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Sox and Yanks to Clash in the Bronx
You’re not an American citizen unless you’re aware of what’s going down this weekend in New York. I’ll give you the headline as a hint. It’s a series that holds more weight than Anna Nicole’s reflection in a convex mirror. It’s one of those series that never gets ink on the ballpark’s “ticket specials” page. It’s the August match-up between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees at the greatest sports venue in the world—Yankee Stadium.
It’s a waste of time looking in to tickets for Game 1 of the four game set which starts on Thursday. Trust me, I’ve tried. Second level seats along the first baseline are $900 a tag. Get me one of those, and I’ll forfeit any and all gifts from now until the day I die. But, enough daydreaming; I’m here to lead you in to yet another episode of the greatest rivalry in team sports. You’ve heard the news, so here’s my take on it.
The momentum can’t be any more lopsided than it is right now. Tuesday night, the Yankees torched Roy Halladay and the Toronto Blue Jays, while Boston coughed up a crucial one in 13 innings to the Tampa Bay Rays. The night’s results gave the Yanks a 1 ½ game lead on the Sox, who are 6-4 in their last ten games. The Yankees are rolling like a subway train while the Red Sox find themselves starting to fall helpless onto the track.
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The two teams will converge on the Bronx Thursday for what will be a revealing 4 games. I believe the winner of this series will be the team representing the American League in the World Series. Take a look at how the Red Sox, although they lost Tuesday night, held Tampa Bay scoreless twice with no outs and the bases loaded down the stretch. They very well could have won that game if it weren’t for the one pitch served up to Evan Longoria for the walk off homer. Boston’s pitching staff, which allows the defense to make plays, is championship caliber. That said, the Yankees have presented themselves the worthy opponent ever since the All Star break. Did you notice their inactivity at the deadline this year? Just a couple of roster fillers were signed. No big names. No clubhouse distractions. The only thing more unbelievable would be Ozzy Osbourne in charge of a speech class. Truth is the Yankees don’t really need anyone else on their roster right now. The crucial rolls are already filled. Their lineup consists of nothing but All-Stars, and the front office has full confidence in them heading into the homestretch.
The premiere match-up of the series will be Friday’s battle between Boston’s Josh Beckett and New York’s A.J. Burnett. If the Yankee hitters stay hot with timely hits and smart base running, Burnett will feed off the energy and hurl one of his better games.
After a 5-4 road trip capped off by a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays, the Yanks are coming home. They’ll host a Red Sox team which boasts solid pitching; but will it be enough to stifle the New York offensive onslaught? My prediction is no.
Just don’t walk on that broken convex mirror.
By Tim Gaffney
MLBcenter.com New York Yankees Correspondent
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