66

Monday (You Gotta Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em ...) The non-waiver trading deadline passed without Kenny Williams going all-in, to use a poker term. The Sox GM decided to play the cards he was dealt (if only the Sox could play the Cards some more). On the field, Jose Contreras picked up his 10th win, 8-4, over KC on the strength of three home runs -- Jermaine Dye (29th), Joe Crede (22nd), and Alex Cintron (3rd). The team's league-leading total for the year jumped to 162. We never really were a small-ball team, even last year, but this year it looks more like the Big Hurt, Mags, and Carlos Lee days of power baseball.

Sunday (from Never Say Dye to Live And Let Die) Stop me if you've heard this one before. Javier Vazquez cruises until the third time through the lineup and then gives up the big inning in the sixth. Dye saved Vazquez's butt with a clutch three-run homer in the eighth inning, which (along with Paulie's 26th homer earlier in the game) went for naught when Bobby Jenks blew only his second save of the season in the bottom of the ninth to allow the O's to avoid the sweep. I suppose it had to happen to Jenks sooner or later, but this one hurt me more than most. Maybe it was the wasted comeback that made it worse.

Saturday (Let's Hang On To What We've Got) The Sox rack up 18 hits, one fewer than the O's, but their 13 runs proved to be two more than Baltimore could muster to make an 11-game winner out of Jon Garland. Dye, A.J. and Tad Iguchi all homered in the baseball equivalent of the Bataan Death March. Update reader Brian Frankl and his family were scheduled to be there. Wonder if they hung on for the whole game in the 97 degree heat.

Friday (Grand Slam, Thank You, Sam -- Perlozzo) Ross Gload picked a fine time to hit his first homer of the season: the ninth inning with the bases loaded and the Sox trailing by two. O's skipper, Sam Perlozzo, set the table for Gload by intentionally walking Jim Thome with first base open after pinch hits by Scottie Pods and Rob Mackowiak and Gooch's sac bunt. I'm not saying he shouldn't have put Thome on, but Sam's move sure backfired. If the Sox go on to win something this year, this play and the 6-4 win may be looked upon as the turning point.

After the last four games, the Sox are 7.5 games behind the Tigers, who lost two during this stretch. The Magic Number is now 66. Two more games in KC before moving on to Toronto to finish the road trip. Go Sox!