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Alex Cora has looked like Derek Jeter at the plate recently. I say that only half jokingly. He really has done what it takes just about every single time he's had the chance and rarely does the worst possible thing... that's what Jeter does.

Superball Crisp comes through again.

Hit and Run here with coco and tek.

Lowell 1 - Piazza 0 Hopefully the Sox offense will pick up Beckett again; insofar as a pitcher who gives up 3 runs needs 'picking up'. He's pitched very well tonight.

I wasn't responding just to you.

God, the game is tied, 2-2 after 5, and all the negativity comes out. JD Drew will have another AB tonight, and probably 400 more this season. Let's settle down here a bit. Last year a 2-2 game was a blessing. This guy is dealing, and didn't give up a single hard hit ball until that liner to start this inning. Let's just keep our wits about us here folks.

slump. it seems pretty natural for MLB players, doesn't it? 162 days of work I have my ups and downs to be sure.

Yeah, after the game when they say hi to one another. I don't know who said it, but Damon really does throw like Brandon Donnelly, which isn't a good thing for an OF. That's why Matsuzaka stopped being an OF. The coaches got sick of the 'delay' at the top of his crow-hop.

Seriously, I had a double take on it. I spelled it right first, then thought it looked weird and added an i. Mama always said: 'when it looks weird add an i'.

Fudgekins. E.L Fudgekins.

Beckett has pitched every game this season like the best games when he was in FLA and last year. He is getting ahead of just about every hitter, throwing his changeup like it is one of the nastiest pitches in the league, and still throwing the curve to get people to look silly. He is also hitting either the outside/inside corners or missing outside/inside with his fastball. Very few have been meat pitches. The ones that look like meat pitches end up being changeups.

Time to fight Josh. For Red Sox nation, and for my fantasy team (which is in last place and relying on you and Dicek to stay afloat!)

And Josh Beckett can thank YOU for the lost no-hitter. Thanks a lot TW! I kid, of course.

Old Saturday Night Live skit of Bill Clinton (Phil Hartman) "jogging" to a McDonalds and then eating everyone's food under the guise of explaining geopolitical issues. Clinton was, of course, the warlord who ate everyone's food. Very funny stuff.

I love to see Coco hitting the ball hard. He really is a good player who can do a whole lot of things. That replay of his catch in Oakland is really impressive.

Imagine Bill Clinton is the pitcher, and all the opponents are BigMacs. "now let's pretend that this fish filet sandwich is food aid for Africa... and these are mmm mumff mmfff warlords".

Coco could have pushed that into a triple. Langerhans has Logger-hands.

I think that Cliff Lee ceiling is a little low, and perhaps Andy Pettitte is a little high. Somewhere in between... he has all the tools, what really matters is how he utilizes them. He has been nothing short of dominant during certain stints in the minors. He is hard to make comparables to... I was thinking that if he can really harness his stuff and stay healthy Tim Hudson could be a good comparison. I think that in their primes Pettitte is a better pitcher than Hudson in big games (and therefore a better pitcher overall). Until we see proof I see no reason to think Lester is a particularly good or bad pitcher in big games. How about Mark Mulder?

What's he going to do, grab a gun and start shooting people? Seriously, I don't understand why people make this argument. Coco Crisp is a good OF. He can play all 3 positions, can run for speed, has occasional power (if I wasn't lazy I would emphasize occasional) and is a switch hitter. I think as long as he's under contract he WILL go for it because he won't have a choice. More likely than not it would be almost a reverse Pedroia situation, where they would 'give' Crisp the starting spot and have Ellsbury fill in occasionally a la Cora. Crisp may be confronted with a choice: start on a crappy team and value playing time more than winning, or play on a potentially WS winning team where 4 OFs play regularly but Crisp is the super-sub. If I had a multi million dollar contract and someone said, "You know, we'd rather you just sit here... but we'll still pay you" I wouldn't complain about it. It isn't like Crisp needs to "prove himself" so some other team will give him a multi-million dollar contract. If he were a FA next year or the year after, even as a bench player, he would get a multi-million dollar contract simply because of the facts I listed above: switch hitting, speedy, versitile OFs are a commodity in this league. He'll be fine. And it's not like he is going to get Carlos Beltran money even if he starts every single game. I'm still a fan of Crisp as the 4th and possibly moving WMP.

This is just an attempt to sound smart, right? To say they weren't the BEST would be fine, but to say they weren't a good defensive team is just inaccurate. I mean, stats are nice when you can't watch every game. I watched every game and so did many others. They were a good defensive team, or at the very least, they had a good left side of the infield to be sure. do I want A-Gone back? No. Do I want Loretta instead of Pedroia? No.

How about Bowden tonight: 6IP 5H 0R 0ER 0BB 9K, with a 1.91 ERA this year in the hitter friendly California League. Kid will probably be at AA before the end of the season.