Johnny Manziel Gets Meaningless Suspension

Reason #1,384 that I'm getting sick of big time college football. The NCAA decides to discipline Johnny Manziel by suspending him for the first half of Texas A&M's game against Rice. RICE! A&M is going to slaughter Rice, with or without Manziel. And Manziel still gets to play a half.

I don't know whether Manziel should have been punished or not. The NCAA has cleared him of the paid autograph charges. But if you're going to punish a player/program/school, make it a real punishment. Something that will have impact. Something that will have an effect on the player/program/school. Manziel probably would have been benched for most of this game anyway. What difference does it make if he sits the first half or the second?

The punishment was agreed upon by the NCAA and A&M. Which I don't get. Because what did Manziel do wrong if he didn't get paid to sign autographs? If he did nothing wrong, let him play. If he did something wrong, give him a real punishment.

What's the NCAA trying to do with this punishment? It won't deter Manziel or any other player from doing anything wrong. It doesn't hurt A&M for losing control of a player. I think the NCAA is just trying to make itself appear like it has some power. Which it doesn't. The NCAA is a weak, withered, impotent force that wields no real power over schools, except to punish them when some other group or organization uncovers rampant violations and wrongdoing.

Manziel is good for business. He's good for A&M, he's good for ESPN's and CBS's TV ratings, he's good for the SEC, he's good for the NCAA. This token "no-one is above the law" suspension is an effort to prove that even the Johnny Manziels of the college football world are subject to NCAA and school rules. But they're not. The existence of this suspension actually proves how out of control the NCAA is. Otherwise they wouldn't try so hard to appear to be in control.

One Year Later, the Red Sox-Dodgers Deal Still a Mistake for LA

The Dodgers are the best team in baseball right now. It's almost a year since they acquired Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, and Josh Beckett from the Red Sox. Both the Red Sox and Dodgers have improved dramatically since that deal. The Sox lead their division, the Dodgers have played .800+ baseball their last 50 games. So both teams made a good deal. Right?

No.

Last year's colossal salary dump was good for the Red Sox. It gave the team freedom to spend on role players, and it banished Josh Beckett from the clubhouse. For the Dodgers, they took on massive payroll and what have they gotten from it? Beckett has been a bust. Carl Crawford has hit 5 homeruns this season. He's hitting .291 and has stolen 11 bases. He's back to being a decent player, but hardly worth the $20 million he gets paid. He's knocked in 21 runs. I know he's a leadoff hitter in the NL, but 21 RBI? Really?

Adrian Gonzalez is doing well. He leads the Dodgers in average (.296), homeruns (16), and RBI (77). He leads these categories because Hanley Ramirez (.348 BA), and Yasiel Puig (.346) don't have as many at-bats.

Before Puig burst from his chrysalis in June and began his methodical campaign of destruction in the National League, the Dodgers were 23-32. They were 13-13 in April, despite Adrian Gonzalez's 18 RBI and .398 OBP that month. They were 10-17 in May despite Gonzalez's 22 RBI, 5 HRs, and .886 OPS.

In other words, Adrian Gonzalez, even when hitting well, wasn't enough to win. The team needed Puig. And pitching. And Hanley Ramirez. And pitching. Pitching is why this team has won as many games as it has.

Clayton Kershaw is 12-7 with a 1.72 ERA. He's thrown 10 straight Quality Starts, dating back to late June. 22 Quality Starts in total.

Supporting him are Zach Greinke (12-3, 2.91 ERA, 9-1 in his last 10 decisions) and Hyun-Jin Ryu (12-4, 2.95 ERA). As a team the Dodgers have 71 Quality Starts. Their team ERA since the All-Star break is 2.25, best in the Majors. And in August it's 2.05. They've converted 93% of save opportunities since the All-Star break. That's why their winning.

