June Sw_ _ n and Franc the Tank.

Hope these past few games are not a sign of things to come. Looking at the standings, it seems as if the Sox need to really worry about not dropping the ball against the other divisions in a strong American League, rather than a comparitively weak East. 6 of those 9 teams are at least .500, with some of them well over the mark. The ChiSox are only a few games under, and the Angels actually have more wins than Boston does. While the Rangers just flat-out suck, even KC has given the BoSox trouble at times in recent years. Games against Arizona, Atlanta, and San Fran are gonna be tough games as well.

Fortunately, this is their first stumble this season, and even the great teams are due a losing streak here and there. They are definitely talented enough to be able to right the ship after these past few days, but if they dont watch out, a 10 game lead can quickly turn into a 7, 6, or 5 game lead with plenty of baseball left to play. Hope Schilling can stop the bleeding tonight, followed by another Beckett gem. Maybe Theo does need to pull a trade for another bat sooner than expected, but damn, that catch by CoCo last night was sweet, and good defense like that doesnt always come around so easily. Saving runs can be just as important as scoring runs.

Much respect for Tito last night in getting thrown out over one of the worst strike calls I have ever seen. Cool to see him whip the chaw from his mouth, and especially cool when another umpire tried to butt in, only to have Francona tell him to butt-out. He must have said, "All Fuckin' Night" a half-dozen times. Great stuff. Real stuff. Not like the crap that Lou-ser Piniella pulled this past week. (But certainly not as creative as the minor league manager who threw the rosin bag grenade.) Hope this can provide a spark to the team. Go Sox.