage that goes along with it as J.D. Drew hit a three-run homer in the seventh to defeat the Twins and Kansas City staged a late comeback to beat the Indians.

No, Papelbon didn't strip & dance on the mound to celebrate this milestone victory.

#1 STUNNER J.D. Drew 3-4, 2R, 3BI, 3B, HR
The ridiculed right fielder continues to smash out of his season-long slump just at the right time, drilling three more hits tonight, raising his average to the highest point its been at since mid-May, and helping people forget about his post game celebration no-show after last night's division-clinching win.

GAGME The Cleveland Indians
All their pitchers had to do was keep lowly K.C. from scoring any runs and then let the powerful Tribe offense lead the team to victory. Instead Jake Westbrook surrendered three runs in the first inning, the offense got shut down by a host of horrid Royal relievers, and the bullpen surrendered the best record-losing run in the bottom of the eighth.

Not exactly a clutch performance on the eve of the postseason. But thanks, though.

RECAP
He might not have been there for last night's maniacal & hysterical post game celebration, but J.D Drew did his part to ensure there would be another, perhaps more subdued, fete tonight when he blasted a three-run homer to help lead the Sox to the best record in baseball.

So what if he didn't get to see Papelbon in his Under Armor, coated in champagne & beer and acting like a pledge at a kegger, in person last night?

By now it's been well-documented that Drew left the park following last night's game due to family concerns (pregnant wife, healing son; if there's one thing we have learned about this quiet, quizzical player it's that he is a family man first and foremost), but with the support of his teammates and a blazing hot bat, Drew continued to play a major role in the Sox late-season resurgence.

The right fielder is batting .393 in his last 18 games and has raised his average from .252 to .270 (as in $70 million...?) in that time, and he was directly involved in most of the scoring action tonight.

After Sox starter Tim Wakefield (7IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, BB, 2K, 2HR) spotted the Twins a 2-run lead on a pair of solo homers--a leadoff job by the ancient Rondell White in the third and a one-out shot by catcher Joe Mauer in the fourth--Drew ignited the Sox first rally with a solid triple to deep center field, then scored on a single by Kevin Youkilis (3-4, BI) to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Wake, who once again wasn't sharp by was good enough to earn his first win since August 25th, allowed RBI singles by Brian Buscher in the fifth and Mauer in the sixth to run the Minny lead to 4-1, but then Sox MVP Mike Lowell (2-4, 2R, 2BI) launched a solo shot to open the sixth to slice the lead in half, and after Wake set the Twins down in order in the seventh, Boston mounted a comeback that put an exclamation point on what has to be considered a spectacular regular season.

Coco Crisp led off the frame with a single to left off Twins reliever Nick Blackburn, and after Alex Cora followed with a single to move Crisp to second, Lowell negated a Manny strikeout with an RBI single to left, his 120th ribbie of the season, setting the stage for Drew's dramatics.

Drew battled Blackburn to a full count before depositing a fastball into the rightfield stands for his third homer in his last eighth games, and he rounded the bases to a rousing ovation from the Faithful, it felt as if this team is finally where we had all hoped it would be at this time of the season:

clicking on all cylinders.

On the heels of the news the Tribe had lost, Boston announced that Curt Schilling will not start the season finale tomorrow, fueling speculation that he will be the starter for Game 2 of the ALDS vs. Los Angeles of Anaheim, and you can expect a patchwork crew of position players to take the field for what has turned out to be an absolutely meaningless game on Sunday at Fenway.

And boy doesn't it feel good?

It's been a long, up & down road to this point, and hopefully the best is yet to come.

Enjoy football this Sunday.

After all, the Sox have given the Nation the gift of its first lazy Sunday in a long time.

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AL EAST CHAMPS! Sox win first division title since '95

Sox 5, Minnesota 2
WP: Matsuzaka (15-12)
LP: Slowey (4-1)
SV: Papelbon (37)
HRs: BOS-Papi (35); MIN-Morneau (31)

SUMMARY
The Boston Red Sox ended the 10-year stranglehold the New York Stankees held on the American League East, first by knocking off the Twins at Fenway and then by watching Baltimore come back to defeat the Stanks in 10 innings, and for the first time since 1995 the Red Sox can call themselves division champs.

#1 STUNNER Daisuke Matsuzaka 8IP, 6H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K, 2HR
Although there was no shortage of candidates for this one, Dice-K's effort stands out as reason number one why Boston clinched the division tonight. He held the Twins scoreless for six inning while the Boston offense built a big enough lead, and even though he falteres a bit in the seventh, he still gave the club a much-needed quality after a month of disappointing outings.

GAGME Mariano Rivera 1IP, 3H, 3ER (NYY vs. BAL)
I know, he didn't play in this game. But if he hadn't blown a three-run 9th inning lead against the Orioles, people wouldn't be dancing down Comm Ave in nothing but their skivvies right now.

Thanks again, Mariano. What, no tip of the cap?

RECAP
So I didn't get to see most of this game, and I found out the Stanks lost well after the fact, but who the hell cares, because I still get to say

THE RED SOX ARE THE AMERICAN LEAGUE EAST CHAMPS, BABY!

Sorry, I just got done watching Dick Vitale on the USF football game.

By the time I got home from work and then coaching my son's LL game, this one was just about in the books. I came in just in time to see Dice-K surrender his only two runs of the game in the seventh, and then I got to watch Big Papi blast another homer run in the 8th, Matsuzaka bounce back with a three-batter eighth, and finally Papelbon close the division-clinching win out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

And now the Sox have the satisfaction of knowing that despite a late-season slide that saw the Stanks slice a mammoth lead into a minuscule margin, despite numerous costly injuries and a couple of untimely slumps, Boston has weathered the baseball battles of the 2007 season and come out as the best team in the best division in baseball, with a chance to end up with the best record in the game.

