THE WORLD IS OVER!

Okay, season's over guys. New York is 12.5 games behind, which is exactly where they want to be with 2/3 of the season left. The Sox are at a dismal .673, only 2 games ahead of the Mets for the best record in baseball. We lost our fourth series of the year last night! Okajima blew a save and Papelbon got a loss, their careers are finished! Youkilis's magical hit-streak is over. Mike Lowell has 10 errors! Beckett only has 8 wins in 10 starts.

It's difficult for sarcasm to come across over the internet, but hopefully that was laid on so thick, you guys read it as if David Spade were talking.

Painful loss for the Sox last night, but it isn't the end of the world, folks. We lost a close one to New York. It happens. The game was even closer than the 6-5 score suggests. If you could win games by fractions, this one would have been won by a tenth of a run.

The Sox had some hard shots against Pettitte that were screwed with by the wind. Lowell had a bomb to left-center that became an out instead of a 2 run homer. Pena crushed a ball that was caught by Cabrera (very nice run and catch, by the way) for an out instead of a double or triple. Pedroia hit a fly ball that Abreau had to extend to catch, and Ortiz hit a long fly ball that lacked just enough power to keep it in. Then there was Lugo thrown out at home plate. It looks close on replays, Posada blocked the plate, Lugo hooked his back leg in. But had Lugo just slid a bit better, he'd be safe without question and the entire game changes.

But give credit to the scum, they won it, and they deserved to win it.

But let's not give them too much credit. Let's not panic and start feeling as though our 10.5 game lead isn't a 10.5 game lead. The Yankees are still plagued with injuries, and their hopes are riding on Roger Clemens and his fatigued groin. Just ask the 1986 Red Sox what happens when you depend on Roger Clemens to win it for you. And ask any 44 year old to carry the massively heavy load that is the New York Yankees, and he'd have to be godlike to do it. And Roger is not godlike.

Man of the Game is Dustin Pedroia who went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, with a pair of doubles. He was robbed of a 3rd extra basehit by Abreu's fantastic catch.

Honorable Mention:
Jorge Posada: 2/5, Run, RBI, 2B, blocked Lugo
Alex Rodriguez: 2/5, HR, 2 RBI
Mariano Rivera: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Bitch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.4 - 6.1 IP, 4 ER
Okajima: 0.3 - 1.1 IP, ER
Papelbon: 0.3 - IP, ER