After three innings last night, the mood at Fenway was as good as it gets. Josh Beckett was on the mound, and the Sox had staked him to a 4-0 lead. The team was hitting well, including superprospect Jacoby Ellsbury, who got his first major-league hit by zipping down the first-base line to beat the throw on a routine ground ball. The Sox even had a helper monkey named Ayla throw out the first pitch.......

--After the beauty that was Dice K's debut, the Red Sox suffered a letdown with a loss to the Rangers, 0 to 2. It was a low-scoring game, so clearly Tim Wakefield had a decent pitching effort, but the Rangers' Robinson Tejeda was better. It stings a little to lose to a team with Sammy Sosa, though. Tonight, Julian Tavarez and Kevin Millwood will match up, and we hope the Red Sox will enjoy a......

Have we pretty much run out of Japan-themed headlines? Almost? OK. After all the hype and promise, Daisuke turned out to be everything Red Sox Nation could have hoped for. Of course, he gave up six hits and a run, so there's room for improvement, but Dice was firmly in control of the hapless Royals in the 4-1 victory. Which puts the Red Sox alone in first place, and makes us feel a little silly......