Terry Francona says: "That's the first time all season someone has even asked me about a decision that De[Marlo] (Hale) made."

And hopefully it's also the last time. See MLB for the complete story.

In the eighth inning, the Sox were rallying back and had a chance to load the bases with Wily Mo coming up at the plate but it was all for not as Manny lumbered to home way after the throw to home. Out by a mile and a half.

That was the end of a terrible evening. Hale defends himself in the Boston Herald.

I'm not too surprised at the results. What is surprising is the fact that Beckett lost without giving up a home run.

Something is not right with Beckett. I'm sure he is healthy enough. He's either changed his delivery to the point that he is tipping his pitches or has lost all confidence in his curve thus reducing the amount of pitches in the arsenal.

Beckett is a gutsy pitcher by all accounts. He wants to blow people away, but the truth is he may not have the stuff to do it. I'm not questioning his ability, but he is not the pitcher he was last year. Yes, he had the benefit of pitching in the National League but something just isn't right. I still believe that he is a real bargain and has a huge upside, but I'm worried as we enter the stretch.

It's time to see if Dave Wallace can help him develop into a finesse pitcher and put the ego aside.

He's falling behind in too many counts and the pitches are being telegraphed to the hitters. The hitters have responded with big time hits and numerous home runs.

Though, he has no signs of blisters, I believe that fear of blisters has changed his style.

It is also not lost on me that with Jason Varitek out, the pitchers and catchers are not quite in psynch. Javy Lopez has no clue how to catch these guys.

The Boston Globe wonders when will Beckett show up.

I'll give some credit to the Tigers for sure. The young pitching staff has been stellar this year and doesn't look to falter anytime soon. But they are still vulnerable. They can still be beat. But it looks more and more like the Sox have to win the division or they aren't going to make the playoffs. The White Sox are rolling away with the wildcard and they play K.C. too many more times.

The Detroit Free Press writes about the end of the five-game losing streak.

You also have got to give credit to Nate Robertson, and even more credit to Curtis Granderson. Granderson set the table with the first inning triple and the Tigers never looked back. He also made the throw to Carlos Guillen which resulted in the eighth inning putout.

Tonight may end up being one of those classic pitching duels. Jeremy Bonderman vs. Curt Schilling. I can't wait. My only hope is that regardless of what Schilling does, Francona takes him out in the eighth.

I realize that the team needs an innings eater and Schilling certainly qualifies, but he let his last start slip away and I'd hate to see that happen again.

The Sox and the Nation need a win badly. The team is struggling to stay with the Yankees before this weekend series. Considering the fact that the Sox will be starting Jon Lester and Jason Johnson on Friday they need a little bit of luck and some well timed hitting, to make a run at the title.

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