Soxwoman Speaks

Or, at least, MVP!

A bad pitcher never hangs around
When he hears this Mighty sound:

"Here I come to save the day!"

That means that Dustin P. is on his way.
Yes sir, when there is a ball to hit
Dustin P. will pummmel it!  
On the field and in the stands 
He gets the situation well in hand!

Sorry, I know that's lame, and I've been neglecting the Red Sox lately. I'll be back in force after the political conventions!

...but DP in cleanup? Manny's spot for eight years?

Guess so. That proves that there is absolutely no way, no how that Terry Francona is ever going to bat Jason Bay cleanup, period, end of story. Don't make me come up there! I think we all had Ortiz' reaction when he first heard the news, though: You're kidding, right? But the fact of the matter is, you can't keep the guy off the base paths these days. He was on base five times last night, after being on base five times the night before, a feat last duplicated in a Red Sox uniform by none other than Wade Boggs. Pedroia was suitably impressed when he heard that: "Oh, really? Then, right on," was his remark when being informed of the matter. For some reason, I find that hilarious, because it's such a Gen-Y response. Glad for what happened then, man, but it's time to move on. I mean, we have to remember that Pedroia was probably around three or so when the Boggster first accomplished the feat.

Then, to top it off, he makes a great play to save ahit. Dustin Pedroia is, right now, having one of the best stretches I've seen from a ballplayer in a long time. Everything he touches is turning to gold. I hate to say it, but (professionally, at least) he's looking like the Derek Jeter of 1996-2000 (I hate to say it only because I hate Derek Jeter and loathe giving him credit for anything).  "Right now, he's on a roll. I get opportunities to walk him to face Big Papi, I will do it," said Ozzie after the game, and that's some high praise.

There is nothing like two solid days of really good play against a really good team, along with a long weekend, to buoy one's spirits. This team looked awesome the last couple of days-Dice-K not repeating his second half slump of last year, in fact throwing his best game of the season, made me especially happy, but I was also thrilled at the debut of Michael Bowden, whom I have watched throw a couple of really good games here in Portland (Ozzie also said he "wasn't too impressed" with Bowden after the game, which pissed me off, but I think it was a slam at his own team rather than a dis of Bowden of Bowden specifically).

Last game will probably be the toughest-Cliff Floyd defends his 14-6 record against Timmay. The Sox had their way with him the last time they met, (although I think they ended up losing that game).

GO SOX!!!!! GO TIM!!!!!!!!

It's hard to believe the Red Sox have played their last game in The House That Ruth Built. Yankee Stadium has nearly as big a part in Red Sox Nation consicousness as does Fenway Park, and I can safely say that far and away I have watched more games played at Yankee Stadium than I have any other park save Fenway. Love it or hate it, you cannot deny the role the stadium has played in sports lore. While I really hadn't given it much thought before this series, tearing it down seems almost....criminal. And the way baseball has handled it-scheduling these last Yankee games on the road, and the last Yankee game this season in still-standing and proud Fenway as it defends it's championship-seems tone deaf at best. The stadium deserves better than that.

So, in the spirit of bipartisanship, Yankee Stadium, I salute you and the remarkable journey you have taken over the years with Goliaths of the game like Ruth, Gehrig, DiMaggio, and Ford. What an incredible witness to history this building has been.

My favorite games of all time? Game 7 of the '04 ALCS (in the days and years following the victory, I must have watched Johnny Damon take Javier Vazquez deep and Pokey Reese catch the ball off Ruben Sierra's bat over 1,000 times), followed closely by game 6 and the bloody sock. The other game that comes immediately to mind is the Pedro-Clemens game on ESPN in which Trot Nixon once again handed Roger his behind and the Red Sox the game in the form of a fastball deep into the left field stands (only to repeat it six years later in Roger's pathetic last game ever in the '07 ALDS-another favorite Yankee Stadium moment).

