I knew Ted Lilly was going to be tough but who would have guessed a complete-game, 13K shutout? Wow. I've always liked Lilly, but not against the Sox. In fact, there have been at least three occasions this season when I have cheered for him. Okay, so those cheers came at expense of the Yankees. Still I cheered. Monday night, there was nothing to cheer about.

Lilly was masterful, even better than Pedro, who had 10Ks over seven innings. In fact according to the Toronto Star Pedro even called Lilly "Little Picasso." A masterpiece indeed. With a stroke, he painted high-arching curve-balls, followed by striking straight lines - baffling hitters with each pass. When it was over the Red Sox were left seeing colors.

Not to worry, before the paint dries, the Sox will be back in the foreground. While the Sox are in Canada keep an eye on Alexis Rios. This rookie has speed and a what could be a promising future. The Toronto Sun thinks Rios is the real deal. As a part-time player he has done well, but do not expect him to be an All Star anytime soon. Speed can only get you so far in the bigs, especially in this era.

The Red Sox do not seem to play well after flying to the new city. At least before playing in Chicago the team got a day off (Thursday). The Boston Globe accompanied Manny on his day off to a garage in Illinois. Manny was getting a progress report on a surprise birthday present for his father. So much for the surprise. The Globe even wrote what color the present was going to be.

It's nice to see, read and hear Manny again. The media has certainly missed him and so have the fans. We know very little about the RBI king. I hope to see more interaction with him in the future. He's obviously enjoying himself. With 250 million I would too.

Manny's production will certainly help get Boston into the playoffs. In the article, it certainly reads like he is fully expecting to be there. According to the Republican's Garry Brown, having "Bash-Brothers" (Ortiz and Manny) may be a curse. Whenever I hear "Bash-Brothers" I can't help but think of the Oakland A's, Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire. Those Goliaths beat Boston in the 1990 ALCS. So I'll take my chances with this power duo. How could one find fault with having Ortiz and Manny in the lineup, geez?

Even with the success of the Boston's three and four hitters, New Yorkers contend there is no reason to panic. The New York Times' Murray Chass writes that only once have the Red Sox come back from a deficit after Aug. 15 to win the pennant from the Yankees (Highlanders). While this may be true I think there is some concern. Why else would the New York Post report that Steinbrenner has asked the Yankee front office to come to Tampa? I do not think he is going to congratulate them on the recent win over Cleveland. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. I'm sure the Boss isn't happy. This could well be Cashman's last hoorah.

Yes, the pennant race is back on. To help fans keep track of it all, RIOT has a close eye on the playoff race numbers. It's starting to get fun again. Perhaps I should take another vacation.

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