Beckett ran it to 9-0 and Julio Lugo earned another 1/4,934th of his paycheck with a leadoff home run. But the story of last night’s 10-3 romp over the D-Backs was JD Drew, who hit two home runs, knocked in 7 runs, and did something else we — or at least I — hadn’t seen to this point in the season: He was caught smiling.

Seriously, since the start of the season, the dude’s moped around the dugout — and understandably so — like a death row inmate who’d just been informed that his redemption depended on a three-way with Jon Lovitz and Bea Arthur. But look. In the photo above. He’s smiling. And his smiling is contagious; it’s making other people smile. Here’s to good times, people. Let’s hope there’s a lot more of them in store.

Next, we hand the ball to Jools Tavarez. We can only hope the Papi shoes are in effect.

Oh, and the Rocket finally starts today in the Bronx against… the mighty Pittsburgh Pirates. As for Roger’s next start, it really depends on when the Yanks can secure a game against a team of mongoloids, senior citizens or gazelles. Y’know, just to keep those scales tipped in Clemens’ favor.