We hate to throw around the term "must-win" game. Game 4-7 of the 2004 ALCS; now those were must-win games. An August game against a non-divisional foe, when you're winning your own division, shouldn't qualify for the term.

But last night sure felt like it. The Sox had dropped two straight to the Angels and the Yankees have been getting closer and closer in the rearview mirror. Furthermore, the Sox were taking the field sans David Ortiz (shoulder) and Coco Crisp (lingering moose-related soreness); their outfield of Pena, Drew and Moss may have been the least frightening in years.

Happily, the Sox dug deep and found their mojo again, outlasting the Halos in a grueling 9-6 win. The two teams traded leads early on; starters Jon Lester and Dustin Moseley were eminently hittable, and both were gone by the end of the fifth. The Sox' best stretch was the fourth, when Manny, Drew and Lowell doubled consecutively to bring four runs across.

It was 6-6 after five innings, and stayed that way until the top of the seventh, when Dustin Pedroia led off, decided enough was enough, and slapped a home run just out of the reach of Garrett Anderson. The Sox tacked on two insurance runs in the eighth; nothing glamorous, a sac fly and a wild pitch. The international syndicate of Okajima, Gagne and Papelbon shut the door, and the lead over New York is back to six.

So, finally, the West Coast portion of the schedule is mercifully over. The Sox stop in Baltimore for three before coming home; finally, we play a mediocre team while the Yankees face major-league quality opposition in Cleveland. So catch your breath, fans; as Terry Francona says, "People dropping off bridges are going to miss some good baseball." We hope he means "jumping", and not alluding to the nation's crumbling infrastructure.

The Celtics are apparently serious about gearing up for the 2002 Title, or at least making a run at this year's crown. Danny Ainge has reportedly put a bug in the ear of 41-year-old Reggie Miller about coming out of retirement to play a part-time role as a long-distance gunner. We hated - hated - Miller for most of his Indiana career; he was the master of driving into the lane, bumping someone, flailing his arms out, and getting to the free throw line. We'll never condone behavior like that. But he had a knack for the big game. Who can forget him yapping with Spike Lee as he buried 3-pointers at Madison Square Garden? The most significant aspect of this story is that Reggie conceivably THINKS HE CAN WIN A RING THIS YEAR WITH THE CELTICS. Is this the fastest 180 in sports history or what?

Pedroia image from Flickr Usr Eurodana.