The Red Sox were at home, facing down the Oakland A's on Tuesday night, but everyone had one eye on events unfolding in Florida. And wouldn't you know? Things worked out perfectly.

The drama-filled Oakland game (only in September would one be able to string those words together) was decisively won by Boston and featured numerous reasons for the Fenway crowd to stand up and cheer. Tampa Bay managed to scratch together a 10-inning, 7-6, victory over the Yankees. And just like that, the magic number decreased to three and the Yankees had yet to clinch a playoff spot. Huzzah!

Where to begin? The Sox game seemed an effort by the organization to put skittish fans at ease. It was marked by the return of Manny Ramirez (only, um, 14 games after he was originally scheduled to come back, but who's counting?) and Kevin Youkilis (who returned in the fifth inning to pinch hit for Eric Hinske and resume his plate-crowding ways). It featured a strong performance from the new Curt Schilling (six innings, six hits, six strikeouts, no walks and one earned run). It featured a David Ortiz home run, a two-run shot in the seventh that bumped the score to 7-1. It included the sight of Oakland reliever Lenny DiNardo back on the Fenway mound. It even dabbled in sibling rivalry, when Julio Lugo faced reliever Ruddy Lugo in their first MLB battle (our Lugo won when he drew a walk).

And it featured what seems like Eric Gagne's first experience hearing the crowd go crazy while he's on the mound. Granted, it was in response to news that the Devil Rays had taken the lead in Florida, but hey.

So now everyone's feeling jazzed. Dan Shaughnessy's on board again, waving his Manny Ramirez Fan Club card and squealing in glee. Dice-K and Beckett are up for the next couple of games (the former's due to deliver, the latter rarely fails) and the division is starting - just barely starting - to look as if it might be within our grasp.

We'll take it.

-- Cam Neely is a vice president of the Bruins! We're digging it. We're liking it. We predict a Stanley Cup this season! Well, no. But it's nice to have the guy back...

Celebration photo by flickr user kenyee