Wild One

All I can say about this week and sports is that it’s going to be tough on me. It’s going to probably take a few years off of my life actually. Between last night’s game, the series with the Yankees this weekend and the Nebraska game against USC on Saturday night I think I may end up with an aneurysm by Sunday night.

Speaking of the hit-fest that went down in Boston last night, it was one hell of an up and down game to watch. I’m surprised I even hung in there after the Devil Rays went up 8-1 in the top of the fourth inning. I flipped to the Yankees and Blue Jays game and thought that the Yanks would pull within four games now after Giambi's grand slam. I was convincing myself that I’m not as interested in baseball now that the college football and Nebraska football seasons had started two weeks ago. Then I thought, who the fuck am I kidding? Who was there when the Huskers went 5-6 enduring their first losing season and missed their first bowl game in 35 years? Who was there that same year my favorite NFL team went 2-14? That’s right, the Red Sox cleared all of that up with a World Series victory. Had Boston been swept in the ALCS by the Yankees, I may have gone off the deep end in '04.

Mike Lowell came up big last night with four hits and scoring three times. Lowell has done a heck of job filling in for Manny while he rehabs his oblique. Hopefully he keeps this level of play in the postseason. And Boston will make the playoffs at this point. If they fold and let the Yankees back in to the race for real this weekend they’ll win the Wild Card at least. As it stands today the Red Sox are nine games ahead of Detroit, who is four games back of New York in the Wild Card race. It would take a monumental collapse and I think Boston is too good to have that happen with only 16 games left. Still, it would be very disappointing to relinquish that lead the Sox have enjoyed pretty much all season.

Tim Wakefield had the shortest outing of this season last night only going three innings and giving up 10 hits with seven earned. Usually Wake is automatic against the Rays, but for some reason they had the knuckleball figured out. Not to be outdone, the Sox roughed up the Rays bullpen last night for 11 runs and victimized them during the three inning turn around where they racked up 13 runs, including a six run sixth.

Kevin Youkilis came up big in the six with a three run triple that put the Sox on top 12-9 after Dustin Pedroia tied it at 9 all with a solo shot. Just a stat, but a good one… The Sox hit for the cycle as a team in the sixth inning alone.

It’s good to see that the Sox didn’t just pack it in and let the D-Rays trounce all over them when the Sox knew they needed that game last night to keep pace over the Yankees. If you think big league ball players don't check the scores on the big boards around stadiums, you're nuts. They knew they needed to come back and win and they did. What bothers me the most is that still the perception is that the Yankees are accustomed to winning and the Red Sox are self-overanalyzing losers who will fold when it’s crunch time. Last night was a gut check for the Sox and hopefully they picked up some much needed momentum to close out the series with a win tonight and for the series this weekend against New York.

Jon Lester will go for his fifth win on the season and will try to stay perfect against 4-14 Edwin Jackson who is 1-1 against the Sox this season.