And as I get ready to hit the sack hard in a few minutes, I'm sure my dreams will be filled with visions of champagne showers, giddy grown men acting like kids, and Jonathan Papelbon dancing around the Fenway infield in nothing but his Under Armor and a pair of goggles.

Enjoy it tonight, boys.

Soon enough it will be time to get back down to the business of winning another meaningful title.

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Another one-run loss keeps Sox two games short

Minnesota 5, Sox 4
WP: Bonser (8-12)
LP: Beckett (20-7)
SV: Nathan (36)
HRs: BOS-Papi (34), Tek (16); MIN-Cuddyer (16), Jones (2)

SUMMARY
For one of the few times this season Josh Beckett couldn't provide a quality start as the Cy Young candidate had his worst outing in weeks in his final start of the season.

Becks surrendered five runs and 10 hits in just six innings of work, and although his teammates tried to stage a comeback, the deficits proved too much to overcome.

New York won as well, leaving Boston's "magic number" at two games.

#1 STUNNER Jason Bartlett 3-5, 2R, 2B
The unknown shortstop was a catalyst all night from the leadoff spot, reaching base and scoring in two of the first three innings and providing a spark for what had been a moribund Minny offense.

GAGME Beckett 6IP, 10H, 5ER, 0BB, 6K, 2HRs, E
Not only did Becks surrender double-digit hits for just the fourth time in 30 starts, he allowed the leadoff batter to reach base in each of the first five innings, gave up runs in five of his six innings, and made a costly error, just his second of the season.

Not exactly the kind of game a Cy Young front-runner wants to end his season with.

RECAP
All season long Josh Beckett has picked this team up with his clutch outings, huge wins, and excitable nature.

But tonight, in his final start of what will be remembered as one of the best seasons a starting pitcher has ever had in a Boston uniform, not just for the numbers but for the way he carried this club month after month while all the other starters suffered steep dips in production, the Texas steed was unable to ride off into the sunset in proper fashion:

with a win under his wild west belt buckle.

From the get-go you could tell this just wasn't his night when he allowed a single and a triple to the first two batters of the game, and he was fortunate to escape further damage when Minnesota ran into a foolish out at home plate and then ended the inning with a strike-'em-out/throw-'em-out double play.

Boston's blazing offense grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the first when Pedroia led off with a single, and after he was forced at second on a great diving play by third baseman Brian Buscher that robbed Manny of a hit, David Ortiz (4-4, 2R, 2BI, BB) roped the first of his four hits, a double off the Monster, to score Ramirez all the way from first to tie the game.

Papi now has 51 doubles, second in the majors, is batting .425 (17-40) in his last 10 games, and owns and an ungodly .444 OBP, first in MLB by a mile.

Too bad his homers are down, huh?

Lowell, who also had a rough night (0-5), grounded out and moved Ortiz to third, then another hot Sox hitter, J.D. Drew, stroked a single to left center to score Papi and give Boston and Beckett a 2-1 lead.

But as I said before, this wasn't Becks' night, and as if to confirm those suspicions (fears?) he surrendered a Monster homer to Michael Cuddyer on his third pitch of the second inning that tied the contest at two.

It only got worse from there.

Minny put single runs on the board in five of the first six innings against Beckett, giving new meaning to the term "chipping away", and none of those runs allowed was more embarrassing than when he botched another brilliant defensive play by Pedroia in the fifth.

Nick Punto led off the inning with a double but appeared to be stranded there as Beckett got the next two out. Torii Hunter then smacked a hard grounder up the middle that Pedroia dove for and somehow reached, and as Punto sped around towards home, Dustin popped up and fired a strike that probably would have nailed Punto at the plate.

Except Beckett cut off the throw and then airmailed it to Tek from 10 feet away, and Minnesota grabbed a 4-2 lead on one of the rare times that Beckett has looked both awkward and awful all year.

The gaffe hurt even more when Ortiz led off the bottom of the inning with a titanic blast way over the bullpens for his 34th longball, slicing the lead to 4-3, but after
Beckett finally retired the leadoff man in the sixth, someone named Garret Jones slammed a 1-0 fastball from Josh to far and deep to straightaway center field to push the lead back to two, 5-3.

After getting out of that inning Beckett was replaced by Bryan Corey for the seventh, then Hideki Okajima made his first appearance since the club shut him down 10 days ago due to fatigue in the eighth.

Oki looked good, allowing a single to his second batter but striking out the last two hitters of the eighth, and when Varitek crushed an opposite-field homer into the Monster seats to cut the deficit to 5-4 in the bottom of the inning, there was a rising sensation in the Nation that this might be the night for one of those miraculous, 2004-esque comeback wins.

Ah, no.

It's not like they didn't have their chances, putting two runners on base after Tek's homer but failed to score, and then we had to suffer thorough the 5,725th time Boston couldn't do anything with a bases loaded situation in the ninth.

Brandon Moss, who ran for Manny in the 7th, started the inning off right with a double off the top of the Monster scoreboard, and when Ortiz walked to bring up RBI king Lowell with two on and no outs, the Faithful could sense a rally in the rain-soaked air.

Unfortunately even the team's hitting MVP couldn't get the job done tonight as Lowell grounded out to first base, moving the runners up, and when Twins closer Joe Nathan intentional walked Drew to load the bases, the game was in the hands of Varitek, a.k.a Captain Clutch.

