A very Manny retirement

I'm no Bill Simmons so I won't bore you with every single precious memory I have of Manny Ramirez (along with all my friends and family members) when he was on the Boston Red Sox from 2001-2008.

However, with his sudden retirement from the Tampa Bay Rays and MLB yesterday, I felt like I owe a short ode to the greatest hitter I've ever seen in my life (sorry Nomar).

First of all, can we agree that the way Manny retired (on a Friday afternoon, during a Red Sox-Yankees Opening Day at Fenway) was so perfect that you couldn't even script it that well? So yeah, he got bagged again for another failed PED test but I'm long past letting steroids in baseball bother me.

In the Wild West days (pre steroid testing), everyone in MLB did it except maybe David Eckstein so who can you blame but Bud Selig and the powers that be at MLB that buried their heads in the sand?

Anyways, Manny was the most bizarre superstar athlete that we'll ever see in our times here on Earth. He was once described as like Rain Man and I think that about covers it. He was put on this planet to hit a baseball, nothing more, nothing less.

They say the great ones in baseball have a different sound off the bat when they hit the ball and I have to say that when he was going good (1995-2006), he destroyed any pitcher. Didn't matter if you were a lefty or righty, threw hard or soft. He crushed everything.

We'll always be indebted to him and David Ortiz for delivering not one but two World Series titles (2004 and 2007) to the Red Sox. He was the 2004 World Series MVP.

The last few seasons were a bad dream for his career. After being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the 2008 trade deadline, he had an absurd half season with them. But in 2009 with LA then 2010 with the Dodgers and Chicago White Sox not to mention this past Spring Training with the Tampa Bay Rays, the magic was gone.

Manny turned to steroids for the second time (that we know about) and got caught once again. It's not the ending out of a movie but if you watched Manny from 2001-2008, it seems like the perfect way for him to go out.

Ortiz did steroids; and this is a surprise?

You gotta love baseball and its never-ending witch hunt involving steroids.

The latest chapter hit home yesterday as David Ortiz's name (along with Manny Ramirez) was supposedly on the list of 104 players who failed PED tests in 2003.

This whole saga is too frustrating to put into words but I'll leave it at this: the fact that Ortiz was implicated is completely predictable and it's further proof that baseball can't have it both ways. They rode the popularity of sluggers in the late 90s and early millennium but now old sports writers and MLB get all self-righteous and start questioning the integrity of a game that they completely turned a blind eye to.

The average fan doesn't care what happened six years ago. We live in the moment. If they test positive today that's a different story but can't we all accept that most of the big stars have used at some point and move on? The endless leaking of names is a joke.

Of course on such a big day, Ortiz stepped up in Boston's game as he smacked a three-run homer in the seventh that put the Red Sox up 6-5 en route to an 8-5 win in the series finale vs. the Oakland Athletics.

As I said yesterday, it was almost a must-win and given the result, it could be one of the turning points of the season.

Jon Lester cruised through the first five innings with Boston (59-42) nursing a 1-0 lead but he ran into trouble in the sixth as Oakland (43-58) scored four runs.

Jason Varitek (3 hits, 3 RBIs, run) had singled home the Sox' first run in the second inning. Mike Lowell's lucky RBI double (a pop-up that fell in between first and right field and then bounced into the stands) and another Varitek RBI single cut the A's lead to 4-3.

Tommy Everidge gave Oakland a 5-3 lead in the seventh with an RBI single but that just set the stage for Ortiz's heroic moment.

In the eighth, Boston tacked on two insurance runs as Varitek knocked in J.D. Drew with a double and Jacoby Ellsbury added a sacrifice fly.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 26th save in the ninth.

Today is one of the most interesting days in baseball every year, the trade deadline. The Sox have made a big splash in 2004 (trading Nomar) and last year (trading Manny for Jason Bay) and this year, there's rumors of Victor Martinez, Adrian Gonzalez or Roy Halladay coming to Boston.

The Red Sox have the young prospects to make a blockbuster deal and as they've shown, they're not afraid to pull the trigger.

Boston opens up a weekend series in Baltimore tonight before heading off for Tampa Bay and finally New York. The Ortiz steroid saga is only beginning and he will face much different treatment away from the pink hats and homers of Red Sox Nation.

Just Manny being Manny

Somehow it all seems fitting that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez still overshadows the Boston Red Sox, even during a memorable game like last night.

The reports surfaced yesterday afternoon that Manny was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for taking a performance enhancer, a drug that was used to up testosterone levels after a steroid cycle. It was the biggest name and incident since baseball started this steroid witch hunt.

I love baseball but I'm not surprised by anything that comes out these days. Can't we just assume if A-Rod and Manny were juicing that everyone except maybe David Eckstein was in the same boat?

It is MLB's fault for not policing it at the time and letting it get way out of control. And here we are.

