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Andy man, thanks for the return comment the other day. Wish the news was better. I know I said I had faith in Wake and I understand staying the course and doing things the way you have been all season but man it would look so much better with a Beckett win last night (if he could get one on short rest) and his potential presence for a potential game 7 (and 3rd apprearence) on regular rest in Fenway. Oh well, it is done and now we are in extremis. There is only one game at a time now and the Sox have to do it tomorrow with Becks, Saturday with Schillie in Fenway, and Dice-K on Sunday. I feel good about Beckett tomorrow night. I actually feel ok with Schillie in Fenway on Saturday with his potential for postseason performance. Dice-K on Sunday I am not so sure about. I might even consider starting Lester on regular rest on Sunday given how well he pitched for a few innings last night. He looked good and yes I have not forgotten the dinger he gave up in the rotten 7 run 11th in game 2 but he was brought in quickly for a putrid Gagne so I can forgive that. He had it working last night against a damn hot Indians line-up. Maybe we give him a shot if we get there.

As for the bats, on a scale of 10 to 1 with 10 being hot and 1 being NOT: (10) nobody; (9) Manny; (8) nobody; (7) Ortiz & Lowell; (6) nobody; (5) Youk; (4) nobody; (3) 'Tek & Pedroia; (2) Drew; (1) Crisp & Lugo.
Absolutely awful from anybody not named Ramirez, Ortiz, Lowell, and Youk and KY's just coming around. I mean, we went from the silent bat crew to feverishly hot at the end of September with Manny back and now we can't hit Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd.... are you kidding me? This team needs to play with some intensity and like it is the last game of the season, because you know what? It is.

All that being said, I got an e-mail from a friend who wrote the following to get me out of my doldrum (with credit to Bill V. -- I love his nickname for Dice-fullcount):

OK Jack, here’s a Sox discussion straight from Stuart Smalley: Youk is back and Manny and Papi are at their combined peak this year. Those three will at least give them a chance. If any of Crisp, Lugo, Varitek, Pedroia or Drew can get hot, this team can score some runs. I feel good about Beckett going in the next game and giving the pen a rest. Then we have Schill for a strong 5 innings with a rested pen and Gagne anchored firmly to the bench. If we can beat Carmona in that game, a big if, I like our chances of putting up a big number against the tribe in game 7. As much as Mr. Sulu scares me, you have to like winner-take-all game in Fenway with a hot middle of the order and Jake Westbrook on the mound. Yeah, he pitched well last game, but let’s see him i) do it at Fenway, ii) do it in a game 7, and iii) do it to a professional hitting team like the Sox twice in a row. Shades of 2004!

Shades of 2004 has become my mantra, for at least one more day anyway....

Jack, your friend is a riot. Mr. Sulu...

That Mr. Sulu thing was pretty funny. My friend is the most pessimestic Sox fan I know too so his note was a real shocker but he made some excellent points. I hope he's right on. One game at a time. Shades of 2004!

By the way, just read this on Boston.com: Roll call
What the Red Sox had billed as an optional workout was well attended yesterday. The only position players who did not come out were Crisp, Lugo, and David Ortiz. Game 4 starter Tim Wakefield also was not on the premises, nor was most of the bullpen - Manny Delcarmen, Jonathan Papelbon, Jon Lester, Hideki Okajima, Javier Lopez, and Eric Gagné. Starter Curt Schilling threw early, and Daisuke Matsuzaka also worked out early!

Let's see, Crisp, Lugo, Gagne, and Delcarmen were not present at the optional workout. What the F#@% else were they doing that they were too busy to be there? I can understand Papi taking a day off with his balky knee and the rest of the pen deserves a day but come on. It's all hands on deck time and everybody should do everything they can to be ready for this game.