It was a virtual tie trying to pick which movie we were going to use today to compare the Red Sox to. All About Eve, with its famous line, "Fasten your seatbelts; it's going to be a bumpy night", got the nod over Deep Impact, which we considered because of all those scenes where President Morgan Freeman has to address the nation and tell everyone that the nukes and the missiles have failed, and the comet is still heading for Earth. Which is kind of how we feel right now.

Maybe the best choice to symbolize yesterday's game would be Flatliners, a fitting tribute to the offense mustered against Joe Saunders in the 3-1 loss. The Sox outhit Anaheim 7-6, but once again, the hits didn't come in bunches and didn't score any runs.

The highlights? Well, there were a couple. Julian Tavarez pitched another solid game, struggling only in the first. And the Sox' defense was sensational. Bobby Kielty instantly became a lot of people's favorite current right fielder when he sacrificed a couple of ribs, crashing into the bullpen wall to rob Casey Kotchman of a homer in the first. And Youkilis, who has turned into May-era Julio Lugo at the plate, hit the dirt a couple of times at first to dig out errant throws. So that was nice.

But you can put a bonnet on a pig if you like; it's still a pig, as the fella says. And yesterday was another in a series of lackluster losses that have us up only four games now. Dan Shaughnessy wants to know if you're a half-empty or half-full type of fan; the best way to settle that is whether you think Wake-vs-the-Rays tonight is a sure thing, or whether the bottom's going to drop out of that sooner rather than later. We're cautiously optimistic.

The Revolution got back on track, beating Kansas City 1-0 on a 72nd-minute goal by Taylor Twellman, who's lucky to be alive. You know how on free kicks, the defending team forms a wall and hangs on for dear life? Well, Twellman's hands moved. Ye gads.

Movie poster from Wikipedia.