They call it the greatest rivalry in sports, though Michigan and Ohio State fans may disagree. I think we can all agree the Yankees / Red Sox rivalry the greatest rivalry in professional sports, anyway.
It started with a dominating performance by Yankee ace Chien-Ming Wang (aided significantly by the Red Sox’s anemic bats), included a nice outing (and win) by Josh Beckett, and ended with a shaky outing by Dice-K and horrible outing by Yankee phenom Phil Hughes.
Maybe the young Yankee starters are feeling the pressure of being chosen over Johan Santana, but they certainly aren’t tearing up the major leagues this April. Especially considering it was 30-degrees (conservatively) in Boston on Sunday—not exactly great hitting weather.
I jotted down some notes during and after all three games. Instead of using them to write a column, I figured I'd use them as my column. It'll give you a look inside the mind of a Red Sox fan during an early April weekend series against the evil New York Yankees.
And I'll give myself a night off from writing a real column. It's a win-win!
So, if you’ve ever wondered exactly what it’s like to be a Red Sox fan, here it is in a nutshell.
Completely uncensored and written down as the games were happening.
Game 1: Clay Buchholz vs. Chien-Ming Wang
2nd Inning: Buchholz looks much better than Wang early. The Sox are destroying the ball. On a warmer night, they’ve scored three runs by now. Minimum.
5th Inning: Ever notice when the Yankee play the Red Sox it’s always some schlub like Karim Garcia or Jose Molina who does the damage? Buchholz completely forgot how to throw strikes this inning. He might be getting tired.
5th Inning: JD Drew is on fire! Good thing Abreu doesn’t like running into walls. What a pathetic attempt at catching a flyball. If that ends up being the only hit/run for the Red Sox, he should buy Wang dinner. Especially since he’s almost making Wang’s entire salary in this one game.
Speaking of Wang, he’s clearly tiring. The Sox would have had four homeruns if it weren’t the dead of winter here in Boston.
7th Inning: Buchholz went six strong innings. All in all, a really impressive start for the rookie. I’m encou….are you kidding me? Mike Timlin just stopped me mid-sentence by throwing a ridiculous meatball to the White Barry Bonds. Yankees 2, Red Sox 1.
Way to ruin a good start, Timlin. Back to the DL with you!
8th Inning: The Yankees ended up getting another run in the seventh, mostly because Timlin doesn’t remember how to get anyone out. Then Wang got three outs on two pitches, or something like that.
The Red Sox can’t hit right now. They’re making Wang look like D-Lowe from the 2004 playoffs. And Wang ain’t no D-Lowe.
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