Normally I warn of falling for going to the playoffs banking on the rookie who's had a few good games to carry you to the promised land. (TPS--Timo Perez Syndrome.) But we have to keep Jacoby "&Myers" Ellsbury in this lineup. When the guy he could replace was shitting the bed anyway, I say get him in there. I've seen him do shit on the basepaths that'd turn you white. And he gets a hit every time up. Which is the opposite of Drew, who gets a non-hit every time up. And for a guy who supposedly has everything but power, he sure hits the ball really, really far. All the time. Love AndMy'. But if a guy can pitch a no-hitter and then not get another chance to start, I guess there's a chance they just baby Jacoby like they do everyone else. Wouldn't want a baseball player to get hurt by playing baseball. But as long as Manny's out, can we at least bat Ellsbury leadoff instead of Lugo??

Great job by him and everyone else tonight. Dustin's had five straight multi-hit games. 13 for his last 23. Jacoby only has multi-hit games. Since his recent call up, he's only had less than two hits in a game once, but that's because he only had one at bat in that game. He's slugging one thousand-four hundred so far in September, a month the Sox have started 4-0.

Beckett did great again, except for the one pitch to the Stair Mattster. And Youk with a key dong. And key hustle (must've been taught by Jeter--oh wait, you can't teach that--I'm confused) by Coco, which led to the &M homer.

I'll be there Wednesday, aka today, for Schilling vs. the stinky-of-late Marcum.

Hazel just mentioned on whatever that show is that the '67 Sox, in late August, were in first place late in the season for the first time in 18 years. This just makes you further realize how "special," as Tito would say, that team was. In 1949, the Sox lost the pennant in the final series to the Yanks. To think, after that, we never had a September lead through the '50s and most of the '60s until that season. We were in some races, but never with the actual lead. Since then, we've regularly seen our team in the post-season. So, if they celebrate the '67 team at the next game you go to, as they've been doing all season, clap really loud.

7-up with 23 to play. Gold.

Note: Something I forgot to mention from the weekend: In Sunday's Yankee game, the Yanks were down 5-2 in the seventh. Yet a pan of the stadium at that time showed an incredible amount of empty seats. Wait, why am I reporting the norm as if it's news? Myyyy mistake. But seriously, imagine knowing your team's gonna lose, even when a mere three runs, with seven outs left--against Tampa Bay, mind you--would tie the game? To the point where you'd leave the park early at about 4 PM on a beautiful late-summer day, when you have no school or work the next day, Labor Day? Must be tough rooting for such a "cursed" team....

Since I'm a Red Sox blogger, I guess I'm supposed to post that video of Papi rapping. (For some reason, I kept expecting him to say "peace, and humptiness forever" at the end....) Well, here it is. Wait, no. This is a puppy born with a heart-shaped patch of fur: