Kyle Snyder Photo by Kelly O'Connor

Okay, I’m awake and probably will be for the night.

So I’m getting my online reading in and notice that Jeff Horrigan mentions Kyle Snyder’s name as being one of the pitching “leading candidates” to get a call-up in September.  He also mentions Chris Smith and Hunter Jones (currently only Smith is on the 40-man roster).  I’m certain it goes without saying that I’ll be thrilled beyond belief if this happens.  Keeping my fingers crossed, because I’m being totally selfish and wallowing and want something good to happen after this total, all-around, shitstorm of a day.  Which just goes to show, as bad as I can get to feeling, I can always find a silver lining.  Good luck, Kyle, I’m pulling for you!

Speaking of which, tomorrow we get to meet the Taylor family!!  It’s their big day, and in an attempt to not give too much away online (in case prying children’s eyes are watching!) I’ll be giving a full update tomorrow night after it’s all over.

Special thanks to everyone who donated in some way.  Folks were terribly generous and it means a lot.

OBAMA IN TWO

My reaction to Obama’s speech was that it was two parts - one to unite the Democratic Party and the second half was to find common ground with moderates and conservatives. The first half or two-thirds was “This is what I will do as a traditional Dem” and that I’m a fighter - I’m not going to take any shit like John Kerry. The first part of the speech was not for undecided voters, which is essentially my issue.

Obama needed to mend fences in the first part of the speech, instead of having an entire hour that attracted independents and moderate Republicans. He should have more of…

“The times are too serious, the stakes are too high for this same partisan playbook. So let us agree that patriotism has no party. I love this country, and so do you, and so does John McCain. The men and women who serve in our battlefields may be Democrats and Republicans and Independents, but they have fought together and bled together and some died together under the same proud flag. They have not served a Red America or a Blue America - they have served the United States of America.”

And then, Obama empowers the audience telling us that we are too smart to vote on “small things.”

“I know there are those who dismiss such beliefs as happy talk. They claim that our insistence on something larger, something firmer and more honest in our public life is just a Trojan Horse for higher taxes and the abandonment of traditional values. And that's to be expected. Because if you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from.

You make a big election about small things.”

These are the type of prose that attract all and persuade swing voters. They are uplifting like a kind of therapy. Unfortunately, Obama needed to throw out the red meat early on to fire up the base due to the prolonged primary battle and extended healing process. Splitting his speech could cost Obama depending on when swing voters tuned in or what part of the speech the media runs time and time again over the long weekend.

Josh Beckett has been scratched from his start on Friday night -- and will pay a visit to Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama, in the hopes of getting some answers about his right elbow discomfort. The Red Sox say the visit is strictly precautionary.

Theo Epstein:We don't feel comfortable pitching him unless he is 100 percent because we have to take his long term interests and the team's long term interests into account first and foremost. ... We're pretty optimistic this thing's getting better. It just makes sense. Josh has a great relationship with Andrews, he's an accomplished doctor. Get another opinion here, hoping he comes back and can take the ball pretty soon.Rob Bradford, in a SoSH thread:Keep in mind, Beckett had been talking on a daily basis with Dr. Andrews over the last week, but the doctor hadn't witnessed the pitcher's ailment in person. As I pointed out in the story today, there is only one person who is going to give Beckett peace of mind regarding this injury and it is Andrews.

"Some people may say something to you and you may trust them, but you have some of those doubts and still stay reserved," Beckett said. "For me, if Dr. Andrews tells me something I can put it in my head and know, 'This is how it is.' It's easier for me to get closure on something because I have that trust."

I’m writing with a heavy heart to say that Fire Brand is shuttering it’s doors…

For the weekend.

What, you thought I was shutting it down for good?

We’ll be off-line starting around 9 a.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Tuesday to switch over to the new platform. The new platform isn’t exactly 100 percent ready, but this is the best time to make the switch, and the platform is ready enough.

By the way, want to give big ups to Fire Brand for recently passing 2,500 posts and 30,000 comments.

Later today you’ll see a featured article, Samara’s Terrible Cartoons, a new poll and of course, a game thread. After that, enjoy the weekend and try not to suffer from too much withdrawal.

