Sports Redux: 180

Was this team really in turmoil four days ago? (Yes.) Were we convinced that the swagger was gone for good? (Yeah, pretty much.) Did we think that losing a Hall of Fame slugger would come back to bite the Red Sox in the butt (We still kind of do, to be honest.)

Whatever the future holds, let it be known that the Red Sox righted the ship in record time after the Angel sweep and the Manny trade. They finished off the three-game sweep of Oakland, dusting off the A's 5-2 in a game that featured two more hits and a defensive gem from Jason Bay, a game-breaking triple from Jed Lowrie, a strong start from Dice-K, a straight steal by Ortiz, and rumbles of thunder that could have been the gods protesting the Manny trade, but instead heralded the rumbling of a new chapter in the AL East race [Ed. note: Keep Bud Collins away from the keyboard. Kthxbye]

Now on to Kansas City, where Clay Buchholz will try to get back on track against a pretty bad team. But it's a pretty bad team that's snakebitten the Sox before, so this is no time to get complacent. Like they would. It's a new era!

MannyWatch: 4-for-5 with a solo home run and 3 RBIs as the Dodgers beat Arizona to close within a game of the NL West. "There is a lot of excitement going on right now with the fans," said Jeff Kent. What, are they staying till the 8th now? (ESPN does report that Hal Linden was in the crowd, which is hard to beat for star power, unless Judd Hirsch is in town.)

BrettFavreWatch: We don't care. You don't care. Even people in Wisconsin don't really care anymore. ESPN is reporting that he ate a muffin, possibly blueberry, this morning, and will alert the world if any other developments happen.