Here in Cleveland, where everyone seems to be wearing something connected to the Indians ... the nice man at the rental car counter wore an Indians tie as he informed two visitors that he was sorry they were wasting a trip to Cleveland to watch the Red Sox.

Ouch. Trash talking from the Enterprise guy.

As for the Indians, they seem sky-high with confidence. That is where the importance of one Daisuke Matsuzaka comes in. The stone-faced import with an assortment of pitches can swing this thing back to the Red Sox in one night.

But when it is time for Dice-K to leave the game (and Red sox fans hope that is in the 7th or 8th inning), who does Boston beckon from the bullpen? The obvious candidates are Delcarmen, Okajima and Papelbon (and maybe Timlin for an inning).

Obviously, Eric Gagne is not an option. The trade for Gagne made sense at the time, although it was a gamble since he is not the Gagne of old. But he is not even CLOSE to the Gagne of old.

Now, if Kason Gabbard, David Murphy or Engel Beltre go on to stardom, this trade will go down as one of the all-time bloopers.

And speaking of Gagne, how is his mega-agent, Scott Boras, going to shop him in the off-season?

And aren't teams wising up to the Boras spin? (Og course, A-Rod is worth a billion).

Boras relies on teams like the Yankees and Red Sox over-paying for players (J.D. Drew and Johnny Damon come to mind). Those teams can afford to gamble ...

The Red Sox lost on the Gagne gamble.

So far, the Matsuzaka gamble is coming out okay (although better seasons are forseen). A good outing tonight will make the big bucks seem worthwhile.

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