Returning to the Riv

The Red Sox most reliable pitcher these days is John Lackey. Yes, you read that correctly.
Lackey pitched another beauty yesterday, striking out 12 and allowing the Colorado Rockies just two runs in seven innings. It was his fifth win of the season, and he really should have a few more if the pen hadn't let him down. Koji Uehara pitched a brisk 1-2-3 ninth as the Sox swept the two-game series, 5-3.
It was Uehara's second save and first as the Red Sox' acknowledged closer.
The Sox are now up by 3 1/2 over New York and Baltimore, and start a four-game series with the cooled-off Torornto Blue Jays tonight at Fenway.
And speaking of the Yankees, lots of high drama happening between the club and its' nine-figure pariah, Alex Rodriguez. I won't go into it here too much, but it is all over money that could be paid out by insurance if he doesn't play, and a looming suspension from MLB over PEDs. My friend Lisa isn't buying any of it, and lays out her reasons why. An interesting read from one of the better Yankee fans I know.
It just makes me thank God the Red Sox never completed that trade with Texas in 2003.
Tonight will be an interesting night, as I will be returning to one of my old haunts to watch the Red Sox-Blue Jays game: The Riviera in the West Village. I have not been there since the day the Red Sox raised their 2004 World Series championship flag on April 11, 2005. I moved over to other places since then, but these days I rarely watch the Red Sox away from home any more. I was at the Riv for one of the darker days in Red Sox history, Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS. But I was also there for The 2004 Comeback, and the World Series title that followed it. It will be good to catch up with some old friends and remember the good times we had there, like in the photo included here. (It is originally from the "Four Days In October" ESPN documentary. That's me in a still shot after the Sox won Game 5 of the ALCS, although in the documentary it shown after Game 7. No matter.)