The Sox (18-11) did everything they could to let fans forget about Manny's public relations disaster. Boston tied a major league record by scoring 12 runs in the sixth as they smoked the Cleveland Indians, 13-3 at Fenway.

Tim Wakefield continued his hot streak as he improved to 4-1. He went six innings, allowing two runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Boston led 1-0 in the first after Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBIs, walk) knocked in Julio Lugo (3 hits, 3 runs) with an RBI single.

Cleveland (11-18) jumped ahead 2-1 in the fifth as Matt LaPorta scored on a Wakefield wild pitch. Then Asdrubal Cabrera hit a sacrifice fly which scored Luis Valbuena.

It's still obviously early in the season but the Indians bullpen came into this two-game series with the worst ERA in the league and they didn't disappoint.

In the sixth, Jason Bay (2 runs, 2 hits, 4 RBIs) hit a RBI double, Rocco Baldelli hit a two-run single, Jeff Bailey (2 hits) added a two-run double, George Kottaras produced a two-run single, Pedroia hit a two-run single and finally Bay capped it off with a three-run bomb over the bullpen in right center.

Ryan Garko completed the scoring for the Indians with an RBI double in the eighth.

The Tampa Bay Rays (Boston's biggest obstacle in the AL) come to Fenway starting tonight for three games.

Thanks for the Memories Manny, Welcome Jason Bay

With the 4pm trade deadline rapidly approaching yesterday, after watching coverage on NESN during lunch with nothing happening (sorry, Ken Griffey Jr. is no longer big news), I took a shower figuring that the Red Sox were going to keep Manny Ramirez for the rest of the season.

When I got out, my phone started to beep with text messages, the unlikely had happened: the Sox worked a three-way trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Manny was going to the Dodgers while Pirates outfielder Jason Bay comes to Boston.

Even after preparing for a moment like this for the last few weeks, the actual event is still surprising. Like in 2004 when Nomar Garciaparra was traded, the Red Sox rolled the dice and made a controversial splash.

Without question, Boston gave up a lot to get rid of their Manny-induced headache. They're paying him for the rest of the year and also traded Brandon Moss (who could be the next David Murphy but didn't have a place in the Sox outfield) and Craig Hansen (who is a bust) to the Pirates. Bay is the only player the Sox get in return.

A Yankees killer, one of the most clutch players and all-around best hitters I'll ever see in my lifetime (especially on my favorite team), Manny has created endless positive memories for Red Sox fans the past eight seasons. This was necessary though; both sides needed a fresh start.

It was too much of a risk to hope that Manny would be motivated for the rest of the season (even though he was theoretically playing for a contract).

Playing in obscurity, Bay at 29-years-old is still an unknown commodity. He's a two-time all-star for the Pirates and rookie of the year. He'll play left field and bat somewhere from 3-6. Will he handle the pressure of Boston? That and many other similar questions are impossible to answer at this point. Let's give the guy some time to get his feet wet before we start making the final decision.

Manny's presence on the Dodgers makes them instant contenders, especially in the weak NL West. He's reunited with Nomar and Derek Lowe, the 2003 Red Sox reloaded. It'll be strange to see him in a different uniform, hitting ropes but such is life. Time to move on and move forward.

Time to start taking the Angels seriously

After winning its sixth game in a row against the Red Sox last night (6 out of 7 this season), the Los Angeles Angels are looking pretty legit.

Their preference of small-ball has fallen apart in recent playoff history but they used the long ball to their advantage in last night's 7-5 win at Fenway.

Dice-K (11-2) went five innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The better Weaver-Jered (9-8)-was good enough to win. He lasted 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Los Angeles (65-40) took a 1-0 lead in the second on Juan Rivera's sacrifice fly. Boston (61-46) came back with two in the fourth on Manny Ramirez's two-run single.

Everything fell apart for Matsuzaka and the Red Sox in the sixth as Casey Kotchman had a two-run homer, Torii Hunter hit a three-run blast and Jeff Mathis's squeeze made it 7-2 before the Sox could blink.

Jed Lowrie's ground-rule double to right scored David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 runs, walk), making it 7-3 Angels in the sixth. Jacoby Ellsbury came up later in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs but struck out on a pitch in the dirt against Angels rookie reliever Jose Arredondo.

Ellsbury came through in the eighth with an RBI single off Scot Shields, cutting the lead to three (7-4 Angels).

For yucks, Manny hit a bomb (reminiscent of his walk-off in the 2007 ALCS) in the ninth off Francisco Rodriguez. That was the only blemish though for K-Rod, who recorded his league-leading 44th save of the season.

Manny Ramirez-usually at the center of any Red Sox shitstorm

After two bad losses (a pitcher's duel and blowout), spanning the baseball spectrum of emotions, the Boston Red Sox (61-45) finally responded last night with a 9-2 win over the New York Yankees (58-46) in the series finale at Fenway.

