Dice-K Pitching His Way to the Postseason

Dice-K has been passing all of the tests since his return from the disabled list. When he landed on the DL early in the season with an ERA over eight, it appeared as if he was a lost cause this season. We had plenty of depth in the rotation behind Beckett and Lester: Wakefield, Smoltz, Penny, Buchholz, etc. Now Dice-K is back, most of the rotation depth is gone, and he is pitching his way into the postseason rotation which is good because we need him. In 24 1/3 innings since coming back, he's yielded 22 hits, struck out 20, walked 12, and given up six runs while picking up three wins. The only criticism would be that he has to continue to cut down on his walks, but beggars can't be choosers.

Last night, in his final tune-up, he gave up two runs over six frames, as the Sox cruised to a 6-2 victory. Wagner, Ramirez, Bard, and Saito finished off the win. The Sox did not escape without a scare though. The offense was solid with RBI doubles from Youk and J-Bay, an RBI single from V-Mart, and a sac-fly from Pedroia.

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Alex Gonzalez was hit for the second time in the game in the 9th inning on the hand. Luckily x-rays came back negative because initial reports feared a possible hairline fracture.
-Baldelli also was injured last night straining his hip flexor. Hopefully he will be OK for the playoffs because we could use his .290 average against LHPs.
-JD Drew sat out another game with a sore shoulder. He should be fine though.
-Jacoby picked up his 69th steal.
-Assuming tonight's game doesn't get rained out, Beckett will pitch and Buchholz will go tomorrow.