The Red Sox are starting their biggest series so far this year tonight. With the Yankees now essentially out of reach (6.5 games ahead with 48 to play), it's time to concentrate on the wild card. Texas enters the weekend half a game behind the Sox, and tied in the AILC (all-important loss column). Although the Sox are only 11-15 since the All-Star break, I'm feeling a little better about things today. Here's why.

• Alex Gonzalez is back! Gonzalez had perhaps the best defensive season ever for a Red Sox shortstop, and the Sox re-acquired him from the Cincinnati Reds today. With Jed Lowrie injured again, Gonzalez will give the Sox a big defensive upgrade over Nick Green. And while A-Gon isn't going to hit a lot, neither has Green (.128 since the All-Star break).
  You can almost hear the sighs of relief from the Red Sox pitching staff.

• The re-emergence of Clay Buchholz: Lost in the Sox recent offensive woes is the fact that the Clay Buchholz we were all hoping we would see seems to have resurfaced. He has only given up 3 runs in 13 innings in his last two starts, and if the Red Sox had actually scored a few runs for him, he might have a couple of wins instead of the two losses he ended up with against the Yankees and Detroit. If Buchholz can keep up this kind of pitching, the wins will come and he'll help to stabilize the back end of the rotation.