Here We Go Again

Who would've thought that, after their abysmal beginning, the New York Yankees would be playing a meaningful series against the Boston Red Sox in September?

As they prepare for a three-game set in Fenway Park, the Yankees look to topple the Red Sox from their perch atop the American League East standings, where they've resided all season.
With only two weeks left, a 5 1/2 game deficit is not easy to surmount. The best, and possibly only chance the Wild Card leading Yankees have is to sweep this series and hope for some help. In the meantime, Boston would like nothing more than to give the Yankees a taste of their own medicine and sweep them out of town. Once up by 14 1/2 games (shades of '78), the Yankees are a little too close for comfort in the eyes of the best team in baseball.
Despite having the best record in the Majors, the Red Sox trail the Yankees 7-8 in the season series, thanks in large part to the most recent series between the two in which New York swept Boston two weeks ago. In fact, since May 23, the Yankees are 7-2 against their rivals, and remain the best team in baseball since the All-Star Break (Boston is second).
The epic rivalry is renewed this evening, as Daisuke Matsuzaka and Andy Pettitte face-off at Fenway Park. Dice-K has been smacked around by the Yankees this season, to the tune of a 6.98 ERA, and he's coming off the worst outing of his (albeit very short) Major League career. Pettitte, on the other hand, is 2-1 against the Sox this season, is 9-2 since the All Star break, and is looking for the 200th win of career.
The pitching match-ups this weekend couldn't be better. Matsuzaka and Pettitte tonight. Tomorrow, two 18-game winners in Josh Beckett and Chien-Ming Wang will toe the rubber. And on Sunday night, Roger Clemens returns to Fenway as a Yankee for the first time since the 2003 ALCS (a.k.a. "Ultimate Fighting Championship: Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer), to take on another fiery old veteran in Curt Schilling.
As is typical with these two teams, there are several underlying storylines and a fair share of bad blood that will likely be stirred up this weekend. This season alone, there have been hard hits and questionable slides (Mike Lowell, Alex Rodriguez), head-hunting (Scott Proctor), hit batsmen galore (Jeter, A-Rod, Posada, Pedroia, Youkilis), veiled accusations and league suspensions (Terry Francona, Kevin Youkilis and Joba Chamberlain). Never a dull moment with these two. This weekend should be no different. With this being the last meeting between the two bitter rivals and the playoffs just around the corner, all bets are off. This is the last face-off between the powerhouse Yankees and Red Sox of 2007. Unless, of course, October beckons.

(All photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports and Yankee Kids)

Subway Series: Yankee Stadium Edition

There’s nothing better than a good, clean, well-pitched ballgame, except a good, clean, well-pitched ballgame in which the Yankees shut down the opposition and hold them to one measly little hit, especially when the opposition are their crosstown rivals who have prematurely been touted as “the best team in New York.” The Mets, without question, are having an incredible season thus far. However, facing some of the “big boys” of the American League has exposed quite a few weaknesses like their pitching staff, primarily the number three, four, and five starters. I was not at all pleased to have the Mets coming in having been absolutely pounded in Boston and having lost three games in a row for the first time all season, but then I remembered Moose was starting and that the Yankees are probably all a little sick of hearing about how great the Mets are and looking for a little respect, especially considering the Yankees have ten consecutive division titles and have been playing playoff-worthy baseball for much longer than just a few months.

It was very nice to watch another Moose vs. El Duque duel like the one last season while Duque was with the White Sox. They’re both such finesse pitchers that can throw an incredible arsenal of pitches, in any count and from any angle. I’d rather watch these kinds of guys, with pinpoint control and the ability to change speeds as dramatically as they both do, than some wild flamethrower that gets the ball up there around 100 but gives up monster homeruns and walk the guys they don’t strikeout. The Yankees caught a really bad break tonight when Moose had to come out of the game in the fourth inning with a no-hitter because of the rain delay and they had to go to the much maligned bullpen, but those guys did an incredible job and hopefully this shut out will give them all a little much-needed confidence. Villone did a great job giving them a little length, Proctor was trusted with the meat of the Mets lineup and looked sharp, Farnsworth did NOT give up a hit and looked like last season’s dominant and imposing reliever, and Mariano, the REAL Sandman and the best closer of all time, was, well, Mo. The first inning Giambi homerun turned out to be all the Bombers needed, but Andy Phillips’(Whom I affectionately call George, FYI) basehit in the 4th was a huge insurance run.

Taking a look around the league, Joe Girardi and the Marlins did tonight what Willie Randolph and the Mets couldn’t do in three games: beat the Red Sox. The Mets Fenway fiasco is, luckily for them, in the rearview mirror. However, the D-Train was able to hold the streaking BoSox to two runs and finally stopped Boston’s 12-game winning streak with a 5-2 victory. It’s about time!

Oh, and one last thing, going back to the Mets and Yankees. Why is it that the Yankees, according to the media at least, are inconsistent and struggling this year (45-32) while the Mets (47-32) are sometimes called the “best team in baseball”? Take a look at the records, and keep in mind the Yankees play in a division that is infinitely tougher than any N.L. Division, period. You don’t have to knock the Mets, but let’s give the Yanks a bit of respect, huh? I’m getting kind of sick of the Yankee-bashing.

This afternoon's game will be a match-up of Randy Johnson and Steve Trachsel. Hopefully, the Big Unit can continue pitching as well as he has of late and the Yankees can take the series and give their fans some bragging rights.

Lara*

The Comeback Captain- Opening Day (Very Late!)

Yankees Win 9th Consecutive Home Opener in Exciting and Dramatic Fashion

New York Yankees 9

Kansas City Royals 7Win: Proctor (1-1)Loss: Sisco (0-1)Save: Rivera (1)Noteworthy Performances- Jason Giambi: 1-1, Homerun (1), 3 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB- Bernie Williams: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 R ***- Derek Jeter: 1-4, Homerun (2), 3 RBI***

Game 2- Yankees Lose

New York Yankees
vs.
Oakland Athletics

NYY: Mike Mussina
OAK: Rich Harden

________________________________________________________________________

Yankees: 3

Athletics: 4

________________________________________________________________________

Win: Huston Street (1-0)

Loss: Scott Proctor (0-1)

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Game 2 ended with a walk-off single by Marco Scutaro in the bottom of the 9th inning. Inexplicably, Proctor was the man on the mound and earned the loss in a game where the Yankees never once took advantage of the many opportunities they had throughout the night. Harden was in trouble in the first, yet the Yanks were unable to push any runs across, and that trend continued throughout the remainder of the game. In typical fashion, Mike Mussina received very little offensive support but managed to pitch a quality game, going 7 innings, striking out 6 and surrendering 3 earned runs (although it should only have been 2; the official scorer took away a Cano error for some reason in the 5th). All in all, it was a game of lost opportunities and a pretty terrible display after last night's rout. That stellar offense we all expect to see was pretty non-existant in Oakland. Let's hope, in future games, that Alex Rodriguez remembers what to do on the base paths from now on, that Scott Proctor is never again trusted in a tie game, and that the offense stops wasting quality starts and wakes up to their potential.

Tune in for the rubber match, Wednesday night at 10:05 p.m.

Lara*