In the style of Chad Finn, twenty minutes stuck in a meeting for me, five Red Sox related thoughts for you…

1. Nice of Beckett to pitch like an ace for the first five innings last night. I can’t really blame him for starting to tire in the 6th, 7th and 8th since he kept having long waits in the dugout while the Sox were batting. The idea of having to keep warm while the Sox are batting is a totally foreign concept to any Sox pitcher, let’s hope the pitching staff has to get used to it again.

2. How much longer is John Smoltz’s leash? He’s a no-question HOFer. He’s been a fantastic starter and great closer, and none of that matters if he can’t get a third out. Unless he’s going to learn to play RF so Tito can swap him for Drew when there are two outs, I don’t know how much longer I want him pitching in a Sox uniform. He’s made six starts, two were good, four were absolute crap. Between him and Dice-K they’ve put up a 2-9 record and a 7.68 ERA. Right now the Sox need to find a way to not have an automatic loss every 5th day if they want to make the playoffs.

3. I was ecstatic to see the Sox put up eight runs (yes, it’s so monumental I had to spell eight) on Saturday, but I’ve got a bone to pick with Tito. Sixth inning, one out, 3-0 count to Tek. And he swings. Jason .231 Vartiek had the green light with a 3-0 count. I give Pedey the green light, I give Youk the green light, I give Papi the green light if he’s on one of his hot streaks. But since this isn’t 2004, Tek should be taking at least one, maybe two pitches.

4. For all of you who aren’t in the Bay Area, be thankful you never have to listen to Glen Kuiper and Ray Fosse. They are the worst kind of homers, acting like they’re being impartial but asking how a pitch that’s a foot and a half outside is called a ball. I’d take Dave Roberts over both of them any day.

5. Finally, a big congratulations to Jim Rice, not only being inducted to the HOF on Sunday, but also having his number 14 put up in right field next to Bobby, Joey, Johnny, Yazzy, Teddy, Fisky, and Jackie tonight. Let’s just hope that every time NESN sends it back to the studio they don’t pull an ESPN/Joe Morgan move and always refer to him as “Hall of Famer, Jim Rice.” It’s like getting your MD or PhD. The title will be cute for a year, but if you insist on being called “doctor” after that it’ll just get annoying.