California, Californiiiiaaaaaaa!

(photo from Boston.com)

You know, I am all for this Kristen goes to bed with the Sox up a by a comfortable margin,* misses all the drama in the middle innings where things got dicey and wakes up the next morning to find that we shellacked the A's to the tune of 13-5 thing. That's not so bad. Of course, when that happens, I miss things like the sudden outpouring of offense in the six-run 8th inning which is a shame because I hear tell that was the only time that The Catcher saw fit to lay bat to ball in a way that did not result in at least one out. In fact, I read something about a "bases clearing double?" But I haven't had enough caffeine yet. I could be hallucinating.

That said, it's good to see Curt Schilling with his 13 wins and flames shooting out of his ears. Remember last year we weren't sure we'd ever see that again. And earlier in the season, I think we all thought that Schilling would be a good, if endlessly talkative, influence on Beckett because of the whole grizzled veteran, come here and let me tell you a story, kid experiencecakes. But I'm not sure we envisioned the reverse happening in that every time Beckett goes out there and punks the other team, earning himself a win, Curt feels slightly more disposable, older and less "the man" and he immediately follows it up with a tough as nails game of his own. It's an interesting dynamic. Curt can't rock a visor like Beckett (not that Beckett is "rocking" it, per se, but he thinks he is), and he can't figure out how to get a BC undergrad to put all his Toby Keith albums on an iPod for him, but he can sure as hell strike bitches out. So that's what he's gonna do.

I have, by the way, no evidence that this actually happens. It's just what goes on in my own head. Which, as I've said, is short of caffeine at the moment. It is also a terrifying place.

It was also good to see Manny continue beating the ball senseless as if it personally insulted one of his fifteen alleged grandmothers. That guy absolutely confounds me. I really believe that if he wanted to, he could hit a home run in every single at bat just by deciding to do so. He's just so nonchalant about everything and so, "I hit a home run now" that it's easy to believe that he really is able to do whatever he wants with the baseball. He's gotten better at hitting low pitches too, positively golfing some of them but his swing hasn't changed. It's as if he just woke up one day and thought, "I'm gonna see if I can hit the pitch at my ankles over the wall. That'll be fun. Where's my green pony? Can I have sherbert for breakfast? Today, I feel fast."

And it was nice to see Trotter break out of his powerless slump as well. I was getting a bit concerned that all the rumors and talk were messing with his head. For the record, that's as far as I'm going in addressing the Nixon trade rumors. There will be no more talk of that here. No, I'm not listening. *sticks fingers in ears* LALALALA, I CAN'T HEAR YOU!

Today, that Bronson Arroyo-lookin' dude Kyle Snyder faces off against Danny Haren who you just know used to stiff Bellhorn's dealer back in the day. I mean, lookit the dude. 3:35 start. Gameday away!

*Note: No margin can accurately be considered "comfortable" as long as the bullpen is still inexplicably boasting the Gas Can Twins.