A fortuitous injury... are you kidding me?

Well - it didn't take long for the Red Sox to knock Jess Karstens off the mound today. First pitch: Julio Lugo lines a ball right off his leg and Kevin Youkilis knocked another pitch solidly for a single. I guess the first hit took it's toll.

And good thing for NY it did - our BoSox were moments away from destroying Mr. Karsten's ERA, never mind his confidence. Joe Torre would never ask for an injury, but this one was sure well timed - otherwise we're looking at 5 in a row versus the yanks and they're running on gas - in APRIL!! Too bad - after tomorrow they will likely be within 5 games and our hot start won't look so hot. But enjoy the April sunshine while it lasts Red Sox fans... Enter stage left: Kei Igawa - the yankees' attempt to answer the Japanese invasion of Boston and as yet the only thing even remotely resembling his home land was his Richter scale-like ERA of almost 7.00. NOT the perfect number when it comes to baseball.

Regardless, Igawa held the Red Sox mostly in check today and lasted long enough to allow the bullpen a mild rest and gave the yankee offense enough time to wake from its slumber and post a 3-1 win. Both teams left TONS of people on base, but there was little clutch hitting and it all belonged to the bronxers. Joe Torre said the night before that he thought that all it would take to get back on track is one well pitched game. Well Joe - you got it.

And now all that the Red Sox Nation can hope is that OUR starter with the sky high ERA (Tavarez) can hold ANY lineup in check for more than 6 or 7 pitches. Against Wang tomorrow I don't think that is very conducive to making that happen. If Jon Lester doesn't come back soon, Julian will be headed towards breaking some losing streak and ERA records for a first place team.

Just imagine when Lester returns to the lineup... I'm drooling on my keyboard. Yuck.