How unimportant is Adrian Gonzalez to the Dodgers' success? August has been his worst month of the season (.317 OBP, .390 SLG, .707 OPS, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 4 walks, 13 strikeouts). The Dodgers are 17-3 in August. Gonzalez did well in April and May and the team lost. He's slowed down in August as his team has sped up. He's just not that important to them.

Then again, Carl Crawford is doing well in August (.380 OBP, .791 OPS), so maybe he's the reason the Dodgers are kicking so much ass.

Or maybe it's Kershaw (1.23 ERA in August). Puig (.886 OPS in August). Greinke (4-0, 0.96 ERA in August), Ryu (3-1, 2.03 ERA in August), and the rest of the Dodgers who were NOT acquired in last year's mega-trade.

On the field, that deal didn't hurt them. Both Gonzalez and Crawford have certainly helped, albeit at a ghastly price. The deal hasn't helped them that much, though. And certainly not as much as other deals they've made. Here are the transactions that have mad the difference for the Dodgers:

June 2006: Drafting Clayton Kershaw
June 2012: Signing Yasiel Puig as an amateur free agent (making 29 GMs kick themselves)
July 2012: Trading with the Marlins for Hanley Ramirez
December 2012: Purchasing the contract of Hyun-Jin Ryu from South Korean team Hanwah
December 2012: Signing Zach Greinke as a free agent

So the Dodgers did make some important deals in 2012. The Gonzalez-Crawford-Beckett deal was perhaps 5th or 6th most important on that list. But they had Gonzalez and Crawford when they sucked in April and May. It wasn't until Puig emerged, Ramirez got healthy, and the pitchers gelled that the team started winning. Gonzalez and Crawford have marginally helped in that winning, but the Dodgers could have acquired marginal contributors for much less than the $42 million those two cost per season.

The addition of Gonzalez and Crawford has been meaningless to the Dodgers' success.

So in conclusion, last year's deal between the Red Sox and Dodgers was still, in and of itself, a bad deal for the Dodgers. It only seems good now because of the other deals the Dodgers made. Those deals are why they are as red hot (or blue hot) as they are.

Red Sox Lose Control of Game, Division

The Red Sox bullpen blew a 2-1 lead last night, and with the Rays winning in Baltimore, the Sox are now tied with them at the top of the AL East.

Jake Peavy pitched well enough to win. He was pulled in the 6th inning, which was a surprise. But Craig Breslow was great in relief, retiring 4 batters with 7 pitches. The Sox were up 2-1 and just needed the bullpen to hang on.

Then Junichi Tazawa entered the game. And as important as he's been to the Sox bullpen, he has blown 7 saves. The 7th was last night. That stat came as a surprise to me. I think because the Sox have come back to win many of the games one of their relievers had previously blown, so you forget those bad outings. Tazawa's stats are great this year. Except this blown save number. He's recorded 20 holds. So in the 27 "save-like" situations he's entered, he's blown about a fourth of them.

In the 9th, Franklin Morales and Brayan Villareal (who was acquired in the Peavy deal) had major control issues. All with 2 outs. Morales walked Andres Torres. Then a stray fastball hit Hector Sanchez in the elbow. Villareal came in with the bases loaded and immediately fell behind 0-3 to Marco Scutaro. The fourth ball could have been called a strike. It wasn't. And the game was over. You can blame the umpire for one bad call, or you can blame the Sox relievers for a walk, a HBP, and 3 balls.

The last few weeks the Sox have played some hard games. They've won many of them. They've lost a few. The difficulty takes a toll in either outcome. Extra innings games tax the bullpen. And sometimes the bullpen isn't there to convert a tight lead into a tight win.

Tonight Felix Doubront faces Barry "yes that Barry" Zito. He's been poor this year, but the Sox have struggled against lefties, but Ortiz hits him well and so does Drew.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Red Sox Fans Don't Have the Right to Boo A-Rod for Steroids

Alex Rodriguez is a massive turd. Booing and jeering him for that is fine. However, Red Sox fans who booed and jeered him this weekend for using PEDs are utter hypocrites.

