www.bostonst...	33 years old NORTH HOLLYWOOD, CA
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What a difference a day makes. The Sox thankfully got out of Tampa and away from the juggernaut Rays and landed in New York to face the sorry Yankees. Perfect timing to beat up on a second-tier team and get out of a slump.

Jon Lester dominated the Yankees weak offense and gave the bullpen a much needed day off by going the distance.

This game was basically over after the 1st inning. It looked like Boston's woes would continue when Manny Ramirez hit a perfect double play ball to Robinson Cano with runners on first and second and one out. But Derek Jeter channeled the powers of Julio Lugo and sailed the throw to first into the dugout and the Sox had a 1-0 lead.

Mike Lowell then lined a base hit to left which every other outfielder in the majors - and the minors for that matter - would have easily been able to throw out Manny at the plate on, but Johnnny Damon and his 7th-grade-girl arm threw a 10 hopper to Posada and the Sox had a 2-0 lead. The sh*&t-eating grin on Damon's face after the play, basically saying he can barely reach the shortstop on a throw from the outfield was beautiful.

In the bottom of the inning, it looked like the Red Sox pitching was up to its old tricks as Lester walked Damon and Jeter and we were already wondering how many runs it was going to take to outscore the Yankees.

Then something just clicked and he got Bobby Abreu on a grounder and struck out Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi. Those two strikeouts really deflated New York and the entire stadium. The Sox went on to pound Andy Pettitte and the game was never in doubt.

Lester was as dominating as he was when he tossed his no-hitter against the Royals. He allowed only one extra-base hit and didn't walk another batter after the 1st while striking out eight. What a huge game right when the team needed it. You think Theo is glad he didn't pull the trigger on the Santana deal now?

There were also some great signs on offense.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a 2-RBI double, Manny finally caught up to fastball, Coco Crisp returned from his 5-game suspension and had 2 hits and scored twice. (Is it a coincidence that the Sox lost all 5 games coco was suspended for and then dominated in his first game back? Maybe he's more important to this team than we thought.)

And best of all, Jason Varitek broke his 0-for-18 slump with an RBI single in the 8th and had a good at-bat in the 4th when he moved the runner over from second on a ground out to the right side leading to a run. Even Lugo had a sacrifice fly!

Now the Sox have a chance to really put the pressure on with Josh Beckett going in Game 2 of the series. After seeing how pissed Joe Girardi was in the postgame press conference, another shutout might send Stank Steinbrenner into a fit of rage we haven't seen since his dad and Billy Martin we're going at it back in the '70s. We can only hope we're so lucky.

Happy 4th everyone! GO SOX!