Pacific Pacifier

I'm on vacation this week, tending to a lot of baby stuff. Settled on a pediatrician this morning and got some tips tonight in childbirth class on how to soothe a crying baby.

In between, in the vast nursery of Red Sox Nation, Ol' Timmah Wakefield demonstrated his own particular technique. Seven-plus innings of no-hit ball in Oakland to cap the West Coast swing. He didn't just eat up the innings, he ate up the A's.

And so an A+ for Ol' Timmah.
Just what the doctor ordered for our struggling club.
That and the six-run eighth inning. Did we actually bat around? String together a long two-out rally?

Perhaps today's win, coupled with a nice long upcoming homestand, will be the catalyst that reverses the 2-6 start. (Though I am tempted to posit the recovery started with the great relief work of Justin Masterson and the bullpen in Tuesday's 12-inning loss. Finally, something consistently good.)

In the big picture, the biggest downside to the West Coast jaunt wasn't the lost games, but the lost bodies:

*Jed Lowrie, for all his early offensive struggles, will be missed. We are suddenly dangerously thin at shortstop, though Nick Green sure played a good game today.

*Revolver Beckett loses a start due to suspension from a game in which he wasn't even ejected. That's sort of like doing hard time for a crime for which you weren't even arrested.

*And, lastly, the Diceman with his shoulder strain.
You know where he got that? Not pitching for the team paying him millions, but for Ol' Nippon in the World Baseball Classic, which I suppose would make good theater if not for the casualty list that builds in its wake.
Pedroia and Youk both hobbled away from it back in March. The Diceman's woes seem to be on tape delay -- sorta like the way he pitches.

But this is just me whining when I should be kicking back and relaxing in my crib. Think I'll swaddle my hand around a pale ale and contemplate the good days to come.