Can we all agree that Manny is officially back in the saddle?  Why all the panic?  You knew this was going to happen yet you started mumbling under your breath “$20 million dollars” and “We should have traded him”, but all of a sudden Senior Clutch rocks his former team last night and the bandwagon suddenly got more crowded.  Seriously, I’m going to start kicking some of you off, because I’m tired of watching you jump on and off every time Manny wants out of Boston.

How closely do you watch Manny when he steps into the batter’s box and goes to work?  There is no other player on the Boston Red Sox who I pay closer attention to.  Watching him is an event.  Do you know last year that he hit about 12 Fenway home runs in a row that left the stadium?  How can you not lock in on Manny when you hear is name?  If I were a teenager during this time and I studied Manny, then a pro team would draft me.  It would probably be Kansas City in the 28th round, but it’s the show baby.  When he misses it’s by millimeters and not inches.  That is exactly why you should never worry about him.  One split second quicker with the bat plus 2 millimeters more level with the bat and all of a sudden he’s carrying the offensive load a bit.  After last night’s 3-run bomb I can almost assure you that Ortiz is going to see a lot less intentional walks.

These past two wins for the Sox have been accomplished the right way.  Sunday in Toronto was a tight game and the Jays came back with 3 runs worth of momentum to get it close.  Then the Sox break their back and score a few late runs to pull away(Doesn’t that remind you of how the Yankees used to beat us all the time?).  During those last 9 outs for the Jays they looked lifeless.  Even though Papelbon struggled there was no doubt the game was going to end on the plus side.  Last night was a back breaker for the Indians.  Nothing went right for Eric Wedge and then Manny drove a 34-inch stake right through the hearts of the 10,000 fans that actually stuck it out in 30 degree “heat”.

If I’m giving Manny the Warrior award today then Foulke gets the Warrior part deux award.  If Manny won the game with his bat then Foulke saved it with his arm.  The change-up is back.  He flat out embarrassed Travis Hafner during his second to last at-bat.  Knowing that he will only get stronger from here will make this a very dangerous bullpen.  Considering the starters are going so deep, it’s a rested one as well. 

While everybody was focused on Schilling and his record many of us missed that two very important players are finding that groove.  I think we’re about to see a nice run for the next few weeks from both sides of the playing spectrum.