After losing five straight, the Red Sox seem to be back on track - winning the last two games in Cleveland. Pedro looked especially good as he tries to justify his statements of the last week. Boston.com's Gordon Edes writes that Pedro's outing spoke volumes

He's correct - 7 innings, 8Ks, 2 earned runs - is pretty darn good. Pedro's still the best. He was throwing 92 mph repeatedly. While that may seem a little low, his velocity should increase with warmer weather.

Manager Terry Francona continues to shuffle the lineup. Thursday night he moved Bellhorn to the lead-off spot where, if only for one night he excelled - going 2 for 5 with a RBI and scoring a run. I can not see Bellhorn keeping this position, but when Damon's got the day off, why not? The strange thing about Bellhorn's line, no walks, althoughhe still leads the American League.

The Red Sox return to Fenway tonight to face the Kansas City Royals. The Royals seem to be floundering. The Kansas City Star's Bob Dutton is wondering where the Royals' magic is. The Star's Joe Posnanski thinks the team needs GPS, since they are lost on the road.

I'm not sure the Royals ever had "magic." The team played over their heads last year in a very weak division. One would think with a very talented, young group of players, the future would look bright. However Kansas City very rarely keeps its stars. It has a very strict budget.

In fact, if this team continues to struggle, I wouldn't be surprised to see its best player, Carlos Beltran, traded around the All-Star break. The Boston Herald thinks we should all watch Beltran. It says Beltran could be Sox' target in the off-season. Beltran is indeed someone to watch. He has a valuable combination of speed and power. He's young and plays a great defensive centerfield. I'd love to see him in a Sox uniform.

The good thing for K.C. - they have a fantastic manager in Tony Pena (a personal favorite of mine since his days as a Red Sox catcher). He has patience and a tremendous amount of knowledge. Catchers make for the best managers anyway. It's becoming a trend throughout the major leagues. Anaheim's Mike Scoscia, Milwaukee's Ned Yost, Pena and heck, even Joe Torre was a catcher. Their observations and meticulous study of the game gives them an edge when managing. All of these men, have improved their teams dramatically. I hope the Royals stick with Pena through this difficult time.

I'm outraged! How could David Ortiz be left off the All-Star ballot? He is awesome. Boston.com reports that his teammates are also "irked" and may start a write-in campaign. Basically Major League Baseball contends that since the game is being held in a National League park (Houston) this year, the DH is not going to be used. However, David Ortiz should be eligible at first. He's played nine games there. Now, I like Kevin Millar, but at the very least Ortiz deserves his spot on the ballot. Their numbers are not even close. Ortiz will get my vote. Major League Baseball has online ballots. The site says people can vote up to 25 times. However according to one MLB.com representative, it may be possible to vote 49 times! Voting ends June 30. I urge you all to vote early, vote often.

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