Sox-Yanks…..Does Anyone Really Care?
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Red Sox - Yankees. For more than a decade now it has been "must see TV."
Not any longer.
The stumbling, bumbling Red Sox have taken the sizzle out of this rivalry for the time being with their lackluster play. And because of it, very few fans in these parts seem to be fired up for this weekend series that is about to get underway.
Entering Friday night's game 1, New York sports a Major League-best record of (59-39) which is a whopping 10 1/2 games better than the last place Boston Red Sox who are now back under .500 at (49-50).
Here are the pitching match-ups for this weekend's series:
Friday: Aaron Cook (2-3) vs. Phil Hughes (9-8) 7:05pm
Saturday: Jon Lester (5-8) vs. CC Sabathia (10-3) 4:05pm
Sunday: Felix Doubront (10-5) vs. Hiroki Kuroda (10-7) 8:00pm - ESPN
Despite the fact that the two teams are playing on two very different levels this season, there are some interesting side stories to watch this weekend for those who will be tuning in. First, there's Bobby Valentine's first trip to Yankee Stadium as the manager of the Red Sox. Valentine returns to New York for the first time in a decade since he managed the New York Mets.
Another interesting story to watch will be the performance of the newly acquired Ichiro Suzuki. Suzuki's numbers for Seattle have declined over the past three seasons, but many believe that he may have a bit of a rebirth in pinstripes.
While New York remains comfortably in control of the AL East (7 1/2 up on second place Baltimore), the Red Sox are scuffling to stay in the hunt for one of the two AL Wild Card spots. Boston is currently 4 1/2 games out of those final playoff spots but trails 8 other teams also vying for those two spots.
It would seem that taking 2 out of 3 would be almost a must for the Red Sox even though that seems like an insurmountable task for a team playing so poorly.
Comments:
Bobby Townsend
12:37am on Friday, July 27, 2012
Yes I will watch until the final out in Game 162. I don't just ship because things don't go well. Then I will watch every playoff game regardless of who is playing. By then the NFL will be in about Week 9, then a two-week layover before the college hoop season starts.
Take betting out of football and nobody would care about that either.
Howard Miller
2:21pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
who would have ever thought that the Sox and Yanks would not be the talk of the town. The Sox have the record for sell out the last several years. Is this in danger???
Scott Cordischi
5:24pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
Howard:
I believe that the sell out streak has already ended but Red Sox ownership has kept it alive by artificial means.
Harry Balsogna
11:19am on Thursday, August 02, 2012
Yea Howard, they have the record for most sellouts thanks to their nice partnership with Ace Ticket who is the sole holder of their entire ticket inventory.