The Red Sox Have Hand

Notes from a day in baseball:

• And As You Know Jerry, A Man Without Hand, Is Not A Man. Attention, Red Sox fans. Things are going a little too well, eh? You're 9 1/2 ahead of the Yankees in the East, you're sweeping doubleheaders as your stars sit, and their replacements are winning games with their faces. How are the Red Sox doing it? It's a mystery. This can't end well. On Thursday, Eric Hinske, filling in in right for the injured J.D. Drew, had the go-ahead home run in a 4-2 win over the Tigers. Boston had won the first game 2-1. Hinske, a former AL rookie of the year with the Blue Jays, made a diving catch in the fifth with a runner on that probably saved the game. Mike Rabelo's wind-aided fly ball was caught be Hinske, who dove parallel to the ground and held the ball despite hitting the warning track face first. The oft-quoted Curt Schilling did not pitch well in the Game 2 start, Julian Tavarez did pitch well in Game 1. Oh, and did we mention Beckett on the DL?

• Roger And Me. Meanwhile, the Yankees lost to the White Sox, 4-1, to fall even farther back in the East. Um, can Roger Clemens change his mind at this point? Before the game, reliever Kyle Farnsworth took a shot at the Rocket, saying that he shouldn't be getting special treatment. Clemens went through his final workout on Thursday at the Yankees' minor league complex, in preparation for his start with Single-A Tampa tonight in the Florida State League game against Fort Myers at Legends Field. Oh, this is going to be a fun clubhouse. ( Just ask The Dugout.)

• Chicago Cubs Bloopers And Practical Jokes. Oh Cubs, why? Trailing 5-1 to Chicago going into the bottom of the ninth, the Mets ... well, you know the rest. Carlos Delgado's two-run single ended up winning it for New York, 6-5.

• The Guy Is Haunted, I'm Tellin' Ya! Well, here's a pretty good quote. Minnesota's Torii Hunter, on Fausto Carmona's sinker: "It's not normal. He's not even human. It was so scary, I thought I was hung over.'' Carmona threw a four-hitter, beating Johan Santana for the second time in less than a month as the Indians stopped the Twins 2-0.

• Now This Is Getting Ridiculous. Nationals 4, Braves 3 ... Washington wins second consecutive series after not winning any of its first 12.