Nathan fanned Tek and made him look pretty awful doing so, then he embarrassed pinch hitter Kevin Youkilis on a check swing strike three to end the game, and just like that the magic feeling dissipated into the misty September sky.

After coming through in the clutch all season, Beckett and Lowell didn't get the job done tonight.

Maybe their teammates can do them a favor and pick up a division title tomorrow.

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*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!

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Sox Drawer: Paps & Lowell make national headlines

From an SI cover and accompanying article for Papelbon to an appearance on the nationally syndicated Jim Rome Radio Show, Sox players are making headlines off the field today

Earlier I expressed the disdain I felt when I opened my mailbox and saw Papelbon's steely glare peeking out at me from the receptacle. And honest to God if he blows out his shoulder or allows a game/series-losing home run in the playoffs, I'm cancelling my subscription the next day.

But I must admit the piece inside the jinxed cover was an informative read as Tom Verducci revealed some insight into items like the decision to return to the pen, the team-mandated pitching guidelines that followed his shoulder injury last season, and what outspoken teammate Curt Schilling thinks of the closer's intelligence.

Here's a few of the highlights:

-On informing Francona of his decision to return to the bullpen this spring

"Man, I'm not sleeping good. I know deep down in my heart this is not what I want to do. If you want to give me the ball in the ninth, I'd love to take it and go back in that role."

Tito's response: "Well, hell yeah!"

-Schilling on Paps' inability to grasp the subtle nuances of being a starter

"This [role] suits him. He's not exactly a charter member of Mensa, so he can just go right after people with two pitches...putting him back as a closer was a no-brainer."

Nice backhanded compliment, Schill.

-On the team's customized, technologically aided schedule used to accommodate his irritable shoulder labrum

...team doctors and officials began devising the Papelbon Program. It covered two pages and was divided into three parts: how often he could be used, a daily testing program and a custom shoulder-strengthening program. For instance, Francona was not to use Papelbon three days in a row, or even two days in a row if he was coming off a high pitch count. Nor could he use Papelbon the day after he had pitched more than one inning

Each day, when Papelbon reports to work, he sees [assistant trainer Mike] Reinhold and estimates the fatigue level of his shoulder on a scale of zero to five, with five being the most tired. Then Reinhold hooks him up to a strength-testing machine that supplements Papelbon's subjective score with an objective measurement of his shoulder strength. A report of the scores is logged along with Papelbon's recent usage patterns and presented to Francona and front-office officials. A summary advisement is included, which might give Francona clearance to use Papelbon aggressively or keep him from using the reliever at all.

Take those Joba Rules and shove em up your asses, Stankees.

-But the best part of the article was the comment Paps had regarding the monetary difference between being a starter and a reliever in the major league marketplace

"I've thought about that, and over my career, what's the difference between $80 million and $100 million? O.K.? Nothing."

Another reason to friggin love this guy.

As for Lowell's interview with Rome, the ever-hyperbolic host labeled it one of the best interviews he's ever conducted and the best baseball interview he could ever ask for.

For once the goateed goofball was right.

Lowell touched on a number of topics and provided candid and witty takes on each, from Manny's work habits to Drew's struggles to being an RBI machine. Her are a few of the best bits I can remember:

-On how he handles the pressure of playing in Boston

"I came from a place that would draw 6,000 fans [Florida Marlins] before we were winning. Here you're playing in front of a packed house every night...a bloop single sounds like a line drive. It makes you think you are a better hitter than you are...and I just try to embrace that."

-On batting in the 4-hole in Manny's absence

"I am fortunate enough to hit with a lot of men on base in front of me, and I feel if I don't drive them in I'm not doing my job. But we're a much better team with Manny hitting fourth than with anyone else on the planet."

-On Manny's preparation

"Everyone thinks he shows up with his dreads, eats a hamburger, and starts hitting in a game. he does more pre-game preparation than anyone I've known, from catching miniature baseballs to improve his reflexes to attempting to catch wiffleballs to improve his hand-eye coordination...he's a freak"

-On Drew's struggles and perceived lackadaisical attitude

"J.D. is so even-keeled that he can handle the scrutiny & criticism better than most...he reminds me of Derrek Lee with the Marlins...this is just his first year in the AL; next year he will be good, when he gets that one season under his belt. I had never even faced Roy Halliday before my fist season in the American league (last year)"

I happen to agree with him 100% on this one

-And finally Rome asked him how he felt about breaking Butch Hobson's club record for RBIs by a third baseman last night

" I didn't even know about the record until i was at like 107 and someone mentioned to me the record was 111. I was surprised--I thought it would be more like 140 with all the great players they've had at that position. But once I knew I was close, i wanted to break it. it's a great honor."

No, Mike, it's a great honor to have had you play for the Sox these last two seasons, and if this should happen to be your last season in Beantown, you will always be remembered as both a clutch hitter and a class act.

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Cursed Again? Papelbon graces cover of S.I.

Sports Illustrated slaps its dreaded cover jinx on the Sox by putting closer Jonathan Papelbon on the front of this week's issue

Look, aren't we Red Sox fans a paranoid, superstitious and freakishly pessimistic enough bunch? Do we really deserve this kind of karmic crotch kick on the eve of the 2007 postseason?

While everyone else has the AL East crown all but engraved with the BoSox "B", here in the Nation we are crossing every appendage, wringing every rosary and reciting every good luck prayer that Boston doesn't blow this seemingly insurmountable three-game lead in the final series of the regular season.

And now we have to deal with this.

The SI cover jinx is not as legendary a curse as that of the Bambino nor the Billy Goat, but it is a marginally more powerful and quantifiable entity than that neophyte light weight hex, the Madden cover jinx.

