Bring back the Rangers!

Roy Halladay must have read my previous post....he wants in on some Cy-Young consideration as well.....and why not? He shut down a previously white hot Red Sox lineup last night, leading his team to a 4-1 victory in a game that lasted only 2 hours an 18 minutes. I'm pretty sure the Red Sox had single innings that lasted longer than that against Texas. Last night's game plays into the old phrase that good pitching will beat good hitting.... Halladay threw his 8th complete game of the season (far and away the league leader in CG's), scattering 7 hits and only allowing a solo shot to Pedrioa in the 9th. For me anyway, I had a bad feeling in my stomach when we didn't score in the 1st (our only real chance for runs). Halladay gets into his rhythms, he works quickly and receives good defense behind him. The Sox never capitalized on any chances to disrupt that rhythm.

Paul Byrd's debut for the Sox wasn't a bad one, in fact, he kept the Red Sox in a game that they easily could have been counted out of early. By going 7 1/3rd, allowing 4 runs on two homeruns, he didn't dazzle the Bluejays, but his old school windup and ability to throw strikes has me optimistic about what he can bring to the team down the stretch. If he is able to be a reliable, 4th, and eventual 5th starter and keep us in games, that is all we can ask for. He is most definitely not a clubhouse issue as he is a free spirited guy who likes to joke around and have fun. Last night he showed us some solid pitching but was simply outmatched by a guy who even at 14-9 will still get a lot of Cy-Young votes as his other numbers are simply that good (2.65 era, 159 k's, 1.03 WHIP). The bad news is that Byrd will face the Blue Jays for the third straight time in Toronto next week (with the possibility of starting against Halladay yet again). NESN's Tom Caron pointed out through Elias research that it's the first time in 50 years a pitcher will make three consecutive starts against the same team. Not an easy way to start for a new team, but Byrd is just happy to be on a contender.

ITM Divisional Watch:

-The Red Sox remain 3.5 games behind the Rays as Tampa lost to Texas 3-0.

-The Yankees got lucky in the 13th to beat the Royals....Arod continues to be in a tremendous slump. (The guys from the Bronx remain 9.5 behind the Rays and 6.5 game behind the Sox for the wildcard)