Given the AL East standings coming into the series on Friday, I didn’t expect a whole lot of excitement and really there wasn’t. The Sox took two of three from the Yanks and I guess if I am going to recap, there were interesting tidbits and bigger picture signs to be picked out even if the games’ outcomes were largely inconsequential. So here we go with some bullet points…

- Pedro had this to say after he failed to hold a late lead and took the loss on Friday night;

“I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy. I can’t find a way to beat them at this point. You just have to give them credit and say, ‘Hey, you guys beat me, not my team.’ I wish they would [expletive] disappear and never come back. “

The quote itself, when read without considering circumstances, sure seems to be the stuff of utter resignation and a dire defeatist. But let’s cut Pedro some slack. If the Sox were going to make any noise in the division race, they needed to sweep and with Pedro and Curt Schilling going in the series, it seemed at least possible. So for Pedro to squander a late lead and, in his mind, to fail his teammates late in a ballgame against the Yanks again was discouraging to say the very least. I have never seen him look so upset with himself as he was after Hideki Matsui’s home run. And soon after the game with the result’s bitter taste still very much lingering, he made some uncharecteristically passive remarks. I would like to state that I am not even a little concerned about Pedro’s psyche, that fans should cut him some slack and that I have all the confidence one could have that he will be a vital part of forthcoming postseason success.

- I took little from Saturday and Sunday’s games other than comfort that the Yanks do not have the Sox’s number. Not that I really thought it to be the case but New York had won three consecutive times against Boston and so consecutive romps reinforced for me my belief that the Red Sox are indeed better than the Bombers and need not fear them.

- There were a few “big picture” items that I did take away from Saturday and Sunday’s games on the starting pitching front. First, it was encouraging to see Tim Wakefield hang in there and throw with some effectiveness Saturday night. I have said here that the 4th playoff starter was looking more and more like it was going to be terribly problematic for the Sox but if Wake can pitch anything like he did going forward, that will more than suffice with this Red Sox offense.

The other matter that looms is that a starting staff that was beginning to show signs of rounding into form was hit pretty hard all weekend. Mike Mussina pitched well enough for the Yanks Friday night but still gave up two home runs and was only able to go six innings. But far more so than Mussina, who has been very good of late, it was the Bombers’ two prized offseason starting pitching acquisitions that kept questions about this staff very much topical. Javier Vazquez and Kevin Brown lasted a combined 5 1/3 innings, giving up 9 runs on 13 hits. I will be fascinated to see how Joe Torre decides to position his postseason rotation. I think I would go Mussina, El Duque, Brown and then Vazquez with Jon Lieber very much prepared to enter a game early on should any one of these hurlers not have it early on. Stay tuned…

- I want to end today’s entry with a note on this season’s offense. They now have scored 904 runs this year and with seven games remaining against some shoddy pitching, eclipsing last season’s total of 961 is unlikely but within reach. So how have they done it? Without Trot Nixon for so long and Nomar out for much of the year and the offensive downgrade to Cabrera and the presumed offesnive downgrade to Bellhorn and Mueller’s regression to pre-2003 form, how are they so close to equalling 2003’s output? Manny and Ortiz have improved marginally but what has easily offset the afoementioned downgrades has been the play of three Sox regulars. First, Mark Bellhorn has not been a downgrade at all and in fact has represented a significant upgrade offensively over Todd Walker. There is a very reasonable argument that he has been the AL’s best second baseman. Second, Johnny Damon has played as though he were in Kansas City again this year - an on-base terror with some life in his bat in front of some serious hitters. Third, despite his recent struggles, Jason Varitek has had a career year. It also ought to be noted that since Kevin Millar opened his stance in Seattle, he has outperformed both Manny and David Ortiz and is now 4th in the AL among first basemen - a remarkable feat given his dismal start to he year. If Trot Nixon can come back in 2003, 950+ OPS form for the postseason, this lineup goes from merely baseball’s best to downright scary.