This titan of torture began with the very first issue in 1954 and has continued throughout the decades unimpeded in its ability to render once powerful and successful athletes broken down, tragedy-inflicted, injury-prone messes.

And now it has set its sights on the Nation's beloved glaring, fireballing, fist-pumping closer.

One week before the start of the ALDS.

Thanks a lot, motherfuckers!

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Sox creep closer to division title with wild win over Oakland

Sox 11, Oakland 6
WP: Timlin (2-1)
LP: Blevins (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Pedroia (8); OAK-Piazza (8), Murphy (6)

SUMMARY
Boston climbed one game closer to wrapping up the East title by completing a two-game sweep of the Oakland A's. Starter Jon Lester was unable to hold two leads, but the Boston offense, sparked by three hits from Manny and five ribbies by Lowell, smacked 17 hits and blew the game open with a four run sixth.

#1 STUNNER Boston offense 11 runs, 17 hits, 6 walks, 7 XBHs
It was a veritable pig pile of offense tonight as nine Sox had at least one hit, five guys scored runs (including 4 for Pedroia) and six different players drove in runs, led by RBI king Lowell's five.

GAGME Jerry Blevins 0IP, 3H, 4R, 3ER, 1BB, 0K, HR
The game was tied at five when Blevins entered to start the sixth. Three pitches later Pedroia untied it with a rocket into the Monster seats, and by the time he was gone Boston had scored three runs to turn a tight game into a rout.

RECAP
Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Is it just me or is following the Sox these past few days like watching an episode of 24? You can't wait for the hour to end to see if Jack saves the day, or if the whole schmear blows up in his face.

Or he gets nailed for a fourth DUI.

Tonight the Sox came one game closer to saving the day--and the psyche of its Nation--by beating the As to reduce its "magic number" (is that a ridiculous phrase or what?, when was it invented, the Middle Ages?) to two games with four left to play; even though the Stanks punched their own playoff ticket by spanking the Rays to remain three games off the pace, it would take a monumental series of unfortunate events to alter the way things stand now.

Monumental but not impossible, hence the persistent silent ticking we all must put up with until the division crown is securely in the hands of the Sox for the first time since 1995.

And there were plenty of nervous moments for much of this game because Jon Lester (4.1IP, 7H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 9K) failed to hold leads of 3-1 and 5-4 when he allowed game-tying homers in back-to-back innings, yet he also fanned a career-high tying nine batters, including six of the first eight hitters he faced.

It was an odd start in what turned out to be a very strange night, which began in record 93 degree heat just after 5:00pm and ended with a spooky orange-yellow moon lurking behind the ballpark which entranced Remy so much he mused about wanting to live on the Earth's satellite one day.

As Carvey doing Carson would say, "weird, wild stuff."

I mentioned earlier that I wasn't going to watch the game because the 5:00 start conflicted with my son's LL game, but thanks to the ever-popular Southern Florida late summer storm, his game was rained out and I got to watch this one in all its see-sawing glory.

I'm not even going to begin to recap all the scoring and details of this one; as I said yesterday, it's not about the how at this point, it's just about getting there, so as long as the Sox win it doesn't really matter if it's by blowout, shutout or shootout as long as the end result is a 'W'.

Let's put tonight's game in the newly formed shootout/blowout category.

Oakland jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third, but Boston answered back with three in the bottom of the inning, the runs scoring on a 2-run single by Lowell (3-5, R, 5RBI) and a sac fly by the reignited J.D. Drew. Then Lester surrendered a three-run bomb to someone named Donnie Murphy (hey, didn't we all go to school with a Donnie Murphy, or was that his brother, Murph?) to give Oakland a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth.

The Sox answered right back with a couple of runs in the bottom of the inning, highlighted by an RBI single by Manny (3-3, 2R, BI, BB), which followed Pedroia's first of two doubles on the game, and Lowell's second RBI single of the contest.

Handed a 5-4 lead Lester immediately gave it back in the next inning when Mike Piazza deposited a 1-2 pitch into the back row of the Monster seats to tie the game at five, and after the young lefty followed that blunder with a four pitch walk to Jack Cust, Lester's night that had started so well was done with him on the hook for the loss.

Luckily Boston's offense was just getting cranked up, and after Oakland starter Joe Blanton (5IP, 11H, 5R, 4ER, 3BB, 4K) exited after five, rookie lefty Jerry Blevins came in and felt the wrath of an offesne that is finally starting to click on all cylinders for the first time since early June.

Pedroia (3-5, 4R, BI) set the tempo for the onslaught when he led off the sixth with a laser into the Monster seats to break the five-all deadlock, and after Manny walked and Ortiz doubled off the wall to set up runners at first and third with no outs, the As foolishly decided to pitch to Boston's team MVP with first base open.

Professional Hitting/RBI Machine Lowell needed just four pitches to rap a ball into the gap in left to easily score both runners and provide the bully some much-appreciated wiggle room for the rest of the game.

Boston tacked on another in the inning when the incredible Jacoby Ellsbury, who had extended his new hitting streak to eight games with a single in the fifth, plated Lowell with an RBI ground out, and the nailbiter became a blowout when Brandon Moss, who ran for Manny in the sixth, recorded his first career RBI with a single following Pedroia's second double in the seventh, and to cap off the freaky evening, a run scored when Eric Hinske struck out with the bases loaded.

It was that kind of night, but like I said, doesn't matter what happened on the field as long as they slice a game off that number.

Hopefully the ticking will stop tomorrow.

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Game Preview: Oakland @ Sox GM2

Blanton (14-10) vs. Lester (4-0)
505 @ Fenway

The Sox and As will wrap up their season series with a rare late-afternoon, non-holiday weekday start when Jon Lester takes the mound to try for the mini-sweep.