The teams endured a 52-minute rain delay and yet another chapter in the ongoing Manny Ramirez-"I should never open my mouth" autobiography tour. Earlier in the day, Manny admitted in a call to ESPNdeportes that he's tired of the Red Sox and if they can get something fair in return they should trade him by Thursday's trade deadline.

Normally I don't get into the drama with Manny, the Boston media and national media goes over this seemingly every day of the year. Still, enough is enough. I wouldn't say this is the final nail in the coffin for Ramirez in my mind but I'll admit that I'm completely sick and tired of all the bullshit. He'll most likely continue to rake (like last night) and maybe even lead the Red Sox to another World Series championship in the fall but after this season, it's time to bid him adieu.

The current ownership group has been hamstrung by Dan Duquette's regime that signed Manny to such an absurd eight-year deal back in the good old days (2000). Manny has done nothing but put up hall-of-fame numbers since he's been here and helped Boston win two World Series titles but like an ex-girlfriend or old friend from high school or college, eventually time runs out and situations change.

As for the game last night, the Boston bats finally looked comfortable in David Ortiz's third game back from the DL. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, run, RBI) was moved to the leadoff spot and he continued to scorch the ball. Jacoby Ellsbury was relegated to the ninth spot but he temporarily found his stroke (3 hits, run) that has been missing for months.

Sox manager Terry Francona admitted that the ideal Sox lineup has Ellsbury leading off (with his ridiculous speed) but for now it's best to leave Pedroia there while Ellsbury hopefully heats up.

Back together hitting third and fourth, Ortiz (2 hits, 2 runs, 3 RBIS) and Ramirez (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) showed a national audience that when healthy they're still the best duo in baseball.

Jon Lester has officially taken over the role of Red Sox stopper for the season. Following five Red Sox losses, Lester has won four games and had a no-decision in the other (which Boston won). The guy is simply getting it done.

He improved to 9-3 and while he gave up nine hits in seven innings, he struck out eight and only walked one.

Yankees starter Sidney Ponson (6-2), who somehow had been great lately, showed his true form last night, giving up seven runs on ten hits in four innings.

Manny doubled home Kevin Youkilis in the first and Mike Lowell knocked in Ortiz and Manny with a two-run single, putting the Sox up 3-0 in the first.

Pedroia had a sacrifice fly in the second and Jason Varitek's RBI double in the third gave Boston a 5-0 lead.

Ortiz crushed a two-run shot to right in the fourth, his first homer in the majors since May 31.

The Yankees got their two runs in the fifth but it could have been much worse. Derek Jeter had an RBI on a jam-shot single that stayed fair down the third base line. Then Bobby Abreu walked with the bases full. A-Rod grounded out with the bases loaded and no outs, Xavier Nady popped out and Robinson Cano grounded out to end the threat.

Ortiz added a sac. fly in the sixth before Manny capped the scoring with another RBI, this time on a single.

Basically the only thing to come out of this series (besides the Manny garbage) was the Red Sox' dire need of a reliever. Saturday's painful loss highlighted the real lack of a dependable arm in the bullpen outside of Papelbon.

Boston is one game behind Tampa Bay and two ahead of New York. The Angels come to Fenway tonight to begin a three-game set.

Ichiro is not amused

Winning is a wonderful thing, no? After a terrible weekend against the Angels (three straight losses), the Sox found themselves in the Pacific Northwest, knocking off the pathetic Mariners (38-61), 4-0, last night.

In no particular order, the four main ingredients to the Sox' inconsistent play has been 1) Jacoby Ellsbury's huge slump as the leadoff hitter, 2) Boston has been terrible on the road all season, 3) they desperately need David Ortiz back in the lineup and the 4) the bullpen outside of Papelbon is a funhouse of surprises (most of which are bad).

For one night at least, Jon Lester made everything right for the Red Sox (58-43). He gave his team 7.1 scoreless innings before handing it over to Papelbon.

Lester (8-3) allowed eight hits, no walks and six strikeouts. His ERA was lowered to 3.20. Without getting all Baseball Prospectus/Tim Kurkjian on you, I'd submit that Lester has been better than any other Sox starter this season (gasp!). Sure, Dice-K has sexier numbers but he's had a couple clunkers and missed time on the DL. Lester has made every scheduled start and quickly established himself as one of the top young arms in the game.

Manny Ramirez had three hits but would you believe that Jason Varitek woke up from his two-month long dirt nap and cranked a two-run home run in the fifth off Jarrod Washburn?

Varitek had another hit and a walk. The other guest star at the bottom of the lineup was rookie Jed Lowrie. He had a two-run single in the eighth which accounted for the other scoring. He also added another hit and a walk.