The same people who cheered Manny Ramirez for years, and watched him win the 2004 World Series MVP, booed Alex Rodriguez because he took PEDs. The same people who now cheer for David Ortiz, cheer for a player who tested positive for something. Ortiz waited until he knew that it would never be released what he tested positive for, then claimed he didn't know what exactly he had taken to result in a positive test. These people booed A-Rod for PEDs. And chanted about him cheating.

Red Sox fans don't have any moral high ground in baseball's steroid era. From Manny Alexander to Jeremy Giambi to the Ortiz/Ramirez combo that had people making comparisons to Ruth/Gehrig, PEDs have been as much a part of Boston baseball as anywhere else in the Majors.

Manny Ramirez hit 274 homeruns in a Red Sox uniform. He knocked in 868 runs. He had an OPS of .999. He did this thanks to steroids.

David Ortiz suddenly went from a platoon player to an All-Star when he got to Boston (and met Manny). He's hit 367 homers in Boston, knocked in 1,165 runs, and has an OPS of .964 with the Sox. In 6 years with the Twins he had an OPS of .809, and hit 58 homeruns. He was the MVP of the 2004 ALCS.

So the ALCS MVP in 2004, along with the World Series MVP that year have both been caught taking PEDs. The Sox won the World Series, thanks in large part to two players who took PEDs. Yet Red Sox fans feel emboldened enough to boo Alex Rodriguez for PED use? Sorry, but that's like a Patriots fan booing an opposing coach for filming hand signals on the sideline.

You can't single out players and teams you don't like and hate them for PED use in the PED Era. Just about everyone was taking something. It was fun when only Yankees were getting listed on reports, and the Red Sox seemed like a relatively clean organization. Now we know that PEDs were a part of Boston Baseball.

There are plenty of reasons to hate Alex Rodriguez. Boston fans don't need to turn themselves into hypocrites in the process of hating him.

Photo Credit:
Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Tom Brady Fell, and All of New England Shook

In case you just returned from a trip to a cave on the dark side of moon, Tom Brady left practice yesterday with an apparent injury to his left knee. This occurred in a joint-team drill with the Buccaneers when Pats lineman Nate Solder was pushed into Brady by Adrian Clayborn, and Brady fell to the ground clutching his knee. After taking a few more snaps, Brady left the field, under his own power, but still gingerly, with training staff in tow.

Panic spread across New England. A video of the injury emerged on social media. And a helicopter landed next to the Patriots practice fields, leading some to conclude/presume/assume/imagine/pull out of their ass, that Brady was being med-flighted to some hospital for treatment and/or examination.

Jonathan Kraft stated that the helicopter had nothing to do with Brady's injury. Brady did undergo an MRI, which was negative. I believe the Brigham and Women's Health Center in Patriot Place does have MRI machines, so if I had to guess, I'd say Brady went there. Not that it matters. The frenzied speculation over the helicopter is just one example of the hysteria that gripped New England yesterday afternoon.

A source has told some media outlets that Brady is "day-to-day." A source has told media outlets that Brady will practice Thursday. This post is to be published on Thursday morning, so at the time that I'm writing this, all we can do is wait. Will he practice? Will he not? How much will he participate in practice?

I'm sure the team will be cautious with Brady. As they'd be cautious with any starter in the pre-season. Devin McCourty and Alfonzo Dennard didn't play in the Eagles game because of caution due to injury. If those two miss a practice, it doesn't mean they're out for the season. Obviously Brady is a more important player to the team's success, but if McCourty and Dennard miss a practice or a game, our fears of the severity of the injury aren't as catastrophic as if Brady misses one.

Tom Brady is alive. He walked off the field on his own power. Some say he jogged. I don't know, I didn't see it. It's time to calm down and be patient, folks. Let doctors do what doctors do. Let tests do what tests do. Let time do what time does.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Will DiTullio

Red Sox Get Another Extra Win in Extra Innings

This is the type of game the Sox would lose in 2012 and at the end of 2011. Someone would make a big error, or a reliever would give up 4 runs without getting an out. This year this team finds ways to win. Even when one reliever doesn't do well, the others step up and put the fire out. And the offense eventually does just enough to win the game.

