I’m feeling much better after the Red Sox manhandling of the Yankees yesterday. The Sox showed a lot of character in this game, especially after Friday’s nightmare. Here are some of my highlights and lowlights from yesterday’s game.

1. Josh Beckett was awesome. Anytime you can limit that offense to one run, it’s special. 7 innings of 3-hit ball, 1 earned run, 7 K’s. Also, standing up for his team and plunking Giambi was great. Yankee pitchers have taken too many liberties with Red Sox players this year. Just a tremendous game for Beckett. Whoever makes the Cy Young plaque, remember there are two T’s in Beckett.
2. In a highly touted match-up of potential Cy Young winners, Chien-Ming Wang looked bad. 5 innings pitched, 9 hits, 5 ER. He is supposed to be the Yankees’ best pitcher. Now there is talk of Wang not even starting IF New York makes the playoffs. That’s hilarious.
3. “Super Sub” Eric Hinske. This guy is the ultimate team guy. He never bitches when he sits on the bench for weeks at a time. He can play 4 positions. Hinske hit a double and a home run in yesterday’s game. Also, anyone that blows up Jorge Posada turns into my new favorite player.
4. Jacoby Ellsbury: 2 for 2, 3 RBIs 1 stolen base. All this is in only 4 innings. This kid is a freak.
5. Big Papi being Big Papi. 3 hits, 2 walks, 3 RBIs. What a perfect time of the season to get hot.
6. J.D. Drew, 2 walks and the game winning RBI. Also it was nice to see his reaction after driving in Ellsbury. Maybe the Tin Man finally found his heart.
7. When did Jason Varitek turn into Doug Mirabelli at the plate? 0 for 5, 8 runners left on base. That is one ugly line. At least he called a great game behind the plate. Varitek usually plays well against the Yankees. I look for him to make a big contribution tonight.

Tonight: Schilling vs. Clemens
Schilling has pitched well recently. Clemens is coming off a bad start and cortisone shots in his elbow. Clemens is an old bastard. Let’s hope the Sox can get to him early in the game. Nothing would please me more than to see the “Rocketman” walking off the field to a mock standing ovation in the 3rd inning after getting lit up.

Let’s Go Sox.

Hype is a word that is thrown around a lot in sports. Teams begin hyping up their own players from the time they are drafted. Every team has the next “can’t miss” prospect. Players from the past like Brien Taylor and Todd Van Poppel were both first round “can’t miss” prospects who were crushed under the pressure created by their teams. This year, when it comes to Red Sox prospects, it appears we can actually believe the hype.

There have been some incredible stories this year about some Red Sox rookies. Everyone knows what Clay Buchholz has done in his second big-league start. Hideki Okajima made the AL All Star team and has been the ideal setup man for Jonathan Papelbon. And of course, Dustin Pedroia just keeps on hitting and gets better every game.

In Boston, there is another rookie who laughs in the face of the hype machine. Since being promoted from the Triple A Pawtucket Red Sox, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury has turned the Major Leagues on its ear. This kid has played in only 10 big league games this year and is already showing that his days in Pawtucket are officially over. Ellsbury has played all three outfield position and has yet to commit an error, and his diving catch Monday night against the Blue Jays was a game saver. Ellsbury has also batted in several different spots in the lineup and has hit .393 with 2 home runs.

Since being drafted in the first round by Boston in 2005, Ellsbury has moved quickly through the minors, excelling at each level, even winning Boston’s Minor League Defensive Player of the Year in 2006. One scouting report compared Ellsbury to “a better version of Johnny Damon. I say a better version because he has all the same baseball talent, but a better arm, and minus the greed and ***holeness.”

There is one little problem. The Red Sox now have four starting outfielders. Who is going to be odd man out? Ellsbury isn’t going anywhere: pencil him into the Sox lineup for the next ten years. With Manny and J.D. Drew signed to outrageous contracts, it appears Coco Crisp’s days are numbered.

The Red Sox have a proud tradition of all-star outfielders. It may be time to add one more name to the list.

When the 2007 MLB trade deadline came and went without the Red Sox upgrading their offense, I was more than a little disappointed. I couldn’t see why G.M. Theo Epstein wouldn’t part with a couple of promising minor leaguers to land guys like Jermaine Dye or Mark Teixiera. I mean, these guys are proven all-stars who would make any lineup better. I thought the Red Sox wanted to win this year, not hope that these “kids” will make it to the show and provide Boston with a solid lineup for years to come. I was more interested in a 2-year rent-a-player who could help the team now. It felt like playing the stock market, hoping the future would be prosperous.

I was wrong.

Throughout this season, players like Pedroia, Papelbon, Delcarmen, Lester, Ellsbury and now Buchholz haven’t just contributed to the Sox lineup, they’ve solidified it.

Let’s take a look at the potential Red Sox lineup 2 years from now and how old each player will be:

Pitchers:
Beckett 29
Dice K 29
Lester 25
Buchholz 25
Delcarmen 27
Paplebon 29

Fielders:
1B: Youkilis 30
2B: Pedroia 26
OF: Crisp 30
OF: Ellsbury 26
OF: Moss 26

This core of players has the potential to be all-stars for the next several years. Maybe there is something to be said for having players mature and progress through your farm system, instead of selling off your talent for the high-priced flavor of the month. Just ask the Yankees how that has worked out for them.

The future is now in Boston… and the future looks bright.