Game On

With the NCAA Men's Final Four and the Sox on, it's work to stay on top. But such are the travails of the sports fan.

David Ortiz eclipses Edgar Martinez as the all-time DH RBI leader, which is quite an accomplishment.

John Lackey hasn't throw the ball badly, but the Rangers have a lot of guys who can hit, from Andrus, Beltre, Hamilton, Kinsler, Cruz, and Young. Texas definitely has the capacity to make pitchers pay for mistakes. But let's not forget the likelihood that the spotlight will shine on Jarod Saltalamacchia, the signal-caller, not the hurler for the calls (is he getting them from Curt Young?).

Following up from an earlier theme, I don't want to overemphasize an inadequate sample size upon which to make judgments. For example, with a pair of homers in two games, David Ortiz is making his argument. Ergo, expect the fan base to start the clamor to 'lock him up'.

Conversely, Adrian Gonzalez looks pretty comfortable at the plate so far, with an 'easy swing' that doesn't look forced.

The Sox do seem a bit chirpy at the umpiring so far, but maybe that's an overcall.

Jacoby Ellsbury made a diving try in centerfield and got up none the worse for wear, we hope. As a Scott Boras client, he'll not doubt soon be the Ellsbury Dough Boy.

On the other hand, Don and Jerry seem pretty restrained in their (lack of) hyperbole with respect to the 2011 edition. You have to win the games on the field, and the projections don't mean a lot relative to production.

Nolan Ryan looks OLD, and he's not that old. Ryan's had some health issues in the past, and maybe running a big league club is more stressful than it looks.