Aside from last Saturday’s Phills game that I was fortunate enough to attend, this was the best game of the win streak. The Red Sox capped off their twefth straight win and sweep of the previously red-hot Mets with an exhilirating, come from behind 4-2 victory. This one had something for everybody.

First, it was well-pitched. Tom Glavine and Curt Schilling each managed to keep two of the game’s better offenses at bay for most of their respective outings. Glavine needed to throw a lot of pitches and failed to get an out in the sixth but he was still ok. Aaaron Heilman relieved Glavine, and did an admirable job for a couple of innings. Schilling went seven, allowed just seven hits and a walk but did allow a two-out, two-run homer to Carlos Beltran in the sixth. Mike Timlin came on in the eighth and after getting Jose Reyes and Paul Lo Duca, gave up a sharply hit single to Beltran. I thought it was time to get Papelbon here, with the tying run on at first and superstar David Wright up at bat. Terry Francona disagreed, which leads me to the next aspect of this game that offered appeal.

There was some excellent defense in this game - highlighted by a catch in the eighth inning off of the bat of Wright that I suspect we will be watching for a long, long time. With the speedy Carlos Beltran on first and two outs Wright smacked a ball on a line into the left-center field gap. Because Wright possesses the ability to hit the ball hard to all fields, Coco Crisp was playing him straight away, perhaps even shading him a bit towards right-center since a ball that rolls into the right-center field triangle has the potential to do a lot more damage than one that hits over the 379′ sign on the Monster in left-center. Anyway, Crisp dashed to his right as soon as the ball was hit and seemingly less than a second or so after the ball was hit, dove in such a way that he launched himself sideways and was completely parallel to the ground, enabling himself to snare the liner and preserve the one-run lead. Mike Timlin’s reaction went from “oh shit he nailed that ball” to “does Coco really have a chance to catch that” to “wait a second it looks like he might have caught it but he rolled over awkwardly so I can’t be sure” to “holy shit he caught that effin’ ball…whooooo!…..yeeeeeaaaahhhh.” Just a great shot by the NESN camera crew. The lead was preserved, extended in the bottom of the eighth and nailed down in the ninth by Jonathan Papelbon. It was probably the play of the 2006 season for the Red Sox to date.

There was plenty for the purists out there - for the people that for one reason or another prefer smallball and the manufacturing of runs to the more efficient practice of gettin’ ‘em on and bangin’ ‘em around. There were hustle plays, sac bunts and sac flies. In the sixth, after Mark Loretta led off the inning with a home run and David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez followed up with a double and a walk respectively, Mike Lowell hit a flyball to moderately deep center field. Carlos Beltran caught the ball perfectly with his momentum coming forward and I didn’t think there was a chance that David Ortiz would make it to third when I saw that he had committed to his decision to tag up. But sure enough, with the Sox down a run, Ortiz busted his ass and dove in ahead of the throw, which also allowed Ramirez to move up to second. Jason Varitek followed with a sac fly that never would have happened without Ortiz’s hustle play.

The go-ahead run was even gushier. A bunt single by Coco Crisp to kick off the home half of the seventh, a steal of second by Crisp, a sac bunt by Alex Gonzalez and a sac fly by Kevin Youkilis. Be still my freakin’ heart.

Finally, for those more of my offensive pursuasion, there was the long-ball. Carlos Beltran, Mark Loretta and David Ortiz all smacked home runs. These plays accounted for 2/3rds of the runs scored in the game so for all of the talk that is sure to circulate about the right way to play the game and all of that nonsense, keep in mind that four of the six total runs scored came by way of the four-bagger.

The Red Sox head to Miami now to take on the upstart Marlins. Jason Johnson makes his Red Sox debut against Dontrelle Willis. Don’t roll your eyes at Johnson. He sports the highest BABIP of all starters with at least 75 innings pitched, and BABIP does tend to regress to the league average. He is due some natural improvement. Compounding his prospects for improvement is the fact that he will go from pitching in front of a pretty crummy infield defense in Cleveland to Boston’s stellar foursome. Anyway, I have some hopes for the guy and we’ll get our first glimpse tonight.

Pedro Martinez is the best starting pitcher the Red Sox have ever employed. In 1999 and 2000, he was the best starting pitcher anybody has ever employed. This isn’t the return of a very good, charismatic lead-off hitter that took off for the hated Yankees. This is the return of the very best Red Sox of them all, save Ted Williams. Welcome him. Welcome him with wild enthusiasm and emotion and show him that we understand the artistry and dominance he demonstrated every fifth day. He’s the best any of us will ever see, and his reception tonight should reflect an appreciation of this.

Hi folks.

Long time, no see. Err, talk. Err …. write? Read?

Regardless, I apologize for my prolonged absense and give Sully all the credit in the world for carrying the load on his own. He’s the best writer of the bunch (with Jeff being the stathead, and me being … the techie?), so if someone’s going to do the bulk, at least you got to read the best.

The short version is that I’ve been working at a new job for about 9 months now and I’ve simply been swamped with work. Making it more interesting is the fact that my new job is actually doing web stuff, so I after spending 10-12 hours at work on the web, the last thing I want to do when I get home is spend more time on the web.

However, things are swinging back into balance, so I figure this is a good time to poke my head back in.

So, the Sox aren’t so bad, eh? I’m not convinced this is a World Series winning team, but as Sully mentioned the other day, at least they’ve finally dispensed with the pleasantries and are playing the best players regardless of age or veteran status. Last year’s front office wouldn’t have jettisoned J.T. Snow. Last year’s front office wouldn’t have tossed aside Clement, Seanez, and Tavarez for Lester, Delcarmen, and Hansen. For better or for worse, this year’s front office is doing that, and that’s making a huge difference in my faith that they’re not going to punt wins to support clubhouse chemistry.

Winning breeds chemistry. It’s that simple.

Now, the Sox are out performing their raw Pythag by 3 games at this point, but they’re dead on BP’s 3rd order wins, so that gives me a little bit of solace. Digging in a bit on a few players …

Kevin Youkilis rules. He ruled last year. He ruled the year before. He’s the poster boy for an organizational philosophy, yet the very same organization kept him down behind Bill Mueller, Kevin Millar, and then potentially a J.T. Snow/Mike Lowell combo. I don’t think it’s possible to doubt any longer that Youks is a major league hitter, and further, a straight up major league player. I don’t think he’ll slug .500+ for the duration of the season, but he has proven that not giving him 500 ABs last season was a mistake, and one that most decidedly cost the Red Sox the AL East title.

