Scutaro, Lackey Lift Sox to Rainy Win

Red Sox second baseman Jed Lowrie
scored in the 5th on a Marco Scutaro single.

On a night where many believed there wouldn't even be any baseball due to the inclement weather at Fenway Park, the Boston Red Sox got key contributions from their key players to get a 6-3 victory over the Mariners and chip away at that postseason deficit.

John Lackey was on the hill for Boston looking to continue the successes he has had against Seattle this season. In an 8-inning effort, Lackey impressed by striking out 10 hitters and allowing just 3 runs (2 earned). He allowed 6 hits and walked 2 batters. With the victory, Lackey improves his record this season to a formidable 12-7 with an improving 4.51 ERA.

Boston got a big day from shortstop Marco Scutaro, who went 2-for-4 with 4 RBIs and 1 run scored. JD Drew and Victor Martinez drove in 1 run each, giving the Sox their 6-run total to bolster the lead for Lackey. Jonathan Papelbon came in for the ninth and continued his solid pitching, earning his 31st save of the season. Pap has looked better ever since blowing that lead during a day game against Texas last week. He'll need to continue to be strong down the stretch if the Sox look to make any kind of push.

The Yankees are tied with Toronto as I write this -- they're in the 8th inning. Tampa is just getting underway with Anaheim. After so many missed opportunities, it would certainly be nice if the leaders could drop a game tonight to allow Boston to gain some ground. Everyone's been writing them off for a month now, but you heard me say it before -- I won't rule out this squad until they're mathematically eliminated.

And The Winner Is...

Cam Neely netted 344 goals in
just 10 seasons with the Bruins.

The fans have spoken and the winner of today's cage fight was Cam Neely, who dominated Torry Holt by stealing 86% of the vote. Neely is one of the all-time greats in Boston Bruins history and was a serious bad guy on the ice. Dropping the gloves with him was just like submitting yourself to eternal damnation. I don't know if everyone voted judging by the current Cam or the vintage Cam, but either way, he's a tough guy. Torry Holt ... thanks for playing.


Click the updated bracket down below to catch up on the breakdown of this tournament. In a classic battle for the ages, we have legendary football commentator John Madden digging in with newly acquired Boston Celtics center Shaquille O'Neal. The anticipation is just killing me!

Sox Place Claim on.... Johnny Damon?

Johnny Damon hit .295 with 299 RBIs
in his 4 seasons with the Red Sox.

According to several internet sources, the Boston Red Sox have claimed an outfielder off the waiver wire. To the surprise of many, that outfielder is ex-Red Sox centerfielder Johnny Damon.

Damon was hitting .270 with 7 homers and 40 RBIs before being waived by the Detroit Tigers. In his four seasons with the Sox, Damon hit .295 and drove in 299 runs. He left town on a bad note, leaving for the money and signing with the hated New York Yankees. Damon received mostly boos in his first trip back to Fenway. What will his reception be like now that he's wearing the hometown uniform again?

There is no definite confirmation that Boston will get Damon or that he will be suiting up any time soon. To be honest, though, I'm not sure that this signing is the answer. I guess we have been pretty injury depleted in the outfield, so maybe they're just trying to add an outfielder and a bat to this lineup. Damon's experience as a veteran may also be of use to this overwhelmingly young team filled with minor-leaguers and backups.

Only time will tell whether or not the Boston fans will accept Damon with open arms or be reluctant to welcome him back. Either way, everyone involved will have to deal with it and move forward with these desperation attempts to catch the teams at the front of the pack.

Who Dat? The Answer...

We only had 2 guesses at Who Dat today, but they were both solid. Was one of them correct? There's only one way to find out...

Remember When Buchholz Was on the Bubble?

Red Sox ace Clay Buchholz

Remember back in April, when Clay Buchholz was one of the guys at the back end of this amazing rotation and was going to have to fight for every pitch he earned at Fenway this year?

Funny how much things can change in just a few months. Buchholz went from being a potential triple-A pitcher once again to hurling a Cy Young-caliber season for the Boston Red Sox. He has been far and away their best starter all season, and with his most recent win (which extended his scoreless innings streak to over 23) he's a legitimate Cy Young contender.  Buchholz is 15-5 with a gaudy 2.26 earned run average, both tops among Red Sox starters. Despite throwing more than 20 less innings than both Jon Lester and John Lackey, it's pretty undeniable that Buchholz has been far more efficient in his starts. Additionally, he missed some time around the All-Star break to set him back in that statistical category.

