April 20-22 Sox-Yanks thread

[TomBrady'sGoat]

I can only assume everyone else is as pumped up for this weekend as I am.

Usually the tradeoff you get with baseball is that the 162 game season dilutes the energy and excitement of individual games, whereas each football game is an full energy event. This weekend we get three football games in three days (all three are even nationally televised for those of us outside of Boston).

So far the biggest stories for these three teams are A-Rod's hot streak, Yankees injuries, the success of the Sox staff, and the struggles of the Sox offense.

The pitching matchups heavily favor Boston:

Game 1
Schilling vs Pettitte

Game 2
Beckett vs Karstens

Game 3
Matsuzaka vs Wright

Game 1 is a wash (though my Sox bias tells me Schilling is the better pitcher) and the next two are mismatches in favor of Boston.

Of course, this advantage is somewhat countered by the fact that the Yankees have a better lineup. Of note is that things will look better for the Yanks in NY when things won't line up so perfectly for the Sox and the Yanks will have Wang back.

So considering the Sox are sending out their 1-2-3 pitchers and the Yanks have to throw out 2 nobodies the sox have to be expected to win 2 of 3. A sweep would be much nicer when the Yanks are down. If the Yanks can find a way to win two of these they have to feel great about themselves.

If A-Rod cools down does he get booed when he returns to NY? As much as I feel bad for the guy I'm kind of hoping that the weekend kills all of the "true yankee" talk and he goes back to struggling (by his own standards, which still leaves him better than 90-something% of baseball).

Can Beckett and Matsuzaka tame the NY lineup (my opinions: dear God I hope so and yes)?

Will the Sox again struggle against pitchers they're unfamiliar with?

Will Manny officially break out of his slump (he loves yankee pitching)?

Anything other pre-series thoughts out there?

 

[mtbykr]

I have to be out of town (in the middle of nowhere) this weekend so it figures it would be the first sox/yankers games this year.... Hopfully be back in time on sunday night!

 

[sdaniels7114]

88 minutes to go. The only thing that gets me down a bit is that the pitch Manny cranked yesterday was awful. So that really can't be called a sign that he's getting hot.

 

[Double G]

So much for Payfraud cooling off; whatever performance drug he is on (he looks more like a D Lineman than a 3rd baseman), I want some.............

 

[signbabybrady]

i love that dirty water. what an ending. and what a save from okijima

 

[chunkypony]

amazing game. hope its like this all season (close, not relying on getting hits off of mariano).

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

what an awesome ending. It was so nice to see the offense wake up there at the end.

I admit I thought it was over. Two innings for that offense (with the way it has looked so far, not judging it by what it could become) to score 4 runs and the knowledge that Rivera would enter if it got close didn't give me much hope.

as for Okajima, it didn't surprise me that none of the numbnuts at ESPN could figure out that the Sox thought the fact none of those guys had faced him before was an advantage worth exploring. Good call by Tito and a great job by Okajima. a 1-run lead facing Jeter, Abreau, and A-Rod has got to be the hardest save in baseball (when Manny or Ortiz are hot Ortiz, Manny, and Drew might have them beat, but whatever).

How awesome was it that Giambi wasn't in there in the 9th. When did Grady Little take over as manager of the Yankees?

Anyone else think official scorers have a very lenient standard? A-Rod fields a routine grounder down the line and throws high and Crisp gets a hit for that? Coco can use any hit he can get, the subjectiveness of official scoring just annoys me sometimes.

I love Crisp for his attempt to get that ball. He simply missed it, and that happens when you try to make spectacular plays. He made no attempt to brace himself and completely sacrificed his body. Too bad he missed it, that's the type of catch which gets you folk-hero status.

Unfortunately the announcing will somehow get worse throughout the weekend. Kruk and Dusty were worthless (I felt sorry for Ravich), Fox's crew is awful, and Joe Morgan on Sunday night is the worst there is. I'll probably just start off with the game muted Sunday night, knowing the alternative is much worse.

*edit* and you've just got to love Jason Varitek. Just before his homer I was telling my girlfriend that in spite of his struggles I'll take Varitek any day in a game against the Yankees. I'm not much of a fan of his offense lately but he's still easy to root for.

 

[patsfanofNC12]

That game was amazing, but unfortunatly I had to miss the first couple of innings but go to see the rest including the end

The best thing ever would be if we could sweep them Yanks!!!!:rocker:

 

[ironwasp]

Can anyone tell me why the Sox were wearing green? (I can't bring myself to read the CHB, who probably spells it out)

 

[DarrylS]

Can anyone tell me why the Sox were wearing green? (I can't bring myself to read the CHB, who probably spells it out)

To honor Red Aurbach, it was scheduled earlier when Bill Russell threw out the first pitch, but had to be cancelled due to bad weather.

 

[ironwasp]

Thanks.

10 char

 

[sdaniels7114]

Anything for Red, but otherwise those uni's are nasty. Too much green. Anyway, 2 for 2 so far with Daisuke going tomorrow.

 

[mtbykr]

I think they plan on using the uni's throughout the season to honor Red!