The deal that will give Boston a dynasty

It's been all quiet on the Johan Santana front for nearly a week now, which has been kind of enjoyable, since it has given Yankees fans time to wallow in the possibility of the Sox acquiring another ace. Imagine this starting lineup:
Josh Beckett

Johan Santana

Daisuke Matsuzaka

Curt Schilling

Clay Buchholz

Tim Wakefield

That's if the Sox deal Jon Lester, Coco Crisp and a package of Minor League prospects, as has most frequently been mentioned.
If Boston includes future Hall of Fame center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in the deal instead of Lester, you could put Lester into that rotation and bring Wakefield in out of the bullpen, a role he's filled very successfully from time to time in the past.
Can you imagine Wakefield coming in to clean up for Beckett, confusing hitters with knuckleballs after they've struggled to catch up with Beckett's fastball?
And you'll notice that I listed a rotation of six pitchers.
If the Red Sox pull off this trade for Santana, why not a six-man rotation? Matsuzaka thrived in Japan under that scenario, and did far better in Boston when he had an extra day of rest.
With that extra time off between starts, and the adjustments he's going to make during the offseason to life and pro baseball in the U.S., Matsuzaka's stuff could be as dominant as Beckett's and Santana's.
Good luck beating Boston in a five-game playoff series the next few years.

Red Sox rooting for the Yankees

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Red Sox are rooting for the Yankees, if only for one game.
Boston has four days off before the start of the AL championship series, having swept the Angels in the first round of the playoffs. Though none of the Red Sox would express a preference in the lone remaining division matchup, they wouldn't mind if New York and Cleveland wear each other out before it's over.
"I guess my preference would be that they play for about another eight days and go 20 innings every game," Boston manager Terry Francona said after beating the Angels 9-1 on Sunday to earn the extra time off. "We'll get guys throwing. We'll get guys hitting, and we'll stay ready."
The Yankees and Indians were scheduled to play Game 4 on Monday night, with Cleveland holding a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. If New York wins they will play a deciding fifth game on Wednesday.
"My preference is they play five games, try to use their guys up, so we can be more rested than them," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "But either team is going to be a challenge for us and it's going to be a tough series, and hopefully we can be ready for it."
Josh Beckett, who pitched a four-hit shutout over the Angels in Game 1, his second consecutive playoff shutout, will have eight days of rest before the opener of the AL championship series. Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched the second game in the first round, but Curt Schilling could get the Game 2 start in Round 2 and he would have five days of rest.
"It's certainly better than playing a 17-inning Game 5 and heading straight to Cleveland," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.

What a way to lose a division!

The Yankees blow the lead, "Juice" Giambi chokes with the bases loaded in the top of the 10th inning against the lowly Orioles, Dice-K looks like he's worth the money for the Red Sox, and the Yankees officially lose the AL East division title for the first time in a decade.
No "mo" heading into the playoffs as the Wild Card, that's for sure.