The Yankee Elimination Day contest is closed and here are the entries (either first name/last initial or JoS commenter name): NY Last Red
YED Wins Sox Win

Brian B 0912 87 ALDS 4
Jeff D 0912 86 ALCS 6
L-Girl 0912 85 G 162
nixon 33 0912 85 WS 6

Tony L 0914 88 ALCS 6
SoSock 0914 84 WS 6

Matt S 0916 85 WS 6
William S 0916 81 ALCS 5

Peter D 0917 85 WS 5

Jonathan I 0918 89 ALDS 4
Chris M 0918 88 ALDS 4
Chris C 0918 87 ALCS 5
Andrew B 0918 87 WS 5

Leigh B 0919 87 WS 5

Joe Grav 0920 88 ALCS 5
redsauce04 0920 87 WS 5
Bruce B 0920 81 WS 5

Jeff F 0921 89 WS 5
Jeff M 0921 87 ALCS 5
Aaron S 0921 86 ALCS 6
Tim J 0921 83 WS 6

Douglas I 0922 90 ALCS 2

Lewis S 0923 89 ALDS 4
Franco B 0923 88 G 162
Chuck C 0923 88 ALDS 4
Zenslinger 0923 88 ALCS 5
Ofer C 0923 87 WS 6

Tim L 0924 89 WS 4
Matthew K 0924 88 ALDS 2
Jeff R 0924 88 ALCS 5
Steve C 0924 85 WS 6

ish 0925 86 ALDS 4

Wayne V 0926 89 WS 6
Zachary P 0926 86 ALDS 3

JCal76 0927 87 ALDS 4

Nicholas D 0928 86 ALCS 6
Joshua H 0928 87 WS 6We have 15 of the last 17 days of the regular season covered. No one went out on a limb and picked an October date -- how about that!

It is never good when you cough up a lead late in a game in which you can complete a three-game sweep with a victory. It is also never favorable news when you learn that your ace is headed for... Jeff Louderback

Game 132: August 27, 2008 Red Sox 11 W: Paul Byrd (9-11)H: Manny Delcarmen (17) 77-55, 3 game winning streak Yankees 3 L: Sidney Ponson (7-5) 70-62, 2 game losing streak Highlights: Come on now, Yankee lovers. Some of you are up in arms because your team is “inconsistent.”

I'm hoping if I just ignore it, it will go away. It's not going away. IT'S NOT GOING AWAY. WHY WON'T IT JUST GO AWAY?!?!

SCARY TIMES

A visit to Dr. James Andrews does not necessarily mean bad times. But...

Epstein also said it was his understanding that the tingling was not still present in Beckett's pitching hand, but that "the elbow itself doesn't feel 100 percent."

The "elbow" is the scary part. I think elbow, and I think Tommy John surgery and then I think we'll see the real Josh Beckett in 2010, and now I'm in the fetal position crying. Bad Times. Bad Times.

At least Jason Giambi did not want to get swept by the Boston Red Sox as he carried the Yankees on his shoulders for a 3-2 victory.

A two-run homer in the seventh tied the game up at 2-2 and in the ninth Giambi delivered the walk-off single to stop Boston from completing the sweep.

Goat of the Game: Pen

Let this one slip away boys

Next Game: Let it go

Just regroup tomorrow.  There are too many important games left to play.

So as promised, I took my two closest female friends to Yankee Stadium for the first time before it gets torn down. By this I mean, two of my female Red Sox fan friends told me they had an extra... Vince Mercandetti

Ran across this story over at Joy of Sox and felt angered enough to share it with you. During Wednesday night’s Yankees-Red Sox game at Yankee Stadium, a fan looking to use the restroom during the interminable God Bless America presentation in the middle of the seventh inning was treated in a shameful manner. He was warned by a police officer, violently escorted from the stadium, had his ticket confiscated, and was verbally mocked along the way. The entire story from The Gothamist:

I attempted to get up to use the restroom, rather urgently, during the 7th inning stretch as God Bless America was beginning. As I attempted to walk down the aisle and exit my section into the tunnel, I was stopped by a police officer. He informed me that I had to wait until the song was over. I responded that I had to use the restroom and that I did not care about God Bless America.

As soon as the latter came out of my mouth, my right arm was twisted violently behind my back and I was informed that I was being escorted out of the stadium. A second officer then joined in and twisted my left arm, also in an excessively forceful manner, behind my back. … About halfway down, I informed them that they were hurting me … One of them said something to the effect that if I continued to speak, he would find a way to hurt me more.

When we reached the exit of the stadium, they confiscated my ticket and the first officer shoved me through the turnstiles, saying “Get the hell out of my country if you don’t like it.”

Freedom is such a flimsy concept, isn’t it?

The entire Yankees organization should be ashamed of themselves. It’s enough they force-feed patriotism during every single game with God Bless America when most stadiums only play it on Sunday’s, but to forcibly and violently eject a sober and civil fan for simply visiting the restroom is beyond absurd. Of course, a letter to the Yankees went without a response, and even the cops were saying after their “escort” that “one day they’re really gonna get in trouble.”

