I'm not sure what he expected the Astros to do. He's been pitching like a borderline middle reliever for longer than just two outings this season. Maybe he should've made the point that they're probably not going to contend anyway.

In other news, the Angels just dropped two of three to the Indians in Milwaukee. Premature?

Was he really worth Chris Britton and $7M in salary? That's a rhetorical question.

I'm really not sure how to respond to this. An outpouring of support for how far we've come with civil rights? This is somehow a bad thing? Kudos to Griffey and Garret Anderson for finding the right words.

Kudos to him for the enthusiasm, but the '06 Marlins were a blend of young talent who may not be able to repeat what they did this season. And the Nationals, to put it mildly, have a lot less talent.

Lackey v. Wakefield:  Lackey is a great pitcher, and when you consider Harden's set schedule of nearly 10-15 starts per season, he may be the one playing second fiddle to Hernandez in the West. Wake has a 4.71 ERA lifetime against the Angels. Let's hope the home cookin' puts this one in our favor.

Escobar v. Schilling:  I want to give us the edge here. Schilling has always been good at Fenway, and pretty good against the Angels as well. Escobar is another example of a great Angel SP, but here's hoping Schill outpitches him.

Santana v. Beckett:  I think we've begun to see where Beckett can take us. I have a good feeling about this one over the others, and not just because we've lit Santana up in the two games he's thrown against us.

Weaver v. Tavarez:  Too bad it's the good Weaver, though it will be his first big-league start this season. Tavarez gets the nod in the adjusted rotation on Patriots' Day. What can I say about Tavarez? Yeah, you're right. Nothing.