A sweep would have been nice-and was within the Sox grasp, which makes yesterday all the more nauseating-but I'll take 2/3 against the Evil Empire any day. I'm always hesitant to say it, but the Yankees are done this year, crawling on their bellies to the finish, mocking, in their last season, the memory of all the greats that came before them in their hallowed stadium. Hank, playing the part of the c.1982 George, pretty much has said so, telling the world to watch out for next season when all stops will be pulled out in the offseason. So, evidently they're planning on going to the failed policies of the past-signing over the hill free agent has beens and prima donnas and hoping to parlay that into a strong team mentality, repudiating everything Brian Cashman has publicly stated he wants to do. Hank, a wise man once said that those who do not remember the past are *condemned* to repeat it. I really don't think we have anything to worry about from the Bronx for at least a couple more years.

Doesn't mean the Red Sox can rest on their laurels, though. Drew remains out, Beckett's status uncertain, and the bullpen continues to underperform. There's a lot for the Sox to worry about, but also a lot of reason for optimism. Jason Bay is performing beyond all expectation, and Dustin Pedroia, the most difficult out in the lineup, is fast becoming the face of the franchise. I was wrong when I said Youk wasn't a good option at cleanup. We've got all that going for us, so let's hope Fenway Park can work it's magic for this team as they come into the home stretch.

GO SOX!!!!! GRAB THE RING!!!!!!!!

Highs and lows on a roller-coaster weekend. Good grief! Still, the outcome, as told to us by Meatloaf, is much better than I was expecting. Take two out of three in the death trap in Toronto? I'll take *that* any day (even if the one loss did remind me of the Death Star exploding in "Star Wars"...but I digress).

It had seemed to me that the Sox looked sluggish and tired since the Manny trade, especially Papi-who by every account is just not having his best year. It's felt something like 2006, with all the different injuries and turmoil. But then I look at what's happened since the trade, and I have to say, the record just doesn't bear out my observation. The Sox are 13-7 since August 1, with the road record-remarkably-at 7-5. The injuries have started to pile up, but unlike 2006, the team has absorbed them pretty well and have actually upgraded a time or two as a result (cough *Lowrie* cough). Most significantly. at no time this season have they had to throw on the mound anything resembling Jason Johnson or Kyle Snyder. As a result, the Sox are currently four games down in the division (thanks to a lousy call in Chicago that gave the White Sox the game over the Rays) and a game up in the WC (Minnesota lost today, yay!) and are heading into the home stretch with a schedule about as favorable as any of the contenders in the league. I'll be holding my breath all the way, because after five months of watching this team, I'm still not sure what they're made of-except moveable parts.

And yes, I have to admit...there's no way Manny gets to that ball. Good job, Jason. Hope Paps had something really nice waiting for you after the game.

On another note, I know Coco hasn't always lived up to expectations the past three seasons, but I still love him, am glad he wasn't traded and get all warm and fuzzy inside when he does a great thing for the team, like he did today. 'Way to go Coco! Now play Misty for me...

Yankee series coming up. The Yankees may be on to something with that new guy Pavano winning a game the other day, but somehow I just can't get up for this series the way I have in years past...maybe because the Yanks these remind me of the last fights of Muhammad Ali.  But I'm sure once the game starts and I'm looking at ARod and Jeter, the old hate will start to flow. Andy Pettitte for game one, whom the sox have pretty much had their way with recently. Of course, the Yanks could return that favor since Timmy is coming back, and his days as a Yankee killer are just a fond memry now.

Last series evah at old Yankee Stadium. Let's make it one to remember, guys!

Of course, first I'd like to know what Plan A was. It couldn't possibly have been "...let's just throw him out there and let him get beaten like a drum every start because he's all we've got," could it? Could it? I mean, jeez...I was shocked he was still up with the big club after that meltdown in Chicago. Last night, after he got staked to a four-run lead while the Sox were having their way with Chris Waters, Buchholz simply forgot how to pitch and *poof!* next thing you know, you're staring at a six-run deficit. Of course, Clay only gave up five of those runs, which means the pen gave up the other six. Oy vey. Okajima, whom the Orioles usually treat like their own personal wet nurse, was the only one who didn't stink out loud last night, but by then it was too late. Even the indefatiguable cheerleader Remy seemed disgusted by that one. The loss puts the Sox a meager 1/2 game up in the WC.