It’s both sad and ironic these police officers are exemplifying the kind of actions our Founding Fathers would denounce. I would personally refuse to stand for the National Anthem or God Bless America at major league stadiums, but I stand to avoid needless confrontations or run-ins; as Allan at JOS stated, I am there to watch some baseball — not to either pledge my allegiance to a particular piece of land or sing about the glory of bombs blowing up.

Back in Boston to grab the rest of our crap. I just put a gash in my leg with a piece of glass. Nice. You know how usually wounds bleed a lot, but don't hurt that much? This is the opposite. It's just a big painful hole in my leg that only let out a little blood. The other way's much cooler.

So we got a win and a loss in the last two games at the Toilet. We're 4 back with the Rays playing tonight. Beckett is scratched for tomorrow and will visit Dr. Andrews.

Josh Beckett has been scratched from his scheduled start on Friday, and the Red Sox ace plans to have his ailing right elbow examined by Dr. James Andrews in Alabama.

In a postgame interview, manager Terry Francona said Beckett was seeing Andrews as a precaution. There was no indication the tingling sensation he had previously felt in his pitching hand had returned.

"I think the best word I can use is we're just trying to get some closure," Francona said. "We never want to send anyone out there that's not 100 percent. We're no more pessimistic about him today than we were, but when he goes out there [again] we want him to be able to pitch with peace of mind."

General manager Theo Epstein echoed those precautionary sentiments.

"We don't feel comfortable pitching him unless he is 100 percent because we have to take his long term interests and the team's long term interests into account first and foremost," Epstein said.

Epstein also said it was his understanding that the tingling was not still present in Beckett's pitching hand, but that "the elbow itself doesn't feel 100 percent."

"We're pretty optimistic this thing's getting better," Epstein said. "It just makes sense. Josh has a great relationship with Andrews, he's an accomplished doctor. Get another opinion here, hoping he comes back and can take the ball pretty soon."

Daisuke Matsuzaka will take the mound in Beckett's place on Friday night at Fenway Park against the White Sox. The Providence Journal reported that David Pauley would take Dice-K's spot on Saturday.

Beckett had been given the thumbs up to pitch Friday after his side session on Tuesday, but now will be pushed back for the second time in a week. He hasn't pitched since an Aug. 17 start against Toronto in which he gave up 8 runs in 2 1/3 innings.

"I think scary is probably a good word for it," Beckett said earlier this week. "I've had some sleepless nights thinking about all kinds of stuff. You generally think the worst."

Elbow tenderness and an awkward sleeping position may have contributed to the original tingling (which Beckett first reported after the drubbing by the Blue Jays), but no one claims to know the source of the problem.

"We're trying to figure out what's causing it and go from there," Beckett said earlier this week. "Right now it's just day to day and I'm dealing with it. We have a great medical staff. We're trying to be cautious. We're not talking about just the end of a season, but about the end of a career. Some organizations would do anything they could to get a player back out there. I appreciate what they are doing for me here."

Beckett plans to see Andrews on Friday.

The Globe's Amalie Benjamin and Dan Shaughnessy contributed to this report from New York. Material from the Associated Press was also used.

Josh Beckett has been scratched yet again, this time from his slated Friday start against the Chicago White Sox.

He’s being sent to Dr. James Andrews (uh-oh, no Tommy John, please). “I think scary is probably a good word for it,” Beckett told the Boston Globe earlier this week.

Dice-K replaces Beckett Friday and David Pauley will take the hill Saturday. With the constant delaying of Beckett, I have to think the Sox will put him on the DL and call up an additional reliever. It could be Chris Smith, it might not be.

The last trivia question asked who was the Red Sox’s career leader in homers by a Canadian pre-Jason Bay. The answer was Buck Congalton. Leaderboard is updated.

The new trivia question: Buffalo, New York. What significance does this have to the Red Sox?

HONOR CODE: No search engines. WINNER GETS: To do the next poll.

Boston 2
New York 3

You know what? Good for them. The final Red Sox-Yankees game ever at Yankee Stadium proved to be a joyous one of the Bronx faithful. After watching the Red Sox take the first two games of the series and effectively squelching New York’s playoff hopes, it was heartwarming to see the Yankees have their inspirational “Rudy moment ” this afternoon. Hopefully, today’s events will make the final memories of the Stadium less dreary for our cousins in the south.

Rico from Jersey City? Joey from Staten Island? Listen, put down that Nathan’s hot dog and shut off the engine on that suped-up Honda Civic hatchback for a moment, I have something to say to you. Congratulations, good sirs, and “salute”.

I have thoughts on several items from today’s game, most of them negative.

