Musings on a Friday:

Nice series by the Sox sweeping the Yanks. Francona, Farrell and company always seem to be one step ahead of Joe Girardi and the Yankees. Last night's game was a game they should have lost, but they found a way and head into this weekend's series against the Phillies in good shape.

Kevin Youkilis is turning into a superstar in front of our eyes. He needs to stay in that 3rd spot the rest of the year. He does everything very well. Though not regarded as a speedster, he might be one of the top Red Sox base runners. He's hitting for more power, taking his walks when they don't pitch to him and is playing great at first base.

Jason Bay is leveling off a bit. He's down now under .280, but he's still taking his walks. He is incredibly vulnerable to low and outside sliders. They are pitching him there more and the strikeouts are starting to pile up a bit. Here's hoping he makes an adjustment to either lay off these pitches or start hitting the ball to right a little bit.

Speaking of adjustments, JD Drew is locked in right now. He's been hitting the left field wall on a regular basis lately. Though I think their best alignment for the long haul is having Ellsbury leadoff followed by Pedrioa, Drew is well suited to hit 2nd. He takes a lot of pitches, has some power and runs very well. Pedrioa is wasted a bit in the leadoff spot in Francona's current lineup. Ellsbury just hasn't walked enough to get his OBP up in that .360 range which is what they have to have up there.

I give Johnny Damon a lot of credit. He's a fine player and really hasn't slipped much. He'll garner a nice contract from someone in the offseason. I can see the Yanks going hard after Jason Bay if he doesn't sign with Boston. Bay's value appears to have eclipsed Matt Holiday's at this point.

As soon as Jed Lowrie is ready and he proves he's healthy, I think Julio Lugo will be designated for assignment. I'm amazed at what Nick Green has been able to do.

It puzzles me to think about what the Sox will do when John Smoltz is ready next week. I just cannot see them trading Brad Penny now, at least not until they are sure Smoltz will be able to handle the load. Do they put Dice K back on the DL to build up arm strength? Do they give Beckett or Lester a blow? Do they invent some sort of 6 man rotation where Beckett and Lester stay in turn, and the other 4 guys get additional rest? Yes, these things always have a way of working themselves out, but this one is going down to the wire.

Justin Masterson hasn't pitched much. He's kind of the odd guy out right now. And, he doesn't slot in real well with the Phillies this weekend. The Phillies are very lefty based and have a lot of switch hitters who tend to have pretty good success against Masterson.