Call it off. Call the seventh game off.
Spring training is complete now that the Red Sox have clinched their fourth straight Mayor's Cup over the Minnesota Twins, three-run home runs from David Ortiz and Tug Hulett providing more than enough offense to back Clay Buchholz.
The Red Sox now have won four of their first six games against the Twins this spring with a superfluous seventh on the schedule for Thursday. A piece of athletic tape already was on the Mayor's Cup "trophy" in the Red Sox clubhouse after the game -- though whoever inscribed it accidentally wrote "2000" and had to draw a thick line through one of the zeroes to make sure it read "2010."
Such is the thrill the Mayor's Cup elicits in the Red Sox clubhouse.
In all seriousness, the way the Red Sox swung the bats against Twins starter Carl Pavano brought a smile to the face of Terry Francona. Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez and Kevin Youkilis combined to go 11 for 12 with four RBI and eight runs scored, and any home run by Ortiz is a welcome sight this close to Opening Day.
"It's been spotty because we've had road trips or haven't had guys playing," Francona said. "It's still nice to see. We had a couple of innings there where we made Pavano work. We kept things moving. David gets extended and hits a good ball. There were a lot of good things to see offensively."