And it's funny how around this time last year, we were all moaning that Jon Lester looked lost and punchy, and were wishing he could just trust his stuff the way Buchholz did? The times, they are a-changin'.  

I have to admit, I lost interest after about the 10th run in three innings came across the plate, so I switched over to ESPN and watched the Rays' and Angels' game for a little while. The longer I watched, the more I was certain I was seeing the two best teams in baseball go at it. I'm embarrassed that I was almost rooting for the Rays to take it...they remind me of the '01 Patriots, upstarts, exciting, basking in their unexpected success and really, really fun to watch. While the Trop wasn't exactly rocking, it was nice to see fans cheering for someone in there other than the Red Sox or Yankees.

The Angels? I can't stand them, but that's another story.

So, what's next for the Sox? Toronto, yay.  Paul Byrd tries for the second time to get his first Red Sox win. He, of course, can't be blamed too much for taking the loss last time, considering his mound opponent. But even if you get by the Doc, nothing gets easier with the Jays, who have held the Sox to a .215 BA, a .277 OBP and seventeen runs in eight games!!! It's time to reverse this trend. Shawn Marcum may not be the ideal guy to do it against, but hey, you gotta start somewhere.

GO SOX!!!! GO PAUL!!!!!!!!!

Hey, Ma! Can the Texas Rangers come over and play every day? Please? While I'd love nothing more this fine morning than to wax poetic about the resurgence of David Ortiz or the ass-kickery of Kevin Youkilis-and they were both brilliant, along with just about everyone else in the lineup the past couple of days-it's all tempered by the fact that this was, after all, against the Texas Rangers, a team that is probably scouring the Employment Times for pitching help these days. The results were entertaining, if pretty predictable-kind of like watching a debate between Dan Quayle and the Dalai Lama, or reading a Harlequin romance.

Oh, and Dice-K? Dude, how the hell have you gotten to be 14-2??? Watching this guy pitch is like watching two trains going at each other full bore, headed for collision...and then one veers off at the last minute, avoiding a catastrophe. Gary Tanguay amused me by suggesting that maybe he puts so many on because he gets bored out there on the mound and wants to challenge himself. Who knows? But wasn't that one of Jon Lester's biggest problems for the past couple of years, before he found religion? Can you imagine what a monster Dice will be when he tightens it up a little bit? 

Doc Holliday is up next, folks. Remember him?  The last time he went up against the Sox, he lost a complete game shutout on a gift bobble by Vernon Wells. This Toronto team, who on paper have the league's best pitching staff, will be the best at-home test of the post-Manny Red Sox. I don't foresee any nine-run innings tonight. But I'll take a win.

Speaking of Manny, it appears a compromise was in order. You know what cracks me up most, though? All the company folk parroting the company line about Manny's ouster, telling us he's gone, it's for the best and we need to move on...still can't seem to get enough of reading and talking about him. Manny may need to get a restraining order from the Globe before it's over. And FWIW, folks...we'll never stop talking about the Manny trade in RSN. We're still debating Sparky Lyle and Jeff Bagwell.  

Big news on the Pats' front with the signing of John Lynch to replace the injured Tank Williams, who I had a bad feeling about anyway. Yee-hawww!!! Vintage Pats' move, and it makes me feel a whole lot better about the secondary now than I did yesterday at this time. Welcome, John!! LET'S GO PATS!!!!!!!

Finally, in an unabashed bit of schadenfreude..it's really nice seeing the smile finally wiped off the faces of those insufferable Yankee fans, isn't it?

"That's an interesting night," Tito said after the game. That's like saying Dick Cheney is kind of a jerk.

"I can say I never have been in a game like that," Ron Washington added. No, Ron, most of us haven't, considering the 36 runs scored last night tied the single-game American League record set on June 29, 1950, when the Red Sox beat the Athletics, 22-14.

"But it was definitely a good game for us to pull out in the end and huge for us to get that win," Youk said afterwards. Pull out in the end? Pull it out in the end????? Dude, you guys spotted your pitchers ten runs in the first!! How should you have to "pull out" something like that????

