Manny saves Schill, Sox extend lead

Was there too much hype in Chicago before the game? Seemed to effect Buehrle & normally solid defense. If this is the way they react to a playoff type atmosphere, I'm going to Vegas & bet the house against them come playoff time. (I think Carl read yesterday's blog - he crushed an angry home run early on)

A little concerned with Clement - gave up 7 home runs in last 3 games. He seems to be leaving the ball up in the zone too often. We need him to duplicate his first half down the stretch.

Schilling looked human in the 8th, but stepped it up in the 9th. He was hitting the high 80's on the gun, but the pitch hit for a run scoring double hit 94. He did seem to have more of a zip on the ball in the 9th too... Looks like it's the first positive step in getting him stretched out.

Kudos to Francona for having the stones to put Schilling out there for 2 innings. Almost didn't work out, but it did thanks to Manny (and to Joe Crede's drop/error).

Lot of folks questioning Francona as of late - but he's done a pretty solid job. With all the possible decisions he has to make, he's going to miss a few here or there. Also, can you imagine managing this group behind closed doors, and the Boston media all in the same day? Who wouldn't go postal?

Renteria finally looked like the all star they signed for $10M a year. He was on fire last night. Get the feeling he's going on a hot streak? We think so...

Thanks to Vlad for the slam against the Yanks. Nice to have an extra cushion during this series. Will send him a christmas card for sure...

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