Dateline: Accord, New York. Off this morning for a house in the Catskills, where I'll be stuck with deathly-slow dial-up, but will have the Extra Innings package. So for the next two weeks, expect game recaps and thoughts related thereto, but probably little else.

Seattle 2, Boston 0: Do other teams' bats go ice-cold more often than they logically should and make bad/unknown pitchers like Gil Meche and Bobby Madritsch look like Cy Young Jr.? ... Boston had its chances to score, but couldn't get a single run home. The Red Sox -- who fell to 3½ games back in the East, but lead the wild card by 5 games -- are off tonight and the Yankees are in Kansas City.