Mike Lowell doesn’t suck. At least not yet. The scary thing is that he’s taken his June nosedive, just like he has every year in recent memory, buoyed by a good BA and handful of walks. I’m not ready to declare him done just yet, and I’ll readily admit to being wrong on the Lowell bounceback, but I think he’s probably going to tail off some as the season wears on, which makes me hope that Hee Seop Choi will get a chance to see some major league action.

Coco Crisp is performing exactly as I’d expected, so I’m not let down at all. I didn’t buy into the hype. His track record was that of a guy with speed and spotty plate discipline, and that’s what he’s shown when he hasn’t been hurt. His stats in ‘05 were helped by a somewhat high BABIP. He’ll make great trade bait should the Red Sox ever get a real CF.

Josh Beckett. What to say? He’s dominant, then less dominant. I’m firmly in the camp that he’s not worth a huge long-term deal, at least not yet. He’s had obvious trouble adapting to the AL, which isn’t surprising since he’s never been judicious with his pitches. The Red Sox don’t need a young stud pitcher, they just need a stud pitcher. With guys like Jason Schmidt potentially available at the deadline, and potential free agents like Jose Contreras, Greg Maddux, and Andy Pettitte in the off-season, I’m not convinced it would be prudent for the Sox to overspend on a pitcher just because he’s young. Beckett’s been around long enough that it’s not a certainty he’ll get any better. He’s a great pitcher, and one I’d love to lock up, but not for Burnett money. Under $10mm/season, I’m in. Over that, he can find a new home.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz. The fact that I can turn on EEI and still hear people talking about trading Manny for Alfonso Soriano makes me happy that I can turn my radio off.

Finally, the guy who gives me the most trouble, Jason Varitek. As a former catcher, I’ve been a huge fan of Varitek’s. How can you not love the no nonsense approach he takes. He seemed like a perfect home team type guy. Then he bent the Sox over and they agreed to the worst contract they currently have on the books. He justfied it 2005, and has fallen apart in ‘06. He’s now passed the mythical 1000 games caught mark, and he’s taken the normal nose dive that catches take. He still hits well for a catcher, just not a $10mm catcher. The big gotcha, of course, is the intangibles. I, personally, have not been impressed with Varitek’s pitch calling since Joe Kerrigan departed. His “stand-up-for-the-high-strike” move infuriates me. But, his pitchers swear by him. The results just aren’t there. What pitchers has he made better? Pitchers don’t seem to get markedly better coming to the Sox, nor do they seem to get markedly worse leaving the Sox. It’s not a knock on the Captain, it’s just the truth.

At the end of the day, the Sox have a pretty good, but not showstopping rotation (Schilling is back to being a #1, Beckett/Wakefield are #3/4 guys, and Lester/Clement/Wells/Pauley are a crapshoot). The bullpen is similar. Papelbon is lights out, but the rest of the ‘pen is hit or miss. It is, of course, further evidence you shouldn’t spend a whole lot of money on your bullpen unless you’re signing a stud. Middle relievers are a dime a dozen and aren’t worth more than the league minimum.

The offense has been solid, if unspectacular. They’ve got moderate holes at SS, CF, and C (holes only in the sense that the Sox offense is usually studly at all positions). They probably won’t actively seek to upgrade those positions, since these Sox are apparently the defensive Sox, and while Crisp is probably stretched a bit in CF, there’s no one to replace him in the system.

The bench is iffy, but whatever, the Sox never pay attention to the bench and the guys they have their are always pacifiers and blankies to keep the manager or other players happy.

There you have it. My almost-first-half-summary. The Sox are in good position to keep plugging along, never getting too far ahead or behind the Yankees or Blue Jays. Things will get mighty interesting over the next month, as the Sox will probably try to find another starter, and possibly another bat. The bat might come out of the farm (Choi, possibly Dustin Pedroia, or the magically rejuvenated David Murphy), but the arm most certainly won’t. So don’t get too attached to the guys in Portland/Greenville/Lowell/etc., as they might not be around in a few months.

I’m noodling around an idea that makes me sad, which is basically a post that the Sox front office has been pretty mediocre since October 2004. But that’s for another time.

Last thing. I’ll try to keep it clean. F%#& Steve Silva and f$%* anyone who subscribes to the Boston Dirt Dog mentality. If you boo Pedro when he takes the mound the first time, you not only have no idea of the scope of what he meant to the Red Sox, you don’t deserve to ever understand it. You deserve to live in the minority of Red Sox nation who think that curses exist and anyone who doesn’t play here is a traitor and that the Yankees suck even though we’re playing the Twins. In other words, you’re a goddamn moron.

Boo him all you want after the first inning. But give the man the ovation he deserves when he takes the mound.

One of the most enjoyable Fenway experiences of my life. Took my Dad for Father’s Day, had one of my best pals and his girlfriend (her first time at the old park) with me too. It was just a tremendous baseball game, and I got to witness my first Papi walk-off!

I’ll have some more tonight.

The Red Sox kept it going last night thanks to a phenomenal outing from Josh Beckett (8 innings, 8 K’s) and two towering home runs off the bat of Manny Ramirez. For good measure, just to add to his bizarre legacy around these parts, Gabe Kapler blasted a three-run home run of his own after replacing Ramirez late in the game. Don’t ask me about Kapler. He’s been a bad baseball player for a few years running now but somehow keeps getting a gig with these Red Sox. Now this year is a bit different because with Wily Mo Pena hurt, the Sox don’t have much else but still, I will never understand the Gabe Kapler phenomenon - not the annual job on a platter and not the fan fascination with such a shitty player. Remember, this is the same group of fans that booed poor Mark Bellhorn in the ALCS the year Bellhorn was probably the very best 2nd Baseman in the American League and just before he would go on a legendary tear in Games 6 and 7, and then 1 and 2 of the World Series. But I digress - good for Kapler. His home run last night was definitely one of the more fun moments of the season. Coming back from an achilles injury is nothing to sneeze at.

