Sports Redux: The Fifth Element

Ignore the fifth inning and the Red Sox would have been sitting pretty on Friday night during their homestand opener against Texas. Ignore the fifth inning and Brad Penny might still be undefeated at Fenway Park. Ignore the fifth inning all season and the Red Sox would have a tidy little buffer separating themselves from the Yankees in the standings.

This time around, it was Elivs Andrus (a two-out RBI ground ball that skipped past the darting Julio Lugo) and Ian Kinsler (three run homer shortly thereafter) that slayed the Sox en route to a 5-1 Texas victory. What was a 0-0 thriller quickly morphed into the Sox trying unsuccessfully to catch up and stranding a slew of fellows on base in the process.

The good news? RBI single by David Ortiz! Circle the calendar date - this is a red letter day in that regard.

Speaking of our starter, there are conflicting reports about where he could wind up if the Sox decide to trade him to open up space for John Smoltz. We can safely say that someone somewhere might be interested in Brad Penny. If you've been following Smoltz's Shipping Up to Boston tour, know that he was slated to start for the PawSox on Friday night, but the game was rained out. Pawtucket plays Durham this evening and Smoltz will get the start. This means, of course, that the local crowd planning to make their pilgrimage to the Church of Baseball tonight just got a little fist bump from the Big Commissioner upstairs.