The left coast games and a new baby have rewired my internal clock to the point that I simply don’t sleep at night anymore. Instead, I troll the hallway and kitchen, alone with my thoughts, many of which pertain to the Red Sox. Unfortunately for you, I’m keen on sharing them.
— Chone Figgins is the greatest! baseball! name! ever! It’s fun to say “Chone Figgins.” Say it more than once for maximum effect. Granted, it wasn’t a lot of fun watching him bang out three hits against the Sox on Wednesday. But that name? Cool as all hell.
— I’m having so much fun watching Kevin Youkilis play, I’m not so sure I want Bill Mueller back.
— Remember that game where Kapler, Daubach, Millar and Crespo all came up big with clutch hits to help us pull a win out of the magic ass? Neither do I.
— One of the true joys this season has been watching Curt Schilling. The intensity he brings, whether he’s mowing down pitchers or chasing drunk drivers across Rte. 109, is inspiring, and a whole lot of fun. Schill-dog has also been the rare model of consistency in the starting rotation, as Gordon Edes points out in today’s Globe:
Bronson Arroyo has allowed 11 earned runs in his last nine innings. Martinez has allowed 11 earned runs in his last 12 innings. Derek Lowe gave up seven earned runs in five innings, Tim Wakefield five in 6 2/3 innings. Curt Schilling, who is scheduled to pitch Sunday in Kansas City, Mo., is the only starter who was at the top of his game, going 7 2/3 innings and allowing five hits and four runs.
— For a guy in the “twilight of his career,” Clemens is looking pretty friggin spectacular, no?
— Need a gift for that hard-to-buy-for Red Sox fan/unrepetant drunkard? Look no further.
— A seven-game win streak, beginning tonight in Kansas City, is just what this team needs. Let me rephrase that: It’s just what we, the fans need, to keep us from breaking out the guns, liquor and “hittin’ sticks.” Kansas City is one of those teams we should be applying the hurt to every time we face ’em. Coming off that whipping in Anaheim, we need a sweep.
— Nomar is expected to start next Tuesday’s homestand-opener against San Diego. For a team in the midst of a three-game swoon, this is good news. I’ll echo my man Denton’s feelings, however, that the good vibes must be tempered with caution. The Nomar re-entry phase could be slow and painful for all of us.
— Bad News: The Yankees will play Baltimore 13 more times this season.
— I’m not a fan of interleague play, but if there’s any way they could get the Pirates to Fenway and require them to wear those late-’70s era cakebox hats, I’m so there.
— Being Johnny Damon still does! not! suck!
