Tonight's Line Ups and Analysis

Boston:

Ellsbury -- RF
Pedroia -- 2B
Ortiz -- DH
Youkilis -- 3B
Bay -- LF
Lowrie -- SS
Crisp -- CF
Bailey -- 1B
Cash -- C

Wakefield --P

New York

Damon -- CF
Jeter -- SS
Abreu -- RF
A Rodriguez -- 3B
Giambi -- 1B
Nady -- LF
Matsui -- DH
Cano -- 2B
Molina -- C

Pettitte -- P

Holy mismatch, Batman! The Sox are in trouble tonight.

Wakefield's first game off of the DL. The Yanks NEED to win. No JD Drew, again. Our last three batters -- Crisp, Bailey, Cash --are simply not good. Pettitte always seems to "bulldog" versus the Sox (he'll bend but not break). Boston's last trip to Yankee Stadium ever. Jeter and Damon have been on fire. Seriously, how does Beattle Bailey get a start tonight? Molina has shut down the Sox running game this year.

The Red Sox have no shot tonight. For entertainment purposes only, they are bigger underdogs than the twenty-four pounds of king crab legs at a buffet that Oprah has stumbled in to after Stedman has told her to just stop talking for the fifty-second time over the last week.





I'm hoping I jinx the Yanks like I did Lester on Saturday.

Update: The time is 10:33 PM on Tuesday, August 26th. Chalk this upset right up there with the 1980 USA hockey team winning the gold, Buster Douglas knocking out Mike Tyson, Chaminade beating the Ralph Sampson led #1 ranked Virginia, a little, slow, Italian guy named Rocky beating the vastly more talented Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago and Tommy Morrison (pre-HIV) , Lyle Lovett marrying Julia Roberts, Villanova over Georgetown and the American colonists winning independence from Great Britain.

At the conclusion of the game, I actually yelled "Do you believe in miracles?"

As expected, Wakefield was rusty. Lopez, Masterson, Delcarmen, Okajima and Papelbon all got it done. The bottom of the order (Bailey, Crisp, Cash) had some timely hits and some great base running. Bay didn't seem to be fazed. Pettitte (after calling this a must win) was awful. ARod and IRod both got booed.

A great night to be above the ground!!!