I was high on the rookie when he made his debut early in the season. I was on vacation in Alaska last week when Julio Lugo got hurt but needless to say, I'm happy to see the rookie get another chance.

I don't root for players on my teams to get hurt but Lugo was pushing it. Let's never mention him again, agreed?

Papelbon came on with one out in the eighth and the bases loaded but he hadn't worked since the All-Star game. He induced a ground ball on his second pitch of the eighth and had a clean ninth to earn his 29th save.

With the Yankees coming to town this weekend, it's vital that the Sox take care of this inferior team. Boston is 1.5 games behind Tampa Bay and 3 ahead of the Yanks. If you must know, the Red Sox lead the Wild Card race by two games over the Twins.

Clay Buchholz: Still as erratic as Andy Dick with a room full of teenage girls

With Scott Boras and Theo Epstein sitting separately in baller seats behind home plate, the Boston Red Sox started the second half of the season with a whimper as the Los Angeles Angels thumped them, 11-3 in Disneyland last night.

Making his second start since returning from Pawtucket, young righty Clay Buchholz once again looked like a college freshman at a party: lost and in over his head. Blessed with great stuff, Buchholz is struggling at the moment to find consistency on the mound.

The Angels (58-38) scored three in the first and touched Buchholz up for eight runs (four earned). Clay (2-5) lasted 4.2 innings, giving up eight hits, two walks and two strikeouts. It was a good sign when he had quick second and third innings but the fifth inning ended his night early.

Shortstop Alex Cora's error with two outs in the fifth didn't help Buchholz as it extended the inning, allowing the Angels to score the four runs. Anaheim added three more in the sixth to wrap it up.

With David Ortiz doing his thing at Pawtucket-a homer in two consecutive games-Boston's (57-41) lineup looked shaky at best against John Lackey, who is normally batting practice against the Sox.

Boston tied it at three with two in the second on Kevin Youkilis' two-run homer and one in the fourth on Manny Ramirez's solo shot. After that, Lackey (7-2) shut them down and lasted seven innings. Lackey gave up five hits, walked two and struck out six.

Manny and Dustin Pedroia each finished with two hits apiece. For the Angels, Casey Kotchman, Maicer Izturis and Vlad Guerrero all had two hits, Los Angeles totalled 14 as a team.

Before the game, Garret Anderson took a time machine back to somewhere between 2000-2003. As a result, he went 4-for-5 with a homer, two runs and five RBIs.

The beautiful thing about baseball is that as ugly as last night was, things could completely change today. And if not, I will stubbornly hold onto the fact that the Sox have won nine straight over the Angels in the playoffs. The Angels look like they'll be in October once again but with Vlad looking somewhat human for once, you can't tell me this team is any different from the 2004 or 2007 versions, with slight tweaks.

What's eating Josh Beckett?

Last season, particularly in the playoffs, Josh Beckett showed that he was the best pitcher in the American League. Sure he didn't win the Cy Young award but did that really matter as the Red Sox won the World Series and C.C. Sabathia (the Cy Young winner) was terrible throughout the playoffs?

I guess I assumed Beckett would pick up where he left off this season and continue to dominate. Not so much. His strikeout totals have been high but he's been plagued by one or two bad innings in almost all of his starts.

The Orioles beat the Red Sox, 10-6, yesterday at Fenway as Beckett once again couldn't be the stopper he's supposed to be.

He didn't get a decision but Beckett went six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits with a walk and three strikeouts. His ERA is a pedestrian 4.22.

Beckett allowed all four runs in the second. Freddie Bynum and Brian Roberts hit two-run doubles in the inning for the Orioles (32-31).

Boston (40-27) had led 1-0 in the first but it should have been more as they had the bases loaded with no outs. Manny Ramirez grounded into a double play but a run scored.

The Red Sox fought back in the third with two runs but once again they should have gotten more out of a bases loaded, no out situation. Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis each had fielder's choices.

Things were looking up in the fifth when Boston got back-to-back homers off of Baltimore starter Daniel Cabrera. J.D. Drew (two runs, two walks) hit a two-run homer and then Manny cranked a solo shot to put the Sox up 6-4.

The seventh inning was what killed Boston as Baltimore scored three times off of Hideki Okajima (1-2) to take a 7-6 lead.

Baltimore added three runs in the ninth off Craig Hansen as Jay Payton had an infield single for an RBI and Ramon Hernandez hit a two-run single.

Aubrey Huff finished with four hits and two RBIs for Baltimore while Nick Markakis notched three hits and scored twice in the win.

The rubber match of the three game set is tonight as Bartolo Colon opposes Garrett Olson.

J.D. Drew for MVP

It must be the alternate Red jerseys. Or maybe it's the hot weather. Whatever the reason, the Red Sox quickly erased the bad taste of Friday night's god-awful performance-an 8-0 loss-to spank the Mariners, 11-3, yesterday afternoon at Fenway.