Like a number of their previous six wins, the Red Sox’s seventh consecutive victory came pretty easily and they have now outscored their opponents 55-22 over the last seven games. To their credit, the Red Sox have seemed more hellbent than I can ever remember on getting the best players onto the field as often as possible. There are no Roberto Petagine or Kevin Youkilis situations from years past where clearly superior talent got a good ticket to the game and little more. No, the best are playing this year. Wily Mo got his shot early and often, the kids are getting honest looks in the bullpen and most importantly, Jon Lester has a job taking a rotation turn with the Red Sox. Playing your best guys, intuitively, seems like a bare-minimum requirement for any baseball team management staff but surprisingly, teams have trouble doing this - to the point that it clearly costs them wins.

There have been numerous examples of this phenomenon in 2006. After a dismal start, the Minnesota Twins are 13-7 on the month and really appear to be hitting their groove. I predicted them to win the AL Central this season, but with Detroit and Chicago playing so well, it may be too tall an order to catch those guys. It would have been an impossible order with Lew Ford, Tony Batista, Juan Castro, Rondell White and Kyle Lohse playing prominent roles. With Michael Cuddyer, Nick Punto/Terry Tiffee, Jason Bartlett, Jason Kubel and Francisco Liriano now in the fold, I am not ready to abandon my pre-season pick. Add the AL’s best pitcher and one of its very best players to this enticing group of young talent and all of a sudden you are looking at a Twins team that will be making noise the rest of the way. Joe Sheehan summarized the Twins nicely yesterday (registration required).

The most egregious hose-job of a young talent this season did not take place in Minneapolis however, but rather in Orange County. Bill Stoneman, Mike Scioscia and whoever else was involved in the decision to demote Jered Weaver can lay claim to the most idiotic transaction of the season. For four starts with the big club Weaver posted a 0.76 WHIP, a 1.37 ERA and struck out about 7.5 batters per nine innings. In short, he was as good as a starting pitcher could possibly be.

Well last night he made his second start back in AAA. Want to know how he did? Well here’s the box. Pitching for Salt Lake, Weaver went the distance, struck out 14 and yielded just two singles and a walk. Meanwhile, the Halos reside comfortably in the cellar of the American League West. Just incomprehensible. Go check out Rich Lederer’s stuff on Jered Weaver to get a sense of how good the kid has been. Rich kept close tabs on him when he was a Dirtbag at Long Beach State (Rich resides in Long Beach) and has advocated that, despite some quibbles the scouting crowd has with the kid, he’s pretty freaking good. Put it this way - who would you want right now, Mark Prior or Jered Weaver?

The lesson is simple for GM’s and their staffs out there. Play your best players. Don’t mess around with veterans because they are leaders/likeable/cordial/kind/jokesters/cuddly or any other bullshit reason you see get floated about. Identify the 25 best guys in your organization, get them on the big club and figure out their roles. It will save you both early-season losses while your better players dominate the Minor Leagues and the embarassment of even casual fans demonstrating a clearer vision for your franchise’s success than you have.

It’s wet out, but my Dad and I are headed to the luxury box for the Phills game today - so we’ll comfortably wait it out as long as we have to. Curt Schilling takes on that piece of shit.

Hard to contain it at the moment, isn’t it? Another offensive barrage by the Red Sox offense and a stellar Jon Lester performance left the Washington Nationals stumbling out of the Hub. After a tough sweep at the hands of a Minnesota Twins team that appears to be coming on (weird what happens when you start giving playing time to your best players), the Red Sox have fattened up on the bottom feeders of the National League East by sweeping consecutive series against the Atlanta Braves and these Nationals.

The Red Sox won 9-3 tonight and there were really two stories. First, Jon Lester looked remarkable. No, he did not face the best offense, particularly when you consider that the tremendous Nick Johnson has been dinged up and Alfonso Soriano seems to have entered into his inevitable tumble back to earth. But still, ten strikeouts in six innings in one’s third Big League start is cause for genuine optimism, no matter what club is sitting in the opposite dugout. Lester still looks a bit raw and doesn’t have the command for me to declare him a bona fide turn-taker in a championship aspirant rotation but what else do the Sox have right now (more on this in a moment)? Lester is an enormous wild card. If tonight was an indicator of the guy we’re going to see the rest of the way then…well…I am just going to stop myself.

The second story was that David Ortiz looks officially back. He smacked a grand slam to straight away center and looked genuinely locked in all night. He is having a characteristically stellar month, and any fears that he may have regressed from MVP-candidate to mere very good hitter might be able to be put to rest.

Speaking of Ortiz, I would like to just make a quick point about a comment Jerry Remy made during tonight’s telecast. He poo-pooed some of David Ortiz’s struggles by mentioning “the shift” and how it had “probably taken ten hits away” from Ortiz. But the shift is only able to be put on because of limitations in David Ortiz’s game. You would never see a shift against Manny Ramirez or David Wright. They hit the ball to all fields, something Ortiz does not do often enough to merit positioning players in their customary, well-spread formation. That’s a real, exploitable deficiency and therefore whatever downgrade in Ortiz’s performance that is attributable to the shift is a very real manifestation of a shortcoming.

Trot Nixon is completely freaking on fire. He’s back to the point where he was in 2003 when every time he came to the plate against a right-handed hitter, even to the naked eye, it appeared to be a ridiculous mis-match. Nixon’s hands are quick enough to clear out an inside heater and his coverage good enough to handle the outside pitch. Furthermore, his eye is tremendous, and he rarely swings at balls. To top it off, he stays back on the ball and is seldom fooled by an outside pitch. When he’s going like he is, there are few things I find more enjoyable than watching Trot Nixon face righties. With Wily Mo Pena down and Terry Francona seemingly realistic about Gabe Kapler’s (lacking) abilities, Nixon has also been forced to face lefties. He’s handled the duties about as well as we could have hoped, and even smakced a double off of Mike Stanton of the Nats tonight.

The Red Sox made a low-risk acquisition by trading cash for Jason Johnson today, who had recently been DFA’d by the Tribe. Jason Johnson is not as bad as he has looked this season, and he always posts high ground ball/ fly ball ratios. With the Red Sox infield defense behind him and the Red Sox offense supporting him, I think there is a decent chance that this move works out nicely. Put it this way, a team or two will give up real value between July 20 and July 31 for a pitcher with considerably less ability than Johnson. Given the dire situation of the Sox 5th starter slot, it’s exactly the sort of thing the Sox should be doing. As an added bonus, the Sox will get to look at him for a start or four and determine if a trade for a starting pitcher is necessary to get this team over the hump. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t but the point is that the timing of the move allows for some close evaluation.