Amazing. Not pretty, for sure. In fact, a lot of it (cough *pitching* cough) was downright hideous, but then you have to remember that these are the same Texas Rangers who hung 30 runs on the Orioles last year. So, yeah, they can hit. But they can't pitch for BLEEP, although were they in the National League east, they'd be tied for first right now (until the Manny-charged Dodgers knocked them out, that is-just as soon as they get over themselves about Manny's hair. You can take the manager out of New York, but you can't take New York out of the manager). As for the Sox bullpen, well, I'm just going to go with the assumption that it was a pity meltdown for Charlie Zink. That way, at least I won't have nightmares...

Can a game be both a high and low point? Like Remy said, it wasn't a masterpiece, but definitely one of the most entertaining games of the season.

In other news, Sox picked up Paul "HGH" Byrd yesterday, effectively inoculating themselves against any charges that they are interested in fielding a team of guys who play the game right. Fascinating to me that you can't keep around a high performer who is childish and throws tantrums, but a mediocre guy who gets thousands of dollars worth of PEDs from a discredited dentist in a bogus anti-aging clinic who then tries to sell that it was legitimate medical treatment is apparently ok with them. Maybe they heard he's got some bootleg Traci Lords flicks he's willing to share (only watched while waiting for Netflix to send the next episode of "Left Behind," of course).

Oh, well. I cheer for the laundry. Let's go, Paul!!!!!!!!!

For all my moaning about the otherworldly ordinariness of the pitcher formerly known as a Cy Young contender, Josh Beckett has turned in a couple of vintage 2007 performances in which he was stuffed by his gruesome offense (the most recent effort, of course, was against the now-DL'd-and-likely-to-stay-there-all-season Joba the Hutt).

Last night looked like more of the same. Another opposing no-hit effort, with the only legitimate consistent power threat riding the pine. I spent a lot of time flipping back and forth to the Olympics yesterday, cheering for Michael Phelps and being awestruck at the bulging upper arm muscles of the male gymnasts, who seem to be the hardest-working, most disciplined athletes in the universe. Lucky for me, though, I flipped it back just in time to see Youk break it up-yay for the ex-Sea Dog guys-Lowell take a walk (about the only way the poor guy's getting on base these days) and then, after a Bay strike out, J.D. hits a shot to the gap and that's the game. Great job, Josh, for keeping 'em in the game. Great job, Jed (lost of J's in this paragraph...), for giving Paps-who is more of an adventure this year than last-some breathing room. All in all, a really good win.

Dodger fans were treated to their first real Manny moment last night...*sigh*...boy, do I miss him. You have to wonder what it's like on that Dodger bench between Manny and Torre. You suppose they spend a lot of time talking about the old days...or more talking about how happy they are to be in the land of perpetual sun, where the crowd is more interested in who is in the luxury boxes than on the field?

Back home to Fenway, where young(er) knuckleballer Charlie Zink makes a start in place of old knuckleballer Tim Wakefield, who is making his now-annual late season pilgrimage to the DL. Good vibes for Charlie and let's hope the Sox can take advantage of the Rays' unfortunate injuries (I'd never wish a DL stint on a guy, but I don't mind the Sox making hay when the sun shines, y'know?)

(Drew lifted from redsox.com, Manny from latimes.com)

There will come a day at Fenway Park when Clay Buchholz's name will be spoken with the same reverence as Dick Radatz, or Pedro Martinez. When the park will be abuzz with talk of his latest heroic effort, of great hitters mowed down with ease, of his (next) no-hitter.

However, today is not that day...and tomorrow is not looking so good, either.

Please. Somebody help this kid before he implodes.

What's even worse is that Clay seems to think he is feeling good. "Same story but I actually felt like I threw the pitches -- made the pitches today -- and they got hit," said Buchholz, who is 2-8 with a 6.32 ERA,  and 0-5 with a 7.42 ERA in six starts since being recalled from Pawtucket on July 11.  Jeez, Clay, I'd hate to see what thery would have done to you if you, like, stunk or anything...

Terry Francona, who could wax enthusiastic about a cow dung sandwich if he had to, said only,"I just think, and we keep saying it, but experience is going to be big for this kid. Right now he's experiencing just about everything. He's experiencing a lot and hopefully digesting it fast."

