Be Cool

Game 133 – Red Sox

Yankees 3, Red Sox 2
Record: 77-56

The following things happened yesterday:

• The Red Sox were 7 outs from sweeping the Yankees in New York before Hideki Okajima reverted to his early-season generosity and Jason Giambi carried the Yanks to victory on his acne-scarred shoulders.


• Josh Beckett visited Dr. James Andrews regarding the tingling in his pitching arm. For the record, the phrase “Pitcher X visited Dr. James Andrews” trails only “Happy Hour at Dick Cheney’s House” in the Most Likely to Cause Night Sweats category.


• Sean Casey and J.D. Drew both spent time with physicians in an effort to address their respective neck and back ailments.


• Alex Cora started another game at shortstop.


• In notable contrast with another owner, John Henry did not whine like a candy-deprived little girl in the face of the above-mentioned adversity.

And so, with 29 games to play, the playoff picture has become quite murky, indeed. Should the worst be true of Beckett’s arm, the Sox are left with a rotation of Matsuzaka, Lester, Wakefield, Byrd, and Colon/Pauley/Buchholz/Hansack/Prayer. That’s a competent major league staff, with enough ability to carry a team for 5 weeks. It’s also a much riskier lineup than one that includes Beckett.

Maybe I’m all hopped up on good feelings from the Democratic National Convention. Perhaps this cold medicine has unlisted side effects. It’s possible that I’m so giddy from watching college football on television that my judgment is altered. The contact high from being within 25 miles of Teejay may have impaired my critical thinking skills. Or, it could be that I’m just right to believe that the Sox are still in pretty decent shape.