Folks...the late season magic has arrived. The Red Sox seemed poised for another near-sweep, so close and yet so far. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the master at digging then getting out of holes, had gotten the Sox down 4-0. The seventh-inning stretch had arrived. (By the way, Bostonist was at Fenway the other night and noted that fans now have to be reminded to stand up for the seventh-inning stretch, but leap up out of their seats......

The bad news is, the Red Sox still face Toronto eight more times this year. The good news is, it can't get much worse than it did yesterday, when the Blue Jays enthusiastically pounded Jon Lester and scraped the Sox off their cleats, 11-0. Lester, who's been the island of competence in a Sox staff filled with injuries, control loss and a million question marks, didn't even make it three innings. Vernon Wells kicked off......

Well, the Red Sox got to Felix Hernandez. That's the good news. Unfortunately, the Mariners got to Kason Gabbard, and really got to relievers Manny Delcarmen and Javier Lopez, and won a back-and-forth ballgame 8-7. Lopez, in particular, was victimized by a Richie Sexson home run in the sixth from which they never recovered. Manny got the day off, and his replacement (Eric Hinske) homered, so that's going according to plan. Julio Lugo got the......

We'll get into the Red Sox victory over Atlanta in just a moment, but Curt Schilling just wrapped up his weekly phone call with WEEI, and Bostonist was struck by the decidedly different tone of voice we heard over the airwaves. Schilling's not sure about what's going on with his arm, and we're not sure about what's going on with our No. 1 starter - which means we're in the midst of an odd Wednesday......

The good news is, they got some hits. The bad news is, they didn't translate into nearly enough runs. Terry Francona tried drastic measures, moving the struggling (to put it charitably) J.D. Drew to the leadoff spot, possibly to cut down on his left-on-base numbers. That sure didn't work. Francona stuck with the scuffling (again, we're being kind) Julio Lugo, which means that either Alex Cora doesn't know how to play shortstop or is trapped......

One word sums up the spirit felt within Fenway Park on Tuesday night: confidence. The Red Sox returned home from its West Coast roadtrip exhausted (players, management and sleep-deprived fans alike) and with a 3-4 record. Offense had been shaky. The team continued to hit too many double play balls for comfort. And Tim Wakefield, who had struggled through a tough month-long stretch of starts, was slated to take the mound. And yet it seemed......

Any gripes anyone has with Curt Schilling - his ego, his politics, his whatever - roll 'em up in a ball and store them somewhere for a while. Because the man is clutch. With the Red Sox reeling and poised to be swept out of Oakland, #38 stepped up to the mound and threw a one-hitter. As in, one Oakland hit. As in, if Alex Cora were a foot taller or had been playing a......

Even though the Devern Hansack experiment went horribly wrong Saturday night, the Sox had no choice but to go to the Pawtucket well again Sunday. So they brought up lefty Kason Gabbard to start Sunday's rain-delayed tilt with the Braves. And it went as well as we possibly could have hoped. Gabbard cooled off the Atlanta bats, which were still steaming from Saturday's 14-run nightcap, to the tune of five innings pitched, six hits, two......

It was a tense time at Fenway Saturday. Curt Schilling looked human (or worse). The Sox were suffering from a chronic case of "hitting the ball right at Miguel Tejada". Losing two in a row to the Orioles looked like a distinct possibility. But then came the Orioles bullpen, who helped the Red Sox turn a nailbiter into a 13-4 rout. A 5-4 lead turned to 8-4, on a Crisp fielder's choice and a 2-run......

On a day when Daisuke looked mortal, and the bullpen was in a state of flux, the Red Sox turned to Manny Ramirez to get them out of trouble. And so he did, hitting a 2-run homer in the 4th to give the Sox a 7-5 lead, then a solo shot deep into right to give them their 8-7 win. Daisuke struggled in the first, no thanks to two fielding muffs by Alex Cora Julio......

First, the Patriots draft troubled but talented safety Brandon Meriweather. Now, they trade for talented but troubled wide receiver Randy Moss, for a fourth-round pick and a round of KFC Famous Bowls. Is Bill Belichick trying to start a gang? Or is he convinced that he can take these miscreants and ne'er-do-wells and mold them into a Super Bowl team? Our money is on the latter. "There's no such thing as a bad boy," said......

-- One down! After the five-game pounding that the Red Sox took from the Yankees at Fenway last August, Friday's matchup was more than just a game. It was more than just the first rivalry game of the season. It was about avenging the embarrassment that continued to smart for Sox fans over the winter and into the early season. The game itself was a battle of the best kind: one in which we came......

Things were looking bleak in Canada yesterday. Leonard Cohen bleak. Down 3-1 after seven innings, the Sox looked like the "feast or famine" roller coaster was about to take another big dip. Then Manny homered to tie it. He's finally off the schnide, and only one behind Miracle Mirabelli now. Then in the bottom of the eighth, Alex Cora survived a tough slide by the Jays' Lyle Overbay to turn a rally-killing double play. Cora,......

Daisuke Matsuzaka Mania has already jumped the shark, and the season hasn't even started yet. The Globe had a long, loving look at how the arrival of Matsuzaka is going to juice up Boston's economy. (Better hide Pastor Wall's warning to tourists about the risks of getting shot around here.) We are anticipating Matsuzaka's official debut as much as the next sports fan. And we are tickled that one guy is expected to pump $14......

With everything up in the air and discombobulated in this 2005/2006 offseason for the Boston Red Sox, there are some burning questions and issues that must be brought up and discussed. Feel free to comment liberally Bostonists! 2 GMs, eh? We had ONE good one, but SOMEONE let him get away... Nomar - Guess what? He's not coming back... Bostonist would love it, but it’s just not gonna happen. Nomar still has a bitter......