This was supposed to be the acid test for the Sox. 15 games in a row with the two best east teams and their no.1 nemesis. How'd they do? They were banged up and got worse. The bullpen fell apart a couple times after being almost flawless. They got a couple of bad calls that hurt in close games. Buerhle went into a slump. They had their first real losing streak of the season. They lost 9 of 14 (one rain out)

But...

They won three of the last four. They really weren't blown out at any time; they lost by more than three only twice. The starting pitching is for real. The bullpen was due for a slump and will be fine. They will get healthier. (I'm even hopeful they'll stop over-swinging when Podsednik returns.) They are 8 games up.

They play 3 games with the Angels and a three game set with Cle in the third week of Sept. Other than that, the sked is full of teams that are bad and are or will be out of it. They have 14 games with Detroit and KC in Sept!!!!! They will make the playoffs and compete.

I'm still not crazy about the offense for the playoffs, but this pitching they will have a chance in every game. (Maybe Juan Uribe will go crazy; it could happen). I'll go back to being a pessimist tomorrow but really things are fine.