No Beckett, No Problem

Josh Beckett missed last night's game with a stiff neck. He will probably not return until his next scheduled start in 5 days. The Sox called up David Pauley who was not great two years ago when he made three winless starts. He doesn't seem to have improved. Last night he surrendered 5 runs in four innings and while this might look bleak for other teams, the streaking Sox did what they've done better than any team in baseball this season. They staged another unlikely comeback and outlasted the Angels, 7-6 at Fenway.

Credit Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia for sparking the offense at the top of the lineup. Ellsbury launched two home runs while Pedroia hit three doubles.

The End of Coco? How much more of Jacoby Ellsbury do we need to see before Terry  Francona pencils him in as the everyday leadoff man/center fielder? Coco Crisp is a solid player, but compared to Ellsbury, he's the fourth outfielder on this team. I think it's time for Francona to end the charade of having the two split playing time. In this case, it's the rookie who deserves the job over the veteran. I will miss Coco's defense--one of the best gloves in baseball. But Coco's been through this before in Cleveland. When Grady Sizemore came up, Crisp was bumped from center and relegated to left field only to be shipped to Boston the following offseason after the Sox lost free agent Johnny Damon to some other team that plays in the A.L. East.