Daisuke Matsuzaka Dazzles Red Sox Nation And All Of Fenway Park...Boston 4 Angels 1

Oh, what a difference three months of shoulder strengthening and conditioning can do. Tuesday night at Fenway Park, Daisuke Matsuzaka made a long delayed appearance and dazzled both the Fenway crowd and the Halos from LA. He was able to go six brilliant innings without giving up a run. He allowed only three hits, walked three and whiffed five. Here are two of the many comments from his teammates and his manager. First up is Big Papi David Ortiz, who launch a tater that looked more like a guided missle that rocketed out of the ballpark...

“Boy, I tell you, man, having Dice-K back and throwing the ball the way he did tonight is huge for us, especially, I was thinking about going to the playoffs right now,” said DH David Ortiz. "When you play good in September, it gets you in a good mood for October. We are right there, we’ve got Texas behind us. The best we’ve played, that’s what’s going to get us into the playoffs.”

And here's Boston skipper Terry Francona with more glowing words...

“That was a big shot in the arm for us,” said manager Terry Francona, “and I think we all feel like it’s realistic that he can come back in his next start and not necessarily match the numbers but be the same pitcher. That’s what we’re really shooting for, just to have some consistency out of what he’s throwing up there every time he starts.”

In a word, Daisuke was grrrrrreat and as Tito said, with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz running on all cylinders, the addition of a hale and hearty Daisuke Matsuzaka provides a huge boost to this team and their future plans for October play. With yet another Texas Rangers loss, the AL wild card lead for the Sox has mushroomed to 5 1/2 games. Tonight at Fenway, these same two playoff opponents-to-be teams tussle again with Byrd set to go against Saunders. If the Red Sox win this one, Josh Beckett will toe the rubber going for the sweep on Thursday. One game at a time, however, because Saunders is one tough cookie and we never know what to expect from Byrd. Enjoy it and enjoy your Wednesday Hump Day. Click on this post's title for more Red Sox good news and as always, BE WELL. I mean it! See you later, alligator.