I don't know why I listen to morning sports talk radio. All it does is upset me. Sometimes the fans have too much knowledge for their own good.

The blame for Thursday's loss should fall directly on Terry Francona and Theo Epstein's shoulders.

First, Bronson Arroyo had his CD release party at the Avalon Wednesday night. You can say all that you want about keeping to a curfew, etc. but please give me a break, it's a CD release party. You are going to whoop it up.

I have no problem with that. However, Theo and Francona both knew of this event and still decided to pitch him the next day. I understand the timing of the event. Heck, you only get a few days off in a row. Arroyo, I'm sure, didn't want to compete with the All Star game festivities on Monday and Tuesday night leaving only one night remaining Wednesday.

This event had been planned weeks ago. So, why then didn't Francona realize this and start David Wells on Thursday, giving Arroyo the obviously needed extra day of rest? Besides Wells last pitched on July 7. Seven full days is plenty of rest for the lefty.

As a result Arroyo gave up four earned runs in 5 2/3 innings - five runs scored in all during his duration on the mound. All and all a poor outing.

Okay, so that was mistake No. 1. on to mistake No. 2. Why not bring Mike Timlin to start the eighth without an inherited runners? He would have been able to work his magic. He has allowed 12 of 19 inherited runners to score, despite having an ERA of only 1.65. Guess who's been the loser in those situations? more often than not it is Alan Embree.

Why not keep Embree in for one more batter, Posada - especially when Posada is only batting .182 against him as opposed to .364 against Timlin. Strange.

Now mistake No. 3 comes in the ninth. No, I'm not talking Curt Schilling. In fact had mistakes 1 and 2 don't occur Schilling enters the game with the lead, but anyway. As it were it is a close game, tied in fact. You have your closer coming in. The game is not lost yet. Where are your fielders supposed to be in a close game, late innings? Protecting the lines. However, and for whatever reason, that was not the case last night, putting a man (Sheffield) in scoring position. Then the home run for A-Rod. NY Post's Joel Sherman calls A-Rod's home run a true Yankee moment. Mike Lupica recalls A-Rod's moment as well. A-Rod called it the "biggest (swing) I've had all year." Game over.

See ESPN's recap to refresh your memory.

A couple of points on Schilling.

Everyone knows that if you are going to get to Curt Schilling, you are going to do it in the first and second innings of his outings. Well, now, everytime he comes out of the pen, it's his first inning. He takes a while to get comfortable on the mound. As a closer he will have to make some adjustments to reach that comfort level faster.

I also realize the Curt Schilling has been in the majors for a while and has faced the Yankees enough to know how to pitch to them. However, I hate seeing Schilling and Varitek not communicating properly. On at least one occasion, and I believe it was Tom Caron and Dennis Eckersley pointed it out on W.B. Mason's Extra Innings, that Varitek wasn't even set to receive a pitch (a splitter) before Schilling started his windup. Varitek has been around a while now too and he calls a great game as near as I can tell. I wouldn't be shaking him off as much, if I were a pitcher.

Where's Schilling's heat? I only saw one fast ball 89-90 mph. The rest were splitters - nothing up out of the zone. It simply was not the best game plan against two of the leagues best hitters.

I'm not worried though. Either Schilling figures it out or the Sox go get some help. I think that Schilling will figure it out. I would however mix it up a bit and have Timlin close a game or two.

The Red Sox will be making a move regardless. They need either a starter or a closer depending on what role Schilling will fill for the rest of the year.

I still say the Red Sox will win three of four. Crazy? Not really considering Boston saw the Yankees best pitcher last night. The New York Times reports that the Yankees may lose starter Chien-Ming Wang for the rest of the season as well. Wang has been outstanding up to this point going 6-3 with a 3.89 ERA. It is a tremendous loss. The N.Y. Post's Joel Sherman says Ming's injury a heavy load on shoulderI only wish it had happened August 2. The newspaper also states that New York faces a reality check on the mound.

The Boss will be looking to deal soon. He's putting newly-acquired Tim Redding on the mound tonight, Johnson on Saturday and Sunday, well who knows.

With Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown, Jaret Wright and Wang all on the DL - only Randy Johnson and Mike Mussina are left to carry that team. A burden I would not want.

On a side note: No matter how many mistakes Terry Francona may or may not make, he is still the best man for the job and no one should question his authority, especially not some underrated outfielder named Jay Payton. According to the Boston Herald, Jay Payton got in a shouting match with Terry Francona before his quick departure.

That will not be tolerated in Boston. Payton and Ramon Vasquez for David Roberts isn't looking so good now. Where does he get off questioning the championship manager. It's not like he has a column on a local Web site.

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