The point, though, is that this young, promising kid who fired a no-hitter in just his second major league start -- he's finally here. Clay Buchholz has developed. Sure, he'll continue to develop. But he's no longer the young, timid rookie who just fights to earn himself a roster spot. He's the bona fide ace of this staff, and denying it is downright silly. Only five pitchers in the American League have 15+ wins (four of them have 15, C.C. Sabathia has 17). Out of those five pitchers, Buchholz's 2.26 ERA is the best by quite a large margin. The second-best ERA in the group is David Price at 2.97. He's the only pitcher in the AL to have given up single-digit homers (7) while having 13+ wins. His strikeout numbers may be a bit lower than he used to be, but I think that's one of the main points. He's becoming a pitcher and not just a flashy young kid. His strikeouts are down because he's learning how to be efficient and pitch solid games. And with this latest scoreless innings streak, I think we're getting a glimpse of what Clay Buchholz can become in his Boston Red Sox career. At the ripe age of 26, there is still plenty of work ahead of him as the ace at Fenway Park.

Whether or not he wins the Cy Young, one thing is for certain. If Boston is going to make a push to catch either the Rays or the Yankees in this playoff hunt, Buchholz will need to continue putting up those Cy Young-caliber numbers. The way things have gone, I see no reason why he won't do just that.

Tom Brady: "I Hate the Jets"

"I haven't turned [Hard Knocks] on. I hate the Jets, so I refuse to support that show." -- Tom Brady.

I love it. I haven't seen Hard Knocks yet myself, so I cannot say what I think about it. I've heard some people who hate the Jets still say they like the show. I've heard a guy named Tony Dungy who doesn't like the show because of Rex Ryan's language. But now that I've heard Tom Brady confirm that he hates the Jets' guts and will never watch the show, I have no intentions of watching it myself. Because as crazy as this sounds, this embodies everything right about the Patriots organization. Can you see Bill Belichick ever consenting to have Hard Knocks about the Pats? If you were getting excited about that possibility in future seasons, don't get your hopes up. The media can barely squeeze the starting lineup or injury report out of Belichick for the damn Super Bowl. You think he'll be dishing out all-access 24-7 rolling camera priveleges to them? You got another thing coming. And to me, things like this are what will keep the Jets from getting to where they want to get to. Am I saying they shouldn't have done Hard Knocks? Not exactly. But I'm saying that they are way too media crazy right now. I just can't remember teams winning with this type of media attention. And the Jets bring it on themselves. There's no doubt about that. I've heard a lot of people say they like Rex Ryan because of his personality and stuff, even though they hate the Jets. Regardless of whether I like him or not, his style isn't traditionally what wins championships. Can he change the prototype? Who knows. But some of the best coaches in the history of the league were guys that nobody on the outside liked (e.g. Belichick, Parcells, etc.). My personal opinion is that Rex and his Jets would be much better off if they kept internal affairs internal and worried about their problems on the field rather than everything else. Plus, Tom Brady is out for revenge and he's on my fantasy team, so I expect another 50-touchdown season that, this time, will be capped off with his fourth ring.

PS -- Did you hear that, Jets fans? Fourth ring is what I said we're going for. I permit you to talk smack maybe when you have... one?

VOTE NOW on Fight #21: Neely vs Holt

vs

The Matchup: Boston Bruins president and former hockey great Cam Neely against one of the all-time great wide receivers in the NFL, Torry Holt.

The Fight: Well, when I made this bracket, Torry Holt was a Boston athlete. Since then, the Patriots have reached an injury settlement with him that means he'll pretty much never step foot on the Gillette Stadium turf ever again. So I don't know where the gage lands on Holt right now. But regardless, Cam Neely punished people regularly back in his day. That's really the question. Are we going with the Cam Neely from his prime, beating dudes up on the ice? Or are we going with the Cam Neely of today, who sits up in the office and watches the other guys beat dudes up on the ice? That's your call. But I'm going to pick Cam Neely regardless, because a hockey fighter almost always wins these fights in my mind. A hockey player doesn't win by default. But a hockey fighter almost always wins it. Holt does have the aggression of the football player, which normally plays a huge role. But the hockey aggression combats it very nicely. And Neely was the best of the best.

My Vote: Can't deny the Big Bad Bruin. He's going to take this one with flying colors. Neely pulls Holt's jersey over his face then knocks him out cold with a right hook in the first round.

Your turn. Who wins the scrap?

Who Dat? Take a Guess

Who Dat? You gotta get your name on this damn leaderboard like Mikey Diggs did yesterday. Or if you're already on it, you have to try and catch Bruce. So figure it out for Christ's sake.

Bruce	4 points
Ed B	2 points
Enahs	2 points
Fitch	2 points
Kshep	2 points
Magz	2 points
Hink	1 point
Mikey Diggs	1 point

Who Dat?

Who Dat? The Answer...

Did you figure it out today? I think we might have a new member on our leaderboard...

This is What's Keeping Me

I told you all that I'd let you know the reason why I couldn't post a lot lately. Had a few things on my plate. This is one of them. His name is Rocky. See you all later!