New York Yankees: 5 Keys to Overtaking the Red Sox in 2011

The New York Yankees, in first place in the American League East as of August 21st, are by all outward appearances in very good shape as the 2011 season heads into the stretch run.

Despite all of the publicity about the vaunted Red Sox offense, which is unquestionably potent by any measure, you'd be hard pressed to defend the notion that the gap between the two teams offensive capabilities is all that wide.

The differences across the primary statistical categories are, in fact, negligible at best. In some cases, as with Runs Scored, On Base Percentage (OBP), Slugging Percentage (SLG), and On Base Plus Slugging (OPS), the similarities are remarkable.

As for pitching, the Yankees have performed surprisingly well, with the combination of good scouting, savvy front-office decisions, and a good bit of magic dust producing a starting rotation and bullpen that has outperformed expectations by a large margin.

The Red Sox pitching staff, despite injuries to key performers like Clay Bucholz, remains formidable and deeper than the Yankees staff. In fact, the trade-deadline addition of Eric Bedard has given them a very reliable number three.

If you had to find two teams that match up on paper pretty evenly, the Yankees and Red Sox fit that bill. In practical terms, though, the Red Sox have owned the Yankees during the regular season, winning ten and losing just two.

If the Yankees hope to make it to the World Series they will more than likely have to go through Boston to get there. For this to become a reality the script needs to change, and here are five things that the Yankees must do to bring that change about...

1. Decipher Josh Beckett

If the Yankees were Pedro Martinez' daddy, then Josh Beckett has been grandpa to the Yankees throughout the 2011 season. Boston has not lost any of the games started by Beckett this season, and Beckett himself has yielded just three earned runs against the Yankees in 27 innings.

Understanding that a problem exists is a bunch easier than solving it, so the Yankees must be creative in overcoming the Boston workhorse. While  Boston catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is throwing runners out at a very healthy 30 percent clip, the Yankees are near the top of the league in stolen bases and can present difficulties for opposing teams even when their power game isn't firing.

They will have to get on base more often against Beckett, of course—and this is considerably easier said than done—but the emphasis against him should be patience.

Beckett does not walk a lot of hitters by any means, but he does rely on pitches out of the strike zone to get his outs (especially his strikeouts). The formula for the Yankees should be to work the count, be aggressive on the basepaths, and to utilize hit and runs as often as possible. Relying on rallies to thwart Beckett will not suffice, but a run here or there could be the difference.

2. Dont Ask Too Much of C.C. Sabathia

C.C Sabathia, the one sure thing in the Yankee rotation, is 0-4 with a 7.20 ERA against Boston this year. He is 17-3 with a low two's ERA against everyone else. This says it all as far as the rivalry is concerned during the 2011 season, as even a .500 record in games started by C.C. against Boston would make the season series less lopsided.

If it were a situation where Sabathia's starts were nail-biters, with a fluke hit or error deciding things, then the Yankees could at least look towards future Sabathia starts versus Boston and feel good about the possibilities.

The reality, though, is that Sabathia has been lit up by the Sox this year, as the numbers prove, and considering that Sabathia is usually matched up against either John Lester or Beckett this makes for a bad recipe.

Ironically, the Yankees will need to treat Sabathia as they would one of the other members of the staff and not expect him to go deep in games versus Boston. There have been two outings this year against Boston where Sabathia has looked good early and then crumbled late, so Yankees manager Joe Girardi should not feel the need to push the envelope with Sabathia in terms of innings.

If he's given the team six decent innings then it might be time to hand things over to the bullpen, which has been dominant for much of the year, and avoid the blow-up inning that Sabathia always seems to have vs. Boston.

3. Tap Their Heels Three Times

The Yankees, as pointed out earlier, have won only two of 12 overall decisions against the Red Sox this season. To make matters worse, they have lost each game played at Yankee Stadium. and by a combined score of 43-22 no less.

The Red Sox have scored no less than five runs in any game at Yankee Stadium this year and have averaged over seven. In other words, with their team ERA standing at just a notch above 3.50, the Yankees have given up almost twice as many runs per game to the Red Sox at home than they have on average throughout the year.

