Sure, his head's roughly the size of the Coke bottles, but . . .

No time for a full Nine Innings tonight, seeing that I just got home from Boston and it's freakin' 2:09 a.m. But before I zonk out, I do have a few grievances to air . . .

Don't get me wrong, I still think he's a borderline sociopath who has no qualms about irrevocably damaging the game he claims to love . . . but I have to admit, I enjoyed the Barry Comes To Fenway experience the last few days. Every at-bat definitely felt like an Event, capital E, whether he was clocking a Dice-K pitch toward the Pesky Pole or getting outwitted by Hideki Okajima with the game on the line. It was great theater, and maybe it's easier to say this knowing that the Sox swept the series, but it almost would have been a letdown had he left Boston without homering. I also have to give him credit for his good-natured manner in dealing with the heckling and his apparently sincere appreciation for the city. Oh, of course I still hope his final home run is No. 754, and no one wants the circus to stay in town forever, but the Bonds sideshow was a fun weekend diversion at the least.

My first thought when I heard that Brendan Donnelly was going on the DL. Uh-oh. Quick, someone stop Tito from re-anointing Timlin as his main righty setup guy. So far, so good, though: Francona went to Joel Pineiro (whom I still think is going to help this team) in the big situation today, and Pineiro came through, inducing a crucial double-play grounder. Pineiro's got the stuff, and who knows, maybe he's about to start getting the corresponding results.

I know, I've been pushing Kansas City Star columnist Joe Posnanski's "Soul of Baseball" blog a lot lately . . . but man, the thing's just such a joy to read, I feel obligated to pass it along. Posnanski's passion for the game comes through in every post. His list of the five sweetest swings in baseball history is something I wish I'd thought of, and he writes the way I wish I could.

At first I was pretty sure. Now I'm convinced. Tony Soprano died.

How phenomenal has A-Rod been this season? Put it this way. He has six more home runs than Manny and Papi combined. And yet the Sox are 8.5 games up. Crazy game, ain't it?

I think I've finally figured it out. Glenn Geffner sounds like a Connecticut School of Broadcasting newbie who listened to way too much Bob Costas growing up. Conversely, it is an absolute pleasure to listen to Dave O'Brien call a game, and he and Uncle Joe already have terrific chemistry.

As for today's Completely Random Baseball Card:


You just know that next year's card will picture our new favorite goofball bowling the baseball to first.