Here’s a pic of the latest addition to the family. This bun is about a year and a half old and was a stray taken in by the AZ Humane Society back in April. Because of the circumstances involved, he needed a owner who would be willing to take on the special needs he has and no one had stepped up, thus leaving his future prospects as dim as The Stardust Las Vegas. We had the space, so welcome to the Richard household, Big Pint!

(BTW, the name comes from the fact he’s a black lop rabbit that looks and appears to have the same attitude as one of our other rabbits, She’sALittleHalf-Pint (Half-Pint, for short). Big Pint not only joins Half-Pint, but also Marble and Marble Jr. as fellow fur creatures in our humble abode.)

And speaking of big, congrats to David “Big Papi” Ortiz for being named co-Player of the Week in the American League. Ortiz is having a monster of a season, and were the Red Sox to contend for a A.L. pennant (something it’s becoming increasingly clear they won’t be), he’d be worthy of consideration for M.V.P. But they’re won’t be, so neither will he.

And speaking of even bigger, if there was ever such a thing as a big “must-sweep” series prior to anyone playing September baseball, the 3-game one starting tonight between the Sox and the Kansas City Royals is it. I completely agree with Surviving Grady’s Red…

Now. Regarding the Sox. If we can’t sweep the Royals — that’s the worst team in baseball Royals, thank you — with Schilling, Lester and Beckett on the hill, then I’d say we’re toast. Yes, toast. And not the good, crunchy, buttery kind, either. I know that both teams are made up of “professional ball players” and that to “discount” them is to “succumb” to the sort of “blind pride” that “dooms” “teams.” But, goddam, KC and Baltimore? If we’re serious about hauling our collective arses into the postseason, these are teams upon which we need to be unleashing unmerciful torrents of beatdown. This is the baseball foodchain, people, and I need to see Ortiz stuffing Ambiorix Burgos into an oversized sub roll.

… Sox don’t sweep, season be over. As it is, even if they do sweep, I don’t see them catching the Yankees, who now appear to have a stiff breeze in their mainsail. Nevertheless, you still gotta play the games, and this series is crucial for the Sox and their 2006 fading chances.