Screw the Halos in the outfield. They’re killing the Sox. Where the hell is the meek team that got rolled out of Fenway in the April rain?

The coyote cleared trade waivers. Big surprise there, right?

Allright, some quick facts and figures for tonight’s Tim Wakefield showdown, courtesy Baseball-Reference
Also, here’s the dated head-to-head matchup info via boston.com
And, other tidy preview facts, again from boston.com

NOTABLES

- OK, raise your hand if you had Wakefield with the team’s second-highest win total in the preseason office pool. Yeah, that’s what I thought. What sane individual could have possibly picked the Sox link to the senior circuit as the big non-Josh Beckett winner? Win tonight, and that’s what he’ll be.

- Has there been a more deceptively under-hyped matchup between division leaders in recent years? Just look at those numbers across the last seven starts for the Wake-rider and Angels starter Joe Saunders. They’re ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.

- Wily Coyote officially cleared trade waivers, which is significant only because it gives a lot more flexibility and latitude to Theo Epstein in deciding what to do with him. Unfortunately, what the team would desperately like to do with him - send him to Pawtucket - is out of the question. So brace for a lot more strikeouts, a few more homers and a goofy, big puppy of a man on the bench most of the time.

- The Bobby Kielty signing seemed inevitable, didn’t it? Would anyone be surprised if he snuck onto the postseason roster? Again, didn’t think so. He fits the lineup so well, even better than Eric Hinske in terms of what he actually does to help the team.

– Cameron Smith