Thanks to the Red Sox’ series win at Tampa Bay, it is safe to say that there will be a new American League champion this season. The Rays now find themselves six games behind Boston in the wild-card race with 29 games to play. It would take a charge of epic proportions, not to mention a Red Sox (and Texas) collapse for Tampa Bay to make it.

Rocco Baldelli would beg to differ, claiming that his old pals have an epic run in them. Loyalty to a former team is nice, even if it is, in this case, misguided. The Rays have nothing but bad karma right now. They dumped Scott Kazmir for no reason beyond finances, and the fans seem to have responded accordingly. This was the worst drawing Red Sox series at the Trop in years.

Meanwhile, Tim Wakefield is officially scheduled to start Saturday at Chicago. An injection Monday left Wakefield feeling much better and more hopeful that his aching back might hold up, at least for now.

Jonathan Papelbon isn’t as happy this morning. Major League Baseball fined him for the seventh time for taking too long to get to the mound and throw his first pitch. Considering baseball’s chronic problems with games lumbering past the four-hour mark, the rule is understandable but little more than a baby step toward solving the problem. Giving TV less commercial time between innings would have a far greater effect – as if that will happen any time soon.

Tags: Jonathan Papelbon, Rays, Red Sox, Rocco Baldelli, Tim Wakefield