The Sox are 8-4 in extra-inning games, 3-0 since the All-Star Break. Squeezing out these extra wins instead of blowing them has been the difference between 1st and 2nd place. A 6-6 record in extra-inning games and the Sox would be tied with the Rays in the loss column.

Ryan Dempster was better than solid last night. The Sox weren't hitting for him. He only allowed 1 run in his 7 innings. And if Tazawa hadn't allowed a homerun in the 8th, Dempster would have been in line for his 7th win of the season. Which would have been nice because his 6-8 record doesn't reflect how decently he's pitched this year. In 4 of those 8 losses he's thrown a Quality Start. He hasn't been amazing, but he has done what he was hired to do here.

It seems like it's different heroes every night with the Sox. Last night it was Shane Victorino with a 2-run single in the 11th. Victorino also threw out Jose Reyes at home plate to end the 6th.

The other hero was Craig Breslow who struck out Mark DeRosa with 2 on and 2 out in the 10th. It's funny how a relief appearance like that gets no decision. No win, no hold, no save. Maybe we can invent a new stat for relievers: Fires Extinguished (FE). Whenever a reliever enters a game mid-inning with the tying or go-ahead run in scoring position and doesn't give up that run, then it's an FE. I know it's not as advanced as those newfangled Sabermetrics, but I like it.

The Rays lost to the Mariners so the Sox now have a 4-game (2 in the loss column) lead in the division.

Jon Lester takes the mound tonight against Josh Johnson. Lester did well in his last start but didn't get any support. It would be nice for the Sox to make things easy and score 6 or 7 runs. And it'd be nice if Jon Lester made things easy and held Toronto to 4 or fewer. Johnson is 2-8 with a 6.60 ERA. This is a game to win.

Photo Credit:
Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the Patriots Preseason Opener

I'd like to extend a personal thanks to Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone for coming up with the title The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly for his 1966 Western starring Clint Eastwood and Eli Wallach. He has provided titles to sports stories (along with a format to break down games) for nearly 50 years. Molte grazie, Mr. Leone.

To the Patriots...

The Good:
The Patriots ran all over the Eagles. While LeGarrette Blount stole the show with 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, Steven Ridley's performance was more important for us to see. Ridley ended the 2012 season with a chilling concussion...

Before Gronk's surgeries, Welker's departure, and Hernandez's arrest, the status of Ridley's brain was a big off-season worry for the Pats.

Ridley ran the ball 8 times for 92 yards, most of that achieved in a 62-yard run on the first play from scrimmage. It was good to see Ridley running with confidence and running effectively.

This team will need to have a reliable running game. Not just consistent positive yardage and to keep defenses honest, but the ability to drive down field on the ground and occasionally run for 20+ yards. And having faith to run the ball on 3-4 yard short yardage situations. The Pats don't have a go-to receiver right now on those 3rd and 3 plays. They have to be able to convert some of those on the ground.

As a team the Pats ran for 248 yards. Not bad at all.

The new Patriots receivers also looked good when Brady was in the game. After an incomplete on his first pass, Brady threw 7 consecutive completions. Kenbrell Thompkins caught 4 of those passes, all shorter than 8 yards. Amendola caught a 6-yard pass, Aaron Dobson a 23 yarder. Shane Vereen's 13-yard TD catch was impressive. With a lack of quality WRs as well as no more Danny Woodhead, guys like Vereen will need to be a threat to catch passes.

Last year Vereen caught 8 passes for 149 yards and 6 first downs. Woodhead caught 40 passes for 446 yards and 22 first downs. Closing the gap between those statistical performances will help ease the pressure off the new receivers.