The Sox will have a day off tomorrow before welcoming the rock-solid Phillies of Philadelphia for the weekend.

As dominating of a performance by an offense as you will see (actually that’s a bit of hyperbole as it was just the 2nd most dominating by a Sox club on this night), the Sox put up a .436/.500/.615 line tonight against the Nats. The usual suspects chipped in, as Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez and Trot Nixon each had very good games but what I found most encouraging were the two productive nights that a couple of guys who have struggled of late contributed. Coco Crisp had two hits including his first Fenway Park home run as a Red Sox while Mark Loretta had three hits and three RBI. Also encouraging was the rock-solid performance turned in by Tim Wakefield. The only unfortunate take-away from the evening was that Terry Francona is no closer to having answers to the questions he faces regarding his bullpen. Craig Hansen, despite flashing some electric stuff, really wasn’t very good.

Still, it all added up to a cakewalk victory and the Sox were able to notch their fifth straight triumph. It will be Shawn Hill and Jon Lester tomorrow evening at Fenway.

The Red Sox are now 9-8 on the month of June, though they have given up more runs than they’ve scored. On the positive side of things, Kevin Youkilis has added a power stroke (.642 SLG this month) to the already impeccable hitting approach he displayed over the first two months of the season. Trot Nixon is very quietly putting up a campaign that compares quite favorably to his 2003 (.319/.423/.473 thus far). Jason Varitek is again playing like an asset (.804 OPS in June). David Ortiz has found his stroke once again and though he had struggled through Saturday of last week’s road trip, Manny Ramirez has homered in consecutive games. Even Alex Gonzalez is hitting a little bit like we all knew he could.

The problem, unfortunately, has come at the top of the order. Coco Crisp has been just awful since coming back from his thumb injury. And in case anyone wants to get all worked up over letting Andy Marte head over to the Tribe, he has struggled in Buffalo this season (though he has come on of late). Mark Loretta has reverted back to his Aprilish ways after showing signs he may have returned to the All-Star form he showed a few years back. Smartly, Terry Francona has moved Kevin Youkilis into the leadoff hole – the right move whether or not Crisp finds his stroke back as Coco has never really been an on-base guy. A little further down the lineup, Mike Lowell has struggled so far in June – not an altogether unexpected development given Lowell’s scorching start that not even the rosiest optimist could have portended.

All in all, it’s a healthy offense. It can be unspectacular when some of its parts perform as poorly as Crisp and Loretta have lately, or as badly as Varitek and Gonzalez (and Loretta for that matter) did early on. But when everybody is going about right, this offense is one of the five best in baseball.

I really don’t know what to tell you about this pitching staff and if I had to guess, I think the fellas down in the basement of 4 Yawkey Way would tell you about the same. Curt Schilling seems to have settled into a nice spot, where if you perhaps can’t expect dominance night in and night out, you sure can expect a good crack at winning. Josh Beckett is quite the opposite. You can expect a crack at dominance any time he takes the ball, but you can also expect a performance that gives you no chance whatsoever at winning from time to time. Tim Wakefield is Tim Wakefield. When the offense is right, he’s an asset for this club. An average starter with an above average offense gets the job done. The final two spots are where this thing starts to get dicey. Matt Clement has gone to the DL, a no-downside type of move that will allow Boston’s bran-trust to see if he can try and strengthen a deadened arm that no longer features the zip that used to allow him to post impressive strikeout numbers. Kyle Snyder’s performance this evening was encouraging, and maybe Boston can get a couple of more good outings from him until Clement comes back. Then Matt either bounces back and does his thing or Snyder (or a potential deadline acquisition) has a spiffy new gig taking a regular turn for a division leading ball club. Whatever decisions need to be made, Clement’s leash needs to be shortened. In time, if things do not improve considerably for Matt, he needs to be demoted. There still remains one starting pitching spot and at the moment, Jon Lester occupies it. If his first outing proves the better proxy for his performances going forward, the Red Sox will be in quite a bit of trouble. If last Friday’s showing is more indicative of the Lester we will see, this Sox team may be in business.

Call me a lunatic given the recent spottiness of the unit but this bullpen and I are cool. Two things are working in its favor. One, the very best relief pitcher in baseball anchors it. Two, there are enough live arms out there (and down in Pawtucket) to assemble a solid unit. The biggest challenge facing Terry Francona over the course of the next fifty games or so is going to be figuring out an optimization plan for his bullpen usage heading into the playoff drive. Will it be Mike Timlin and Keith Foulke setting up Jonathan Papelbon? Will Rudy Seanez or Julian Tavarez harness the stuff that allows them to post such impressive K-rates? Will Manny Delcarmen, Craig Hansen or Jermaine Van Buren prove worthy of high-leverage innings? Might Matt Clement make a good reliever? That is your challenge, Terry. We’re counting on you here.

The Red Sox boast the American League’s 3rd best record but need to shore up their starting pitching staff in order to remain true World Series contenders. This season is shaping up to pose a new challenge in that the Wild Card may not be coming from the American League East. These Tigers do not seem to want to go away and I sure as hell gave up doubting the Pale Hose a long time ago. And just to add color to the remaining piece of the AL post-season puzzle, in case you didn’t notice, the A’s have begun their annual bananas run a little early this season. They’re about to run away with the West. So right now the Sox have a two game lead in the East and plenty of questions to accompany that cushion. Careful examination over the next five weeks of what they have and what they do not will determine how the Sox finish up the 2006 regular season. If the Sox think Matt Clement is a worthy guy to take a regular turn in the rotation down the stretch, now’s the time to perform the due diligence in order to test such a hypothesis. Same goes for Jon Lester. And Kyle Snyder. And Delcarmen and Hansen and Tavarez and Seanez and Van Buren and yes, David Wells. The Red Sox employ 25 men capable of winning a World Series. It’s just that none of us knows which 25 they are.

Lest there remain any doubt that Kevin Youkilis is teh awesome, he is now hitting .318/.432/.519. .318/.432/.519!!

Are you freaking kidding me?

