So you’re the Cleveland Indians. You’ve got it going on, having swept three consecutive series against the Giants, Rockies and D’Backs, by a total margin of 61-29. You haven’t lost at home since May 26th. In short, you’re feelin’ it. Enter the Boston Red Sox for a three game series. Your manager is eager to test the mettle of his players, knowing he has been winning against poor teams. Three hours and forty minutes after the first pitch of game one; bad, mind-numbing baseball, all of your streaks are over. But hey, these are the World Champion Boston Red Sox and you battled. You competed. You did alright. Shortly after the start of game two, it suddenly becomes very clear just why they are the champs and you are 10 games out. Your starter, who was once the next big thing until injuries ravaged his career, pitched with all the poise, accuracy and savvy of a rattled rookie. He forget to check on runners, couldn’t get his location, and worst of all forgot David Ortiz will place in the top five in MVP voting for the second year in a row. And your team paid for these sins, starting a new streak; two losses in a row.

But you’re not the Cleveland Indians, and if you’re reading this, you’re most likely a Red Sox fan. And that is a good thing for many reasons. First, Bronson Arroyo is on your club. Not the post-suspension Bronson who couldn’t get it together for a few starts. The old Bronson. High leg-kick, sweeping curve ball, you know the guy. Yeah, he’s back. You also have a 3-4 hitting combination that provides enough power to light most third-world countries (PC term = “developing countries”). Combined in their last 10 games they are 27/81 (.333) with 9 HR’s and 29 RBI. Like last season, those stats are split almost exactly in half between the two. And you have Trot Nixon, the one-man highlight reel, who saved the bullpen from further criticism with an outstanding leaping catch against the wall in the ninth inning.

Last but not least, you have RemDawg. In a game that is pretty much out of hand in the eighth with not much to talk about, Remy keeps it real. Last night, he read from the sports page of the newspaper. Sounds dumb, but if you saw it, it was pretty funny. A couple of other observations – did anyone see Papi goose someone at the end of the game when they were walking out of the dugout? And is it just me, or are all of the pitchers starting to represent by wearing the Matt Clement chin-rug? And finally, I may have to skip the Sox game tonight in favor of Yanks-Rays. Lou Pinella is not the type of guy to let a 13-run eighth inning go lightly, and Kazmir is wild anyway. Could be some fine entertainment.