When the Sox signed Eric Gagne at the trade deadline, I, along with the rest of Red Sox Nation saw him as the last piece of the puzzle as we paraded off to the post season.

Since then, though, I don't know how much sleep I've lost because of Gag-Me. To say he's been a trainwreck is a little bit of an understatement. More like the Space shuttle crashing into the Empire State Building, knocking King Kong off the building onto a schoolbus full of kids.

It's that bad. I'm wishing he stuck to hockey as a career choice.

Hopefully Terry Francona's got his answer now to the question of whether Gagne can be trusted in important situations.

It looks like the Sox have the foot off the pedal, resting Manny, Youkilis, Okajima and Coco Crisp, as they head toward the playoffs. Doesn't really make that much of a difference if they win the division at this point, as they'll still get the wild card since Detroit has shit the bed. The last four World Champs have gotten in with the wild card, so maybe this will all work out after all. But, the Yankees have been playing out of this world since the All-star break, and as long as Jeter and Rivera are breathing, they're going to be tough.

I think winning the division means more to the fans than it does to the team. As long as you can get into the playoffs, and get hot, you can win it all, just like the Sox did in 2004. Still, having to listen to the Yankee fans will be unbearable if they do catch them. We're still hearing about 1978, when the Yanks caught the Sox.

Josh Beckett's going for his 20th win tonight, so hopefully he gets it, although the Devil Rays have Scott Kazmir on the mound, and he's been tough on the Sox.