ACE

That's right......Josh Beckett IS our ace. Last night he became his winning alter-ego Josh Baseball as he pitched 6 rain-shortened innings in the Boston Red Sox 4-0 victory over the Atlanta Braves. He only allowed 4 hits. The winning run came in the form of a 4th inning Big Papi home run, as the Sox record moved to 45-25, best in the majors. And the bullpen was equally splendid, with Kyle Snyder, Hideki Okajima, our Darkman, and Jonathon Papelbon pitching three scoreless frames, preserving the shutout. A good win all around.

Curt Schilling is in Boston and yesterday had his shoulder MRI exam, but the results have not yet been made public. We will hear something today, that's for sure. We have to hope it's not serious. It's the same shoulder that was operated on in 1999, but the problem is hopefully not related. Schilling's velocity has not returned since his ninth inning 96 MPH pitch to Shannon Stewart in his Oakland near no hitter. Get well soon Schill. And if he's out for a couple of weeks, is that Jon Lester's ticket back to the parent club? I can't see anything else that makes sense. Any sense at all.

Click on the title of this post for more on Curt Schilling. Tonight, it's the hot Julian Tavarez facing the Braves' Carlyle. Let's keep it going. And don't worry. I'll be back with any Schill news, good or bad, happy or sad. So check back. Thank you!