Boston (39-26) got a quality start from Tim Wakefield (4-4) as he went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

The weak lineup on Friday was nowhere to be found yesterday as the Sox pounded out 13 hits and drew seven walks. It was a vintage performance from a team that didn't even feature Dustin Pedroia (day off), David Ortiz (wrist) or Jacoby Ellsbury (although he did pinch run).

So where did all this offense come from? J.D. Drew, who is currently channeling someone much better than himself (Ted Williams, Wade Boggs, Yaz???), was 3 for 5 (triple, home run, single) with three runs and two RBIs.

Manny Ramirez hit another moon-shot, onto the parking lot roof on Landsdowne Street. Manny scored two runs, drove in two and walked three times. Coco Crisp had a rare start as the leadoff hitter and he delivered with two hits, an RBI and two steals. Kevin Youkilis was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and Alex Cora was 2 for 4 with two runs and an RBI.

Ichiro had three hits, a run and a steal for the Mariners (22-40) but it wasn't nearly enough. Starter Miguel Batista (3-7) didn't have much as he gave up five runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. He walked six and struck out one.

Boston goes for the series win this afternoon as rookie Justin Masterson opposes Erik Bedard on another 90+ degree plus day.

What else can happen in one game at Fenway?

Let's be honest, baseball for the most part is a pretty boring sport. Sure there are thrilling moments (usually found in the playoffs) but 162 regular season games are filled with dull inning after dull inning. I love baseball but when you watch it after seeing football or basketball, it pales in comparison for excitement per minute.

Once in a while however, the stars align in a normal regular season game and a bunch of wacky things happen all at once. Last night's 7-1 Red Sox win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway was one of those occasions. There was a brawl between the two teams, fighting between teammates in a dugout, a guy had five RBIs and another player got hurt making a diving catch.

You wish that some of last night could be bottled up and spread over the next few months as there will be countless snoozefests in the dog days of summer but I digress.

Boston (38-25) quickly led 3-0 in the bottom of the first after Manny Ramirez crushed a three-run bomb over everything in left.

Jonny Gomes' RBI single in the second made it 3-1 Red Sox before things got heated.

It all started in the bottom of the second when Rays (35-25) starter James Shields (4-4) hit Coco Crisp on the leg. It was retaliation from Crisp taking out Akinuri Iwamura with a dirty slide the night before. Coco took exception and ran at Shields. Coco ducked a Shields haymaker and only partially landed a shot of his own before getting tackled by Dioner Navarro. Gomes and Carl Crawford proceeded to take cheap shots at Crisp while he was pinned on the ground.

Seeing some emotion out of Crisp was a good thing. Besides highlight reel catches, the guy has been a real disappointment in Boston. Maybe, this will get him going this year. As far as baseball fights go, this was a solid one. Lots of people involved and some punches thrown, not the usual stand around and look tough showdowns.

Coco, Shields and Gomes were all ejected from the game. Dustin Pedroia made it 4-1 Boston later in the inning with a sacrifice fly that scored rookie Chris Carter.

Manny put it away with a two-run single in the fourth, following a J.D. Drew bases-loaded walk.

A strange scene in the bottom of the fourth when Manny and Kevin Youkilis started pushing each other in the dugout. Apparently, Youk took exception to Manny not getting out there faster during the fight. The team tried to play it down after the game but only time will tell if it's an issue moving forward.

As much coverage as the fighting received the bigger news for the Sox is the health of Jacoby Ellsbury. He made a great diving catch but twisted his wrist awkwardly. X-Rays were negative but Boston will be extremely cautious with its new golden boy.

Lester (4-3) picked up the win, his first at Fenway since the no-hitter. He went 6.1 innings, giving up one run on eight hits with five strikeouts.

The hyped matchup of Tampa Bay and Boston failed to live up the hype as the Sox once again swept the Rays at Fenway. The Red Sox have now won 13 in a row at home and they have the pathetic Seattle Mariners stumbling into town tonight.

Now We See What the Red Sox are Made of

The Boston Red Sox (35-25) dropped its series finale to the Baltimore Orioles, 6-3, last night at Camden Yards and the news off the field for Boston was even worse.
Slugger David Ortiz hurt his wrist on Saturday night taking a swing and he'll be forced to go on the DL. Reports say he could miss up to a month.

Few teams have as much depth in their lineup as the Red Sox but that will be tested without Papi in there for the near future. So much of what makes Manny and Ortiz great (and the rest of the hitters) and that there's protection.

Last night Manny batted third and Kevin Youkilis was fourth with Mike Lowell following him. It's not an ideal situation but the Sox can make it work if other guys continue to swing the bat and the pitching improves.

Tim Wakefield pitched well enough to win but the bats couldn't provide enough runs for him. Wakefield went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts. He got a no-decision.

