Call it an exercise...

So, at my father's request, I'm taking another crack at sports commentary. The fact that I started with a pun for the title should make you all quake in fear.

The Red Sox, my team of choice, are having a good year. We're keeping a solid grip on the best record in the game, and have been keeping the Yankees at bay for the most part (they've surged to with in 6, but I'm not sweating it just yet).

The trade deadline moves were good. We unloaded a pitcher who's name escapes me at the moment (shows how much I'll miss him) off for some cash and the infamous player to be named later, and swapped Kason Gabbard, a promising lefty starter who I'm a little sad to see go, to the Rangers for Eric Gagne, an excellent right handed relief pitcher who I'm very happy to see in Boston. He's primarily a closer, but with Papelbon holding on tight to that position, Gagne will probably see a lot of set up work - which kind of gives us a double closer scenario.

All that, and we've got Okajima, Tavarez, and a whole other box full of tools that I think gives us one of the two or three strongest bullpens in the game. San Diego is probably a little better, but that's not something we'll likely have to face.

The only thing I'm sorry I didn't see happen was a trade that moved Willy Mo Pena out for a more reliable back up outfielder. With Drew having an off year, we're down a bat. While Willy Mo can hit a ton, he rarely does.

The hated Yankees meanwhile, are on the upswing. They've gone from being down and nearly out to being a wild card contender, and from there, they're dangerous enough to take the lead. All it takes is a five game win streak when the Sox are down on their luck and it's a whole mess of trouble (see last year).

But the hated Yankees are winning on power. While the bats are hot, which means run production, but their bullpen still kind of sucks. Mariano Rivera is way past his prime, and while he still saves more than he blows, he's vulnerable. The rest of the bullpen is shaky at best, and while their starting pitching is still pretty good, it's late in the season, and those arms are starting to get awfully tired...