Back with more either later tonight or tomorrow morning. I have quite a few thoughts on these Sox and where they stand at the moment, just haven’t had time. Sorry for the prolonged absence.

After consecutive quality wins and with Jon Lester set to make his Major League debut yesterday, there was a real buzz around these parts about the Sox. Maybe because it’s the hand with which he throws, maybe it’s his more impressive Minor League strikeout numbers but Lester came to Boston yesterday with more hype than even the great Jonathan Papelbon. I think some fans may have taken some liberties in applying the ol’ Transitive Property (If a=b and b=c, then a=c). Amongst the unreasonable-expectations sect of Red Sox Nation, it went something like this; if Lester has been more hyped than Papelbon was, and Papelbon has been the best reliever in Major League Baseball, then Lester should be un-freaking-believable.

Well he wasn’t yesterday. Too many walks and general imprecision did the kid in yesterday as he was only able to last one out into the fourth inning. He threw 102 pitches, alllowed five hits, four walks but did manage to strike out four. But hey, it was Lester’s first time out, he had to wait five hours in a rain delay for the game to start and in fairness, he did show flashes. It was not an altogether unsuccessful debut.

It was another unsuccessful outing for Julian Tavarez, however, though through no fault of his own yesterday. Tavarez came on in the fifth and struck out the first two batters he faced to wiggle out of a little mess that Lester had left him. The next inning, he retired the Rangers in order. Then, heading into the seventh, Terry Francona decided that Tavarez was capable of pulling down long-man duties and left him out there. By the time Francona came back out to get Tavarez with two outs and two runs in, Tavarez had thrown more pitches than he had in any outing since April 22nd of last year. Managing a baseball team carries with it a number of duties that I am sure I don’t have the first clue about. That said, an absolute pre-requisite for holding such a post is to understand how best to position your players to succeed. You wouldn’t catch David Ortiz and you wouldn’t bat Alex Cora clean-up. Julian Tavarez is not a long reliever and should not have been given the ball again to begin the seventh inning.

One bright spot from the game was that Manny Ramirez hit his 450th career home run. Ramirez is now hitting .303/.439/.574 on the season and it’s pretty evident that rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated. Ramirez is a Hall of Famer if he hangs ‘em up this afternoon, but his continued phenomenal production at the plate shoves him further and further towards the inner circle. His one-dimensional play will probably (and fairly) keep him out of the so-called inner circle in most people’s minds but boy, I know I will never forget what a pleasure it has been to watch this guy hit.

Still, Manny’s homer wasn’t enough. Thanks to a great night from Hank Blalock, some shut-down relief work from Bryan Corey and a rocky return to the bump for Keith Foulke, the Sox went down 7-4.

They’ll play two today at the Fens. The first will start at noon, the second at five. Enjoy!

This is my second annual Red Sox draft “Where are they now?” All stats are through June 1.

In 2005, the Red Sox drafted 53 youngsters over the two days in early June. In the bloodletting that followed the departures of Pedro Martinez, Orlando Cabrera, and Derek Lowe, the Red Sox picked up a pair of first rounders, and 3 supplemental picks. Due to signing Edgar Renteria, Matt Clement, and David Wells, the Sox lost their own first rounder (Renteria, picked up both Los Angeles picks), their own second rounder (Wells, picked up the Mets’ second rounder) and the only third rounder (Clement).

The rankings are Baseball America’s unless otherwise noted. The pre-draft is before the 2005 draft, not the 2006.

Draft stats:
24 College
23 High school
6 Juco

28 Position players
25 pitchers

28 signed during the normal signing period, with 2 draft and follow signees.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, of (Oregon St. 1st round, 23rd overall. $1.4m bonus)
2005: Went right into the NYPL and hit .317/.418/.432 with Lowell.
2006: Is the best hitter in Wilmington, skipping Low-A completely. He’s hitting .330/.411/.500 after missing about a month with a hamstring problem
Pre-draft: BA’s best prospect in Oregon, 25th overall
BA: 6th in the Boston system.
Sickles: 5th in the system (B)

2. Craig Hansen, rhp (St John’s. 1sts round, 26th overall. $1.35m bonus, major league contract)
2005: After signing, Hansen pitched 12 scoreless innings in the minors before making his MLB debut in September. Posted a 6.00 for Boston as the team’s first 2005 draftee to debut.
2006: Dominated AA, and is currently pitching as a starter for the PawSox. This is an effort to develop secondary pitches. Should be up for good no later than April 2007.
Pre-draft: 1st in NY, 10th overall
BA: 4th in system, 54th in baseball.
Sickels: 1st in system (A-)

3. Clay Buchholz, rhp (Angelina JC, Texas. 42nd overall. $800k bonus)
2005: Pitched for Lowell showing outstanding command (5 k:bb), and allowing only 15 runs in a shade over 40 innings.
2006: Still striking out over a batter an inning, and walking very few in Low-A.
Pre-draft: 9th in Texas, 51st overall
BA: 10th in system
Sickels: 6th in system (B)

4. Jed Lowrie, 2b (Stanford. 45th overall $762.5k bonus)
2005: As a 21 year old, hit .328/.429/.448 in Lowell. Switch hitter
2006: Struggling in Wilmington as he jumped a level. Only hitting .227/.310/.307. Patience is still very good, but not developing much power.
Pre-draft: 9th in California, 41st overall
BA: 9th in system.
Sickels: 9th in system (B-)

5. Michael Bowden, rhp (Waubonsie Valley HS, Illinios. 47th overall. $730k bonus)
2005: Only pitched 6 innings for Lowell without allowing a run. Struck out 172 in 80 innings as a HS senior.
2006: Showing excellent command in Greenville, despite having an ERA a little high for his peripherals. Giving up over 1 HR per nine innings.
Pre-draft: 1st in Illinois , 38th overall
BA: 11th in system.
Sickels: 7th in system (B)

6. Jon Egan, c (Cross Creek HS, Georgia, 57th overall. $625k bonus)
2005: Only hit .222/.340/.294 for the GCL Red Sox as an 18 year old. Was arrested in September for driving under the influence, possession of alcohol, fake id, and drugs.
2006: Appearently has fallen off the Earth. Presumably in XST waiting for the GCL/SS-A seasons, or perhaps waiting until he can leave the state.
Pre-draft: 9th in Georgia, 143rd overall
BA: 27th in system
Sickels: C

