EVEN now, the moves and counter-moves persist. The Yankees acted at the trade deadline to add three players, notably Bobby Abreu. Shut out at the deadline, the Red Sox have addressed deficiencies in the last two weeks by obtaining Javy Lopez and Eric Hinske, who among his skills hits Chien-Ming Wang extremely well.
The Yankees and Red Sox meet yet again at Fenway Park, a five-game series beginning today with a doubleheader in which, surprise, surprise, Wang will start. So anyone who thinks the battles are limited strictly to the field is naive. The Yanks became the “Evil Empire” because they lured Jose Contreras away from Boston and Alex Rodriguez became Public Enemy No. 1 in New England because he was so close to joining Red Sox Nation before joining the Yankees.
Over the past half-decade, the Yanks and Red Sox essentially have been interested in the same high-profile players, escalating their turf wars and payrolls. That the Yanks arrive at the belly of the beast in first place is, in some part, due to how these two clubs danced with and around each other in the offseason when it came to their big moves:
JOHNNY DAMON – The Red Sox’s decision to spurn Damon and acquire Coco Crisp was totally logical, especially for an organization with deep roots now in statistical analysis. Damon was 33 and needed at least a four-year contract at premium dollars to stay, and Boston’s data showed it would be buying declining production, especially for a hard-charging player who endured through injuries. And there was the attraction of Crisp, six years younger and with a statistical profile akin to Damon’s.
However, this needed to be a decision of the gut on some level. Damon em bodied the Red Sox’s Idiot spirit. Not only could he handle the Yankee-Red Sox cauldron, but also his blithe makeup imbued any clubhouse he entered with bonhomie and confidence. The previous offseason, the Red Sox had ignored their computer readouts about the quick decay of catchers in their 30s and signed Jason Varitek to a four-year contract, appreciating fully what Varitek’s intangibles meant. Maybe that was a mistake, because Varitek is now on the disabled list. Or maybe it wasn’t, considering how calamitous Varitek’s absence has been to the team’s collective IQ and psyche.
Meanwhile, even with a recent hot spurt, Crisp has proved to be no Damon. Not statistically. Not emotionally. Damon, though, has been everything the Yanks could hope: Productive, clutch, positive and a fine ballhawk. In other words, everything he had been for Boston. Maybe the Yanks will regret that contract in 2008 or 2009. But, in 2006, this is a huge minus for Boston and a huge asset for the Yanks.
JOSH BECKETT – The Yanks and Red Sox both have turned to the rotations of the past two teams to beat the Yanks in the World Series. The Red Sox obtained Curt Schilling before the 2004 season and won a championship with him as the ace. The Yanks tried to counter with Randy Johnson, who was co-MVP of the 2001 World Series with Schilling for the Diamondbacks. Johnson has been curt in personality, but no Schilling on the mound.
In that same offseason, the Yanks signed Carl Pavano, who had pitched brilliantly for Florida in the 2003 Series. Pavano has since defined soft, having had more confrontations with fans in the Florida State League in 2006 than innings pitched for the Yanks. Last offseason, the Red Sox obtained Josh Beckett, who was the MVP of that 2003 Series triumph. They had the money to do so, in part, because they had not signed Damon and, therefore, could absorb Mike Lowell’s contract, a prerequisite for this deal. It seemed a masterstroke. Beckett is just 26, so he projected as the ace in waiting to Schilling.
And, with 13 wins, Beckett is far more valuable than Pavano by simply making his starts. But Beckett is finding AL lineups perplexing. His 5.02 ERA was the fourth worst among 40 AL qualifiers and his 31 homers were the majors’ most. He enters his outing tomorrow with eight starts against the four AL teams currently in playoff positions (Yanks, Tigers, White Sox and A’s) in which he is 3-3 with an 8.80 ERA, eight homers allowed in just 302/3 innings and a .300 batting average against.
