Oakland 6
Boston 11

The Red Sox sweep an emaciated Oakland team in our favorite recent MLB scheduling phenomenon: the 2-game series.

It’s difficult to pick one guy who gets the “game ball” here, as there were several hitters who came up huge. Mike Lowell, as he has been so many times this year, was a monster at the plate. The 21st Century Gray Eagle had 3 hits and 5 RBI, and is now hitting a gaudy .326 on the season, including a 1.006 OPS at Fenway Park this year. (Zach, have you come around on this guy yet?)

A noticably-battered Big Papi also had a big game, as DH David Ortiz pounded three hits, two of which were doubles. Now, much has been said about the alleged “lack of power” Ortiz is experiencing this year…but does said power outage even exist? Let’s compare his Extra Base Hits from 2006 (his career high in SLG% and team record-setting HR year) and 2007.

• Ortiz XBH, 2006: 85 (29 doubles, 2 triples, 55 homers)
• Ortiz XBH, 2007: 84 (50 doubles, 1 triple, 33 homers)

Now, consider the fact that power numbers across the league are down this year, and David’s power outage is looking like more of a myth than a reality.

Manny Ramirez is starting to give me a warm feeling. In my pants. You see, when Manny Ramirez is hitting like Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox are probably the best team in baseball. Manny had 3 hits last night, all singles, but solid hits nonetheless. His timing has been accurate, and he’s been going to the opposite field. Manny is somewhat healthy and hitting somewhat well, and this is terrific news.

The last guy I’ll make note of is Dustin Pedroia, who had 8 total bases and scored 4 runs last night. You can close the ballots and get the camera on Tim Russert for the announcement. The “exit polls” have Dustin Pedroia winning the AL ROY in a landslide.

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