IS IT TIME OR JUST ANOTHER SEASON OF HEARTBREAK?

Red Sox, Yankees prepare for another classic confrontation




By: Russ Rose
Special to Yankees Talk Shop
October 12, 2004

The old adage of “be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it” has never been truer than it is at this moment. Forget the Astros – Cardinals series starting Wednesday in St. Louis. All eyes in baseball land will be firmly locked on Yankee Stadium where the latest round in the storied Red Sox – Yankees rivalry takes place starting Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.

Only wishful thinkers could have hoped for a different outcome leading to this year’s American League Championship Series. Angels’ fans desperately hoped for a rekindling of their 2002 magic. The Sox swept them in three games, outscoring the Angels 25-12. The Minnesota Twins, who were knocked out by the Yankees last year in the divisional playoffs three games to one, suffered the same fate again this year. The Yankees fought back in every game to eliminate a very determined and testy Twins team. No way were any pretenders going to stand in the way of destiny. It was ordained that the two biggest arch-rivals in sports were to meet on the field of battle.

In nearly an identical replay of last year’s match ups the Boston Red Sox, once again, invade Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the ALCS. In exactly six World Series games and 162 regular season games the Yankees and Sox pick up right where they left off last season. This time, however, there are a few new wrinkles in the mix. The Sox maintained most of their core players and added Curt Schilling making their team one of the best in the Sox history. They have a potential Cy Young pitcher in Schilling and two legitimate MVP candidates in David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. For the Yankees the change was much more noticeable. Gone were Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte and Alfonso Soriano. Newly arrived were Javier Vazquez, Gary Sheffield, Jon Lieber and Alex Rodriguez. On paper the Yankees looked as formidable as anyone. But, that’s why you play 162 games.

The Yankees started off with one of the worst Aprils in their recent history. They barely finished above .500 in winning percentage with a 12-11 record. They suffered six of those defeats at the hands of the Red Sox, who won three of four at Fenway and then swept the Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Boston roared out of the gate while the Yankees stumbled. Initially, it looked like Sox might just make all the early prognosticators look like geniuses by running away with the East Division. Eventually, reality returned and the Red Sox came back to earth. The Yankees, meanwhile, took off like a juggernaut and by the middle of June lead the Red Sox and the East Division by 10-1/2 games. With a struggling offense and inconsistent pitching no one could figure out how the Bombers were leading by that much of a margin. As with the Red Sox, the Yankees weaknesses became exposed.
The Yankees struggled over the next two months and they saw their bulging lead over the Red Sox dwindle from 10-1/2 games to just 2-1/2 games on September 4th. On June 24th the Yankees and Red Sox became embroiled in another one their legendary brawls triggered by Alex Rodriguez getting drilled by Red Sox pitcher Bronson Arroyo. As we all remember Rodriguez was barking at Arroyo while slowly moving down the first base line. Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek got between Rodriguez and Arroyo and said a few choice adjectives to Rodriguez. Rodriguez invited Varitek to come and dance with him and Varitek obliged by shoving his catcher’s mitt into A-Rod’s face. The benches cleared and bodies went flying. Several players were given time on the beach. The brawl seemed to energize the Sox, while somewhat deflating the Yankees.

From June 19th to September 4th the Red Sox re-wrote the Boston Massacre. At one stretch they won 19 out of 21 games. The Yankees weren’t playing bad ball during that stretch it was just that the Red Sox were playing out of their minds. The Yankees were in danger of being overtaken. However, history has a way of repeating itself. The Yankees who were winning ugly in September looked to the weekend series with the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. After dropping the first game 3-2 the Yankees won the remaining two games by scores of 14-4 and 11-1. The Yankees had stemmed the tide and led the East by 4-1/2 games. It would take a complete collapse by the Yankees for Boston to wrest the division from them. Not that they didn’t try. On the very next weekend the Sox swept the Yankees for the second time this season. However, the Yankees played just well enough to dog paddle to the finish line three games in front of Boston.

It has been 86 years since the Sox have won a World Series. From Teddy Baseball to Yaz to Manny none of them ever raised a World Series banner. They play their fans like jilted lovers. Give them hope, and then dash them year after year. Last year Sox fans all over the country could smell the World Series only to have it yanked away by Aaron Boone’s 11th inning bomb in Game 7 off Tim Wakefield. There was a great wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Let’s face it. There is no love lost between these two clubs. The guys in red want to shove it down the throats of the guys wearing pinstripes. If you believe any of these players saying they don’t give hoot about the curse and the rivalry I’ve got some swamp land in Flor…..Louisiana I‘d like to sell you. They care. A Red Sox series victory over the Yankees would go a long way to take the bad taste of 1949, 1975, 1978, 1986, 1999 and 2003 seasons out of the Sox’ mouths. Personally, I want the Yankees to be a bottle of Tabasco sauce, not Listerine.

Prediction: Yankees in 7

PLAY BALL!



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