Yeah, Tito, a lot of failure. I don't care who's on the DL or what you don't have in the minors. This kid needs to get out of the rotation before he turns into Wily Mo Pena, great potential never realized.

Interesting take on the Manny circus by Tim Brown over at Yahoo! Sports. At the very least, it does go to show that anyone who thinks Manny has been "dogging it" all season is simply nuts...and echoes what I strongly suspect is the truth about the situation: The Red Sox only "had" to trade him because they had finally decided they wanted to trade him, not because anything with Manny had really changed.

Last game of the wraparound today, a need-to win IMO. The Sox are 4.5 back of Tampa in the division (what happened to the Rays' implosion we've been hearing about since May? They've now won three in a row), and 1.5 ahead of Minnesota in the wild card. Beckett's on the mound, so there's hope.

(Clay pic lifted from yahoosports.com)

...and once again, telling us what's on his mind.

“Did the trade surprise me? I don’t know what went on there, but it did surprise me. Sometimes people need to get something done to show they lead the ballclub."

Yep, Ozzie, that's pretty much my take on it, too. In the words of Michael (Theo) Corleone, I lead this family, right or wrong.

I often wonder why I kind of like a loud mouthed guy like Ozzie Guillen, or Bill Lee, while I absolutely loathe others-like Curt Schilling or Alec Baldwin-who suffer from the same malady. I think it all comes down to  motive-I never perceive attention or adulation as the primary driving force behind Ozzie's sometimes bizarre, expletive-laden pronouncements. I take his reactions and comments as genuine, if inappropriate. Schilling, on the other hand, reminds me of the Beaver's best friend, the unctuous troublemaker Eddie Haskell-an oily guy for whom everything is done to curry favor, with an eye to image. While Ozzie may make you roll your eyes and cringe, he doesn't make you want to barf. 

The other thing is, the White Sox, led by the fiery Ozzie and the cranky A.J. Pierzynski, are an interesting team. Our now Manny-less Red Sox, by comparison, are far less compelling. Just look at the field of play most days-a bunch of WASP-ish, pasty-white company guys. The obvious exception, of course, is David Ortiz, who never looks happier than when he's on the basepaths chatting up the opposition's infield. Did you see him holding court with OCab and Juan Uribe after he hit that righteous bases-clearing double last night? If you don't think this stuff matters, I'd seriously suggest reading Howard Bryant's Shut Out. The Red Sox know it, too-how do you think Okajima ended up on the team?

I said the Sox would have to split to keep up with the race, and so far, they have. Friday night's game was more of the same, but Saturday's was inspiring, as it looked like both Ortiz and Ellsbury might be thinking about getting the wheels back on their respective wagons. Mike Lowell, in an until-2007-usual-late-season-slump, also went 2-for-5, which was encouraging. Lots to like about last night's game...but honestly, the best time fun I've had this weekend was watching the 8th inning of the Yankees/Angels game on Fox yesterday. "What do you think? You think it's fun watching that?" Girardi snapped after the game. Yeah, Joe...as a matter of fact, I do.

Clay Buchholz is going to build a bridge and get over it today, I can feel it. Well, maybe that's a teensy-weensy exaggeration, but c'mon, gang...he needs all the positive vibes we can muster.

I can't stand Brett Favre. Actually, that isn't really true: I have nothing against Favre the human being. When he's not waffling about whether or where he wants to play, he seems like a decent guy, although the carefully manicured huntin'-and-fishin'-good-ole-boy-act gets pretty old (I don't go for those guys, anyway-Paul Krugman is more my idea of the perfect man). But Favre is a victim of Derek Jeter syndrome: undoubtedly a great athlete, a hall of famer. But they both are elevated to such an overly ridiculous plane by both their fans and the lapdog media (Peter King and John Madden have their noses buried so far up Favre's ass that he'll never need a colonoscopy) that if you're not a fan of their teams, you really start to hate them and focus mostly on their shortcomings. I heard one NFL guy once say we'd all be better off if we just KNEW Brett Favre. I mean, barf. Favre has been a good quarterback over the years-one of the best-but he's not Jesus Christ with a better arm. Do I think he will make the Jets a better team? Absolutely-it's hard to be a worse one. But do I think it will make them good? Errr, no. I'm sure Favre will do well, but the rest of the Jets are either old or not that good. Barring catastrophic injury to Brady AND Moss, they're not going to win the division, and there are at least five other teams in the AFC with a better wild card shot than they have.  They may be helped by their Pop Warner schedule, but I just don't see the Jets as a better than .500 team even with St. Brett at the helm.

