Nice job by those little leaguers. Probably the first time that I have ever watched more than an inning or so of a little league game. Maybe the Sox should take some tips from that team as to how to beat a NY team when the game means something. Anyways, congrats to the boys from Worcester. I'll be watching again tomorrow night.

Speaking of the Sox, does anyone else remember the last time they won a series? I'm shocked that they won 2 in a row. They did it in pretty convincing fashion though. And at this point, I'll take any wins we can get. Bob Hohler agrees with what I said yesterday in that Nomars speech in the dugout could be the start of something big.

Bob Duffy somehow is able to turn a story about Manny reaching 100 RBI's in his career into a chance to take a shot at him. Is this guy the biggest media punching bag or what? It's like they say... It's easier to abuse someone who you know will not retaliate.

The Globe's notebook by Bob Hohler tells us that Grady Little might bat Nomar leadoff with Damon out. It also chronicles the injuries Damon has had this year as well as the release of Chris Haney.

Steve Buckley turns in a quality piece of work today as he tells the story of Tony Conigliaro's daughter. Most people will be surprised to find out he had a daughter. The article talks about the strength of the woman who gave birth to Jessica Wheaton. She'll also be at Fenway tonight. Kudos to Buckley on this one.

Bob Kraft is recovering this morning. Many of the players sent him get well wishes. It is the first time that Kraft has had any type of heart problem.

Joe Vieira catches up with Erick Strickland. The Celts are offering him a 1 year deal at the league minimum. Strick says they need to offer more or he is leaving. Well don't let the door hit you on the way out of town. We can do with out all the ill-advised shots, the horrible passes, and the general lack of basketball sense. There's a reason you have bounced all around the league in your short six years. Come back and talk to us if you ever realize that you are not a superstar. Taking the occasional exciting charge can only cover up your deficiencies for so long.

Bob Kraft has had unscheduled heart bypass surgery. He evidently was in the hospital for a routine checkup when the doctors told him he needed the procedure immediately.

Sometimes it takes a sort of fluke hit to get a team out of a funk. Now I think it is going to take a lot more than one game for the Red Sox to right their ship. But it has to start somewhere. Nomar's grounder could have been fielded and he could have been thrown out. That is the type of luck the Sox have been having. But the Sox finally caught a break. Maybe it's what they needed to get on the right track. Only time will tell. It's nice to hear that Nomar was finally vocal about the team too. "Garciaparra bounded into the dugout and shouted, ''Let's go, we're a better team than this. There's no way they should be shutting us out. Let's get this thing done.''" Lets see what happens tonight.
Jeff Horrigan also recaps the game. Tony Maz does a good job of summing up Nomar's emotional speech.

Nomar talks about not swinging at the first pitch in his 8th inning At-Bat. Maybe seeing how things turned out will help him realize sometimes it's a good idea to look at a pitch or 2 before swinging. Bob Ryan gives his pitch for Alan Embree as the closer, and wishes for a time when there was no such thing as closers.

The Dallas Morning News has a little blip about Carl Everett's return to Fenway. "All I want them to do is say something original," Everett said Wednesday afternoon. "I wanted something better than all that 'Everett, you [stink].' I couldn't give them any energy by getting into it, because they weren't giving me any energy. It was just kind of boring."

Also a piece on Pedro in the same paper. A decent piece of writing. "He's a pitcher's pitcher now," said Rangers pitching coach Orel Hershiser, who was still Los Angeles' ace when Martinez was breaking into the majors in 1992. "I always thought he was a very good pitcher, but his dominance came from exceptional stuff. I see more strategy now. "

On the Patriots front... a look at Tom Knight, Jimmy Hitchcock, and also the Pats interest in Jamal Anderson. The Pats are also considering not returning to Bryant College next year.

Matt Traub takes a look at the Worcester little leaguers. I hope someone beans that kid from Harlem who was showboating around the bases.

Didn't the Red Sox get Cliff Floyd so that he could come through in situations like that? I mean, does the guy have a meaningful hit or RBI since the Sox obtained him? I was talking with Dan, a friend of mine, and he mentioned that Cliff is batting close to .400 so you can't fault him. But I think maybe you can. He has 3 RBI's on 3 solo HR's since coming here. He has 7 doubles since coming here but no RBI's as a result of those doubles. So the argument is that he can't get RBI's if no one is on base. But I think that the problem is that he chokes when there are guys on base. He only gets his hits when the bases are empty and the hits are pretty much meaningless.

Anyways, the strike can't come fast enough. I hope they strike and I hope it cancels the season. Heck, take next season too. Who cares?

The Red Sox are the Washington Redskins of MLB.