Caveat emptor

It's always a risky business, handing over the task of redeeming a crappy day / week / life [delete as appropriate] to a bunch of 25 guys you have never met - there's a 50% chance that they'll do it and a 50% chance that they won't.

Last night saw the return of David Wells to the Boston rotation, and even this staunch Wells supporter has to admit that it was not pretty (and I'm not talking about the Clement-esque facial hair). He managed to last just 1 1/3 innings, and his outing looked more like batting practice than a big-league start. His problem wasn't wildness - he didn't walk any of the 13 batters he faced and threw 33 of his 49 pitches for strikes - but rather that his strikes were thrown in spots where the A's could hit them, which is exactly what they proceeded to do.

This has not been the best of road trips for the Red Sox - they've gone 2-4 against teams they should have beaten. They need to get back on track quickly, because their upcoming schedule is no picnic: a whole bunch 3-game series against either division rivals (Blue Jays, Yankees, Orioles) or division leaders (Braves, Angels, Cardinals).

I would say - for want of a better phrase - that it's time to "Cowboy Up!"...