Glad to see Sox manager Terry Francona sees things the same way as The Great White Shank. Less than 24 hours after pleading with him to remove Julio Lugo from the lineup, dude does the right thing…

“I spoke to Lugie today,” Francona said. “He came back [too] quick. I don’t think he’s moving yet like he’s going to. I told him to take the next day or so and meet with (strength coach) Dave Page because I think putting him out there is a little unfair. He got himself put in situations where plays were hard for him to make. He will get there. But in the meantime I’m trying to balance it. We’re looking out for our guys and we’re winning games. We’re going to communicate with the both of them (Nick Green, who was in the lineup last night) and that’s the only way I know how to do it.”

…meaning, of course, the Sox go back to the serious business of winning ballgames – this time over the New York Yankees, no less. A major contributor to the Sox victory, of course, was shortstop Nick Green, who bailed Jon Lester out of a potential mess with a diving stop behind the second base bag to take a base hit away from Robinson Cano. To beat the best in the American League you need both solid pitching and defense – something that was sorely missing with the Jonah in the line-up over the past week.

Glad to see Manager Francona come to his senses.

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I have to say, however, that maybe it was the field and the damp conditions, but watching the Sox and Yankees go at it tonight was like watching two battle-weary dinosaurs compared to the baseball clinic put on by the happy, scrappy, and frenetic Tampa Bay Rays this past weekend. I have to admit that the Rays are for real, and right now field the most talent of any team in the American League – perhaps in all of baseball.