Sink or Swim

The bad news about Pedey came down yesterday: The foot is broken, requiring at least 6-8 weeks of downtime on the DL. Without their sparkplug second baseman, the Red Sox are at a crossroads: They can either pull together and stay in the race with everyone else stepping it up just that much more (and prove us doomsayers wrong) or they can suffer from the disease Acute Lackopedey and free-fall in the direction of the Baltimore Orioles.

Last night, it looks like they were taking a step toward pulling together, beating the Giants 4-2 despite yet another injury. If Clay was going to get hurt running the bases, he would have been better off striking out. However, it seems young Buch's injury is not nearly as serious as Pedey's and with the off-days next week, he may not have to miss a start. The bullpen, which gave Tito and all of Red Sox Nation fits on Thursday, redeemed themselves last night, holding the Giants to two runs after having to come into the game in the second inning. Atch, RamRam, MDC, Oki, Bard, and Pap picked up their fallen starter and the rest of the team, along with Mike Cameron. Cameron went yard for the first time this season and it was a big one with two men on base. He also made a key catch in the eighth inning. Darnell McDonald also hit a long ball and those two dingers provided all the offense the Sox would need to win.

The Sox picked up a game on the Yankees, who fell to the Dodgers 9-4, but kept pace with the Rays, who beat the D-Backs. They also picked up a utility infielder-outfielder from Oakland, Eric Patterson, who appears to be a Bill Hall clone, at least numbers and versatility-wise. Whether two light-hitting utility men will be able to bridge the Pedey gap remains to be seen.

This afternoon, Lester and Lincecum face off in what is likely to be an epic pitcher's duel. This could be a real test for the Pedey-less offense.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!