7. Scott Blue, rhp (Morro Bay HS, California, 138th overall $75k bonus)
2005: Allowed 8 runs in 3 innings for the GCL Sox, including an ugly 9 walks vs. 2 strikeouts.
2006: Recovering from a frayed labrum, and will probably start the season in Lowell’s rotation.
Pre-draft: Not listed

8. Reid Engel (Lewis-Palmer HS, Colorado 168th overall. $154k bonus)
2005: Raw outfielder who played left field for the GCL Sox last year. Hit .233/.313/.330
2006: Expected to be the starting left fielder for Lowell
Pre-draft: 3rd in Colorado
BA: 6th best CF in system

9. Jeff Corsaletti, of (U of Florida, 198th overall $50k bonus)
2005: Picked off where he left off after the 2005 collegate season in Greenville, hitting .387/.429/.490.
2006: Struggling with contact and hitting for power, and has been moved from center to leftfiend in Wilmington.
Pre-draft: 28th in Florida
BA: 19th
Sickels: 14th (C+)

10. Yahmed Yuma, of (Florida International, 228th overall, $90k)
2005: Played outfield for Lowell, hitting over 300 but not showing much in patience or power. Only struck out 21 times in over 200 at bats.
2006: Showing more power for Greenville (.289/.331/.458) but not much patience. Strikeout numbers have jumped to 33 in 166 at bats, which might be a by-product of him not drawing many walks, and trying to hit for more power.
Pre-draft: 26th in Florida
BA: 4th best LF in system.
Sickels: 15th (C+)

11. J.T. Zink, rhp (Everett CC, Washington, 258th overall $75k)
2005: Started for Lowell last year, posting a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings (14 starts)
2006: Pitching out of the Greenville bullpen, he has struck out 19 guys vs. 5 walks, but has given up 4 HR in just 25 innings.
Pre-draft: 8th in Washington
Sickels: C

12. Mark Wagner, c (UC-Irvine, 288th overall, $90k)
2005: Showed no offensive ability in Lowell, but his defensive reputation is growing.
2006: Isn’t showing much of a walk rate, but is hitting for a good amount of power, and his making a lot of contact as the starting catcher for Greenville
Pre-draft: 32nd in California

13. Kevin Guyette, rhp (U of Arizona, 318th overall, $50k)
2005: Pitched in both A- and SS-A levels last year, allowing 15 runs in 42 innings. Struck out almost 5.5 per walk.
2006: Still allowing a high percentage of un-earned runs (about 20%), but striking out a batter an inning and not walking all that many as a repeater in Greenville
Pre-draft: 26th in Arizona
Sickels: C

14. Ismael Casillas, rhp (Benedictine College, Kansas, 348th overall, $25k)
2005: Posted a ERA just over 3 for Lowell in the bullpen, with a sub-3.00 ERA in the Winter Leagues.
2006: Given the opportunity to start, Casillas is getting knocked around a bit in Low-A. Is Greenville’s 4th starter.
Pre-draft: Not listed.

15. Kyle Fernandes, lhp (Massasoit College, Massachusetts, 378th overall, $25k)
2005: Started with the GCL Sox, striking out a batter per 9, and then jumped through Lowell’s bullpen (2 innings) before finishing the season in Greenville (3.3 innings).
2006: Stranding 87.5% of the base runners inherited as a member of Greenville’s pen
Pre-draft: Not listed

16. Jay Johnson, of (Xavier University, Ohio, 408th overall, $25k)
2005: Hit .273/.337/.386 in the Lowell outfield
2006: In two stints as Greenville’s right fielder, he hit .279/.356/.481, and earned a promotion to Portland when Van Der Bosch was hurt. In the 8 games in Maine, he hit .333/.378/.636.
Pre-draft: 21st in Ohio

17. Pedro Alvarez, ss (Horace Mann HS, New York, 438th overall)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Attending Vanderbilt, where he hit .329/.457/.658, and was named SEC freshman of the year. Not draft eligible.
Pre-draft: 3rd in New York, 102nd overall

18. P.J. Thomas, rhp (Jeffersonville HS, Indiana, 468th overall)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Attended and played for Wabash Valley Community College (IL). Not draft eligible.
Pre-draft: 25th in Indiana

19. Matt Mercurio, 3b (Florida Southern College, 498th overall, $25k)
2005: After posting over .500 on base numbers for FSC, he hit .225/.341/.307 for Lowell.
2006: Hitting .210/.295/.290 for Greenville as a member of the bench.

20. Dominic Ramos, ss (Texas State U., 528th overall, $25k)
2005: Good defensive 2nd baseman that hit .260/.329/.370 for Lowell.
2006: Started at Wilmington and was wtfpwn3d by A+ pitching. Starting second baseman for Greenville now.

21. Nick Criaris, c (St. Peter’s Prep HS, New Jersey, 558th overall)
2005: Did not sign
2006: He hit .346 with 1 home run in 136 at bats while catching for Broward CC (FL).
Pre-draft: 18th in New Jersey.

22. Jim Baxter, lhp (Villanova U., Pennsylvania, 588th overall, $25k)
2005: Pitched in relief for Lowell, walking more than striking out. Had Tommy John surgery in 2004.
2006: Expected to pitch out of Lowell’s bullpen.
Pre-draft: 7th in Pennsylvania

23. Charlie Blackmon lhp, (Young Harris JC, Georgia, 618th overall)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Returned to play for Young Harris in 2006 and signed to play for Georgia Tech in 2006-2007 as a junior. 30th ranked prospect in Georgia.

24. Drew Johnson, rhp (Navarro JC, Texas, 648th overall)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Returned to Navarro and promptly hurt his arm.

25. Orvil Aviles, lhp (Fernando Callejo HS, Puerto Rico, 678th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Dammed if I know. Rumored to go to the Jnco route in Florida, but there is no record of him playing.
Pre-draft: 10th in Puerto Rico

26. Carl Lipsey, 2b (Jackson State, Mississippi, 708th)
2005: Showed no power, ability to make contact, or really ability to play baseball in GCL after being demoted from Lowell to get playing time at age 22.
2006: Released by the Red Sox on April 3.