Reliever Hideki Okajima (1-1) was the goat last night as he gave up a career-high four hits and four runs in 2/3 of an inning. The big blow was a two-out, three-run double by Adam Jones which gave the Orioles (27-29) the 6-3 lead.

Manny (2 hits) had another home run (his third straight game with a homer) and he actually had a chance to tie it in the ninth but he flew out to right with two men on against Orioles closer George Sherrill. Sherrill walked two in the ninth but recovered to save his 18th game of the season.

Jeremy Guthrie also gave the Orioles a nice start. He went 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Baltimore took a 2-0 lead in the fourth as Aubrey Huff (2 hits, 2 runs) had an RBI double and Kevin Millar knocked in a run with a single.

The Red Sox answered with single runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth before Okajima's implosion. Manny homered in the sixth, Kevin Cash had an RBI double in the seventh and Mike Lowell knocked in Youk with an RBI single in the eighth.

Millar tied it in the eighth with a sacrifice fly before Jones delivered.

Boston comes home for a huge three-game series with the Rays. You read that correctly. Tampa Bay is still in first place in the AL East (1.5 games up on Boston) and comes to Fenway for the teams' third series of the year. They've each swept three-game sets at home.

Justin Masterson makes his third start for the Red Sox tonight against Matt Garza.

Restoring some order in the AL East

After another disastrous start to a road trip (1-5 through the first six games in Oakland and Seattle), the Red Sox have a chance to break even at .500 tonight as they wrap up their four-game series in Baltimore.

Boston won 9-4 yesterday behind Bartolo Colon (3-0) and four home runs.

The big righty had another decent start as Boston staked him to a 7-1 lead in the fourth inning. Colon ended up going six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts. He left a couple meatballs over the heart of the plate but for the most part, he was hitting the mid-90's and painting the corners.

J.D. Drew (run, 2 hits, 3 RBIs) drove in Mike Lowell (2 runs, 2 hits, 2 RBIs) with a sacrifice fly to put Boston up 1-0 in the second.

Baltimore (26-29) got the run back in the bottom of the inning as Luke Scott was singled home by Adam Jones.

The Red Sox scored three in the third. Manny Ramirez (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) knocked in Dustin Pedroia with an RBI double. Kevin Youkilis scored on Lowell's sac fly and Drew's RBI single plated Manny.

Boston opened it up in the fourth with three more runs. Manny hit a two-run shot (No. 501) and Lowell followed him (Ortiz was sitting with a wrist injury) with a solo homer.

Orioles starter Brian Burres (4-5) was charged with seven runs on twelve hits in four innings.

Luke Scott hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth for the Orioles.

Drew added his solo homer in the seventh and then Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, stolen base, RBI) knocked in Coco Crisp with a single.

Kevin Millar closed the scoring with an RBI single in the seventh off Javier Lopez.

Tim Wakefield and the underrated Jeremy Guthrie take the hill in the series finale tonight.

It's Manny's World, We're All Just Living in it

Love him or hate him (and by now I think it's almost universal that all Red Sox fans love him), Manny Ramirez will go down as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. No ifs, ands or buts about it.

Manny became the 24th player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run plateau last night as he connected on the first pitch off Orioles reliever Chad Bradford (a member of the 2004 Sox) for a 5-3 Boston lead.

The background story was that the Sox went on to win, 6-3. Last night was all about Manny though, who reached such a great accomplishment without the help of performance enhancers. The guy tirelessly works at his craft but is there any doubt that he was born to hit? He said after the game that he'd like to reach 600 and if Ken Griffey can (almost) do it with his crippled body, what's going to stop Manny?

Baltimore (26-28) jumped on top 2-0 in the second as Kevin Millar scored on Jay Payton's infield single and Adam Jones knocked in Ramon Hernandez with an RBI single.

The Red Sox (34-24) tied it in the third when Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) and David Ortiz (2 RBIs) connected on back-to-back shots off Orioles starter Greg Olson.

Brian Roberts put the Orioles ahead again with a solo shot in the fifth off Jon Lester before Jason Varitek (3 hits) tied it by plating Mike Lowell with an RBI single.

Ortiz put the Sox ahead for good with a sacrifice fly that scored Jacoby Ellsbury (3 stolen bases, hit, run, 2 walks) in the seventh. Ellsbury has 26 steals on the season and six in his last two games. You can start engraving his name on the AL rookie of the year trophy.

Kevin Youkilis scored on Coco Crisp's double play in the eighth.

David Aardsma (2-1) picked up the win after two scoreless innings, with two strikeouts. Hideki Okajima (who's been in a groove lately) pitched a scoreless eighth before handing it over to Jonathan Papelbon, who recorded his 16th save thanks to a clean ninth.