The Bad:
The secondary didn't look good when starters were in. However, Devin McCourty and Alfonzo Dennard did not play. That emphasizes how important they are to the secondary, and it also emphasizes how much of a drop off there is from the top 2 cornerbacks on this team and everyone else. Kyle Arrington can tread water as a #3 CB, but as a #1 or #2 he drowns. It's like taking a kid who can't swim from the shallow end of the pool to the deep end.

The Ugly:
Tim Tebow is not a quarterback on this team. He is a horrible thrower. He is woefully inaccurate. He takes too long to make a decision, and those decisions aren't good. His delivery is even slower than his progression. He can run (4 carries for 31 yards), but he is not a passer.

I do think Tebow will make this team, but be used as an element in trick plays, gimmick formations, and as a short yardage runningback. Then again, if Blount continues to do well, do you need another big runningback like Tebow taking up a roster spot?

So what we learned Friday night we kind of knew already: Brady is great. Ridley can run the ball. The secondary lacks depth. Tim Tebow can't throw.

Patriots host the Buccaneers Friday night, which should see more Brady and less Tebow. Or maybe more Tebow running and trying other things, and less Tebow passing.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Wes Welker Left Because He's a Wuss

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Wes Welker has attributed his leaving New England to a frosty relationship with Bill Belichick. Welker claims that Belichick had begun to call him out in front of teammates, which he hadn't done before.

"It was just kind of hard, one of those deals where you have to endure him, put up with him... But he does it to everybody. It's the way he is."

Welker also still feels Belichick's influence when he speaks to the Denver media.

"When I'm answering questions from the Denver media, I'm not worried about what the Broncos' people are going to think, I'm worried about what Belichick will think. Isn't that crazy?"

Poor baby Welker. Was Coach Belichick mean to you? And you didn't want to play here anymore?

I wasn't happy about Welker leaving. But I got past it pretty quickly. There was contract confusion, Welker's agent seemed a bit amateurish, and the relationship between he and the team had grown sour. It was a rough breakup, but the Patriots moved on, and so did I.

However Welker is still going on and on about his feelings. Get over it, dude. You're a Bronco now. You're fortunate enough to go from catching passes from Brady (except those two you dropped in the Super Bowl and AFC Championship game) to catching balls from Peyton Manning. You're learning a new offense with new teammates in a new city with new people. Time to move on.

Yet your mind is still in Foxborough, still feeling unloved by Coach Belichick, still talking about how you couldn't talk in New England.

Stop the Taylor Swift routine and toughen up, Welker. Move on and shut up.

More Late Heroics for Sox

If you want the division, you can't go down to Houston and lose 2 of 3 to the last place Astros. You have to win that series. Even if it's ugly. Even if it's more dramatic and difficult than it should be, it is crucial to leave Houston with more Ws than Ls. And the Red Sox managed to do that. Ugly Ws count as much as immaculate Ws.

Stephen Drew and Jonny Gomes each had big hits, which is becoming a trend. Drew's 3-run homer in the 9th put the Sox ahead, whiles Gomes hit a 2-run shot in the 7th put the Sox within striking distance.

However, the hero of the game was Junichi Tazawa, who pitched 2 perfect innings in relief of Dempster. Tazawa only needed 17 pitches and struck out 2. He prevented the Astros from padding their lead and put Gomes and Drew in position to be the heroes. Tazawa earned his 5th win of the season.

Tazawa and Koji Uehara have saved this bullpen, and also saved this team. Speaking of saves, Uehara recorded his 11th by striking out the side in the 9th. I love how many strikes he throws. In 19 pitches, he threw 16 strikes. Tazawa and Uehara have each made over 50 appearances and each thrown over 50 innings.

The Sox head north to Kansas City, where the Royals are over .500 (58-53) and only 4.5 games out of a playoff spot. The Royals have a better record than the Yankees. Just thought I'd mention that. And even though it's August, it won't be 1,000 degrees in Kansas City. Highs in the 80s.

