As I write Eric Hinske just lined a double to centerfield. Welcome to Boston.

Hinske is playing right field. Not exactly what I want to see. Wily Mo has done such a good job lately that it seemed to make more sense to start him in place of Mike Lowell at least for Game 1. But hey, what do I know, I'm just a fan, but it seems curious considering the numbers.

Jason Johnson is pitching particularly well, so well in fact I doubt he'll be sent down anytime soon. Besides, who would pitch on Tuesday.

Game 2 pits a rookie against washup.

I'm not sure I understand this fascination with Sidney Ponson. Baltimore ridded themselves of him, then grabbed him back and ultimately let him go one more time.
He pitched for a while for St. Louis earlier this season, but they too realized he was not going to help. Now, he is in pinstripes. Hooray!

Everyone of the Red Sox starters hits above .300 against Ponson. The 250-lb. righty doesn't intimidate anyone that has a bat.

His ERA and WHIP are particularly high and his 4-4 record is nothing to write home about.

I expect lots of crooked numbers to go up, giving Lester some breathing room.

Now that I've jinxed the Red Sox completely. Let's talk about Lester.

The Sox have put a lot of weight on the young southpaw. Today is no different. How will he answer the call?

Lester's poise has been very good which will help him if he should falter early. However if he can get to a relaxed state early he'll end up victorious.

Dave Wallace has got to get him to relax and throw strikes. It's key to his and the Sox survival. The No. 1 defense in the league will take care of the rest. Lester is apt to allow more grounders than flyballs anyway which will work into his favor.

He'll have almost two less earned runs than Ponson. He'll strike out three more and he'll surprisingly end up with a 'W.'

And if the Sox end up with two wins today, tha Yankees are going to be in serious trouble the rest of the weekend.

Saturday: Randy Johnson vs. Josh Beckett - Beckett needs this one to turn his season back around. He's got to be more finesse, less aggressive vs. this Yankee lineup. He's also got to keep his emotions in check. Johnson, on the other hand, is always pretty much in control. The Sox have got to get to him early and attempt to rattle him, just enough to make him more aggressive. If they can do that, they'll have a good shot. Johnson has not fared to well vs. the Red Sox. He enters Saturday's game with an ERA of a jetliner (7.27). His WHIP is an astounding 2.56. But that was much earlier in the season. He's won his last two outing and has only given up two runs in each.

Sunday: This matchup puts two 200+-game winners against each other. Curt Schilling, now the undeniable Ace of Boston's staff will face Mike Mussina in what could be another pitching classic. In his last outing Schilling pitched well but came up short against the Tigers and starter Jeremy Bonderman. Believe it or not Mike Mussina, like Schilling, is in contention for the Cy Young. His WHIP is just a shade above 1, his ERA is 3.50, his 13 wins, places him in the top three. If your a baseball fan, you don't want to miss this one.

Monday: Anything goes. David Wells faces some of his old teammates. Somehow, I still see Wells in a Yankee uniform, wearing the Babe Ruth cap. He pitched well enough to win his last outing, but I don't have a lot of faith in him. I am happy that he'll be matched up against Cory Lidle who has one win for New York. He struggled his last two times out.

E-mail this entry to a friend