IT is early, but so far it is advantage Boston.
Now history has shown us over and over (and as many overs as you need to get back to 1918) that falling for the Red Sox early, especially over the Yankees, is right there with falling for Zsa Zsa Gabor. It is going to end poorly.
Except Boston took three of four last weekend from the Yanks with superior pitching and poise, which are areas the Yanks have annually dominated in this rivalry. Boston was unfazed despite playing without Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon (both of whom also will miss this weekend’s three-gamer that opens tonight in The Bronx), and with Bronson Arroyo starting one game, and Frank Castillo, Mark Malaska and Phil Seibel manning the back of the bullpen.
And the Red Sox only lost once in four games, though what loomed over the series larger than the Green Monster was two poignant losses to the Yanks: ALCS Game 7 last October and Alex Rodriguez in February. So what does this mean for April?
“I think the Red Sox are the best team in baseball,” said Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciardi, whose team has played two series against Boston. “I think the Red Sox are a better team [than the Yankees]. I said it in spring training, and I still believe it.”
Now Ricciardi described that edge “as a quarter of an inch on a ruler” over the Yanks. And all of us who have treated these Red Sox-Yankee series on consecutive weekends as mandates on the AL East and Western civilization must remember Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Father’s Day, Labor Day and the true days of divisional reckoning are still ahead of us. The Red Sox have broken out strong a few times in recent years only to have the Yanks prevail in the end, once as late as the 11th inning of ALCS Game 7.
Yet what does it mean this year if Boston has more pitching and poise? What does it mean if the Red Sox won the offseason even with bunting specialist Alex Rodriguez having slipped to the Yanks?
Manny Ramirez, who would have been sacrificed to get Rodriguez, has obliviously continued to be “the most fearsome hitter outside of Barry Bonds in the sport,” according to Ricciardi. And in Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke the Red Sox “added one of the 10 best starters and one of the five best closers to exactly address their most pressing needs,” Ricciardi said.
That the Yanks opted to use Nick Johnson for Javier Vazquez rather than Schilling will be a year-long storyline. Vazquez pitched poorly against the Red Sox last weekend and so did Mike Mussina, whose struggles are worrisome. The Yanks open tonight with Jose Contreras, who has been unable to find consistency or a way to subdue Boston, and close with the No. 5 spot, which will ultimately go to hasn’t-pitched-since-2002 Jon Lieber, but will probably be hasn’t-been-good-since 1996 Donovan Osborne on Sunday.
Osborne likely will face Pedro Martinez, who has had difficulty with the Yanks, has seen his fastball diminish and just may hold the key to the AL East on just how good he still is. Ricciardi, no innocent bystander since his Jays must play 38 games against the Yanks and Red Sox, already has seen Martinez twice in person and said: “Pedro is throwing 88-91 [mph] with sink, location and a breaking ball. If you didn’t know the pitcher’s name, you would be ecstatic to have that in your rotation.” Another AL executive, while acknowledging the lesser stuff and the danger of signing the free-agent-to-be long-term, said, “he has turned into Greg Maddux with better stuff, and that is still enough to win plenty.”
If that is true, the Red Sox could have a rotation edge that will carry ramifications long after these April series. It is why, even so early, this weekend becomes more intriguing. Because this is the first time Martinez pitches against the Yanks since Game 7 last year, and Pedro vs. the Yanks is never irrelevant, no matter the month.
By late Sunday afternoon we just might have a better idea how much of an advantage – if any – Boston has on the Yankees.
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Pitching matchups
Here are the starting pitchers for the Yankees-Red Sox series this weekend at the Stadium:
Tonight (7:00)
Derek Lowe
2004: 1-1, 9.35
Career vs. Yankees: 6-8, 5.86
vs.
Jose Contreras
2004: 0-1, 9.39
Career vs. Red Sox: 0-2, 27.00
*
Tomorrow (1:00)
Bronson Arroyo
2004: 0-1, 7.11
Career vs. Yankees: 0-0, 5.00
vs.
Kevin Brown
2004: 3-0, 2.33
Career vs. Red Sox: 7-6, 4.26
*
Sunday (1:00)
Pedro Martinez
2004: 2-1, 3.86
Career vs. Yankees: 9-8, 2.89
vs.
Donovan Osborne
2004: 0-0, 1.93
Career vs. Red Sox: 0-0, 3.00
Radio: WCBS (880)