The best thing about this will be what goes down off the field, though. Favre created his legend in the bubble of Green Bay, where, as one observer remarked, you could fit the media contingent in a phone booth. Not so in NY. Just ask Randy Johnson what it's like to be an old guy coming into the Big Apple with high expectations. You think the pitbulls at the Post or Daily News are going to treat Favre's every bowel movement with the reverance they do in the frozen tundra? You think the fans are? Brett, I have a feeling you're not in Kansas, er, Wisconsin anymore. If things don't go especially well, and then get as ugly as they could, you may see Favre retire in mid-season. Hunting grizzly bears naked with nothing but donuts and a pop gun is less hazardous than athletic failures in Gotham.

The Pats kicked off their preseason last night, although neither Brady nor anybody else notable was involved in a single snap. Thus, they lost 16-15. Less than four weeks before the real season starts. It's gonna be great.

The Sox were idle last night, but did pick up a half game on the Rays, who lost to the pathetic Mariners. Sox send wunderkind Lester to the mound against Mark Buehrle in Chicago tonight, a series that will be the first real test of mettle for these guys post-Manny Ramirez. They need to at least split.

Oh, and the Olympics start tonight! Forgetting all the politics and pollution controversies, I love the Olympics, and am looking forward to two weeks of immersion.  

Made the second trip to the Fens yesterday...and probably the last one, for a while. While I love to go down there, it gets more expensive all the time and I live alone and work for the community college syste. Broke is my middle name these days. Since I dropped my good camera right before I went on vacation, I don't really have any good pictures, which is a drag. I've got to take that camera in to be fixed today...

Anyway, great game. I'd never seen Dice-K pitch "live" before, and he had a very respectable line, going 6 inings with four hits and two runs-off a Daric barton homer-so that was fun. Oki didn't pitch a "clean" inning, but nobody scored, and MDC and Paps then shut the door tight. Good thing, too, because both the Tigers and Angels blew leads against the Rays and Yankees respectively (the Angels in the most ignomious fashion), so this win was needed just to keep pace. It's incredible how much better this division is than it was last year, and really, than some of the other divisions in the league. Even the Orioles, at four games under .500, would not be totally out of the mix in a couple of other divisions.

Manny is still very much the buzz around Fenway Park-really, around all of Boston-and a lot of people were holding those rally signs with a "K" on the front and "Manny Who?" on the back, which I must say I and a few others found a bit offensive. "I cheered for the guy for eight years," one burly Sox-bedecked man standing outside on Lansdowne St said before the game. "He won us two rings. You'll never see me with a sign like that." I agreed with him and for a few minutes we debated the pros and cons of the trade, as was just about everyone else in the city. It should be noted that Jason Bay had another productive day in a Sox uniform, and is currently 4-10 with a homer and three RBIs...in Dodger blue (to which I'm having a hard time adjusting) Manny is 8-13 with 2 HRs and 5 RBIs....and so not to feel left out, Brandon Moss hit one out of Wrigley in a Bucs' loss, too. He may yet be the biggest beneficiary of this trade overall, ala David Murphy.

Lost in all this is also, I think, another cautionary tale about falling too in love with your prospects, about labeling any of them "untouchable." In '05, people were having a stroke at the idea of trading Hansen away, remember? He was going to be the closer of the future, a fireballing Rivera...and now in '08, he's excess baggage, an afterthought in a trade to dump Manny Ramirez on anyone who would take him. That's not to say he won't yet have a very productive career, but remember, just because the bird's in the hand doesn't mean it's worth anything. (Andy Marte, anybody...?)

Back on the road tonight to KC, who should still have some adrenaline going after abench-clearer against the White Sox yesterday. Buchholz looks to turn things around for both himself and for the road version of the Red Sox at 8:10p.

