Sports Redux: A Road Sweep?

The bats are alive, they've figured out how to win on the road, and the Red Sox are heading into the Yankee series this weekend playing a completely different brand of ball than they did over the previous two weeks. Oh, Dryer of Emotion, you've tumbled us out of the lint trap.

David Ortiz' home run streak ended at three games, but Victor Martinez extended his to two, and J.D. Drew went deep twice in the Sox' 8-1 rout of the Blue Jays. Texas won as well, so the Sox' Wild Card lead remains at one. But a three-game sweep of the Yanks at Fenway (don't laugh; it's statistically possible) puts them back in striking range of the division.

The best news for the Sox was that Jon Lester breezed through eight innings of last night's game, giving up only three hits and one run, which scored on a double play ball. That's efficient. It also gave most of the bullpen a night off, and with high-pitch-count legends Brad Penny and Junichi Tazawa slated to throw the first two games this weekend, the bullpen will probably need all hands on deck against the ever-patient Yankee lineup.

While the Sox were reversing their fortune in Toronto, the Patriots were making everyone very very glad that the games don't count yet. After their 7-6 loss(!) to Cincinnati, Coach Belichick said, "We have a long way to go. We have a lot of work to do." Tom Brady only played a little over one quarter and was a hohum 4-of-8. At least he survived a couple of hard hits by Bengals defenders before Coach Bill whisked him to the sidelines. BenJarvus Green-Ellis fumbled late on a drive that at least could have woken the fans up and sent them home still Pats fans. One moment of flickering interest was the kicking skill of Chad Ochocinco, who took time out from his busy schedule of self-promotion and occasional pass-catching to kick the game-winning extra point. "I've always said that soccer is my No. 1 sport," said Chad, which has to make the Bengals wonder what exactly they're paying him for.