27. Jason Twomley, of (U of Massachusetts, 738th, $25k)
2005: Played for Lowell and hit .252/.351/.430 in 240 at bats
2006: Jumped to Portland, and “hit” .095/.310/.190 when Durbin got hurt. In EXT now, and will likely be in Lowell, playing first and outfield.

28. Ricardo Sanchez, c (Barry U, Florida, 768th, $25k)
2005: Hit .213/.351/.362 for the GCL Sox, and then got bumped up to Lowell for spot duty.
2006: Hasn’t played yet this spring, and will probably start in either Lowell or GCL.

29. Kirby Yates, rhp (Kauai HS, Hawaii, 798th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Pitched 2.3 innings for Yavapai Junior College before getting hurt.
Pre-draft: 4th in Hawaii

30. Matt Hancock, lhp (Oral Roberts U, Oklahoma, 828th, $25k)
2005: Struck out almost a batter an inning working out of the Lowell pen.
2006: He’s showing almost no command at the A- level (17 walks vs. 13 k’s). Could possibly become a lefty specialist.

31. Ryan Hinson, lhp (Northwestern HS, South Carolina, 858th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Put up a 3.49 ERA pitching out of #1 ranked Clemson’s bullpen, striking out a batter an inning, but walking a bunch too.
Pre-draft: 23rd in South Carolina

32. Chris Jones, rhp (Indiana St., 888th, $25k)
2005: Missed a good amount of 2005 with a foot injury. Allowed 14 runs in 26 innings for the GCL Sox and Lowell.
2006: Starting for Greenville, Jones has a 1.46 ERA, with a 37:12 ratio.
BA: 8th righty reliever in the system

33. Ryan Colvin, rhp (Southlake Carroll HS, Texas, 918th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Played for Grayson CC in Texas, with a 7-2 record and a no hitter. Signed by the Red Sox as a DFE, and will likely start in the GCL rotation.

34. Luis Exposito, c (Champagnet Catholic HS, Florida, 948th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Hit .350 with 5 HR for St. Petersburg College. Signed by the Red Sox as a DFE and will probably be the starting catcher for the GCL Sox.

35. Jeff Natalie, 2b (Trinity College, Connecticut, 978th, $25k)
2005: In Lowell and Greenville, hit a combined .368/.474/.557
2006: Repeated Greenville and hit .343/.487/.571. Was recently called up to Wilmington and homered in his first at bat. Has a terrible glove, which may keep him from being a heavyweight prospect.
BA: 3rd best 2b in system

36. John Hester, c (Stanford, 1008th)
2005: Didn’t sign
2006: Returned to Stanford, where he was the teams starting catcher where he hit .272/.343/.367. Generally considered a outstanding defensive catcher. Currently listed as the 83rd best draftable prospect in California
Pre-draft: 69th in California

37. Allan Dykstra, 1b (Rancho Bernardo HS, California, 1038th)
2005: Did not sign (also not related to Lenny Dykstra)
2006: As the starting first baseman for Wake Forrest, he hit .324/.479/.670 and lead the Demon Deacons in home runs. ACC rookie of the year.

38. Jason Determann, lhp (Louisiana St. 1068th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Attending medical school at LSU
Pre-draft: 24th in Louisiana

39. Mark McClure, rhp (Hillsborough HS, Florida, 1098th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Attended Florida where he was red shirted.

40. Jason Schnitzer, rhp (Los Alamitos HS, California, 1128th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Struck out 20 in 27.3 innings in posting a 4.94 era for Cypress College.

41. Levi Tapia, c (Ralston Valley HS, Colorado, 1158th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Caught for Lamar Community College in Colorado, and named the 7th best prospect in Colorado this year. Signed as a DFE and will play for the GCL Sox.

42. Bubba Bell, of (Nicholls St. Louisiana, 1187th, $25k)
2005: Hit .317/.363/.457 as a 22 year old in Lowell.
2006: Forth outfielder for Greenville and hitting .230/.331/.344 as a 23 year old
Pre-draft: 44th in Louisiana

43. Blake Maxwell, rhp (Methodist College, North Carolina, 1216th, $25k)
2005: Big righty sidearmer had a 2.76 ERA for Lowell
2006: Closer for Greenville, posting a 3.46 ERA, and showing good command of the strike zone.

44. Eddie Degerman, rhp (Rice U, Texas, 1245th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Was the best pitcher on Rice’s staff this year, leading the Owls in just about every importing pitching category. For 2006, he’s listed as the 22nd best Texan, and 153rd best overall.
Pre-draft: 55th in Texas

45. Miguel Alicea, of (Manula Toro HS, Puerto Rico, 1274th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Starting outfielder for Okaloosa-Walton College, and hit .252/.353/.403.
Pre-draft: 9th in Puerto Rico

46. Jason Castro, c (Castro Valley HS, California, 1303rd)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Played C/OF/1b/DH for Stanford this year, hitting .286/.360/.403.

47. Chris Garcia, 1b (Xaverian HS, New York, 1332nd)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Was first team all-JUCO in Florida. Will re-enter the draft, and is not listed among Florida’s top 87 prospects.
Pre-draft: 18th in New York

48. Dustin Bamberg, c (Tallahassee CC, Florida, 1361st)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Returned to TCC where he hit 7 home runs as TCC’s catcher.

49. T.J. Large, rhp (U of Alabama, 1390th, $25k)
2005: Projected to go in the drafts first day, Large lasted until the 46th round. He only pitched 13 innings for Lowell in relief, having an ERA over 6.
2006: Pitched 3 innings for Greenville, allowing 5 runs. Waiting for Lowell to start up their season.
Pre-draft: 9th in Alabama

50. Alex Wolfe, c (Timpanogos HS, Utah, 1418th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Hit .355/.506/.500 for Dixie State College and is not re-entering the draft this year.

51. Matt Sheely, of (Palm Beach Gardens HS, Florida, 1446th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Started for Seminole CC, where he hit .390/.433/.488. Signed by Boston as a DFE.

52. Erik Turgeon, rhp (Dunedin HS, Florida, 1473rd)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Hit .327/.450/.490 for UConn, while also pitching 8.7 innings.

53. Colin Arnold, of (King’s Acadamy HS, Florida, 1500th)
2005: Did not sign
2006: Played for Daytona Beach Community College.

