What a game...these Red Sox like in 2004, are never out of it. Although, last night, I must admit they had a little help from the home plate umpire.

There were a few instances especially late in the game where for whatever reason the home plate umpire missed the call.

In the top of the eighth, Jason Varitek "tagged" out Tampa bay's Toby Hall. But from where I was sitting (comfortably on my livingroom couch) there was no contact and Hall should have been safe.

Then in the bottom of the eighth with Johnny Damon at the plate the home plate umpire called, what seemed to be a strike, a ball which awarded Damon a free pass to first. This action set the table for a brilliant come back.

Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella was furious, and perhaps rightly so. But his tirade didn't change the end result: a Red Sox win.

Now anyone can debate whether or not the Sox still would have won whether those calls were corrected, but it matters not. The Sox were the better team on Tuesday.

Yesterday morning I was in the coffee shop talking to a friend about the Red Sox of course. As he walked off he said, "I have a bad feeling about tonight." I agreed.

I then went into the office and ran into some one in the hall who said, "I'm not sure about Schilling."

I said, "At least he's facing the Kansas City Royals."

After work I went home and told my wife that Schilling was returning to the rotation. Her smile turned to a frown and warned it was going to be bad.

At 8 p.m. I turned on the tube. By 8:45 p.m. I was depressed. All the premonitions had come true. The Boston Globe says the Red Sox expected a tough transition as well, but perhaps not this rough.

I watched as manager Terry Francona sat quietly on the dugout bench. Sometimes pretending he wasn't bothered by Schilling's struggle. I watched as Schilling sat between innings studying his books, logging his pitches.

Schilling just couldn't get any rhythm. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Schilling blamed his bad outing on a lack of confidence.

He's says he felt "normal." But if you ask me he didn't look normal. Not having confidence in his signature pitch, "the splitter," isn't normal. He had no velocity or at least I saw no pitch over 91 mph. And all those eager Royals who have had little success against, well, anyone, suddenly looked like an offensive powerhouse.

In the end, Schilling was charged with six earned runs in five innings. Increasing his ERA to 6.89. I repeat 6.89!

His WHIP is 1.55! The last time it reached that level was in 1991 for Houston when he worked out of their bullpen.

The numbers are quite similar except for that ERA:
1991: 75 IN, 3 W, 5 L, 8 SV, 3.84 ERA, 1.57 WHIP, 32ER, 79 H, 39 BB, 71Ks
2005: 47 IN, 5 W, 6 L, 9 SV, 6.89 ERA, 1.55 WHIP. 36 ER, 63 H, 10 BB, 52 Ks.

He has been simply horrible since coming off the D.L. He can't close games or start them at this time. When will this all end? Is the ankle really healed?

But ESPN's Jayson Stark says it will be a while and I'll cut Schilling some slack.

I appreciate what he has done for the Sox, I really do. I have written about his courage and selflessness. But now the tide has turned and he's drowning out there.

But I can not blame the back-to-back losses on Schilling.

Does anyone remember when the Kansas City Royals were good? You'd have to go way back to the mid-70s when George Brett came onto the scene. While he was with them they had more than 10 successful years. After that - 20 years of nothing.

I must say I feel for the Royals. The team in a word - stinks. It's not that they do not have talent. The team has a number of good players and have produced some of the best in the league.

In fact, if Kansas City decided to pay for their talent they would be a contender.
Look at the would-be lineup:

Johnny Damon (of) - Leads the AL in batting average (.331) with Red Sox
Angel Berroa (ss) - 2003 AL Rookie of the Year; currently with Royals
Carlos Beltran (of) - Most sought after free agent before 2005 season put together 38HR, 104 RBI, 121 Runs and 42SBs last year
Jermaine Dye (dh) - Currently has 22 home runs for the White Sox.
Mike Sweeney (1b) - currently with Royals batting .297 with 18 HRs.
Raul Ibanez (of) - Currently with Seattle batting .289 with 16 HR 70 RBI and 71 Runs
Joe Randa (3b) - Currently with the Padres with a respectable .274, 56 ribbies and 53 runs scored.
Abraham Nunez/Tony Graffanino (2b) Nunez is with the Cardinals batting .308 in place of the injured Scott Rolen; Graffanino well, he has been terrific since joining the Sox.
Sal Fasano (c) - Hasn't played much recently, but filled in nicely while Javy Lopez was down for the Orioles.

Add starter Zack Greinke set-up man Tom Gordon and closer Mike McDougal and you may have a winner.

Is it any wonder that most of these players went to contending teams?

K.C.'s ownership does not want to pay the money. So instead the team has the lost the most games in the majors. In fact, they have lost nine straight home games and 20 of their last 22. Ouch!

The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that former Royal Tony Graffanino sympathizes with the Royals. But I'm reasonably sure that he's happy to be with the American League East leaders.

By all accounts the Royals are losing their fan base, too. They average only 18,691 fans, leaving more than 22,000 empty seats. Compare that to Fenway Park where a sellout is the norm. In fact, more people go to Fenway than there are seats available. By the way, although seating in Fenway Park is still the lowest in the majors, the site will top 2 million ticket holders again this season - ninth overall.

