Bring forth the Deliverer!


photo courtesy of Baseball America

The Red Sox brass shocked nearly all Red Sox fans yesterday, calling up southpaw Craig Hansen to aid the faltering pitching staff while everyone awaited word that his Pawtucket teammate Jon Lester was on a bus from Rhode Island to Yawkey Way.

The commentariat still believes that Lester will be moved to the big club in time to make his Red Sox debut on Saturday against the Rangers, as Hansen appears to be headed toward some kind of bullpen duty. The folks at Boston Dirt Dogs wonder if the lefty is the long lost cousin of certain other famous sporting Hansens. Worth pondering, indeed.

The whole thing, for some reason, reminds me of the situation in Monty Python's Life of Brian. The title character is deemed the Savior by the Three Wise Men, who mistakenly arrived at his doorstep rather than the door of his neighbor. In the end, Brian shows his worthiness by swaying the masses on the pure basis of his strength of will … or something. Let us hope that both Hansen and Lester demonstrate the strength of will required to dominate in spite of the hyper-scrutiny by Boston. If not, at least we can Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Meanwhile …


Photo courtesy of www.emersontorrey.com

All other talk this morning focused on the impressive outing rendered by David Pauley, who last night, pitched terrifically despite the pressures of taking on the Yankees in The Bronx. Yielding only two runs through 6 2/3 innings, Pauley might have even emerged with a win but for the air-tight Yankee defense. Hard luck, but certainly a nice indication of what could be as future staffs are considered.

Sidenote …


Photo courtsey of www.primate.or.kr

When I saw this SI headline, I figured it had to be about Melky Cabrera. Who knew the Blue Jay was so sensitive? Concerning Melky, NY Post's Joel Sherman looks to the rookie outfielder and his fellow Andy Phillips to bring back the home-developed magic that the Yankees had in the mid-late 1990s. NY Daily News' Bill Madden says "There is just no underestimating the shot of adrenaline the "call-to-duty" kids from the system … have given this team," and catches the Manager getting a few barbs in on his boss:

"The way we've played this year is a little reminiscent of 1996," said Torre, "when I remember George (Steinbrenner) coming to me at one point and saying: 'How are you doing this, with mirrors?' You put out your lineup, the best players you've got, and then become a spectator, wondering: 'Who's gonna be the guy to make something happen today?' The players feel the same way, saying: 'What am I gonna do next?'"

In other Red Sox pitching news …


Photo courtesy of www.crombiejardine.com

Tony Mazz gives Josh Beckett the podium to air his excuses for successive bad outings.

Who knows what the staff will look like after the All Star break? At the very least, fans stand a good chance at forgetting all about this young season's obsessions with a certain two elders on which we've wasted far too much mental energy.