A few thoughts on te Beantown Nine a little over a month into the season:

* Manny Ramirez is one very bad dude at the plate. Now that he’s come out of his homer drought (thanks in no part to Terry Francona sitting him down for a couple of days two weeks ago while he was en fuego), expect his homers to come in bunches and him hitting his 500th on the present road trip. You could see Manny being just-this-much-away from pure during the weekend series with the Rays.

* Even though he had a rough outing tonight, I love watching Craig Buchholz pitch. If he stays healthy, he’s going to be a phenom.

* Alternatively, I can’t stand to watch Daisuke Matsuzaka games, which seem to take freakin’ forever. The good news is that when he’s on the mound at the start of an inning, I can vacuum the house, do the rabbit cages, and wash my car all and still be done to see him go 3-2 on the fifth batter of the inning just before he strikes him out, leaving the bases loaded without being scored upon.

* I can’t wait for the Julio Lugo era to end. Yeah, yeah, the Sox became World Champions with him at shortstop last year, but he does nothing for me.

* On the other hand, watching centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia in the 1-2 positions in the lineup is a treat. Just as it is to watch both of them field their positions. The day is coming in the not-too-distant-future that both will be All-Stars.

* Doug Mirabelli? Doug Mirabelli? ‘Nuff said…

* That new camera angle on NESN’s Fenway Park broadcasts right behind the pitcher’s right shoulder is fantastic. You can really see the movement and rotation on the ball.

* Speaking of NESN: it’s hard not to take the broadcast team of Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy for granted, but they are the best in the game. Don’t believe me? Listen to some of the other broadcast teams out there. The guys who do the Florida Marlins are very good, as are the ones who do the Tampa Bay Rays. But the clowns who do the Diamondbacks broadcasts really bug me – they call every ballplayer by their first name as if they were one of the family. And don’t even mention the Yankee broadcasters.

* Speaking of NESN: I love Dennis Eckersley on the pre- and post-game shows. He calls it like it is, is not afraid to admit when he’s wrong about someone (Dustin Pedroia, for example), and he still talks and thinks like a ballplayer. But Ken Macha does nothing for me. And I love Jim Rice’s ties.

* Speaking of NESN: OK I’m missing Tina Cervasio on the NESN broadcasts, but, like Red at Surviving Grady, my eyes are more than willing to give her replacement Heidi Watney every chance in the world to succeed. And I’m guessing fellow Goodboy Ben “The Funny Guy” Andrusaitis feels the same way…