What is it about Redsox/Yankees that brings the idiot out of so many people? :confused2:
The two teams are arugably (they are IMO) the two best in baseball. They are both well built teams (I think the Sox are better built for the playoffs) that should make the playoffs. Obviously injuries can change that, or the Rays, but I think it will be Sox/Yankees coming out of the AL East, and into the playoffs. Who gets first is anyone's guess. I say that cuz the Sox are 8-0 against the Yankees, which is a 16 game swing in the standings. Yes, 16 games!
Despite that, the Yankees are only 2 games back. So it's not far fetched to figure the Yanks could win the division, since their record is better versus the rest of the league. In the end though, what difference does it make who takes first, if you both make it. I'd prefer first, but "getting into the tournament (as Tuna would say) is what really matters most.
Double G, if you aren't a Yankees fan, and haven't watched Yankees games for the last 10-15 years, you wouldn't understand why Torre was let go. The guy lost his fastball a few years ago. He got stale so to speak, and it was just time to move on. It happens. I love Torre for all that he did, but I thought he should have moved on a few years prior. He's a good manager, but he, and the team, each needed a change of scenery. He started to coach not to lose, as opposed to win, like he used to. Maybe he just got too comfortable, or the pressure was getting to him, or maybe it was the players the Yankees were putting on the field. One way or another, something had to give, and usually it's the coach that changes. Managerially, he was killing the bullpen, and he never trusted young players much. They insituted the "Joba Rules" for that first reason. Torre used to fall in love with players to the point where they'd be dl'd from a broken arm by the end of August. The rules for Chamblerlain were to protect him from Torre. Both sides needed to go their separate ways. I'm not sold on Girardi though. I expected more creativity than he's provided.
I like the Sox team. They play excellent defense, cover a lot of ground in the OF, and have clutch hitters up the line-up. They need a SS, but they have the $$, and chips to aquire one. The pen is very good, as are the starters. They are a well built team. Anyone who says otherwise is a hater. My concerns were i a Sox fan, would be the bottom of the line-up, and the end of the rotation in the 2nd half of the season. I mention the rotation only cuz you have to wonder what Dice-k will be like, what a 42 year old Smoltz will be in September, and whether Wake evens out over the long haul. They could all be excellent mind you. I'm merely saying it's something to maybe pay attention to.
The Yankees are only going to get better IMO. They have been decimated by injuries so far this season, to key players (Arod, Nady, Posada, Bruney, Marte, Wang, Molina) and are still 2 games back, and in the WC lead. They haven't had either set up man for the season (Marte/Bruney), and that's killed their pen. Arod is hitting .225, Nady is still out, Wang (2 time 19 game winner) is still trying to find himself physically after last years season ending injury, and Burnett really hasn't pitched well at all. The point is, there is considerable room for the Yankees to improve, and all things being equal, they should. I think it's going to be a terrific summer of baseball. Talk baseball and enjoy it fellas.