Boston has to be encouraged by the recent turn of events, namely the returns of Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis, the continued success of scintillating rookie Jacoby Ellsbury, and the re-emergence of J.D. Drew's long lost bat.

Hopefully those good feelings will carry over today and Lester will be able to keep his unbeaten streak intact. After winning three consecutive starts the 23-year-old lefty is coming off two no decisions where he pitched pretty well (3H, 1ER in 6.1IP @ TOR) and pretty poorly (8H, 4ER in 3.2IP vs. TB), and despite facing a team that is closer to last place than first, Oakland still figures to give the youngster a hard time.

Also working against Boston will be the opposing pitcher, Joe Blanton. Even though his record doesn't reflect it, he's 0-1 with a 3.14 ERA vs. Boston this year and is known for his large frame, bulldog mentality, and wicked curve.

He might be more famous in Beantown for being the hurler on the mound when Curt Schilling tossed his one-hitter in Oakland back on June 7th. In that game Blanton was nearly as good as Schill, pitching 7 1/3 innings of 3-hit, 1-run ball, but when a team comes within one out of a no-no, pretty good just ain't gonna cut it.

Word from the Globe is that Manny will once again start in the two-slot, with Ellsbury again starting in place of Coco, who is still suffering from an illness.

Probably from watching his job evaporate right before his very eyes.

Unfortunately I'm not gonna catch this one as I've got Little League tonight, and I'm not gonna bother DVRing it because if they win they should and if they don't I don't wanna see it anyway.

Now you can guarantee it will be some kind of historic game.

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Manny's return, plus 10 walks, spark Sox to win

Sox 7, Oakland 3
WP: Schilling (9-8)
LP: Gaudin (11-13)
HRs: BOS-Papi (33); OAK-Barton (3)

Manny Being Manny: after missing the last 25 games, Ramirez stepped in a knocked a single in his first at bat.

SUMMARY
Boston inched one step closer to wrapping up the division title when it handled its bidness against the fading As.

Curt Schilling had his best outing since he no-hit Oakland back in June, holding the As to six hits and a single run in six innings of work, and coupled with the Stanks' extra-inning loss in Tampa Bay, the Sox magic number to clinch the East is now 3 games.

#1 STUNNER Schilling 6IP, 6H, 1ER, 0BB, 6K, HR
When Curt allowed a first-inning homer to some nobody named Daric Barton, the whole Nation had that "here we go again" feeling. But after that mistake, Schill settled in and pitched a whale of a game when his team needed him most, just for old time's sake.

GAGME Chad Gaudin 4IP, 3H, 3ER, 7BB, 3K
The former D-Rays hurler had a Tampa Bay kind of night, surrendering just three hits but issuing a staggering seven walks in four+ innings, including a horrendous sequence in which he walked the first four batters of the fifth inning.

Three relievers also chipped in with a freebie each to round the total off at an even 10.

RECAP
Manny made his long-awaited return.

Schill looked playoff-ready.

Youk made a cameo appearance.

Lowell notched another RBI.

Papi hit another home run.

J.D. Drew had three more hits.

Ellsbury had another big night.

The Stanks lost to the Rays.

The division lead is up to three with five to play.

Is it okay to come off the ledge now?

After weeks filled with agita, anger and utter amazement for the team and the Nation over the second half swoon which nearly led to another entry in the "embarrassing, historical collapse" file, it looks as if we can finally breathe a little easier now that the 1 1/2 game division lead has swelled to 3 games in the past two days.

How good are things looking right now?

Boston gained a half game yesterday without even playing, and tonight New York blew a 5-0 lead and wasted an A-Rod grand slam in coming from ahead to lose to the baby Rays in extra innings.

That's how good.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting this thing is all sewn up. Hardly. We're just a three-game losing streak (unlikely, given the competition, but possible) and a three-game Stankee winning streak (likely, considering their competition) away from a final weekend shootout to see who takes home the division crown.

I'm just saying I like our chances a lot more tonight than I did after the Sox lost to Tampa Bay in miserable fashion on Sunday afternoon.

As you can tell by my lazy list above there were plenty of reasons to be happy about tonight's game, not the least of which was the return of mercurial slugger Manny Ramirez to the Boston lineup after a 25 game absence. As odd as it may have been to see him hitting in the two-hole for the first time in his career, just having his bat back in the lineup meant wonders for the psyche of the team.

It also didn't hurt that he lined a single in his first at bat and also drew a walk and scored a run in his first game action since August 28th.

But Manny's return wasn't the end of the good news for Boston. Starting pitcher Curt Schilling continued to look impressive in his return from shoulder fatigue with another solid outing, allowing just one earned run for the third time in his last six starts, and this time his teammates got him some runs to work with, albeit not many while he was in there.

In fact despite the addition of Ramirez, the late addition of Ellsbury as a replacement for Coco Crisp, and a ton of baserunners, Boston once again had to make the most out of a small amount of runs in what could have been a Sox blowout had the been able to cash in on some golden opportunities.

See, some things haven't changed for the better.

I'm not going to bother going into in depth detail on what went on in this one; it's too late in the season for that, and besides the how isn't important right now.

In brief summary Schill surrendered a solo shot in the first, and the Sox answered back on a RBI double by Mike Lowell in the bottom of the inning. Then they scored a pair in the fifth on the quartet of walks and a sac fly by Ellsbury (), another run in the seventh on an single by Ellsbury (can you say "spark plug"?), and finally they tacked on three in the eighth on a Kielty sac fly and Papi's 33rd homer of the season.

