Please fill in the blank:

My two most hated teams are the MFY and the ________.

I filled in the first one for everybody. As for the second blank, for me it’s the Giants. I grew up in LA, and my Dad is a huge Dodgers fan, so I figured the best Father’s Day present I could get him is a sweep of the Giants. Damn I’m a good son.

This was a great series though. During the first game we got to wipe Johnny Damon off another record when little Dustin Pedroia became the latest Sox player to get five base hits in a game. Dustin has been hitting well recently, but this game made me think, “yup, he’s the real deal.” Which is good, cause Julio Lugo certainly isn’t. JD Drew made Tito look like a genius by going 3-4 with a HBP in the leadoff spot and, most importantly for a leadoff man, scoring three runs. Combine that with our version of Roger Clemens sans the two trillion dollar contract, and we’re back up to an 8.5 game lead.

The Saturday game pitted two young pitchers against each other who also should be classified as “the real deal.” As much as I hate the Giants, I’ve got to go watch Matt Cain pitch in person sometime soon, cause he’s got some nasty stuff. But you make one mistake pitch to Manny, and suddenly the Sox win 1-0.

As for the Sunday game, Manny, Papi, and everybody besides Julio Lugo helped out (you may want to sit down for this) Tim Wakefield and got him some freaking run support, nine runs to be exact. Too bad that’s all he’ll see until the All Star break.

I’d also like to thank the fans at Fenway this weekend. You made the rest of us proud. You booed Bonds mercilessly, had signs with asterisks, and got some very vocal “Stare-Oids” chants going. I love the Fens. On the flip-side the standing ovation for Dave Roberts was magical. If I had a say, he should get a standing ovation every time he walks into any Boston establishment for the rest of his life. Or at least should never have to pay for his bar tab.

In all seriousness, happy belated Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there. Without my Dad’s love and obsession for baseball, I’d never be able to criticize the Sox with quite the same enthusiasm. And then what fun would the game be?