Walk This Way: Boston 7, Chicago 4. Four White Sox pitchers issued 12 walks, including 3 with the bases loaded. The only Sock without a free pass was Walker, but he had two hits and a nifty play in the field. Suppan was good enough, and Timlin and Kim closed the door. Seattle topped Anaheim by the same score, so the Red Sox's wild card lead is still 1½ games.

With Nixon out for about the next week, Adrian Brown was called up from Pawtucket. ... Jayson Stark rates the contenders' bullpens and puts Boston as 6th out of 7 -- better only than Kansas City. One scout comments: "If their bullpen gets hot, they're going to win the whole thing, because right now, if the playoffs started tomorrow, aside from their bullpen, Boston is the best team in the league."

Pedro's next start would be Monday, but Grady has indicated he'll give Martinez an extra day of rest and have him pitch Tuesday. That would mean his last three regular season starts would be September 16, 21 and 26. I'm almost positive both ALDS begin September 30, so Pedro might pitch Game 1 on three days rest. Having Lowe pitch Game 1 and Pedro Game 2 isn't a big deal to me at this point. Although it would mean Martinez would pitch a Game 5 on short rest, it might also put him on a nice schedule to start the ALCS ... but I'm getting ahead of myself!

HBO premieres an hour-long look at Red Sox history from the fans' viewpoint on Tuesday night. It is titled (unfortunately) The Curse of the Bambino, but Sox fans who have seen it say it's excellent. Some SoSH posters are featured. Edward Cossette quotes a Yankees fan: "Jesus, now I know what it truly means to be a Sox fan. We might have the championships but we can't touch your fan base."

El Guapo's Ghost is in Burlington, Vt. lamenting the lack of obsessive Red Sox fans on what he calls "the west coast of New England." Having grown up in the Burlington area, I can tell you there are Sox nuts up there because I was/am one. Where they'll be congregating in October, however, I don't know. ... I like this quote from David Ortiz, although I don't understand it: "That's why people gotta believe in the Sox. This is not apple Sox, or barbecue Sox. This is the Sox." I guess he's contrasting "Sox" with "sauce," but that doesn't really clarify things. ... Finally, the Big Red Kahuna chatted with Grady this morning while heading out for coffee. ... Wakefield/Colon at 7:05 pm.