Forget the fact that Tek is back on track with the stick after a tough 2000 season where he played most of the season with a bad thumb. Even without the O Tek is invaluable to this team, to be more specific the staff. He handles these pitchers better than anyone and he's the general out on the field, this is going to be a tough stretch behind the plate. Heal fast Tek.

The obvious choice for Tek's successor is Scott Hatteberg and I'm not all that excited about it. Never mind the sub .200 batting average, Hatteberg is no where close to being the catcher that Tek is and I'm very concerned about it. At the moment, unless the Sox call-up a back up from the minors (which I'm sure they'll do), Shea Hillenbrand is the back up, that thought is even scarier.

UGH! This is not what we needed. The only solution is for someone to step up and lead the way until the 'fallen' can heal.

As for the game it was one of those easy ones where you get to just sit back and enjoy the ride because you knew there was no chance the opposition was going to muster anything.

Tim Wakefield (6IP 4H 1R 1ER 3BB 4K W): With that Wakes now has enough innings to qualify for the ERA race. Guess what folks, going by ERA alone Wakefield is the second best pitcher in baseball right behind Pedro with a 2.12 ERA.

Carl Everett (3-5 5RBI 2B 3B): None of his hits were bigger than the bases loaded (clearing) double he hit in the second, and on an 0-2 pitch no less. Now if Carl can start hitting like that with some consistency we won't have to solely rely on Manny each time and the intentional walk isn't going to be an option either.

Chris Stynes (2-4 2R BB): A triumphant return to the line-up for Stynes, again. He got on base three of his five plate appearances and that's exactly what a leadoff hitter needs to do. With him back the offense could get a nice little jump-start.

A couple of moves were made before last night's game concerning the roster. John Valentin was placed on the 15-Day DL with a heel aliment. I'm not clear on what the problem is, but this is definitely not something Val needed right now. As I mentioned above Stynes was activated, Paxton Crawford was also optioned back to Pawtucket and Tomo Ohka was recalled.

With the pen now rested (a little anyway) it'll be interesting to see how the roster shapes up, especially with Tek's eventual trip to the DL. I'm sure they'll call up a catcher, who I have no idea, but when the Sox placed Lou Merloni on the DL the other night and called up Crawford and have since called up Ohka, they now have 12 pitchers on the roster. I'm curious to see if they send Ohka down and maybe Izzy Alcantara gets the call back to the big team.

I'm thinking probably not, only because if Izzy is called, he's out of options, and once someone is activated off the DL he has to clear waiver to be sent back down. I'll be keeping an eye on the wire today and will report anything I find out over on the message board.

Cone tonight and he needs to pitch as well as he did last time and even improve his performance. Another set back could be the last straw for Cone as Crawford and Ohka both look ready for a permanent recall.

paul@redsox2000.com