Boston Red Sox defeat Toronto Blue Jays, 7-2

David Ortiz leads the American League with 18 doubles, but not because of his speed on the bases.

"I kind of look like Johnny Damon . . . in slow motion," joked the Red Sox first baseman/DH after yesterday's 3-for-5 performance against the Blue Jays that included a pair of doubles and three runs batted in to pace Boston's sweep of the three-game series. "I know I'm not the fastest guy on my team, so I have to put out a little extra, especially when I know I have a chanc...

After two scoreless innings, Tim Wakefield had thrown just 14 pitches, and the Toronto Blue Jays were in serious trouble.

"They come in thinking they've got to be patient," said Red Sox catcher Doug Mirabelli. "They see that thing coming in there at 68 miles an hour and he's throwing strikes with it."

That means they'd better start hacking, and that meant something else.

"I saw a lot of bad swings up there," said Pokey Reese, who observed all of Wakefield's handiw...

If the worlds of politics and baseball turn like John F. Kerry and the Red Sox hope, the Massachusetts senator would be perfectly positioned to toast the Sox at the White House early next year as winners of the 2004 World Series.

Kerry would like nothing better, of course. And though the Sox would cherish a call to the East Room as champions no matter who occupied the Oval Office, manager Terry Francona almost certainly buoyed Kerry's spirits yesterday when he posed for...