Baseball players are a superstitious lot. Some do not touch the foul line. Some tap their toes a certain amount of times in the batters box. Some wear the same undershirt. Kissing, sleeping and talking to bats is not uncommon. Ted Williams hand-picked the "right" wood to make his bats. Then, of course there's talk of "The Curse." I too have become a little superstitious.

On Tuesday I was in a rush and could not find my Red Sox cap before departing for work. I wear it religiously - most everyday, most everywhere - except for church on Sunday. But Tuesday, I was in a rush. So I grabbed my wife’s “Life is Good” cap. It’s a little small, but what the heck. I went to work. After work I played poker and won $60. The Red Sox also won. I wore it on Wednesday - another Red Sox victory. Needless to say, Thursday, same cap, same result.

I think I might be on to something here. I will continue to wear this hat until the Red Sox lose two consecutive games. Here are some other baseball superstitions Factmonster.com shares. Psychology in Sports offers some insight, albeit little, into baseball's superstitions. Had I only known it was that simple.

Cap aside, these are the games the Red Sox have to win.

This is a very important 10-game homestand. In fact, the Sox should have won all four of the games against the D-Rays. Schilling's outing was a surprising disappointment.

Pedro's performance was anything but. A complete-game shutout, 10Ks, 0 walks. Impressive. It's been four years since he last did that. Pedro is starting to look like, well, Pedro again. He's working every pitch with ease. As a result, Fenway fans greeted him in the ninth with a standing-O. Fitting.

There was another standing-O earlier in the game. It went to third base coach, Dale Sveum for stopping a runner from advancing past third base. This too was fitting. Earlier in the game he had sent two that were both gunned down by Rocco Baldelli.

I do not understand why Sveum continues to test the arms of some very good outfielders. This guy has sent too many people at the wrong times, against the wrong arms. The Globe reports Sveum is feeling the heat. MassLive.com also writes about Sveum's choices of late.

Luckily the Sox have continued to win dispite Sveum poor judgement. This streak has writers thinking about the playoffs. The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessey is "carving out some time in October". He says "plan on them being there." It's about time that we read some hopeful news in the Globe.

You can look to both Kevin Millar and Bill Mueller for the dramatic turnaround. These two have been on fire. Ever since Mueller has moved to second base, he's been unstoppable. MassLive.com writes about the move. The Globe writes about Mueller's big stick.

Those sticks will again be needed as the Chicago White Sox come to Boston tonight. Chicago has been struggling. The White Sox are now six games out of the wildcard and five games from winning its division. However, it will be extremely difficult to overcome the losses of two of its bigger bats - Magglio Ordonez (bone marrow edema) and Frank Thomas (stress fracture in foot).

There are many questions surrounding the White Sox. The Chicago Tribune's Bob Foltman attempts to answer fans concerns.

The Chicago Sun Times says the team needs more wins like Thursday's over the Royals. The newspaper's Doug Padilla says Jose Contreras hopes for a fresh start. The Red Sox have owned him in the past and I doubt that a new team will make a difference.

Besides "Life is Good."

MAINE DAY: To honor fans from Maine, the Red Sox have named Sunday, August 29 as Maine Day at Fenway Park. Hundreds of tickets to the game have been reserved for Maine residents who can register online for the chance to buy tickets.

Reader comments: In relation to sports, especially the Red Sox, do you have any superstitious rituals?

E-mail this entry to a friend