Ok, I have to admit, I spent most of the first 11 innings of last night's game stewing. Glad to see ridding the place of a clubhouse cancer has had such sterling results on the bats, guys. Looking at Mike Lowell in the cleanup spot was like reading an unfunny punchline to a racial joke about Barack Obama circulating the internet. Fifteen men LOB. The formerly Mighty Oki with his seventh blown save. When the Sox left the bases loaded in the 10th, I figured it was ovah. Afrer all, they were going to be down to Mike Timlin pretty soon (who pitched a superb 12th, btw. Gotta hand it to the John McCain of relievers when he comes through!) The only two who seemed to have any clue about what the purpose of going to the plate with a bat in their hands was were Youk and J.D.

Why do I put myself through this, I was wondering...why do I care so much?

I was exhausted, but I soldiered on. I had been impressed earlier with the Fenway reaction to the new guy, a nice, collective acknowledgement that we know this isn't the easiest of circumstances to be here (My favorite? A sign that read, "Welcome to the Bay State!"). Bay had actually not had a bad night, although he hadn't had a hit. He had walked a couple of times, scored the only run, and made a Coco-esque play out in left to save an inning. But still, it was the 12th inning wqhere he learned the real benefits of playing 81 games at Fenway Park, turning a high fly wall ball into a triple and scoring the winning run on Jed Lowrie's remarkable infield hit. What a way to help us mend our broken hearts. Welcome to RSN, Jason. As proved by Manny and many more before you, we don't ask too much of our players-all you have to do, really, is perform. The rest of it is just details.

Speaking of Manny, for all the yap from the club and the fans about "letting go" and "moving on," it appears we're going to stalk him just a little while longer.  No wonder he couldn't wait to get out of town. Couldn't wait to run him out, but still can't get enough of him. That's pathetic.

Although it was a good win, it still proves the Red Sox have a long, long way to go before they can regain any semblance of swagger. It shouldn't've been that hard to eek out a win against the A's, whose GM inexplicably threw in the towel a few weeks earlier when for all intents and purposes they were still in the race. I'm sorry, I've never been all that impressed with Billy Beane, who, like Epstein, seems to be more in love with his numbers than his players, although at least Theo (with, ahem, the ultimate non-numbers guy Manny leading the charge) has a couple of rings to show for it. One of these days, Billy might buy into the notion that you've got to have-and pay for-some in-their-prime sluggers to complement the speedy on-base guys if you want to win anything, and I don't mean Frank Thomas.

Jon Lester, playing the part of 2007 Josh Beckett, takes the mound tonight against Dana Eveland, who, it seems, has not appeared against the Sox this year, 7:05p. Let's try and keep a good thing going.

(Screen grab from redsox.com)

Seriously. He's gone. Yeah, it's a great day-if you're a Yankee or a Rays fan, anyway. For those of you who drank the Kool-Aid about him being such a cancer and a clubhouse distraction, I still defy you to look me in the eye and tell me this how makes the Red Sox a better team. I chalIenge all the empty corporate suits in the audience to look beyond the hatchet job and see how this actually improves the Red Sox lineup (hint: it doesn't). I also challenge the unnnamed Red Sox players who supposedly told that blowhard Cafardo how "tired" they were of him to pull the poker out of their asses and please try to perform to half his level (just for kicks, since the All Star game, J.D. Drew is hitting .186, Mike Lowell and Jacoby Ellsbury worse than that) so maybe, just maybe, they can aspire to third place now.

Congratulations to Theo Duquette, er, Dan Epstein, er, Theo Epstein. You've been trying to get rid of manny since 2003, and this time you finally succeeded, without so much as a by-your-leave. It can be "your" team now, friend, without any further Duquette stain on it. Yes, I know Manny didn't make it easy, but it's your job to deal with those issues, and show some leadership. Just once-JUST ONCE-I would like the Red Sox to resolve a difficult player situation with something other than a food fight. You know, the thing is if they had let him go at the end of the season and just decided to cut ties I would have no problem. He doesn't want to be here, we don't want him here, it's over. Fine. There is nothing wrong with making a business decision. The problem is with the reports of him faking injuries (like Nomar) or tanking a game against the Yankees (like Nomar). This group is looking more like the Swift Boaters every year. It's not enough just to end a relationship-they have to make sure they guy is crucified on the way out, so they don't lose public support in the short term.