Jon Lester faces Bruce Chen tonight. Chen has mostly been used as a reliever this season, although he is 4-0, and he is a lefty, and the Sox have struggled against lefties. Jon Lester needs to do his job. He doesn't need to dazzle, just do his job.

Photo Credit:
Bob Levey/Getty Images

Patriots 15, Texans 10

The 9th inning was the only scoreless frame in this game. And this game was a good example of the Red Sox being good enough offensively to win a regular season game against lackluster opposition. It was also a good example of why the Sox needed to trade for Peavy. They needed depth at starting pitcher. Badly.

Steven Wright lasted an inning, then Brandon Workman labored through 4.2 innings. The Sox scored runs off Houston's horrible pitchers. Ellsbury hit a pair of homers, and Jonny Gomes hit a 3-run shot in the 6th. Ryan Lavarnway hit a 2-run double in the 5th to put the Sox ahead 8-7. In other words, he scored the 2-point conversion that put the Sox ahead.

This was a horrible 4 hour game. It was an abomination. Nobody should be all that proud of it, not even David Ortiz, who went 4 for 4.

The important thing is the Sox won. They got bad pitching but their opponent's bad pitching was worse. The Sox were the least worst team on the field. And that works in August, but it won't in October.

That's why the Sox got Peavy. That's why they need Buchholz to grow a pair and show up. That's why they should have acquired a mediocre reliever to pitch 3 non-consequential innings a week. Just to give the overtaxed and undertalented bullpen a breather.

Dempster faces Jarred Cosart tonight. Cosart is a 23-year old righty with 4 career starts to his name. He's done well in those starts, but he does tend to walk batters. A patient Sox lineup should exploit him.

And all Dempster has to do is keep Houston to a touchdown or less.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Pat Sullivan

Riley Cooper Might Be a Racist, He Might Not Be, But He's Definitely a Douchebag

Dan Wetzel at Yahoo! wrote a very good piece about Riley Cooper, suggesting that the Eagles WR should apologize to the black security guard he said the N-word to, and that the man who was the target of the slur has been lost in the conversation.

Cooper didn't just use the word in a joke, or in a general way, he said it to a person. And in a threatening way. This 6' 3" 222 pound pro athlete felt the need to try to intimidate some security guard, and used the slur to do it. And he was quite comfortable using it in conversation.

I don't know if Cooper is a racist or not. His teammates might have forgiven him. And he'll undergo some sort of bogus "anger management" or "racial sensitivity" training after this incident. And these classes will mean as much to him as his classes at Florida meant. He'll show up, pass without trying, and move on with his life.

He'll learn to not use that word. He'll learn to behave himself in public, especially when someone is holding their phone up and obviously recording. He will not, however, learn how to avoid be a douchebag.

He was pissed off at the security guard because he couldn't get backstage. As if Riley Cooper is a recognizable face (especially in a sea of fake-hicks wearing plaid cutoff shirts) and should be granted limitless access wherever he goes. Cooper probably could have gone through his team in order to get backstage, it happens when concerts are held at sporting venues. I'm sure the team would have found a way to accommodate him. Instead, Cooper wanted to skip all that and be recognized as better than everyone else. The security guard did his job, and he got called a nigger for it.

Yes I typed it. I typed it because Cooper said it. And he said it in a threat. What Cooper did was absurd, and his absurdity needs to be reinforced by actually using the word Cooper used.

To reiterate, Cooper is 6 foot, 3 inches tall. He weighs 222 pounds, almost all muscle. He's a pro athlete in a physical sport. And he was threatening someone. Cooper has to be the big, tough man. He had to threaten the guy who didn't bow down before him. He had to find a way to insult and belittle the security guy. Because how dare that NOBODY get in the way of Riley fucking Cooper?

I don't care about the Eagles fining him (What was the point of that, by the way? How token of a gesture is that?). I don't care about his apologizing. I don't care about his teammates forgiving him. I don't care about his sensitivity training. Racist or not, sorry or not, he's proven himself to be a massive tool.

