Red Sox Fans Forced To Root for Yankees: Not an Easy 3 Days

Starting tonight at 7:05 EDT and lasting through the conclusion of Thursday night's 7:05 game, Boston Red Sox fans will have to do something previously thought unimaginable: root for the Yankees.  

Admit it, we're all Yankees fans right now. 

Unless you're under the likely naive assumption that the Red Sox are going to win out the remainder of their games, which would make any and all Tampa victories meaningless, then the Red Sox really need the Yankees to win some games against Tampa this week.

It's four games in three days between the Rays and Yankees—and it's in Yankee Stadium as well. 

The wild-card race has created some odd scenarios before, but this one is a bit new.

There is no rivalry in all of baseball with the history of the Red Sox-Yankees. I can't think of one other time in Major League Baseball history when real diehard Red Sox fans would have rooted for the Yankees.

This week is the exception, though. 

We need Ivan Nova to continue his surprisingly good rookie season tonight. We need the young bats of Jesus Montero and Austin Romine to produce in tomorrow's doubleheader. We need Phil Hughes to mature into the dominant starter we've all been hoping he'd not become for the past three seasons. Congrats on that save record Mo; let's not have any letups now, okay? 

How about that Curtis Granderson with 41 home runs?! He's a machine, and wouldn't the next three days be a fine time to further showcase those offensive skills while bolstering his MVP chances?

Derek Jeter, we all know you won't let up as this regular season winds down, and isn't it about time that Alex Rodriguez began heating up? 

Yes, it's going to be a strange three days for Red Sox fans, and maybe for Yankees fans as well.

When was the last time Yankees fans had Red Sox fans rooting for them with anything other than mocked enthusiasm?

As a Red Sox fan, it's going to feel downright strange looking at scores online and thinking either, "Yes, the Yankees won!" or "How could the Yanks have lost that game?!"

I'm actually happy that A.J. Burnett pitched yesterday because now I know he won't be used in this four-game series. Of course, that also means he will probably get the start in Fenway on Friday night against the Red Sox.

But by then I'll hate the Yankees again—a lot, and with enthusiasm.

In the meantime—GO YANKEES!