Alex Cora
The eventual winning run reached base in the 9th inning via a grounder up the middle, one which most shortstops in the major leagues would have handled. Now, when a team has a no-hit shortstop (and he is a no-hit shortstop, despite his currently inflated OBP) on their major league roster, the implication is that they should be at least above average defensively. Alex is a sub-par defensive shortstop, and he is also sub-par in every other category. He does not excel in anything related to hitting, fielding, or running. It is my hope that after this season ends, the Red Sox will not carry someone like this on their 25-man roster ever again.

Jonothan Papelbon
Son, you have to put that 0-2 pitch somewhere else. Especially to a hitter like Jason Giambi, a chemically engineered cyborg created by the NSA for the sole purpose of beating the Red Sox. If it’s Jose Molina at the plate, sure, burn another one down the middle and let the fat little bastard try and hit it. But when dealing with hormone-infused cattle like Giambi, you sometimes have to get creative, okay?

Hideki Okajima
Look, I told you before, it was Jon Lester’s God-given right to win this game for all that is holy and righteous, and you stole that from him! God dammit, YOU STOLE THAT FROM HIM!!! Seriously, no, I’m not furious at Okajima. I think think he was poorly used in this game, and I think Terry Francona should have played this one differently and handed the ball to Masterson in that situation (no outs and a man on second). With men on second base, hitters have hit .318/.400/.455 against Okajima in the past 2 years. Granted, it’s only 26 plate appearances, but it might not be a fluke, since his other splits are decent across the board.

When all is said and done, a banged-up skeleton crew Red Sox team strolled into the ultimate hostile environment and took two critical games out of three against a motivated Yankees squad.

We can’t ask for much more.

I’d love to complain about Okajima, Masterson and Papelbon messing with Crabcakes’ game and losing the final game at Yankee Stadium, but I can’t.  I only listened to the first couple of innings and then lots of hell broke loose.

So I’m using this space to vent because, well because I can.

I discovered this afternoon that my pocketbook had been stolen.  Right out of the bag I carry (it’s a small pocketbook), and right from my cubicle at work.  My office is pretty wide open but my cubicle is set in and I’ve never been worried about keeping my purse in my bag…yeah, someone came in my office while I was in the ladies room, grabbed my purse and bolted, without anyone knowing.  All my credit and debit cards were in there as was my driver’s license (with a truly hideous photo…) my home and work keys and my monthly t-pass.  Luckily, there was no money.

I call one of the banks I have a debit card with and they gave me a list of places the asswipe who took my bag tried to use the card.  Genius that this person is, he/she tried to use it at two different ATM machines, four different times…since my pin number isn’t something you could figure out just by having my license, they failed each time and locked themselves out of using the card.  I called all the other institutions I bank or have credit with and the person didn’t try using any of the other cards before I got them shut off.  So there’s that.

I still feel extremely violated, having this happen in a place that is pretty much my second home…and I’m pissed because I have a bit of a big weekend planned.  Tomorrow the Taylors get to go to Fenway, Saturday we say goodbye to Bridget, and Saturday and  Monday I’m supposed to be going to Pawtucket.  My emotions are running from being upset, to being nervous to being pissed…so the Sox losing one out of three games in a walk off courtesy of HGHiambi isn’t registering too high right now.

Oh, I also lost, pretty much, an entire afternoon at work and now will be working late to get the work done I couldn’t do while I was canceling all my stuff and ordering a new license.

I would  never dream of doing something so shitty to someone.  It’s upsetting me that someone was assholey enough to do it to me.

I think I  need a drink.  And a hug.

NEW YORK --- The New York Yankees averted getting swept by their storied rivals from Boston
when Jason Giambi hit a walk-off single with the bases loaded off Jonathan Papelbon to give the Bronx Bombers a 3-2 victory before a Yankee Stadium crowd of 55,092.

The Yankees tied game in in the seventh when Giambi, pinch-hitting for catcher Jose Molina, took Hideki Okajima deep to center field for a 2-run homer. It was Giambi's 27th homer of the season and second of the series.

Okajima's miscue spoiled an otherwise brilliant effort by Sox starter Jon Lester, who went 6.2 innings and allowed just 1 run on 5 hits while ringing up 8 strikeouts.

Closer Mariano Rivera made his first appearance of this three-game set when he emerged from the bullpen with two out in the eighth _ to the muscial accompaniment of Metallica's ``Enter Sandman'' _ and induced Kevin Youkilis to fly out to center.

Justin Masterson, who relieved Okajima with two out in the bottom of the eighth, came in and struck out Alex Rodriguez, who fanned for the third time in the game.

Masterson, however, found himself out of the game in the ninth when he gave up a single to center to Xavier Nady and walked Hideki Matsui (intentionally) and Ivan Rodriguez (unintentionally) to load the bases for Giambi.

Papelbon came into the pressure-packed situation with one out (Robinson Cano's sharply-hit line out to Jed Lowrie) and gave up the winning hit to Giambi.