I stepped away for a day... hopefully the Red Sox did too

With the Red Sox spiraling and the fan base acting like the "Burn the Witch" sequence of Monty Python and the Holy Grail , I decided to step away from baseball for a day.

I played with my kids, I cleaned the house, I went to the gym, I took care of personal business. I didn't watch the scores, nor Pardon the Interruption, which I almost never miss.

Hopefully the Red Sox did the same thing.

Relax... stop playing tight...
Clear your head... all is not lost.

I had 400,819,221 e mails yesterday from Yankee fans saying "Ready to concede the division?"

I had just as many e mails from Red Sox fans saying "It's Over! We lost it."

So today I wake up in my clean house with my smiling kids and I look at the standings.

My team is still in first place.
They are going to Tampa Bay.

The Red Sox need a modest winning streak against Tampa, Oakland and Minnesota.
They are in a 4 game losing streak now. They haven't had a 5 game skid all year.

They also need a modest losing streak by the Yankees, who have won 12 of 14 games.

Let's say the Red Sox go 6-3 against Tampa, Oakland and Minnesota.
Let's say the Yankees counter and go 7-3 against Toronto, Tampa and Baltimore.

There's the division title.

Beckett is going tonight against Kazimir. Should be a great game.
The Yankees are throwing Wang against Halladay. Should be a great game.

Let's all relax and hope the Sox can score a few runs for Beckett and have him win his 20th.

And quit trying to burn Francona at the stake!