It can be argued that along with the memories, the mystique of "old" Yankee Stadium was also bulldozed when the new facility took its place. This mystique took the form of late inning Red Sox collapses, historic Yankee home runs, and epic battles typically won by the home team.

In reality, the mystique was the result of many things, from the basic fact that the Yankees have fielded great teams across the decades to the undeniable truth that the fans that filled the "old" Yankee Stadium were passionate, vocal, and intimidating to play in front of.

That Yankee fan is for the most part gone now—at least in the Stadium itself—banished to their living rooms and local bars or to the upper most reaches of the "new " Yankee Stadium where they can barely be heard.

Yankee ownership ensured their demise when they priced virtually all the near-field seats at levels beyond the reach of the every day fan, creating the now infamous "tub" that extends just beyond the first and third base bags and includes all the territory between the two in the process.

The Yankees, of course, still post great attendance numbers, averaging over 40-plus thousand per home game, and overall their record in the "new" Yankee Stadium this year is a very healthy 40-24, based in large part on the fact that there is quite a gulf between the Yankees and most of the American League.

The stands, though, are filled by a type of person that is more interested in being seen at the ballpark than actually seeing what happens in the ballpark. This development has diminished the intimidation factor at the Stadium, and the Red Sox don't appear to be in the least bit awed or cowed by the facility.

 If the Yankees are to get past the Red Sox this season they'll more than likely have to beat their rivals at Yankee Stadium at some point. To bring this about Yankees fans, specifically those trading stocks and sipping $20 martinis behind home plate, will have to step it up.

4. Hope That Mariano Rivera Is Lights Out

It is no secret that Mariano Rivera has been vulnerable to the Red Sox in his career. and nothing has changed in 2011 as Rivera has proven somewhat less than automatic when closing down Yankee leads vs. their AL East nemesis. Considering that familiarity with a pitcher is a hitter's best friend, this should not be shocking.

The Red Sox see Rivera a lot, and most of the Sox lineup is made up of players that have been with the team for many years. The addition of Carl Crawford gives Boston yet another veteran bat that has faced Rivera in pressure situations for many years, so whereas Rivera's cutter is a complete mystery to most, it falls somewhere below that when he faces the Red Sox.

Since Rivera relies so heavily on his trademark cutter there is no magic bullet here, no adjustments that can be made other than perhaps some tweaks to pitch location. The Yankees will throw Rivera out there when there's a late lead every time, as they should, and from there it's a matter of who comes out ahead.

Yankees fans have grown accustomed to Rivera doing what it takes to succeed, and he'll have to find a way to consistently shut down the potent Boston lineup if the Yankees are to get where they ultimately want to go.

5. Find a Legitimate Number Two Starter

Though C.C. Sabathia has struggled vs. Boston this year there is no chance that Yankee Manager Joe Girardi would go with anyone other than his ace at every possible opportunity. Sabathia is too good and too smart not to trust when you need a win.

Boston Manager Terry Francona, on the other hand, can choose from two superb starters to oppose Sabathia, with either Josh Beckett or John Lester capable of matching or bettering anything that Sabathia has to offer. As a result, the Yankees will need not just a reliable number two starter but someone equal to the task of matching either of Boston's aces.

From recent and past history, it is clear that A.J. Burnett will not be able to step into the number two role he was signed to fill. Its a shame, really, because in terms of "stuff" he still has the physical tools to be that guy. It would also have been wonderful theatre if the Yankees and Red Sox could have had an ongoing battle of top shelf aces when facing off.

This is not the case, though, and so the Yankees will have to hope that the recent performances of Ivan Nova and Phil Hughes are indicative of what can be expected long term. There is also Bartolo Colon in the mix, still hitting mid-nineties on the radar gun with movement late into the season, but with a lot of baseball left in the season the question remains whether he can hold up into and possibly beyond October.

Without a reliable number two option the Yankees cannot overcome Boston, especially now that Boston can also throw a legitimate three starter in Eric Bedard.

John Lackey, who has been Boston's version of A.J. Burnett, has improved lately and could give the Red Sox another solid starting option. In truth, the Yankees will need not just a solid number two option but an equally reliable number three. They have the horses in terms of talent, of course, however only time will tell if youngsters Nova and Hughes or gutsy veteran Colon can get the job done.