New Day Rising. Well. What a difference an 11-0 rout (and a Yankees loss) makes. Let's hope the good hitting vibes continue in San Francisco. It wouldn't hurt to pick up a game (or two) this weekend in the standings, either, though what are the odds of Jeff Weaver shutting down the Yankees tonight in Los Angeles?

Trot Nixon has looked fantastic at the plate, hitting the ball hard (so has Nomar, although several line drives have been caught). I'd like to see Nixon higher in the lineup right away. ... Mirabelli will probably get the start tonight and Francona has said he's not moving Manny out of the cleanup spot, but I'd still like to see this lineup as soon as possible:

Damon CF
Nixon RF
Ramirez LF
Ortiz 1B
Garciaparra SS
Varitek C
Bellhorn 3B
Youkilis/Millar/Kapler DH
Reese 2B

In fact, Nixon ought to leadoff against RHP -- his OBP against them last year was .423. Some other Sox: Manny .411, Ortiz .404, Damon .350, Varitek .335, Nomar .330.

Friday: Tim Wakefield (4-5, 4.46) vs. Jerome Williams (6-4, 4.30), 10:15 pm
Saturday: Pedro Martinez (7-3, 3.77) vs. Noah Lowry (0-0, 6.43), 3:15 pm
Sunday Bronson Arroyo (2-5, 4.96) vs. Jason Schmidt (8-2, 2.50), 4:05 pm