There’s good news and bad news about playing the Royals when you’re in a slump. The good news is that they’re the 32-60 Kansas City “it took us 13 road games before a win” Royals. The bad news is that if we don’t win, it’s a disgrace. For 6 innings yesterday it looked like we would be waking up this morning in second place. Every hard hit ball by the Sox was going right to a fielder, and even the balls that got down for hits were rolling the Royals’ way. Kansas City or not, going into the 7th down a four-spot is never a good place to be.

Then Dougie decided he was going deep. He almost didn’t get the chance when Jim Joyce called a a pitch that was both low and outside a strike on a 3-1 count. (Please, umpires, I beg you, READ THE STRIKE ZONE. It’s available online. Hell, I’ll even print out and send you all copies, just ask.) But then remembering that he was nicknamed “Stud Who Hits Bombs” for a reason, Dougie took the next pitch over the Monster for a 3-run, game-tying home run. Willie Harris scored the go-ahead run in the 8th on a sac fly, and PBR shut them down in the 9th. (Was anybody else hoping Mientkiewicz would hit a comebacker to the mound for the last out? Now that would have been poetic justice.)

But the comedy of the night came from Big Papi. You’d think with Will Ferrell throwing out the first pitch in “El Tiante” style, he’d have a corner on the market. Even Will Ferrell can’t compete with Papi stealing second. No doubt it was a botched hit-and-run play, but watching the big man run and slide under the tag was a sight to behold. After the steal Manny and Youks looked like they were going to have a seizure in the dugout they were laughing so hard. And once the last out was made, Loretta picked up second base and handed it to Papi. A mere 129 more to catch up with Ricky.