- Well the Sox lost but the kid looked pretty good. This time, David Pauley really did battle, really did hang in there and really did do his part to help the Red Sox win. Terry Francona, however, did not. First, how does Kevin Youkilis bat eighth? How does one of the very most valuable offensive assets in all of baseball get slotted eighth? And yet Jason Varitek continues to bat sixth and tonight saw one more plate appearance than Youkilis. For those scoring at home, Youkilis is at .319/.434/.505 on the season while Oh Captain My Captain sports a .236/.328/.381 line. Also, let the record show that with the bases loaded, two outs and probably the most patient hitter in the AL coming up, Tito went and got the reliever that leads his bullpen in bases on balls this season. You won’t believe how the Yanks pushed the game-winner across. Yup, Jason Giambi worked the walk against Rudy Seanez.

- Nomar homered off of Pedro at Chavez Ravine tonight. Time’s a funny thing.

- Out in Seattle, Felix Hernandez and Francisco Liriano are hooking up. This game alone might be worth the MLB Extra Innings package I ponied up for.

- Around here we hear a lot of talk about Jonathan Papelbon, and rightfully so. But north of the border, B.J. Ryan is matching Papelbon every step of the way except for saves. Ryan worked another perfect 9th, struck out a pair of batters and recorded his 14th save against his old mates in Baltimore tonight. He strikes out well over a batter per inning and gives up far less than a baserunner per frame. I won’t say he was worth the money Toronto paid him but I will say he is one hell of a nasty reliever.

- Go check out Rich and Bryan’s Draft coverage. Check out the Baseball America guys too. And if you want to read a self-important guy tell you how plugged in he is, well, Baseball Prospectus apparently hired someone. Just don’t ask him about Jered Weaver. Or Andy LaRoche.

No Sheff, Jeter or Matsui and still a 13-spot? Many of them off Beckett no less? David Pauley going tonight?

Hold me.

Taking two of three in Detroit was no small feat, and getting a decent outing from Matt Clement was a timely, wonderul surprise. Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz all went deep and Jermaine Van Buren and David Riske offered some reliable relief work. Off to the Bronx now and we kick things off with a dooze. Mike Mussina and Josh Beckett lock up tomorrow evening to open up an important four-game set.

After one of the more satisfying, thrilling Red Sox victories of 2006 on Friday night the Red Sox fell to the Tigers tonight in Detroit in front of a large, energetic crowd at Comerica Field. Jeremy Bonderman may have a pedestrian 4.61 ERA and a 5-4 record but make no mistake, the guy can pitch. Dig a little deeper on Bonderman and you will see that his peripheral statistics indicate he is one heck of a good young pitcher, and he was terrific tonight. He went 7 and 2/3rds, struck out six and allowed only four hits and two walks. At no point did the Red Sox sustain any sort of consistent attack. It was going to have to be up to Tim Wakefield to keep the Sox in the game, as Bonderman was not going to be yielding much.

To his credit, Tim Wakefield was pretty good. Wake went seven innings, struck out six and only allowed six hits and two walks. He was just a bit worse than Bonderman on this night. The home run did the Sox in, as the Tigers did all of their damage thanks to the four-bagger. Marcus Thames hit a long solo shot down the left field line in the second, Carlos Guillen hit a no-doubter with a man on in the forth and finally, after the Sox had pulled within one in the top half of the eighth, Magglio Ordonez hit a line shot that cleared the left-center field wall for a three-run home run. Game, set and match.

The infuriating part about the final home run was that it came off of a pitcher that should not have been in at that point. Julian Tavarez has been consistently mediocre all year long. When Manny Delcarmen had to leave the game in the eighth after being hit in the leg by a sharply batted ball, there were two men on base in a one-run game and Terry Francona had to make a choice. I don’t expect Tito to get Jonathan Papelbon there, even though one could argue that it was a perfectly reasonable instance to do so. I do expect Francona, however, to recognize that the game hung in the balance and to be able to identify his best pitchers. Rudy Seanez, Keith Foulke and Jermain Van Buren would all have been better options than Tavarez at that point in the game. All were passed over for Julian Tavarez, however, and the Red Sox were down and out by the time Tavarez threw his third pitch.

Yes it was ugly but salvaging a victory in Toronto was important, especially as the Yankees contiune their fantastic play out in the Motor City. I don’t want to hear anything about how David Pauley “grinded” or how he deserves credit for “keeping his team in the game.” Fact was, the kid was terrible. He allowed 14 baserunners in 4 and 1/3 innings and by the time he had thrown his 80th pitch or so, he was just tossing batting practice. Now Toronto is a good hitting team and maybe the kid deserves another start or two but Detroit, New York and Texas all come up on the schedule next. Do you want to see David Pauley pitching against any of those teams?

If a silver lining came out of this disappointing three-game set north of the border, it is that the Sox appear once again to have the makings of a bullpen. Jermaine Van Buren, Manny Delcarmen, Keith Foulke and Jonathan Papelbon combined for 4 and 2/3 shutout innings last night, and it was the relief corps’ third consecutive night chipping in with some real quality.

The bats were obviously the story last night, and this game provided a good manifestation of the importance of on-base and slugging over batting average. The Blue Jays hit 11 singles, a double, a triple and worked four walks on the night. The Sox managed just three singles, but had two doubles, four home runs and managed eight walks. So the Jays outhit the Sox from a batting avaerage standpoint but the Sox featured the more efficient run-scoring attack.

Mark Loretta homered, and finished May with a .937 OPS. I think it’s safe to say the guy the Sox thought they acquired is now taking the field everyday for them. Manny also started slow this season, but is now sitting at .304/.435/.579 and enjoying one of his most productive campaigns in years. Kevin Youkilis has clearly become one of the very best first basemen in baseball, both with the glove and the bat. The news is not all good, however. Obviously, there are some major starting pitching issues with this club. Also, the Sox found out that Wily Mo Pena will have surgery and miss six to eight weeks. If you don’t think the Sox will feel this loss, you weren’t watching Trot Nixon try to hit Ted Lilly last night. Boston would be well served to consider bringing Dustan Mohr back because watching Nixon try to hit decent southpaws for two months is going to get pretty painful.

The Sox now head to Detroit where the suddenly struggling Tigers will try and salvage the final game of their four-game set with the Bombers today before kicking off a weekend set with the Sox tomorrow night.