We’re baaaack!  And so is IN-league play.  No more interleague play til next week’s All-Star game.  And, by the way, did you vote for the last roster spots for each league?  No?  Get to it!!!  Here’s your American League matchups for today.

New York Yankees @ Cleveland Indians
R. Johnson (9-7, 5.25) vs. C. Lee (8-5, 4.69)
On July 4th, the Boss’ birthday (and I’m not talking about yours, I’m talking about George Steinbrenner), the Yankees got drilled by the Indians 19-1, which couldn’t have made Steinbrenner very happy.  So, the Yanks came out last night and drilled back, beating the Tribe 11-3.  So, which team takes it tonight in the rubber match of the series?  Well, if Randy Johnson pitches like the last time out, giving up eight earned runs in six innings, the Yankees will get scalped.  Cliff Lee is a little more level in his outings, so the game will hinge on which Big Unit shows up - the one that can dominate or the one that gets dominated. 

Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays
T. Wakefield (6-8, 3.90) vs. J. Shields (4-1, 4.39)
Could it happen?  Could it really happen?  When the Red Sox and D-Rays get on the field tonight, the bottom-dwellers of the A.L. East, the D-Rays go for the four-game sweep of the A.L. East leading Red Sox.  However, the D-Rays will have a tough task as Tim Wakefield takes the hill for the Red Sox and is 14-2 lifetime against Tampa Bay with a 2.77 ERA.  However, the Rays are going so good lately and Carl Crawford is mashing and dashing so strong, I think Wakefield will be taking the L tonight.

Baltimore Orioles @ Chicago White Sox
R. Ortiz (0-0, 6.23) vs. J. Vázquez (8-4, 5.15)
All-Star Jermaine Dye and the rest of the Pale Hose look to close out this series with the Orioles with another W and the ninth consecutive series win.  No wonder they’re so good, although thus far the Detroit Tigers have been better by a tad.  Imagine this - the A.L. Wild Card could come actually come from the Central division and not the N.L. East as its been what seems like the past thousand years with the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees.  In any case, Javier Vazquez has been shaky to say the least in his past several starts.  However, with the potent offense that he has, it may not matter how many runs he gives up, although it matters for all of you fantasy baseball geeks, and trust me, I understand.  What happened to the Vazquez of the Expos days?  Memories…

Toronto Blue Jays @ Kansas City Royals
T. Taubenheim (1-4, 3.98) vs. M. Redman (5-4, 5.59)
Mark Redman, 2006 American League All-Star… what?!?!?!  Okay, the seasonal numbers don’t justify Redman being chosen to go to the “game that counts,” but if there’s any argument for Redman going in, he did go undefeated in June, winning all five of his starts.  So, that had to count for something, especially for such a sad sack of a team.  But still, I can’t believe he’s an All-Star.  I probably would have chosen Emil Brown, but that’s just me.

Los Angeles Angels @ Oakland Athletics
K. Escobar (6-9, 3.84) vs. E. Loaiza (3-5, 6.39)
Kelvim Escobar absolutely killed it his last time on the hill against the Los Angeles Dodgers (the real L.A. team) as he went seven frames, not allowing a run or walk and striking out six.  The Angels hope he can rework that magic as they open up a four-game series against division rival and A.L. West leading Oakland Athletics.  And with only being four games back from the A’s, the Angels can really make some noise before the All-Star break.