Celebrating, But With Caution

I say "with caution" because I remember 2009 all too well. The Red Sox beat the Yankees in 8 straight, then went on to lose all but one of the rest of the games in the season series. While the teams are made up differently this year, with different strengths and weaknesses, and while I believe the Red Sox are the better overall team, I also believe--and I say this grudgingly--that the Yankees are a much better team than they appear to be when they've played against the Sox so far this season. That being said, had the Red Sox not faceplanted out of the gate this season with a 2-10 record and instead went something like 6-6, all other things being equal they would be 5 games up on the Yankees right now instead of 1.

You have to give the Red Sox props for taking charge, at least so far, when facing their archrivals. The best way to gain ground against them in the division race is to beat them in head-to-head competition. The offense has really made hay in Yankee Stadium: So far this season Youk (2), Salty, Gonzo (2), Papi (3), Ells, Crawford and Drew have all gone yard there and the Sox have scored 29 runs total in 5 games. Even when the pitching hasn't been lights-out, the bats have done enough damage to keep the Red Sox in the W column. They've made pinatas out of Freddy Garcia and A.J. Burnett. What happens tomorrow night when Beckett and Sabathia duke it out with a sweep at stake remains to be seen. The 2 aces have matched up twice already this season, with Beckett taking both contests while shutting out the Yanks to boot. Those two starts will be a tough act to follow and it's unfair to expect him to throw another shutout, but if Beckett can keep the boys from the Bronx to at the most 2 or 3 runs and his teammates keep hitting in the Stadium like they have been, he has an excellent chance to take Round 3.