Yankees/Red Sox: The Rivalry Returns

[Tippecanoe]

lets go red sox!!! :ihit

down 0-1 right now

[Horry For 3!]

Yes, I hate the Yankees.

[Horry For 3!]

Gay-rod homers again

[RogerIsEatingASandwich]

Let's go Yankees!

Yankees up 2-0

Suck it assholes.

[JamStone]

Holy Rodriguez!

On pace for 127 HRs this season ... LMAOOOOOOOOO!

That guy is ridiculous right now.

[Horry For 3!]

Let's go Yankees!

Yankees up 2-0

Suck it assholes.
suck it assholes? :lmao GAY

[K-State Spur]

If only there were a way both teams would lose.

But I do hate the Yankees more. If you're a Yankee fan who wasn't born and raised in the Bronx - you're a bandwagoner.

[Horry For 3!]

Varitek 2-run HR

2-2 now


suck it assholes :lmao

[Horry For 3!]

Ok....

No one can stop Gay-rod.

[RogerIsEatingASandwich]

:lmao

Yankees lead 5-2

ANOTHER HR for A-Rod!

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

I can't believe I'm having to defend A-Rod to a Yankees fan.

Right before that pitch, he's yelling that even if A-Rod were to be playing like this in October, it wouldn't make up for last post-season. Also, he was saying A-Rod would strike out right before that pitch.

I tell him that if A-Rod isn't winning these games now, there might not be a post-season...he proceeds to bet me $5 that A-Rod doesn't have another walk-off HR this season.

One in ~70 odds, I'll take those.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Ok....

No one can stop Gay-rod.

Suck it, asshole?

[Melmart1]

If only there were a way both teams would lose.

But I do hate the Yankees more. If you're a Yankee fan who wasn't born and raised in the Bronx - you're a bandwagoner.
I am no Yankee fan apologist, but why only the Bronx? Who are people in Manhattan, Long Island etc supposed to cheer for? Most people in CT are born and raised Yankee fans, does that make them bandwaggoners, too? I think your definition is a bit narrow there.

[K-State Spur]

Yeah, it's a bit narrow, there's some leeway to be had there.

But 99.9% of the yankee fans I know haven't even been to NYC.

[dallasmavsnfuego214]

i am and always will be a Ranger fan :depressed

but i want A-Rod to do well so the fans can eat out of his asshole when he wins them a world series

[Melmart1]

i am and always will be a Ranger fan :depressed

but i want A-Rod to do well so the fans can eat out of his asshole when he wins them a world series
I am a lifelong Ragners fan, but I gotta say... i completely disagree about A-Rod. Fuck him and the $8 mil/year the Rangers still pay him to NOT play for us. I hope he never wins a WS. I also can't stand Giambi and hope he never wins, either.

[K-State Spur]

The Yanks will put up all kinds of runs, maybe close to 1000, but come October, they don't have the pitching to get through the playoffs (even when it is healthy).

Even in their own division - Boston, Toronto, & Baltimore have better staffs.

[Tippecanoe]

HOLY SHIT!!!!

that was an amazing comeback

Coco w/ the triple, off of mariano rivera

game one belongs to us :ihit

[Horry For 3!]

:lmao Yankees choked


Too bad I didn't see it...

[RogerIsEatingASandwich]

:lmao Yankees choked


Too bad I didn't see it...

Dude, Don't be retarded.

The Yanks are 15 games into the regular season, it's just a loss.


Mo usually starts out slow anyway, April is his worst month.

[K-State Spur]

Only Varitek really hit the ball hard off of Rivera last night. That said, one of these days, he's not going to come out of it. He throws 1 pitch (1!!!), so as soon as his velocity starts to drop, he's going to struggle a bit - not so much because of the loss in velocity, but the loss in movement associated with it.

Unless he develops a devastating changing like Hoffman, the shelf life on closers tends to die around 33-34. Rivera is 37 (at least, that we know of).

[Tippecanoe]

its way too early to call it over for mariano. dude has a history of being atrocious early in the season. last year, he blew his first two saves, and then went on to dominate. same story the year before that. as i see it, unless this early flunk carries over to june, mo is still one of the top 3 closers today

[Jimcs50]

Rivera is once again, Varitek's bitch.

:elephant

[Horry For 3!]

Dude, Don't be retarded.

The Yanks are 15 games into the regular season, it's just a loss.


Mo usually starts out slow anyway, April is his worst month.
I don't give a shit. I just think its funny that the Yankees blew it.

[Tippecanoe]

yankees lucking out. that ortiz and ramirez flys were just a couple feet short of the fence

[Tippecanoe]

and sox take round 2

im looking foward to a sweep

[Jimcs50]

and sox take round 2

im looking foward to a sweep

need a little payback for the 5 game sweep that they laid on us at Fenway last year....that ruined the Sox' season and sent them in a nose dive that they never pulled out of.

[Tippecanoe]

that 5 game sweep was, in a way, a necessary evil. it proved to be a wake up call to the boston front office. if boston was victorious in that series, would theo spend 103 million on dice k, 70 mil on drew, 36 mil on lugo? it taught the sox that to remain competitive with the yankees, you absolutely must destroy the bank.

plus, it reminded tito that having a reliable left handed reliever is a must when playing against the yankees. last year, the sox's only lefty in the bullpen was javier lopez, who isnt really what most would call "reliable"

[Tippecanoe]

i cant believe i wrote all that in a SPURS message board

[Tippecanoe]

three outs from a sweep. lets go paps

[Tippecanoe]

BALL GAME OVER!!! RED SOX WIN!!!

