9/21: Timmeh returns

GAME NOTES: Tim Wakefield returns after having to skip a start due to his constant back pain. He will start only once every 10 days from hereon out. Mike Silver wondered earlier today if this is Wake's final season. Opposing Wake is Lenny DiNardo, a former Red Sox lefty.

Wholesale Keychain TRIVIA: Batting champion

Who was the first ever batting average champion to play for Boston?

Top 3 troublesome spots for Red Sox in playoffs

Two Sundays from now, we'll be readying for our tilt with the Los Angeles Angels in the American League Division Series.

Boston just finished up a three-game tilt with the Mike Scioscia-led Angels, winning two out of three games. (The Red Sox lost the last game on a passed third strike at the hands of Varitek, who had a similar foul up in Wednesday's comeback win.)

Tthe Sox are clearly firing on all cylinders for the first time all season.

But if things are going to go horribly, horribly wrong in a quest for the World Series title, here's where it will...

Wakefield Set to Return, But For How Long?

After a successful side-session on Friday and strenth test on Saturday, Tim Wakefield prepares to return to the hill on Monday. The return should put him in line for the playoff push, though the reports coming out of Boston are not the most encouraging:

He will pitch once every ten days through the end of the season.

He has a "loose bone fragment" in his lower back which will need offseason surgery and the resultant rehab.

And... that's a lot for a pitcher to endure, especially one with a family, two rings, and nothing left to prove on the mound...