Won One for the Clippard

Finally, a solid win - solid hitting, solid start pitching, and while Kyle Dial 911 and the Sultan of Bruney made it a little interesting, Rivera shut the door. A bit of a quick hook for the Clippard (5 innings, 89 pitches), which led to two innings for Beam Me Up Scottie. (I wonder what happens more frequently: Proctor pitches in a game for the Yankees, or Kirk says "Beam Me Up" in a Star Trek Episode?) Also props for the Egyptian one: after not playing in weeks, Cairo had an RBI single and made several plays in the field that Josh Phelps would probably have screwed up.

Interesting note on the Abreu-Dye trade rumor. Apparently this is a case where the media can cause something to happen, rather than just report on it. Cashman must have been overjoyed when reading his Chicago newspaper, which first floated the idea, as he promptly called the White Sox GM to see whether there was really an interest in such a trade. Predictably, the answer was no. (Any chance this was a practical joke either by the Chicago paper or the White Sox to see how fast Cashman could press the speed dial button? If so, it worked.)

Back to the Drewing Board: In case you were asleep last night, Francona pinch hit for the $70 million man in the 9th inning with Varitek, who delivered a pinch hit single. JD hasn't been seen to date in tonight's game, either.