It wasn’t too long ago when the Yankees came to town for a five game series that was a make or break situation for the Sox. But in historic Yankee fashion, they threw us over the proverbial barrel and violated us. But now the tables are turned and it feels good to be on top. Well, in second place and first in line for the Wild Card. But still, it could be worse. We could......

Today has all the anticipation of postseason award announcements, with all the anxiety of a Law & Order episode. This afternoon, George Mitchell's going to go public with his steroid report. There's all kinds of stuff in there about making improvements to testing and recommendations for ways to keep this from happening in the future, but all anyone really cares about is the "naming names" part of the process. Who will be implicated? Sources say......

It was all going beautifully, in a manner that would make any Sox fan proud: Yankees roll into town for a late-season showdown. The Sox, boosted by a division lead and recent series of dramatic wins at Fenway Park, seemingly plunge their bats into the heart of New York baseball by taking a decisive lead in front of a riotous baseball crowd. After seven innings, Boston is five runs ahead and sitting pretty after a......

Clay Buchholz is coming! The Red Sox have groomed and nurtured their up-and-coming phenom, and will turn him loose on an unsuspecting American Leage this afternoon. Well, not entirely unsuspecting, since it's been pretty widely reported. He has explosive stuff (if no gyroball), good command, and a great attitude, says everyone who's worked with him in the farm system. And he gets his first crack in the bigs today against the [Your Municipality Here] Angels.......

Dave Zirin reads from Welcome to the Terrordome: The Pain, Politics, and Promise of Sports on Wednesday, June 27, at 7:00 pm, at Brookline Booksmith. At first, sports seems like a welcome escape from the day-to-day grind of politics. Most people would rather talk about their favorite team than the state of the war in Iraq. But, although the talking heads on ESPN rarely utter the word "politics," sports is nothing but politics – people......

Forget the 2008 Presidential Race for now. The biggest decision any voter can make right now is the one forced on us by Major League Baseball. Since the All-Star game is in San Francisco, a National League park, the designated hitter is not an option. Which means the Red Sox had to designate David Ortiz to be in the First Baseman section of the All-Star ballot. Which means Kevin Youkilis is on the outside looking......

--The metaphorical rain drops may keep on fallin' on the Yankees' heads, but it seems rain clouds really do follow the Red Sox around. Friday night's game in Texas was delayed about two hours because the skies just flat-out refused to clear. The good news? Things eventually got underway and the Sox won, 10-6. The bad? The game didn't end until 1:30 a.m. EST, and those who didn't stay tuned probably turned their televisions off......

We know you're Red Sox fans. We know that, much like every home is supposed to have emergency supplies (flashlight, bottled water, etc.) close at hand at all times, every good Red Sox fan should know where the panic button is. Just in case. Don't press them yet; just make sure everyone in the family knows how to get at it if the worst should happen. Yes, it's only one game. And yes, it's only......

The fate of nations will be determined this evening in the meadowlands of New Jersey, and we don't mean the upcoming Tony Soprano/Phil Leotardo showdown. The NBA Lottery is tonight, and we'll know if the Celtics are about to take another chance on another unproven youngster, or land one of the two sure-thing prizes in this summer's draft. The C's have a 19.9% chance of landing the #1 pick (Greg Oden, and don't let anyone......

The happiest Red Sox fans around have to be the ones who stopped watching baseball around 7:30 last night. They would have seen Game 1 of the doubleheader, a 13-3 Sox rout/Home Run Derby. They would have seen the Yankees' nightmarish loss to the Mets. But most importantly, they would have been spared Game 2, in which Atlanta demolished the Sox 14-0. A wild day all around. Game One was a laugher thanks in part......

In most cases a lost series in New York would generate a blast-furnace of heat and outrage from Red Sox Nation. Watercoolers and the radio airwaves *should* be buzzing, but after looking back on the just-concluded series at the Stadium, this Bostonist came away with more of a smile than a scowl. The series, and road-trip, kicked off with a rather masterful performance by the Yankees' Aaron "Playing Anything But" Small, out-pitching the Sox's David......

Today's news brings word of President Bush's recess appointment of John "Michael" Bolton to be ambassador to the UN and of Rafael Palmeiro's suspension for steroid use (no word yet on whether further punishments are in the works for the other performance-enhancing drugs he uses). Because these are not stories of particular local interest (except insofar as Jason Giambi is totally back on the juice and it will be really annoying if his enhanced......

A conversation about baseball these days will undoubtedly involve something about this "juicing" scandal, and Bostonist ain't talkin' about these guys or this dude (he's a whole different story). Between the Balco scandal, Barry Bonds crushing home-run records, the leaked statements by Jason Giambi admitting he took steroids, and now Canseco's book it was inevitable that somewhere along the line the government would become involved. Yes, there's been much in the news, for months,......