Catch-Up Time. Sox Latest Funk. Raffy 3000!

After dealing with the inconsistencies of my work softball league and my car, I'm back at the keyboard to play catch-up. My car has been hesitating a bit, and finally the Check Engine light came on. After a trip to my mechanic it turned out that the third cylinder was misfiring. A compressor coil was replaced and all seems to be well.

I wish I could say the same for the softball team. We dropped our third one-run game of the season and are now 5-5 with eight games left.

The Red Sox are in a similar funk having lost seven of their last nine including tonight's 3-1 loss to the wretched Tampa Bay Devil Rays. In addition to this latest loss, Johnny Damon had his hitting streak stopped at 29. Rays lefty Scott Kazmir started and threw six innings in which he walked six and struck out five, yet escaped major damage by only allowing one run in the first on a bases loaded giddup from Manny Ramirez. Kazmir is only 21, and is still learning, but he has a live arm and, if he can get into an organization that knows how to develop young pitchers (listening Atlanta?), he can be a big winner some day.

Depending on what happens in the Yankees-Rangers game (the Yanks were leading 9-6 in the fifth inning as I type this), the Sox could wake up in second place tomorrow morning.

On Saturday, Rafael Palmeiro doubled in the fifth inning to get the 3,000th hit of his career. Congratulations Raffy, your Hall of Fame plaque awaits in Cooperstown.