9/29: Time to Clinch

GAME NOTES: Okay, enough with the slump. Let's pop the bubbly.

Laundry List: Lowell’s Hip, Kotchman’s Bat

Two items for today's laundry list:

1) Hope that Lowell's hip heals

2) Pray to Pedro Serrano's voodoo gods (yeah, that crazy guy from "Major League") that if he doesn't, Casey Kotchman's bat will rise from its slumber.

Mike Lowell came into this season on the heels of a revolutionary labrum surgery, one so new that it is yet to be named (that Lowell, incidentally, hopes will be named after him). As a result, he's already had one DL stint this season due to the hip and received another Synvisc injection Monday.

For Better or For Worse: Terry Francona

Wrapped in the title "player's manager" is both a complement and an insult. Personable and charismatic as to relate to players, these managers are too cowardly to make tough personnel decisions, too soft to win championships.

Yet, what is often overlooked, is that many of the greatest skippers in baseball history have managed in this style. Arguably the two best managers of the last decade have been of this "undesirable" type: Terry Francona, winner of two World Series titles since installed as Red Sox skipper in 2004, and the legendary Joe Torre, manager of the Mets, Braves, Cardinals, Yankees, and Dodgers during his storied career.

Terry Francona, in many ways, can be considered a latter-day Joe Torre. Francona, in particular, faces many of the unique challenges that Torre did, while also being among the best at managing personalities and egos in his MLB clubhouse...

TOR 11, BOS 5: Too Much To Ask

Michael Bowden was stretched too thin, giving up five hits and five earned runs in just over two innings of work. The bullpen did not help matters, as Hunter Jones handed the Blue Jays another four on the way to an 11-5 loss.

Kevin Youkilis and David Ortiz would not go silently into the good night, but the pitching, or lack thereof, proved to be a bit too much to overcome, especially in a rain-shortened game.