Thunder

NFL Network says to bench Newton at all costs. Wilson may slump a bit this season, but this is a fairly easy game for him.

Bogaerts may not even be here.

Good. Traffic might have killed you.

Is Shane just getting a day off?

That guy is going to be in earshot of me today. Yikes.

I already got one thing on the line.

This really makes me wonder what Buchholz would have done if he hadn't gotten hurt. Definitely would've competed with Scherzer for Cy Young. I think his injury opened the door for a lot of players to shine.

Game time: 1:05 p.m. TV/Radio: NESN, YES, TBS / WEEI, WCBS. Red Sox vs. Kuroda: Drew 8-32, Pedroia 8-24, Ellsbury 8-23, Victorino 6-22, Nava 6-17, Salty 5-20, Carp 5-15, Ortiz 7-12, Gomes 1-10, Napoli 3-9, Berry 2-8, Lavarnway 1-8, Middlebrooks 2-7. Yankees vs. Lester: Jeter 21-63, Cano 14-62, Wells 7-41, A-Rod 9-42, Suzuki 14-41, Granderson 9-32, Overbay 9-25, Reynolds 6-18, Gardner 2-11, Nunez 2-11, Soriano 3-9, Stewart 2-4, Adams 0-2. Stat of the Day: The Sox are 6-1 in September. They were 7-19 in September last season. Notes: The fading Rays lost again last night, so the Red Sox are 8.5 games up in the division with 18 games to play. The Sox now have the best record in baseball and have a four-game lead on Detroit and Oakland for the best record in the American League. ... The Sox are seeking a four-game sweep, having outscored the Yankees 34-25 in the first three games. ... The Sox lead the season series 10-5 with four games to play. They have averaged 6.3 runs against the Yankees this season. ... Lester is 10-5, 4.15 in 24 career starts against the Yankees, 1-1, 4.76 in two this season. He is 5-2, 2.41 in nine starts since the All-Star break. ... Kuroda is 0-3, 7.43 in his last four starts this season and 1-3, 4.66 in four starts against the Sox this season. ... The Yankees are 24-23 since the All-Star break but still only 2.5 games out in the wild card. ... The Sox are hitting .386 with 64 hits (30 for extra bases) and 54 runs in their last four games. ... Napoli is 9 of his last 17 with four homers and nine RBIs. ... Middlebrooks is 9 of 19 in the last four games with six RBIs and three homers. ... The Sox have won five straight, eight of nine, 12 of 14 and 14 of 18. Song of the Day: "Conquest" by The White Stripes.

The one you call Brooksie isn't really a farmhand anymore.

I really like the way Lester's pitched his last few starts. Shutout the Dodgers, then took a loss to the O's but still pitched pretty well, then out dueled Scherzer. That was key. He wasn't sharp, but got out of trouble when he needed to against a very good offense. The Tigers offense is superior to the Skanks, so he should have a pretty easy time. I'll be splitting my time today between Sox and NFL.

Keep in mind that we've played more games than everyone in the league. Not sure how that happened.

Frankly Djokovic and Rafa in a final is starting to bore me.

Mariners up 4-2 in sixth. Longoria just homered to put the Rays on the board.

No way. Every manager, especially those whose strength is pitching, is always trusting their starter before going to the pen. Farrell knows how good Breslow and Uehara have been, but he doesn't want to waste the guys in the pen if he doesn't have to. Koji was overworked, so he was unavailable today. Every manager does this.

O's and Guardians are currently 1.5 behind the Rays and 1.5 ahead of the Yanks. Oh man, my aunt lives in Cleveland, and they really love Tito out there. I want the Guardians to sneak into the WC spot.

Haven't seen Stiller for years.

Victorino definitely has my vote after this last week, and Napoli is close behind.

I swear Sterling has something wrong with him in the head.

When we get to number 2, Jeter won't be included in that. He meets the elderly requirement, but not the productiveness requirement.

Do this until they're eliminated from division title contention.

Guardians already have a 2-0 lead in the first, still no one out. I'm watching on the Mets network.

Wait... what?

Orioles walk off in 10th, gain a game on the Skanks. Guardians play the Mets, should be a win.

I would rather see the powerhouse Rangers go down in the WC game.

I can guarantee you the Yankees won't win out. We have 4 more with them.