Roaring and soaring  —  Red Sox head to mountains with a 2-0 Series lead  —  He endeared himself to New England last spring when he modestly let it be known he was willing to be a "hero in the dark."  —  But last night, in the brightest lights that baseball can offer, the shadows fell away forever for Hideki Okajima.

Pressure's on Brian Cashman to hire right manager  —  BOSTON - There is a reason Brian Cashman is taking this extra time to reach a decision on a manager and doing his due diligence by conferring further over the weekend with his baseball people: His job is riding on it being the right one.

Cramped, but baseball bliss.  Let's do this.  —  Just when you're about to complain about the obnoxiously overcrowded pressbox at this World Series in Fenway Park, you feel like a whiny idiot when your hear that Dave Justice lost his San Diego home in the wildfires.  —  So I'll not complain about the pressbox.

LaMar lands scouting gig with Phillies  —  Position has former Rays GM working with Lakey, Gillick  —  PHILADELPHIA — Chuck LaMar, who most notably served as Tampa Bay Devil Rays general manager, has joined the Phillies' as a director of professional scouting.

Speed and defense  —  Part I  —  In this two-part article, I am going to look at two things.  Part I examines the relationship between speed, as estimated by my own rough version of Bill James' speed score, and defense, as measured by Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR).

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR  —  YANKS LEAN TOWARD KEEPING ABREU, UTILIZING DUNCAN  —  By GEORGE KING in Tampa, Fla., and JOEL SHERMAN in Boston  —  In a minor move - compared to selecting a new manager and negotiating multi-year deals with Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Alex Rodriguez …

I believe that's called a 'pitching clinic'  —  Like my man Hannibal Smith always said: "I love it when a plan comes together."  —  More than anything else, that describes Game 2 of the World Series for the Boston Red Sox, who followed a blueprint last night that has worked countless times this season to perfection.

Baker keeping tabs on Cubs' Prior, Wood  —  Both could be free agents, and Reds need pitching  —  BOSTON — Whether it's simply to catch up on the past or plot for the future, new Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker has been chatting with his former Cubs co-aces, Mark Prior and Kerry Wood.

Braves claim Resop for bullpen depth  —  In corresponding move, Paronto designated for assignment  —  ATLANTA — Looking to enhance the depth of pitchers that will compete for bullpen spots during next season, the Braves have claimed right-handed reliever Chris Resop off waivers from the Angels.

Report: Negotiations between Hunter, Twins silent  —  Twins free agent All-Star outfielder Torii Hunter hasn't had any contract offers from Minnesota since the regular season ended, according to a media report.  "I'm kind of disappointed, but what can you do?"  Hunter told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.