After Schill left, Manny D. pitched a scoreless seventh, then Tito (foolishly)brought on Gagme to pitch the eighth inning of a 4-1 contest. Bad idea. The hapless reliever allowed two more baserunners, forcing Francona to go to his close in the 8th again, and Paps came in and showed Gagme how it's done by ending the inning with one pitch.

Oakland added a couple of runs in the 9th when Bryan Corey couldn't close the game out the right way, but in the end the final score didn't matter.

All that mattered was Boston won, New York lost, Manny's back, the lead is comfy, and the end is almost near.

Fingers crossed this one is a happy ending.

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Series Preview: Oakland @ Sox (Manny's back!)

Oakland As (75-82) at Red Sox (92-64)
2 game series @ Fenway Park
Standings: BOS up 2 in AL East; Oak 17GB in AL West
Season Series: OAK leads 4-2

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Tue 710 Gaudin (11-12,4.52) vs. Schilling (8-8, 3.97)
GM2 Wed 710 Blanton (14-10) vs. Lester (4-0)

Preview:
In the immortal words of Ice Cube, "once again it's on".

With six games to go in the regular season and a playoff berth already clinched, Boston unfortunately finds itself in an all-too-familiar spot: needing to win to lock up the AL East title and rid themselves of the choker label and achieve the best record in the majors in order to secure home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

No biggie right?

The good news is that according to the Globe, Manny Ramirez will make his first start tonight after missing 26 games due to a strained oblique muscle, and if healthy he should provide some much-needed firepower to the sputtering, ineffective offense of late.

The flip side of that equation is that Manny's return puts electrifying phenom Jacoby Ellsbury on the bench, but according to Francona as soon as Manny is yanked, which could be early, Ellsbury will be back in the lineup to wreak havoc on the unsuspecting As.

Other good news from Yawkey Way includes the availability of Kevin Youkilis to pinch hit,with Tito hinting at the probability that he will be back in the lineup tomorrow night after missing seven games following being hit by a pitch against Chien Ming Wang 10 days ago.

But the only matter Boston can be concerned with is wrapping up the divison title/securing homefield advantage. The Sox have six very winnable games laid out in front of them to finish the season off on a high note, and anything less than 5-1 will realistically put them in a nail biting situation come the final day of the season on Sunday.

New York helped the Sox cause by losing a makeup matinee against Toronto yesterday in the Bronx to push the margin to an even two games, but with the Stanks taking on Tampa Bay and Baltimore Boston needs to go out and try to win each of these remaining games in order to put the pressure on New York.

Boston has been in this situation before, most recently in 2006 when the Stanks clinched the East at Fenway with a win over the Sox in the last series of the season, then Boston captured the Wild Card with a win the next day.

Thankfully the schedule makes gave us a break this year aand didn't scedule a Boston/New York final series--I don't know if our hearts could take it.

Still it will be a gut-wrenching final week thanks to Boston gagging a 14 1/2 game lead down to a deuce, but these are our Sox and we all know they NEVER do anything the easy way.

They just need to go out and smash these two opponents in the mouth, win five of six from these bottom dwelling teams, and take possession of what has been rightfully theirs this whole season:

their first division title in 11 years

Go Sox!

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Once again Rays prevent a BoSox sweep

Tampa Bay 5, Sox 4
WP: Jackson (5-15)
LP: Wakefield (16-12)
SV: Reyes (25)
HRs: BOS-Cora (3); TB- Young (13)

SUMMARY
The monumental struggles of Tim Wakefield continue as the veteran saw his perfect 9-0 record at the Trop snapped when he allowed four runs in five innings, and despite a decent comeback by the Boston offense, Julian Tavarez came in and allowed a run that ended up being the difference in the game.

#1 STUNNER Delmon Young 3-4, 2R, 2BI, 2B, HR
Dustin Pedroia's primary competition for Rookie of the Year added to his credentials by notching three more hits to give him 183 on the year, the first of which was a long two-run homer in the second that helped propel the Rays to victory.

GAGME Wakefield 5IP, 7H, 4ER, 3BB, 5K, HR
After ripping off a stretch of 8 wins in 10 starts, Wake has been absolutely atrocious since skipping his turn due to a back injury. In four starts since his return he is 0-2 and has allowed 33 hits and 21 earned runs over 17 2/3 innings for a 10.70 ERA.

Tim, enjoy your final start next week and we'll see ya out of the pen in October. As long as it's not against the Stanks.

RECAP
In the first series played between these two teams this year, Boston swept the three games by a combined score of 26-10. In each of the next five series Tampa bay won 1 of 3 games, and in four of those meetings the win came in the series finale.

So it should have come as no surprise that the Rays knocked off the Sox this afternoon in the final game of the season between these two AL East competitors, and despite the fact that they are separated by 28 games in the win column, most of the matchups in these past few series have been anything but cakewalks.

Combine the Rays resilience against its big East brothers and the recent struggles of Sox starter Tim Wakefield and you didn't need Kreskin to tell you that it was going to be tough to get out of TIA with a sweep under their belts this time.

Throw out the well-documented success (9-0 at the Trop, 19-2 lifetime vs. the Rays) Wakefield has had against this club, when a pitcher is struggling as badly as he is, it's not like a sudden trip to an airplane hangar of a stadium is going to cure what ails him.

No, his troubles run deeper than having an atmospherically controlled environment to help control his fickle flutterball. We all know that when his knuckler is going good he can be one of the most unhittable pitchers in the league, but when that pesky pitch is as flat as Keira Knightley's chest, well people tend to hit the pitch, both hard and a long way.