Timlin has gotta go

Listen, I will always hold a special place in my heart for Mike Timlin and all he's meant for the Red Sox from 2003-2007. However, in his 17th season, at age 42 and with an ERA at 6.89 in 18 appearances this season, it's time for Timlin to call it a career. He's looked bad in previous seasons and returned to form but I think it finally might be over for him.

Timlin (2-3) gave up a two-out, walk-off hit to Jose Lopez (2 hits, RBI) in the bottom of the ninth last night as the Mariners won 4-3 at Safeco. The win snapped Seattle's season-high seven-game losing streak.

Of even more concern than Timlin's woes is the health of Dice-K. He left yesterday before the bottom of the fifth with "shoulder fatigue." Yikes, that's not exactly what you want to hear about your pitcher. He had gone four innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on four hits with two strikeouts.

The Mariners (19-34) jumped ahead with two in the bottom of the first. Jose Vidro had an RBI on a fielder's choice and Raul Ibanez drove in Vidro with an RBI double.

Seattle scored once in the third after Ichiro (2 runs, 2 hits, walk, SB) got a hit, stole second and scored on Sean Casey's (3 hits) error.

Terry Francona and Julio Lugo were both ejected in the fifth for arguing balls and strikes.

The Sox (32-23) tied it in the sixth with one swing of the bat as Manny Ramirez hit a three-run jack, the 499th of his career. He also had an outfield assist at third base, with help from Mike Lowell who blocked the bag from Adrian Beltre.

An unlikely trio of David Aardsma, Manny Delcarmen and Hideki Okajima combined to pitch four scoreless innings before Timlin's predictable finish.

Timlin walked Ichiro intentionally and gave up two hits while recording two outs.

Mariners closer J.J. Putz (2-2) had a scoreless ninth to earn the win.

Boston looks to take the series tonight as Tim Wakefield opposes Eric Bedard, who so far been a disappointment in Seattle.

The AL East, not the joke it once was

It's a little over a quarter of a way through the 2008 season but I think it's fair to say that the American League East is much improved over the last few seasons.

The Tampa Bay Rays are in first place. The Orioles are over .500 and the Blue Jays have arguably the best rotation in baseball (definitely the AL) but no hitters. The Red Sox seem built for the long haul despite their recent struggles and the Yankees are nothing special.

Baltimore beat Boston, 6-3, yesterday at Camden Yards. The Sox (24-19) lost its fourth in a row and fifth out of six games. The road trip wrapped up with a disappointing 4-6 mark.

For the third consecutive game, Boston blew a three-run lead. The Sox were up 3-0 going into the bottom of the sixth but the Orioles got two in the sixth and then Jay Payton hit a grand slam off Hideki Okajima in the seventh to give the Orioles (21-19) the winning margin.

The terrible work by the bullpen wasted a nice outing by Jon Lester. The lefty went six innings, giving up two runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Javy Lopez was charged with a run, Craig Hanson (0-2) was charged with two and Okajima was responsible for one.

Even though his ERA (.93) is still under one, Okajima has been much less reliable so far this season versus last year. He's allowing most of his inherited runners to score, never a good thing.

Jacoby Ellsbury had three hits, one run and a stolen base. Kevin Youkilis notched two doubles while Mike Lowell (two hits) and Jason Varitek (two hits) each added solo home runs.

We witnessed a Manny moment as Ramirez made a fine catch of a rope by Kevin Millar. After securing the running catch, Manny propelled himself off the outfield wall, high-fived a Boston fan then relayed it to Dustin Pedroia, who doubled off the runner at first.

Daniel Cabrera (4-1) who is usually terrible against Boston picked up the win after going seven innings. He gave up three runs with three strikeouts. The AL leader in walks allowed last season, he didn't allow one yesterday. George Sherill scattered two hits in the ninth but was able to pick up his 15th save.

The Red Sox get a day off today and then host the Milwaukee Brewers tomorrow in the first appetizer of interleague play.

Limping home to Boston

After starting out this 10-game road trip on a high note by taking three of four in Motown, the Red Sox have lost four of its last five in Minnesota and Baltimore.

In the first game in Baltimore last night, the Orioles (20-19) won 5-4 as Boston (24-18) once again jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first but couldn't hold it.

Ace Josh Beckett (4-3) took the loss as he gave up 11 hits and five runs in 5.2 innings of work. Beckett walked two and struck out five.

Orioles pitcher Jeremy Guthrie (who always seems to pitch well against the Sox) earned the win (2-3) after going six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Manager Terry Francona missed last night and he'll miss today's game after his mother-in-law passed away. Bench coach Brad Mills took over managerial duties.

J.D. Drew hurt his wrist trying to make a diving catch in the third and left the game while Coco Crisp later left in the sixth with an upset stomach.

Manny Ramirez (2 hits) had an RBI single in the first then Boston scored twice on Baltimore errors.