Interesting, too, the public reaction to other players acting like asses this season. Curt Schilling bad mouthed the Red Sox all spring training (and of course just had to get his two cents in on EEI this afternoon. Schilling opening his mouth on something that doesn't concern him, there's a shocker), and Kevin Youkilis has practically said the fans don't deserve to enjoy the successes of their respective franchises. Yet, no one gets their panties in a wad about that. Wonder why.

What's done is done. If the problem really was all Manny, well, you'd just expect that all of a sudden Mike Lowell would revert to contract year form, Jacoby Ellsbury would flash a little of that '07 post season leg, or Josh Beckett would stop the PTSD flashbacks of that '06 Cleveland game, wouldn't you? Yeah, we'll see.

Well, I'm certainly not going to take it out on Jason Bay. Guy is probably already throwing up over the thought of having to replace Manny Ramirez. Booing players doesn't usually bother me any-occupational hazard, I figure-but I will personally take a hatchet to the toes of the first moron in the stands I hear yelling Manny's name if the guy hits into a double play or misplays the wall. Welcome to Boston, Jason. I hope you succeed and are very happy here. And to hear people talking today, no one is going to even care if you only hit .050 with RISP as long as you always dive after balls and leg out every weak grounder to second like you were chasing a mechanical rabbit.

But that doesn't change the fact that I love Manny and will miss him forever. Goodbye, old friend, and a heartfelt thank you for almost eight of the most entertaining years of baseball I have known. I'm sure they'll love you in Dodgertown, too, but it won't be the same. I hope that someday you can look back on your years with us with a little less bitterness than you feel now and realize if it were up to us, you never would have left.

Ok, so, if you're looking for some classy post crediting John Lackey with pitching a fantastic game, or saying that I was secretly cheering for him to get a no-hitter because I'm really just a great fan of the game-please. Don't make me barf. You came to the wrong place. I'm the world's worst loser, who never gives credit to an opposing team for anything. So in my world this is simply the nadir of the season, and John Lackey had less to do with it than the fact that the Red Sox can't hit a basketball with a 2X4 these days. Since the All Star break, they have lost EVERY GAME except to the worst team in the league and some guy named Ponson who really belongs in an American Legion softball team somewhere. They can't win on the road, and now they can't win at Fenway. And now they can't even beat John Lackey, whom they have owned in recent years. It's pathetic. But actually, I'm not sure that not being no-hit was a good thing for this group, because maybe they could have used it as a rallying cry...who knows? I do know Beckett must be dreading taking the mound today, knowing he is going to have to pitch a no-hitter in order to even keep it close.

Other thoughts...

My kingdom for a leadoff hitter. No one since Damon has been able to fill the need here. Coco-bust. Lugo-bust. Now Ellsbury-bust, who at .262 is essentially Coco last year. Great to see him go 0-fer in the ninth spot instead of leadoff, isn't it? How many guys can you crowd down there at the bottom of the order anyway, Tito? The only saving grace here is that Santana isn't exactly burning up New York with his brilliance...

I'm hoping Clay Buchholz catches Jon Lester fever...any day now...otherwise, I'm going to have to strangle the next person who says that he's great except for that, like, one inning...THAT ONE INNING COUNTS, FOLKS. It's like saying Favre was playing a great game until he threw that pass to Corey Webster.

I haven't heard anything credible on the Manny front...the Dodgers? Nah. I even heard a rumor sending him and Ellsbury to the Mets for Beltran, but that has "bad move for Red Sox" written all over it in bright neon yellow. It's just deja vu all over again as far as I'm concerned...lots and lots of talk and then Manny will stay right where he is until the end of the season (which, unless things turn around soon, will be somewhere around September 1st this year), when cooler heads will prevail in extension talks.

Thank god the Pats are in camp. Gives me something else to fret about. Otherwise, my head would be exploding right about now.