WINNING IN THE RAIN

Josh Beckett still doesn't look like an Ace. It's now 3 straight outings without a Quality Start, as Beckett only went 5 innings. 5's were wild for Beckett, as he allowed 5 runs off 5 hits, and 5 walks in his 5 innings.

But the good news is that the bullpen kept things manageable, and the offense put up the necessary 6 runs. Ellsbury was back in the lineup, and was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and a very long RBI ground-rule double hit 418 feet to right-center. Jason Bay hit a game tying HR in the 5th, his 29th of the season. Kotchman hit an RBI groundout in the 8th, which was the game-winning run.

Bit of a potential mess for the Sox Saturday night as 11-5 Ricky Romero faces Clay Buchholz. Although the Sox have hurt Romero a lot this season.

The Yankees won, Tampa Bay lost, and Texas lost. The Rays also traded Scott Kazmir for prospects. God knows why. The Sox now have a 2.5 game Wild Card lead.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

BRADY GETS A BOO BOO AND THE WORLD GOES BANANAS

The big story coming out of Friday night's Patriots/Redskins game will be Tom Brady's shoulder. It's also, perhaps, the most overblown, over-inflated story since Time and CNN went berserk over shark attacks in the summer of 2001.

In case you spent Friday night in a cave, Brady was hit by Albert Haynesworth, and landed awkwardly on his right shoulder. He was seen on the sidelines windmilling his right arm. Apparently, he took the field in the 3rd quarter, then left, and returned to the locker room for the remainder of the game.

The Patriots, not surprisingly, were pretty tight-lipped about any injury. Officially, it's being described as a "sore shoulder." Bill Belichick, after the game, remarked: "He's got some bumps and bruises just like everybody else who played in the game."

And until he practices again, there is no way to tell what the problem actually is, or if there is a problem at all.

I'm not a doctor, but it looked like an awkward fall, with a few extra pounds (Haynewsowrth) loaded onto a shoulder in a strange position. But it didn't look like any injury occurred.

Imagine sleeping on your shoulder wrong. Now imagine sleeping on your shoulder wrong with Albert Haynesworth on top. Now imagine that you only slept for 2 seconds. Inconvenient, painful, but not permanent.

The good news is that Brady+Moss=2007. These two were electric to watch. And one can only imagine how exciting the show would have been had Welker played. Brady and Moss combined for a pair of TDs in the 1st half.



Fred Taylor and Laurence Maroney didn't impress me. Maroney was his usual inconsistent self, mixing in 6 yard runs with half yard stumbles. He also had trouble hanging onto the football. And Taylor couldn't get any traction.

Joey Galloway looked decent. The Pats could use him in a Jabar Gaffney type role, and he appeared to still have the requisite speed to do so.

The defensive front was OUTSTANDING. They put consistent and multi-directional pressure on Jason Campbell on almost every down in the 1st half. Unfortunately, the secondary behind them looked like The Four Stooges. coverages were easily blown, DBs were confused, and horrible mistakes were made. It's going to be a long season back there. But at least it will be exciting.



Speaking of Campbell, how much did the CBS announcers wash his balls? Everything he did seemed to be amazing and wondrous. Paris Lenon fucks up (CUT!) and buys a token fake, jumping in the air like a fool, and suddenly Jason Campbell is a Pro Bowler.

The final preseason game is Thursday night in Foxborough, against the Giants. If Brady does happen to play, it probably won't be for very long.

And Chad Ochocinco says Brady's fine:

"Just got a call back from Tom Brady, says he's fine and there's nothing to worry about...It pays to have everyones phone number, seriously he said he's cool..."



Sources:
ESPN.com
USA Today
Boston.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Rob Carr
AP Photo/Nick Wass