And since so many people have been hitting Wakefield hard and a long way (he's surrendered 5 homers in the 17.2 innings) since he returned from his one-start hiatus, it begs the question of whether his back problem is more serious than people are letting on.

He claims he's fine, and if that's the case then we just have to add his name to the list of Sox hurlers who were untouchable for a good chunk of the season and are now unable to get guys out and/or finish off games.

Things got sideways in a hurry for Wake when he allowed a leadoff single to B.J. Upton to start the second and then, after Upton stole second, he surrendered a two-run blast to Delmon Young to put the Rays up 2-0.

Boston, meanwhile couldn't get anything going off Rays starter Edwin Jackson (5.1IP, 5H, 3ER, 3BB, 5K), who has earned two of his five wins this season against the Sox in the last month. Papi drew a two-out walk in the first, Ellsbury (1-3, R, SB) notched a two-out single (and stole second) in the third, and that was it for Boston baserunners in the first five innings.

Against a guy with four wins and an ERA over 6.00. Yikes.

While the Sox offense was gagging along, the Rays plated a couple more runs off Wake on an single by Jonny Gomes following a double by Delmon in the fourth and an RBI single by Jorge Velandia (WTF is this guy?!) after Aki Iwamura had walked and stole second with two outs in the fifth.

Faced with a 4-0 deficit and a crappy starter, Boston finally woke up and realized what was going on and struck for three runs off Jackson in the sixth, but as usual the damage could have been so much greater.

Julio Lugo, the hero of last night's game, started the inning off with a solid single to left, and after Ellsbury walked, Alex Cora (2-4, 2R, BI) blooped a single in front of Young in right to load the bases with no outs.

BFD--how many times have we been here before in the last couple of weeks and came away with one or no runs?

But the Sox caught a break when Papi's weak infield roller ended up in no-man's land for a freak single that scored Lugo with Boston's first run and re-loaded the bases, and after Mike Lowell struck out (he's now fanned 15 times in the last 10 games), J.D. Drew turned an 0-2 count into a six-pitch walk for another cheap run, and suddenly the Rays lead was cut in half at 4-2.

Boston continued to play 90' baseball when Coco Crisp followed that series of infield events with a ringing single to center to score Cora and set up another bases loaded situation, this time with one out, for Eric Hinske.

That's when the recent sacks full futility reared its ugly head as Hinske, spelling for the injured Youk, who missed his seventh straight game, bounced a meek grounder right back up the box for the unconventional 1-2-3 double play, and once again an opportunity to take control of a game went by the wayside.

Wouldn't you know the Rays would make them pay for it, too, when Tavarez came in to relieve Wakefield for the sixth and promptly gave up two singles and a fielder's choice grounder that scored Tampa Bay's fifth run, and that run would be the one that ensured Boston would not achieve the sweep they had so desperately needed heading into this series.

Boston came a run closer when Cora homered (!) off Dan Wheeler to lead off the 8th, his first longball since late April, but the Rays got the last laugh as well as a measure of redemption when Al Reyes, the goat of last night's game and two other Sox come-from-behind wins, pitched a 1-2-3 9th, including fanning pinch hitter Jason Varitek, the man who tied the game with a 9th inning homer last night, to end the game.

And so the Sox head back to Beantown for the final home stand of the regular season beginning Tuesday against Oakland clutching a slim 1 1/2 game lead in the East, and although the team is secure in the knowledge that they will be dancing in the postseason, the uneasy feeling surrounding the physical and mental health of this club will be the biggest topic of conversation for the next few weeks.

Oh well, it's not like we're not used to it.

Enjoy the off day.

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Sox clinch playoff berth as Rays closer gags again

Sox 8, Tampa Bay 6
WP: Gagne (4-2)
LP: Reyes (2-4)
SV: Papelbon (36)
HRs: BOS- Tek (15), Drew (10), Lugo (8); TB- Pena, 2 (42)

SUMMARY
The Red Sox became the first team in the majors to clinch a playoff berth as their win coupled with the Tigers loss guaranteed their postseason spot; all that's left to be determined is whether they will enter as the AL East champs or the Wild Card.

The berth was in doubt after Javier Lopez coughed up a 5-3 eighth inning lead, but Rays closer Al Reyes blew his third save against Boston when he allowed three runs in the ninth, and Jonathan Papelbon needed just 12 pitches to lock the win down.

#1 STUNNER Varitek 3-3, 1R, 2BI, BB, HR
The Captain came through in the clutch again when he led off the ninth inning with a game-saving home run. It was Tek's 2nd homer in as many nights, and his three hits nearly matched his total for the last 10 games.

Just when we needed him most...

GAGME Reyes 1IP, 4H, 3ER, 1BB, 2HRs
The Sox are so far up in this guy's skull right now they can see what he's thinking about wearing on the links next week. Reyes blew his third save of the season against Boston, and in 7 outings against them he has allowed 13 hits and 8 earned runs in 7 innings of work for a 10.29 ERA.

Honorable Mention: Javier Lopez dude, you're bought in to do one job--get the opponent's big lefty bat out, not allow a game-changing homer to said slugger

RECAP
In a season chock full of firsts it's only fitting that the Sox became the first team to clinch a playoff spot tonight.

Now if only they can work on being the last team standing come the end of October we'll be all set.

For a change Boston won a game that it looked destined to lose, whereas a week ago it probably wouldn't have, but despite being shorthanded and under intense scrutiny brought on by their near historic collapse, they have come down here to Tampa Bay and taken care of business and earned the right to play postseason ball.

Not that it was easy, of course. Nothing ever is with this team.

