The Morning After:

It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?

Big Papi and Josh Beckett sent a Hollaback out to the crowd at Fenway last night.

Sure, Josh Beckett wasn’t quite perfect, giving up a wind-aided first inning homer and later allowing a second run to cross. But for every little one-pitch mistake Beckett made, a rejuvenated Red Sox lineup got to C.C. Sabathia, drilling him for seven runs before he left, then connecting for three more off the midsection of the Indians pen.

That can only help confidence for the Red Sox moving forward. Like a one-night stand with Gwen Stefani, for instance.

And as would be appropriate for such a monumental night, Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were perfect, literally. Big Papi reached base each time he came up, hit once, walked a pair of times and knocking a couple of hits in between. And that’s before Manny fully started being Manny, connecting for a pair of run producing singles and even earning a bases-loaded walk after falling behind two strikes to none.

As the game wore on and it became clear the Sox were trying to run away with a win, it was hard not to hope they’d bottle some of the offense, or at least keep it going for another day. Boston is sure to need similar magic tonight against the overpowering sinker being used by Fausto Carmona. Perhaps his 2006 struggles at Fenway will come back to mesmerize him and make him at least partially hittable in the process.

Who knows. All that mattered last night was that Beckett was on, the entire Sox lineup was on and the Fens got a taste of blood early. Now, if the Sox can pull another Stefani-like superb performance out of their hat today, Boston can head to the shore of Lake Erie feeling pretty confident about itself, perhaps marching behind the lead of that drum major from the bananas song.

– Cameron Smith