Wakefield Is On A Roll...Big Papi Is Tentatively Scheduled To Return On July 25...Boston 12 Baltimore 1

Tim Wakefield of the Boston Red Sox is on a roll...there's no denying it. Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park, he was nearly unhittable for seven innings, only giving up a third inning solo home run while allowing just two hits and one earned run. He walked one. It was vintage Wakefield at his baffling and beautiful best. Boston won the game easily by a score of 12-1. Here's what his manager had to say, as well as the man himself and ex-teammate Kevin Millar...

“I think that’s actually the best I’ve seen him pitch,” said Francona, who had to leave Wakefield off the World Series roster last fall because of lingering back and shoulder problems. “He worked hard to stay where he is. When last year ended, and he wasn’t able to pitch, it was very important to him to come back and take the ball when it’s his turn.”

“I was the beneficiary of a lot of runs scored tonight,” Wakefield said. “So that made my job a lot easier after the third inning."

"He’s the most underrated pitcher I think there is in the big leagues,” former teammate Kevin Millar said. “You’ve just got to stop the bleeding. We were down by a lot of runs early and Wakefield was throwing strikes."

By the end of the fourth inning, the game was essentially over and the Fenway Faithful were having a lot of fun. At the time, the score was 10-0 Good Guys. In all, the Sox banged out 15 hits, and Kevin Youkilis, who becomes more clutch EVERY day, had a career high 6 RBIs, including a third inning grand slam that left the Orioles at Boston's mercy. The Tampa Bay (Devil) Rays also lost, their sixth in a row on the road. That leaves Boston with a chance to enter the All Star break in first place, or at the very least, near it. And here's some food for thought...those Rays are almost invincible when playing at home, much like the Sox, but unlike Boston, they only have 19 scheduled home games after August 7th. 19. Holy you-know-what!! Boston has 25 Fenway Park games scheduled during the same period. ADVANTAGE RED SOX. BIGTIME.

In other Red Sox news, it looks like the return of our very own Big Papi David Ortiz is scheduled on or about July 25th for a series with the Yankees, who are still reeling from the loss of Bobby Murcer. As I said in my last post, just below this one, he will be missed. For a great article about Bobby, just click on the title of that post. It's all there. And Julio Lugo will be lost to the team for 4-6 weeks...Jed Lowrie, who started at shortstop last night, was called up to share infield duties at that position with the steady Alex Cora. The deepness of these world champions is amazing!

Have a wonderful Sunday. Here in north central Connecticut as well as Boston, the day will dawn hazy but bright, with increasing humidity and rising temperatures as the afternoon approaches. Translation...a perfect day for baseball at that wonderful place called Fenway Park. First pitch time is 1:35pm EDT, and it will be Daisuke Matsuzaka, who is coming off a stellar start last time, versus the usually tough Daniel Cabrera. May the Sox win, and as always, BE WELL. You can click on the title of this post for more coverage of yesterday's convincing win and for all the details of our Big Papi's return. Thanks for stopping in, and your comments are always welcome. Here are your AL East standings right now, before Sunday's action...

Rays 55-38
Red Sox 56-40
Yankees 50-44
Blue Jays 46-48
Orioles 45-47