The Sox got a decent six innings out of fading starter Daisuke Matsuzaka (6.2, 6H, 5ER, 3BB, 7K, HR) tonight; unfortunately he pitched 6 2/3 innings. But for the first six innings of the game he gave his team a chance to win, and he avoided the big inning that has plagued so many of his appearances this season.

Matsuzaka was handed an early lead when the Sox plated a run on two bunts (base hit by Coco, sacrifice by Lugo) and another clutch hit by Jacoby Ellsbury (2-5, 2B, BI), a single blasted through the box that scored Coco with the game's first run in the third.

In the next inning Boston would strike for two runs against young Rays righty Andy Sonnanstine (5.1IP, 8H, 5ER, 2BB, 1K, HR), the first coming home on an RBI double by J.D. Drew following a walk to Mike Lowell, and then after Sonnanstine wild pitched Drew to third, Cap'n Tek came up with his first big hit of the evening, a solid single to right to score Drew and make the score 3-0 Sox.

The three-run cushion would be shredded next inning when Comeback player of the Year shoo-in Carlos Pena (2-3, 2R, 4BI) belted his first big hit of the night, a solo shot on Dice-K's second pitch of the top of the fourth that sailed into the right field seats and down the stairwell to the concourse below.

Hmmmm, wonder where the Rays got this guy?

Matsuzaka ran into more trouble when he gave up a one-out single to Delmon Young, and after the rookie right fielder stole second, Greg Norton singled him home to slice the Sox lead to 3-2.

Dice-K buckled down from there as he struck out Jonny Gomes and Dioner Navarro to end the inning, and after both clubs exchanged 1-2-3 fifth innings, Boston would pad its lead when it scored another pair of runs in the sixth.

After Ortiz flied out against Sonnanstine to lead off the sixth, Lowell (2-4, 2R) dropped a single into right, but with Drew coming up, an inning-ending double play was just as likely as a two-run homer.

Fortunately for Sox fans Drew (2-4, 2R, 3BI) chose to surprise everyone for a change when he rocked a 3-1 offering from Sonnanstine into the same right field location as Pena's shot, a drive that pushed the Boston lead to 5-2 and with only four innings left to play it looked like that elusive 15th win for Dice was finally in the bag.

As Coach Corso said on College Gameday this morning, Not so fast my friends.

Matsuzaka gave one run back in the bottom of the inning when he gave up another RBI single to centerfield by Norton, but with the bullpen in turmoil Tito decided to bring him back out for the seventh inning despite Dice exhibiting signs that he might be fatigued.

That decision, like so many other theses past few weeks, backfired almost immediately on Boston when Matsuzaka walked fellow countryman Aki Iwamura and some dude named Jorge Velandia after getting two quick outs in the seventh, and with Pena up next that forced Francona to go to his pen to bring in the lefty specialist Lopez to face the sizzling slugger.

Yet another decision that backfired.

Lopez added his name to the lengthy list of Sox relievers who have imploded in crucial game situations during their precipitous fall from grace when after he got ahead of Pena 0-2 he allowed the one time Boston first baseman to work the count full before he pounced on a 3-2 pitch from the sidearmer and sent it soaring high into the Teflon sky.

By the time the ball landed in the right field seats, the lead was gone, the Rays fans were raucous, and it felt like the only time this team could win was when Josh Beckett was on the mound.

Mike Timlin came on and got Upton to strike out to end the inning, but the damage was done, and it looked as if only a miracle would save Boston from losing another heartbreaking game this month.

And a miracle it must have been if Eric freakin' Gagme got the win.

Dan Wheeler came in for the eighth and promptly retired Papi (K), Lowell (K) and Drew (fly out), and then Tito backed up his claim that he was not going to back away from using the embattled reliever in tight situations, and despite giving up his requisite baserunner on a two-out walk to Gomes, Gagme had a pretty routine inning for a change.

Which led to the ninth inning theatrics.

Al Reyes has had a decent season for the Rays, establishing himself as a reliable and failry inexpensive closer for this relatively inexpensive team, but for some reason when he faces Boston his stoic face belies the queasiness he must feel deep down inside.

The last time he faced the Sox, September 12th in Boston, Reyes surrendered a two-run homer to Papi to hand the Sox a 5-4 come-from-behind victory, and in three of his last five appearances against the Sox he had allowed at least one run.

Too bad for rays fans he didn't allow just one run tonight.

Captain Tek led off the frame, and when he took Reyes' second pitch and sliced it the other way for a game-tying home run, the Boston half of the crowd went wild, the Boston dugout went wild, and you could almost sense that that particular hit could be the one that salvages the division title for Boston.

It had that kind of feel to it.

As if that weren't bad enough, the next batter Eric Hinske slammed a Reyes offering down the right field line for a double, and after Coco popped out, Julio Lugo stepped up with a chance to exact revenge on his old team just as Pena had done two innings earlier.

And exact he did when he turned on the first pitch from Reyes and sent a scud missile into the left field seats to give Boston an 8-6 lead and send the Nation into a fist-pumping frenzy by providing the follow-up blow that assured us the comeback would be complete without having to sit through extra innings.

Provided Paps could get the save.

When Papelbon breezed through three Rays batters using just a dozen pitches, one leg of Boston's long, rough, exciting journey was complete. The Sox, like most contending clubs, had set four goals for themselves: make the playoffs, win the division, win the pennant, take home the championship.

First mission accomplished.

Over the next few weeks we will get to find out how much more of that plan will be fulfilled.

Until then, enjoy the fact that no matter what this team will be playing meaningful baseball in October again.

And after the stench of last season, it's okay to smell the roses, even if it's not the bouquet we've all been waiting 11 years for.

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