Sports Redux: Everything's Comin' Up Red Sox

We've now entered the portion of the 2007 Red Sox season where, frankly, it's not that big a deal if the starters struggle. How long this portion will last, we don't know, but we saw the Sox' offense rescue a queasy Daisuke on Friday, and they bailed out a shaky Wakefield Saturday to club the Rangers 7-4.

Wake struggled in the fifth, giving up a two-run double to Gerald Laird as the lowlight of a three-run inning that made the score 4-2 Texas. But the Red Sox bats (and eyes) made up for it in a hurry, punishing Texas starter Vicente Padilla and woebegone reliever Joaquin Benoit for five runs in the sixth. Manny kicked off the festivities with an RBI triple (he was a home run away from hitting for the cycle), then a parade of singles and walks ensued, and the Sox never looked back. Donnelly and Papelbon did the door-shutting honors.

Julian Tavarez looks for the sweep this afternoon against Kameron Loe and his inviting 6.38 ERA. Then it's home to face Cleveland, and if you don't think that most of this space tomorrow will be devoted to cherishing and praising the Indians' new right fielder, you're wrong.

The health news for the Sox today is encouraging; Daisuke's illness on Friday is being chalked up to dehydration, and they fully expect him to be ready to take the mound Wednesday. So don't blame the red-hot Texas-style chili for sidlining him. Better news is that Josh Beckett comfortably threw a simulated game yesterday (why don't they sell simulated tickets for those?) and is ready to rejoin the rotation on Tuesday.

Even with this good news, though, Sox fans can't get complacent. We can't forget that the second-place team in their division, and their closest pursuer, is about to get a lift from the return of its pitching ace. That's right; Toronto's Roy Halladay looks to come back this week and give the Jays a lift. What, did you think we were talking about somebody else?

The Utah Jazz showed signs of life yesterday, and then some, flattening the hated San Antonio Spurs 109-83. Utah outscored the Spurs 66-36 in the second half, and budding superstar Deron Williams led the way with 31 points. The Pistons and Cavs play tonight in Cleveland; 66-36 wouldn't be a shocking final score for this one.

The Stanley Cup finals start tomorrow night; the NHL finally used Expedia to find a flight plan from Ottawa to Anaheim that didn't involve a five-hour layover in Moose Jaw or two separate stopovers in Calgary. (We checked; the cheapest commercial flight available is $433 one way, and it's a 12-hour odyssey with stops in Atlanta and Phoenix.)