Role Reversal?
By Cromwell Sox Fan
A funny thing happened while watching this past weekend's Yankees-Red Sox series that may foretell each teams' destiny in the postseason. The Yankees won the overall series 2-1 in overwhelming fashion, but it's how the Red Sox won their one game that most interests me. In my view, the quality of the one Red Sox win far outshone the quantity of the two Yankees victories. And in past years, the team roles were always reversed.
In past years in a late September series between the teams, the Red Sox would generally win two of three games but it was always HOW the Yankees won their one game that ended up having the most impact as it propelled them into the playoffs. Last September was a prime example. In a 3-game series at New York on September 5, 6 & 7, 2003 the Red Sox blew into town and won the first two games in impressive fashion:9-3 and 11-0. They were poised to deliver a knockout blow by sweeping the series and putting the screws to the Yankees. But just like it's been for the last 85 years and counting, the Yankees would salvage the final game of the series and take the wind out of Boston's sails. David Wells beat the Sox 3-1 in that third game and re-established Yankee control of the division race.
I flashed back to that series after watching the one over the weekend, again in New York. And I realized that while everyone is focusing on how the Yankees once again took control of the division race by blowing out Boston on Saturday and Sunday, something else may be going on here.
Let's look back to the one victory Boston got in this series, the 3-2 win Friday night which allowed Boston to avert another sweep at Yankee Stadium. They won the game in the ninth inning against Mariano Rivera when Yankee fans left them for dead. In past years, when New York has always had the better pitching, this would be the type of game the Yankees would always win. It would overshadow Boston in the series and show the Yankees were truly the more complete team. (i.e. the Wells game mentioned above). My main point here is that although the Yankees were more impressive in the series as a whole, the Boston victory may turn out to be more of a sign of things to come in the postseason because the Sox did it in the clutch in dramatic fashion.
I think the Friday game was actually the most telling game in the series because it was Boston's second comeback win against Rivera this season, which shows they are not intimidated by him. And it shows that this year, for once, the Sox have the better overall pitching to stay with New York.
I just can't help thinking that what we saw Friday night may be a role reversal for the teams due to the state of their ptching staffs. I have to believe the Pedro game on Sunday was an aberration and that we won't see it again. Maybe, just maybe, if these two teams end up meeting in October, this series will be an omen of things to come as far as the Red Sox ability to "out gut" rather than "out slug" the Yankees. Only time will give us the true answer.
