Sports Redux: The Wheels On The Bus Go Flying Off

Are we in the pennant race yet? Because whatever it is the Red Sox are racing towards, it doesn't feel like a pennant. They're 3-8 in their last eleven games, they're failing against an Oakland/Baltimore portion of the schedule that seemed designed to give them some momentum coming out of the All-Star Break, and they're exposing serious flaws in almost every aspect of the game that isn't named Josh Beckett.

Last night, they valiantly tried to dig themselves out of a 5-0 hole that Oakland bombarded them into in the first inning. Brad Penny settled down pretty well after that, but the Sox eventually fell to the A's 8-6. Mike Lowell's three-run homer got the Sox within striking distance, but a 2-run double off Justin Masterson put the game out of reach.

One thing all of baseball is rushing towards is the trading deadline. The Phillies got Cliff Lee from Cleveland (that's 2 straight seasons of dumping the reigning Cy Young winner by the Indians), so presumably they're out of the running for Roy Halladay. Tony Massarotti breaks down what Halladay and a couple other potential prize targets would mean to the Sox.

Winded from the trip to LA for the Manny beat and the slamming of Dice-K, Dan Shaughnessy convinces the struggling Globe to put him up at Patriot Place so he can spy on their practices. Save yourself two minutes. Seriously.