I apologize in advance....

So sorry to tell you, but posting will be erratic for the next 5-6 days. I'm leaving on a whirlwind visit to Hartford, Philadelphia, New York, and New Jersey, and internet access will probably be rather unpredictable.

I was hoping to check out a Phillies game, but they seem to be at Washington while I'm there, and I haven't seen CitiField yet, but the Mets are in Atlanta. Perhaps I'll try to re-visit the shopping mall that they refer to as the new Yankee Stadium.

Regardless, plan on a nice long post by Wednesday evening - and GO SOX!

Finally some good news

Led by Marco Scutaro's grand slam, the Sox defeated the Angels yesterday, 7-3.

The Red Sox completed a sweep of the Angels yesterday afternoon in Anaheim, their first sweep since June 18-20 when when they swept the Dodgers at Fenway Park. The Sox have not swept a series on the road since they victimized the Rays at the Trop, May 24-26.

An encouraging sign, to be sure, especially since they managed to do it on the West coast, at the tail end of an absolutely brutal roadtrip. The local nine managed to salvage a 6-4 record in the last 10 games, and will head home to the friendly confines of Fenway Park to face the likes of the Tigers and Indians before taking to the road once again.

After a well-deserved offday today, the Sox take the field at a normal hour tomorrow, when Jon Lester takes on Mr. [Not] Perfect Game himself, Armando Galarraga. Galarraga has a 4.50 ERA, and has been pretty unimpressive of late, notching just one win since his near-perfect game on June second.

The way Lester has been pitching, I'm not too worried, and the bats seem to have hit their stride, too. Here's hoping the Yanks and Rays can lose some games so we can gain some ground.

Lackey not lacking

Angelic no more.

Lackey put up one of his best efforts of the season last night against his former team out in Anaheim. The big righty threw 124 pitches in 7.1 innings, giving up just two runs, and notched his tenth win of the season, finally looking like that third ace we were promised back in the offseason.

Somehow, the Sox haven't lost to the Angels this season, despite having well-documented issues beating most everyone else over the course of the schedule. Perhaps it's a timing issue, since the Sox played the Halos in May, before they lost too many people to the DL, and then again now, when they're starting to see some reinforcements.

Lackey has been much maligned this season for performing at a level that was lower than advertised. Where was that guy who screamed at his manager for trying to take him out in the 2009 playoffs? And why were we paying his salary to THIS guy?

Last night, Lackey sent a message to Red Sox Nation. Unfortunately, many of them were likely asleep, but they'll catch it this morning on talk radio, or SportsCenter, or Quick Pitch. THIS is the John Lackey we were all hoping for, and he's finally arrived. I can't wait to see what he'll do with the rest of the season.