Jay Payton had an RBI single in the second then Baltimore put up four as Kevin Millar had an RBI single and Luke Scott (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) hit a three-run homer.

In the seventh, the Red Sox blew a golden opportunity as Manny came up with the bases loaded against Jim Johnson and nobody out. After a 10-pitch at-bat, Manny grounded to Johnson, who started the 1-2-3 double play. Mike Lowell flew out in the next at-bat.

Alex Cora cut the Orioles lead to one in the eighth with an RBI single but it wasn't to be for Boston.

Baltimore closer George Sherrill recorded five outs (including two strikeouts) for his 14th save. He got a gift in the ninth when Ortiz was called out on a questionable swing (it looked like he held up). Big Papi was kicked out as he tossed his bat in frustration.

Overshadowed in the loss, relievers Manny Delcarmen (1.1 innings) and David Aardsma (2 strikeouts in 1 inning) didn't allow a run.

The teams wrap up this bizarre two-game series with an afternoon game today. The Red Sox will try to break even (5-5) on this trip. After that Boston comes home to Fenway and begins interleague play against the Brewers.

Livan Hernandez Everybody, Give It Up

On a day that the Red Sox finally designated horror film icon Freddie Kruger (Julian Tavarez) for assignment, it's fitting that the ghost of Tavarez haunted the Sox in a 7-3 loss to the Minnesota Twins.

Sox starter Clay Buchholz morphed into Tavarez and was terrible: 4.1 innings, eight hits, seven runs (all earned), five walks and four strikeouts. He fell to 2-3 and his ERA increased to 5.53.

With King Kupa (Bartolo Colon) eating his way across the state of Rhode Island with the PawSox, Buchholz's days might be numbered.

I misspoke yesterday when I said the Sox were going for the series win. Rather, with the win, the Twins took three of four from Boston.

Last night, Boston was up 3-0 in the first but surrendered seven straight runs. David Ortiz's RBI single knocked in Coco Crisp then Manny Ramirez hit a two-run bomb (no. 498).

Twins (20-17) starter Livan Hernandez (6-1) settled down from there, going six innings, giving up 10 hits, three runs, one walk and one strikeout. He's exactly the type of pitcher the Sox could use these days. He doesn't have great stuff but he eats innings. Jon Lester and Buchholz have so much talent and Tim Wakefield can be unhittable at times but all three are often ineffective, forcing the bullpen to enter way too early.

Delmon Young (2 RBIs), Michael Cuddyer and Justin Morneau each had two hits while Craig Monroe added a two-run single for the Twins.

The last stop on Boston's road-trip begins tonight in Baltimore. Josh Beckett takes the mound for Boston, he'll face Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie.

Still the Top 3-4 Combination in Baseball

With the Bruins epic game last night and the first night of the NBA playoffs, I didn't catch much of the Red Sox game but I saw the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth which is all that matters.

Down 3-2 in the eighth, David Ortiz beat the shift and got an RBI single. Manny Ramirez followed with a two-run homer over the Monster and onto the parking garage across the street. Jonathan Papelbon got his sixth save as the Red Sox won 5-3 at Fenway.

Texas (7-11) went up 1-0 in the first as Josh Hamilton hit a solo home run. Boston (12-7) doubled in the home half of the inning that as a run scored even though Ortiz hit into a double play and Kevin Youkilis scored Manny with an RBI double.

The Rangers got another run in the second and third off Jon Lester. The lefty hung in there though, going 6.1 innings and giving up the three runs on ten hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Manny Delcarmen, Mike Timlin and Javier Lopez (who got the win), teamed up for five outs out of the bullpen. Joaquin Benoit was saddled with the loss after giving up the three runs in the eighth.

Tim Wakefield and Kevin Milwood take the hill this afternoon at Fenway.

Who's Better than Manny, Man?

After getting embarrassed the night before, two of the Red Sox brightest stars led the team to a 7-5 win in the Bronx over the Yankees last night.

Ace Josh Beckett (2-1) went eight innings, giving up six hits, three runs, one walk and five strikeouts. Yankees starter Mike Mussina didn't fare quite as well. He lasted three innings and was charged with five runs on seven hits.

Manny Ramirez (3 for 5, 3 runs, 3 RBIs) continued to tear the cover off the ball as he hit two home runs off Mussina. A shot to center that just eluded Melky Cabrera and a bomb to left.

The Sox (10-7) cruised to a 7-0 advantage before giving up three in the fifth and Papelbon gave up two in the ninth.

Boston had 13 hits, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, J.D. Drew and Jason Varitek all had two. Jacoby Ellsbury stole two more bases, making him a perfect 14 for 14 in the majors.

A 3-1 road trip against the Indians and Yankees is a nice mark. Boston comes home to Fenway tonight as they face the Texas Rangers then the Angels.