Nice win by the Red Sox tonight – not only because they start their month-long stretch without Big Papi, but because young ‘un Justin Masterson pitched well again and – lo and behold! – Craig Hansen came in to pick up Javier Lopez and do a real nice job with the game on the line in a pressure-packed, 8th inning hold. Good for Hansen, whom I’ve been rooting for since day one. If he can pitch well, that will take a lot of pressure off of Terry Francona to keep running Hideki Okajima and Mike Timlin – both of whom have struggled mightily this year – out of the bullpen night after night.

What really makes tonight’s win especially nice is to see that pudgy, over-hyped media sensation Joba Chamberlain suck wind in his first start this season for the New York Yankees. It’s when things like this happen that I have to admit, I find it difficult to decide what I enjoy more – watching the Sox win or watch the Yankees lose badly.

The whole Joba move to the starting ro’ idea puzzles me anyways, but when it comes to the Yankees, their punk manager Joe Girardi and their windbag owner’s son Hank Steinbrenner, I just chalk it up to %$#@!s believing their talent is oh-so-much-better than everyone else’s simply because, well, they’re the Yankees. Most teams would send their pitcher down to the minors to stretch him out in preparation for starting, but not Joba and not the Yankees – they’d much rather blow out their bullpen by limiting their new starter to no more than 60 pitches (!) his first time out. And then not even make it out of the third inning at that.

If you’re a Yankee fan riddle me this – how does LaTroy Hawkins and Kyle Farnsworth sound as your new set-up men for Mariano Rivera? Hmm…I thought so.

Might be time to start measuring just how long it’s been since the Bronx Bombers played in a World Series, let alone win one.

I guess that’s what makes nights like tonight a great one to be a Red Sox fan.