By the way the Patriots and Eagles are practicing together next week. The practices will be closed sessions. I hope Adrian Wilson jacks this douche-nozzle up. Then Cooper will be asking security guards at concerts where he can keep his crutches.

Also, kudos to the security guy for not flipping his shit and going after Cooper.

Magic Sox

I officially have a boner for this team. I am excited, eager, a little sweaty, and generally pumped about this team.

They weren't supposed to win this game. Ryan Dempster vs. Felix Hernandez. Down 5 runs in the 9th. And I was fine with that. The Sox won the 15 inning game the night/morning before, and losing to Hernandez is completely excusable. We had all printed a pass for the Sox when and if they lost this game.

The Sox were not fine with accepting that pass. They took advantage of a bizarre 9th inning which saw an opposing manager use the wrong arm to signal a pitcher, and a very hitter-friendly strike zone from home plate umpire David Rackley. Perhaps that was karma from the blown call at home plate against Tampa Bay on Monday.

And not only did the Sox win, they won in 9. They didn't get involved in another draining extra inning game. They finished it in 9 and preserved their energy for Arizona this weekend.

Once Hernandez left the game, with a comfortable 6 run lead, Shane Victorino hit a homerun. It didn't seem to mean much at the time. It would wind up meaning quite a bit.

Daniel Nava started off the 9th with a walk. Lavarnway singled, Holt doubled, Nava scored. Then Ellsbury walked. Mariners interim manager Robby Thompson wanted a righty to face Victorino and Pedroia. But on his way to the mound he tapped his left hand. The umpires caught this and forced the Mariners to put a lefty in. Victorino singled to knock in 2, Pedroia singled to make it a 7-6 game. Ortiz struck out against the lefty, then Thompson finally got to put in the righty he initially wanted. Gomes singled to tie the game, Drew walked, and Nava finished the inning he started with a fly-ball to deep center. Once it left his bat there was no doubt the game was over.

From 7-2 down to 8-7 up in 1 inning. Simply magical.

The Sox continue to do well at home. They're 22 games above .500 overall, 17 of those games are at Fenway (37-20 record).

The Sox start a 3-game series with Arizona tonight. Lester faces 23-year old righty Randall Delgado. This is a chance for Lester to be Ace-like, or semi-Ace-like, and continue the momentum the Sox have built this week. Or it's his chancy to be Lester the mope, and ruin everything.

Photo Credit:
Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Red Sox Won This Morning

I have a feeling that the playoff races in the AL will come down to a very small number of games. So it's vital that the Red Sox are able to win games like last night's/this morning's. Especially with Felix Hernandez starting for Seattle tonight.

You can't say enough about the Red Sox bullpen in this one. After Tazawa blew the lead in the 8th, the pen combined for 7 shutout innings and worked its way out of jams. After the pen worked so hard, I think tonight I'd leave Ryan Dempster in as long as possible, even if he's struggling, just to give those relievers a break.

The Sox offense was shut down for 7 innings last night. Between Dustin Pedroia's 2-run homer in the 7th and Brandon Snyder's double in the 14th, the Sox made 20 outs between hits.

But as this team has done all season long, when one group struggles, another group picks up the slack. The offense wasn't scoring, but the bullpen wasn't letting Seattle score. And finally the Sox worked some walks in the 15th and with 2 outs Stephen Drew knocked in the game-winning run.

And let's not forget John Lackey's night. It was a solid 7 inning, 3 run performance, scattering 8 hits, striking out 6. Last year had he allowed 8 hits, he probably would have let up 5 runs in 3 innings. This year he's able to work through outings and come out with a result. He's a completely different person on the mound.

With Tampa Bay losing 7-0 to Arizona, the Sox are back in first place by half a game.

As I mentioned earlier, King Felix goes for the Mariners tonight. Maybe the Sox can get him out of the game and get to Seattle's depleted bullpen.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola