After reading the Associated Press story in today's Portland Press Herald, I felt a sense of resolution and fear.

The unnamed author feels, pretty strongly, that Boston is the team to beat. And while I love my Sox, I still feel the team needs to improve in order to contend for another World Championship.

Yes, the defense has been stellar - the best in the majors in fact. Kevin Youkilis, Alex Gonzalez, Mike Lowell and company have only 23 errors thus far. Only 13 have been committed in the infield.

Alex Gonzalez is quietly going for a record. He has not made an error in his last 48 games. The record for a shortstop is held by Mike Bordick, who went 110 consecutive games. And Gonzalez has only one blemish on the year. The seasonal record is three held by another Baltimore shortstop, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken. Ripken accomplished that feat in 1990. Quite the feat considering the number of touches a shortstop has to make during any given day.

Is this something to cheer? Sure. Will it help us win a title? Absolutely.

But you need more.

You need better pitching, not just pitching "depth." You need timely hitting, leaving no man stranded. You need to have David Ortiz bunt more against the shift. (Well, okay now I'm being a tad bit ridiculous, though his average is certainly taking a beating with more teams using that strategy.)

I would like to see Ortiz and Manny hit a ball when faced with an intentional walk, like Miguel Cabrera did last night.

But perhaps I should be praising the team for six straight wins, a two-game lead in the standings. Perhaps I should look forward to Josh Beckett's outing tonight. So, I will.

Philly.com says that the Phillies are on the road in search of themselves. They must have read Jack Kerouac's book or something. But this road trip may indeed determine where the Phillies fit in the postseason race. The Philadelphia Inquirer's Sam Donnellon writes that the team is neither good nor bad enough, instead the team is mired somewhere in the middle. He suggest trading Rollins and/or Rowand.

If indeed the Phillies are desperate, the Red Sox should take this weekend to entertain a deal. Alex Gonzalez, is yes a great defensive shortstop, but Jimmy Rollins is quite good defensively and offensively. Hmm, and he's only 27.

This is a little unrealistic considering the Phillies need pitching as does the rest of the league (well not Detroit or the White Sox). Can you see Rollins playing in Detroit? Rowand back with Chicago? I can.

And you thought Phillies' fans were bad...Philadelphia's starting pitcher Brett Myers was arrested today for assaulting his wife not far from Friendly Fenway. We'll see what affect this has on Saturday's game, when he is projected to start against Curt Schilling.

Because I can't let it go... Jason Varitek, Tim Wakefield and company tell ESPN that Paxton Crawford is full of it. I think that Tek has it about right: "There's so much we don't know about what other guys are doing," he says in the article.

I also believe Mike Stanley when he says: "I had heard guys talk about it in other places, but never once in 15 years did I see a needle or any drugs. Maybe I had my head in the sand."

I've worked here at this organization for almost 20 years. I certainly do not know every secret my co-workers hide from the workplace. I certainly hope they do not know all of mine. Though, I do suspect some of them are using 'roids.

For a more denials see the Boston Herald's article.

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