Yanks take lead, Sox can't solve Lilly

You could feel it coming. The Ted Lilly experience. We hate this freakin guy. He has an ERA approaching 6, but always finds a way to pitch well against the Sox. Just Maddening. His last outing was against - guess who - and he didn't make it out of the first inning...

Arroyo, who had been 4-0 in Sept, decided to leave a few breaking balls over the plate. The 3 gopher balls did him in. Let's hope he can bounce back because we'll need him Sun or Mon. The lineup continued their struggles against Lilly and only went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position. The only one hitting right now, Renteria, is the guy who hasn't hit much all year...

There were a couple of "light" moments last night. A group of four late 20-somethings were sitting near us in full Sox garb. They spoke Japanese and very little English. It was refreshing to see people so excited just to be at a ball game. When they got on the big screen between innings, they almost jumped out of their shoes. Just screaming something in Japanese. Thought they hit the lottery. Hilarious. Funniest part? When Gabe Gross came to the plate, and they broke out into Beavus & Butthead laughter about "GROSS". Almost spit out my beer...

Yanks get another good outing from Chacon. Just unbelievable. Yanks were able to throw enough money at the starting rotation and plug the holes. Give Cashman credit, but... Nice when you have an ADDITIONAL payroll equivalent to 3 Oaklands and a Tampa Bay. The MVP race will ultimately go to A-Rod. Even the Boston writers that have a vote are biased against the DH. What a joke. Some of the Yanks players say it should be Rivera (that's a slam on A-Rod by the way). But if you consider who is more VALUABLE, you need to consider Small & Chacon. They are a combined 16-3. Yanks are VERY fortunate they came along. Thats why they're in first. Small goes again tonight...

Big BIG weekend coming up. There's no way the Yanks win two at Fenway. So it really comes down to tonights game, or Monday. Small goes against the always tough Bedard (3.60 ERA). Sox will pull it out tonight, as the bats have been quiet for too long. The wildcard is still up for grabs, as Cleveland has now dropped 2 straight. Looks like Chisox will hold on...

Can you believe the Padres clinched the division with a .500 record? They also get homefield for the first series. How is this right? The good thing? Bonds goes home early. The Babe will be safe for another season...