So with this in mind, I expect the Red Sox to roll comfortably through the series. Matt Clement will take the mound tonight and Curt Schilling returns to the rotation Thursday. Only the bullpen can stop the team from recording the Ws. Well, that and the fact I just jinxed them...

I look at this morning's standings and notice that the Red Sox still hold a four-game lead. Phew!

Losing two to Detroit and another to L.A., it's obviously been a tough week.

The Tigers never should have been in position to steal a series away from Boston. But, I knew that the Angels were going to be a challenge for my dear ol' Sox. The two teams match up well against each other - both offensively and defensively.

The Angels have speed, power and hit for average. In fact they led the American League, hitting an even .300, before last night's game.

But I as I looked at recent history, I gave the edge to the Sox. I was wrong. The Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy tells how Boston never really faced the Angels last year.

Between the first and sixth innings I was sure that Bartolo Colon was the odds-on favorite to win the 2005 Cy Young Award. Anyone who could shut out Boston would get my vote. Then he tired and the Sox were able to put up three runs off him. And just like that Colon was thrown back into the mix.

I've been a bit too busy to write lately and even today don't have much time. However I couldn't resist when I heard the news about today's game.

Boo-birds get ready...The Rangers' Kenny Rogers has been reinstated by the league and will start tonight at Fenway Park vs. my beloved Red Sox.

He, as most are aware, was suspended for his aggressive altercation with two cameramen. The incident happened long before the All Star Game and he has since apologized. The original penalty was 20 games but only had to serve 13. He wasn't due back until August 18.

If Rogers was truly sorry, he should have served his full suspension. The appellant process went on so long, he was able to get two or three starts and play in the All Star Game before any time was served.

MSN's Mike Celizic says commissioner Bud Selig blows it again and I have to agree.

Apparently Mr. Selig was judge, jury and executioner in the Rogers case. The arbitrator didn't like that fact and reduced Rogers' sentence. Whether guilty or not, Rogers didn't get a fair trial.

First let me start by saying, that I have used steroids. No, I'm not big and strong like the Jose Cansecos of the world, but by doctors order, I have used a steroid. It wasn't unfortunately a performance-enhancing one, however. It was to help reduce inflamation in my neck and shoulder area where I have two herniated disks. Yes, I know it's amazing that I can even type, but I have to be honest. I have to come out and tell the truth.

I also have got to take a brief moment away from my beloved Sox to discuss a major baseball issue: lying. Whether it be a little white one or monumental, I hate the lie.

This whole steroid ordeal is disgusting and makes me angry. And you don't want to make me angry.

I was a huge Rafael Palmeiro supporter long before he sat in front of a microphone and vehemently denied any use of steroids at any time during his career in front of a congressional sub-committee.

On Friday, I ripped Manny for whining about his lack of privacy. I told him to move out of town, but I certainly didn't want him to leave the Red Sox. Break up the best 3-4 hitter combination in baseball? No way. The All Star Game couldn't even do that.

Though expensive, Manny produces far to much for this team to move him, especially when like Manny, they reside on top floor.

So, I was very surprised, shocked and scared when I heard the rumors - Manny could be dealt in a three-way trade. The Sox would have gotten Mike Cameron from the Mets and Aubrey Huff from the Devil Rays. Some reports also included Tampa Bay's closer Danys Baez.

I didn't know how to feel. I looked to my wife, "They can't trade Manny." Trying to talk myself out of whatever feeling I was having. I was certainly confused.

She responded, "Good riddance." I was shocked.

My wife loves Manny, loves him. When we went to the ALDS in 2003 she was ecstatic to be sitting in left field. She couldn't believe how close he was. She was always telling me how cute he was, he always had that smile you see. She was always asking me about his personal life, perhaps hoping he'd be available. I'd remind her that the real problem was she was married. She'd wear a t-shirt with RAMIREZ 24 on the back. There were times when heck I'd be down right jeolous.

Yet here she was telling me the Sox should get rid of him. She did the same with Pedro. I started to question her loyalty, but she insisted she had not become a Yankee fan. But she was no longer a Manny fan - at least for the time being.

I eventually got over my shock.

She must have felt cheated on. Afterall, Manny asked to be traded from the team she, we, love - the World Champion Boston Red Sox. The team well on it's way back to the post season for another round.

On Sunday, I read Steve Solloway's column. I wished I had not written those words on Friday (Solloway has a way to make a person feel guilty).

But has the trading deadline passed Sunday. Again, I was overwhelmed. I was awestruck.

I felt cheated on. The Red Sox wasted lots of time and energy on not trading Manny. In the meantime the deadline passed and Boston ends up with yet another washed-up outfielder - Jose Cruz Jr., who is on his third or fourth team this year.

Did Boston address it's need for pitching? Not one bit.

There is one good thing about all this. The Red Sox dangled enough lines to enough teams that Boston stopped anyone from making significant improvements. I guess we all went for the bait.