As Season 1 draws to a close...

...some scattered thoughts:

• Randy always seems to be around to recap the really good ones. Suspicious? A sign of my place in the pecking order? Other assorted conspiracy theories?
• Win or lose the Cy, Josh Beckett put in a year to be proud of. This is the type of regular season campaign the scouts predicted even when he was a HS kid in Texas. Official position as of now: He and Sabathia are both great candidates, and I suspect both would be gracious winners/losers. It's hard to argue against C.C.'s K/BB and IP total.
• Royce Clayton did exactly what I imagined in his starting debut with the Red Sox: 2 Ks, GIDP, E (though I admit, the usefulness of this particular stat in judging a player is dubious at best). Thank goodness he basically functioned only as Papi's legs the last few weeks.
• Great that they were able to wait as long as needed to get Crisp back. Taking a snapshot of this one night, he looked like the player he is when "it's going good". 2/4, 2B, SB, and a great catch in CF.
• Drew must've missed the celebration last night to watch video of Twins' reliever Nick Blackburn.
• BOLD Prediction, in BOLD: The difference in playoff schedules is going to end up meaning nothing. Also, surprising that (and maybe I haven't been paying enough attention), no NL teams, executives, supporters were outspoken about the NL not getting the same opportunity. Not that they deserve it anyway, but hey.
• Wake is still a bit shaky. Unless the Angels blow us out in a game, his presence on the ALDS roster will not amount to an appearance. And I'm not sure if Schilling shouldn't get the nod for 2 scheduled starts in the ALDS over Daisuke. +1, is of course, a no-brainer.
• Lost amidst Buchholz being shut-down: Is Bryan Corey playoff bound?
• Batshit McCracken tomorrow. Should be fun. Was I the only one hoping that Devern Hansack would get a crack at another start tomorrow? Shut down from disuse, perhaps. Anyway. JT will certainly give the fans something to watch tomorrow. I imagine the 'showman' inherent in him will be alive like never before.