-We’ll start this off with a Random Thought…only on ESPN does the first week of NFL preseason games MATTER. How much? How about they bring in their idiotic analyst Sean Salisbury (who’s never been right kind of like his NFL career) to “breakdown” the first snaps of Denver first round pick Jay Cutler. I guess because he completed 16-of-22 for 192 yards and a touchdown, it means he was a steal at 11th overall and will have a good rookie season and a great career! All cause he had such a splendid preseason debut! Did they mention it was against the Lions? Thought so. Their D will never be confused with the 1985 Bears.

-Sticking with the football theme, according to ESPN’s panel of experts, there’s also no reason to watch the season. I mean heck. It was a month ago when they projected the Patriots to come out of the ultracompetitive AFC and advance to the Super Bowl. Nevermind that they lost their clutch kicker Adam Vinateri to the Colts and their D is not as good as it used to be. Or that Corey Dillon is coming off a miserable 2005 in which he rushed for less than 1,000 yards. No matter! The Pats are still treated like football Gods in Bristol. Would it happen to be because they’re from Massachusetts? Nah. Couldn’t be! Especially on a professional sports station. Did we just say that?

-While the Yankees are up 5-2 on the Angels thanks to homers from Robinson Cano and Johnny Damon, the Red Sox have predictably rallied against the hapless Orioles to tie their game at seven. They trailed 5-1 and 7-3 but pushed across four runs with two outs in the home sixth on the strength of the red hot Willy Mo Pena (2-run triple) and Doug Mirabelli (2-run HR). Who’s managing the Orioles? Bugs Bunny?!?!?!?!?! That actually might be an upgrade.

-There was just some discussion on Fox between Dick Stockton and Tim McCarver about the mock cheers Alex Rodriguez received after making a nice scoop play and perfect throw to get Orlando Cabrera. Earlier in the game, A-Rod was charged with a tough error for his 20th of the season when he couldn’t field a tough hop. As you probably know by now, he leads all third basemen in that unfortunate category. I probably wouldn’t have given him an E5 on this one because it did hop up. Of course, the all knowing McCarver disagreed. He’s an excellent analyst even though he blabbers on and on. Getting back to the mock cheers a couple of innings later, McCarver accurately pointed out that “he never thought he’d hear that for Rodriguez.” Maybe it’s me. But it seemed like most of the Yankee Stadium crowd was recognizing the play he made and giving him the support to let him know they’re on his side. It should be noted that the 2005 AL MVP hasn’t been booed once at the plate since the Yanks returned yesterday. One other topic came up about the much talked about third baseman. McCarver mentioned “the best player in the game and how maybe that’s come down.” In a down year, one would have to agree about reassessing Mr. Rodriguez’ place in the game. It’s hard to even rank him in the top 10 this season based on his body of work. But despite not playing up to par, he still has 24 home runs and 82 RBI’s along with 80 runs scored and 11 steals. Not too bad. He’s a hot streak away from having a normal season. Btw…with two more hits today (both opposite field doubles), he’s lifted his average to .287. So it’s not brutal by any stretch.

-As we were writing that, a rested Kyle Farnsworth tossed a 1-2-3 eighth and Mariano Rivera retired the Angels in order for his 30th save in 33 tries. Since he became the team’s closer in 1997, the future Hall of Famer has now saved 30-or-more in nine of 10 seasons. The only year he didn’t reach that plateau was 2002 when he saved 28, only getting into 45 games. I think the most remarkable thing about Rivera is his longevity. He’s not a kid anymore at 36 but continues to get the job done more often than not. He’s not exactly a big guy either but has never broken down. It’s amazing that opposing batters know what’s coming (two-seamer, cutter) and still don’t have much success. It really tells you how great a reliever Rivera is.

-Not to be overlooked in the Yanks’ win was another decent performance from Jaret Wright. He pitched into the sixth allowing just one run on two hits to improve to 9-6. As usual, he threw less than 100 pitches (83) but lately the former Brave who was given that big contract last year has been gritty. The 30 year-old former Indians 1994 first round pick has won three straight decisions, giving up only one run in each outing. Though he’ll never be considered worth the three-year $21 million contract Yankee GM Brian Cashman handed out a couple of winters ago, Wright’s pitched alright this year. On a staff where Randy Johnson has won 12 games despite having an ERA over 5.00, Wright now has a 4.24 and has become reliable enough to keep his ballclub in games. Got to give credit where it’s due.

-The Red Sox and Orioles were still tied 7-7 with two outs in the bottom of the ninth at Fenway. So does anyone care to guess which Red Sock will be the hero?

-Meanwhile, things continue to suddenly get interesting in the AL Central after the White Sox edged first place Detroit 4-3 to cut their lead to 6.5. It was the Tigers’ fourth loss in a row, tying a season worst. Three Detroit errors was the difference in the game, making all four runs Kenny Rogers gave up unearned. Think maybe they’re getting nervous in Jim Leyland’s clubhouse? If the White Sox win tomorrow and complete the sweep, sound off the alarms.

-Well, it’s over in Fenway as the Sox comeback from four to defeat the listless O’s 8-7 in 10 innings. The hero: AL MVP candidate Manny Ramirez:

M. Ramirez singled to left, G. Kapler to third, D. Ortiz to second, G. Kapler scored on left fielder B. Fahey’s fielding error

He now has an AL best 27-game hitting streak. Ramirez is hitting .325 (38 points higher than David Ortiz) with 32 home runs and 93 RBI’s. Of course, Big Papi leads the other two categories (9 more HR and 17 extra RBI’s). Both are great players and depend on each other. They’re the most explosive dynamic 3-4 duo in baseball. If you’re going to include on in the MVP talk, the other deserves the same respect.