BOSTON SWEEPS THE YANKEES
7-6 Friday behind a 5-run eighth
7-5 Saturday behind Papi's 4 RBIs
7-6 Sunday behind back to back to back to back HRs

[Jimcs50]

BALL GAME OVER!!! RED SOX WIN!!!

BOSTON SWEEPS THE YANKEES
7-6 Friday behind a 5-run eighth
7-5 Saturday behind Papi's 4 RBIs
7-6 Sunday behind back to back to back to back HRs

1st sweep in 17 years at Fenway for Boston.

:toast

[Budkin]

Congrats from a Mets fan. Always fun to see the Yanks lose :-)

[Slinkyman]

any day the yanks lose is a good day

[Jimcs50]

Our pitching lineup is horrible for this series. We have the 3, 4 and 5 lined up, so it looks like the Sox can at best get 1 of 3 wins this weekend.

Although, Wakefield has one of the best ERAs in the Bigs so far at 1.50, so if Matsuzaka can win tonight, we have a chance to get 2 of 3.

[Jimcs50]

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Yankees certainly didn't have to wait long for their first chance to respond against the Red Sox.

"It seems like we play them every day, with the unbalanced schedule," Yankees catcher Jorge Posada said Thursday. "We're looking forward to it."

They need to start winning, too.

One weekend after beating New York three straight times at Fenway Park, the Red Sox visit Yankee Stadium for a three-game series that begins Friday night. Even though it's early in the season, this chapter in the long-running rivalry could be particularly important for the Yankees, who have lost six straight overall.


Betrayed by an injury-depleted pitching staff, New York lost three close games last weekend -- with the Red Sox coming from behind in each. It was Boston's first sweep of the Yankees at Fenway since 1990, and it gave Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz and Co. a measure of revenge for last summer.

Last August, the Yankees swept a five-game series at Fenway to take control of the AL East race.

"There is never a case where you're a leg up, or they are a leg down. That series is one that is behind us now," said Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, who saved two games against New York last weekend.

Most importantly, the sweep started the last-place Yankees on their longest skid since dropping six in a row from May 28 to June 3, 2005. They are 5 1/2 games back of first-place Boston in the AL East.

Sure, it's still April. But the Yankees also know they can't afford to fall too far behind a talented Boston team.

"I think we need to win a game. We need to do that and go from there," said New York center fielder Johnny Damon, a former Red Sox star. "But we need to start having wins because we need to stay as close as we can until we all get healthy."

The Yankees are beginning to get back to full strength. Chien-Ming Wang, a 19-game winner last season and runner-up for the AL Cy Young Award, has returned to the rotation after a hamstring injury kept him out for the first three weeks of the season. He will pitch Sunday against Julian Tavarez.

New York left fielder Hideki Matsui, who also missed last weekend's series, is back from his own strained hamstring. He will face countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka on Friday night, which is sure to stir up plenty of excitement in Japan.

Matsuzaka got his first taste of the rivalry Sunday night when he earned the win for Boston in a 7-6 victory. He didn't pitch particularly well, though. The right-hander had his worst outing in four big league starts, allowing six runs in seven-plus innings.

When he steps on the mound Friday, it will be his first time pitching at Yankee Stadium.

"He gets cable, he knows," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "I think that's why he wanted to sign and play here, because of this type of rivalry.

"If it was to the point where we were worried about sending him out there, shame on us. We think this guy is going to be really good for a long time."

Matsuzaka will face Andy Pettitte, who pitched well in the opener at Fenway Park before Mariano Rivera and the rest of New York's overworked bullpen blew a late lead.

Pettitte is 13-5 with a 2.98 ERA in his career against Boston. The Yankees, however, went into Thursday ranked 11th out of 14 AL teams in ERA (4.76). The Red Sox were second at 3.27.

Despite Alex Rodriguez's record-setting start, the Yankees (8-12) are four games under .500 for the first time since May 10, 2005.

"We're not pitching good as a staff. That's the only reason why we're struggling," Pettitte said.

Boston batted .363 against the Yankees last weekend and hit four consecutive homers off rookie Chase Wright in the series finale, matching a major league record. Wright was soon sent back to the minors.

"There's no doubt that as a starting staff that we need to step up," Pettitte said. "We're on the mend. We're going to be fine. We haven't gotten off to a great start, but things are going to get better."

The Yankees chose Jeff Karstens over fellow rookie Kei Igawa to start on Saturday against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. Igawa will be skipped in the rotation for at least one turn after he was roughed up Monday night at Tampa Bay. The left-hander could be available out of the bullpen.

"I think Karstens pitched a more controlled game the last time he pitched than Kei," manager Joe Torre said.

The Yankees also hope to have star shortstop Derek Jeter back against Boston. He didn't play Thursday night against Toronto because of a sore left thigh after he was hit by a pitch Tuesday against the Devil Rays.

"It's perfect for us right now. Let's go. Maybe the rivalry will get us over the hump and winning games," New York's Doug Mientkiewicz said.

AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg in Baltimore contributed to this report.


Updated

[Jimcs50]

4-0


:smokin

[Tippecanoe]

the other fun stat:

Rivera, Mariano 1-2, 6.2 IP, 10 Hits, 9 ERs, 3 BBs, 8Ks, 12.15 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, .345 BAA, 0 Svs

:downspin:

[leemajors]

the other fun stat:

Rivera, Mariano 1-2, 6.2 IP, 10 Hits, 9 ERs, 3 BBs, 8Ks, 12.15 ERA, 1.95 WHIP, .345 BAA, 0 Svs

:downspin:

those are lidge nums!

[Tippecanoe]

props to igawa for winning round 4. nice job

[Jimcs50]

Win when Julian starts even....the Yankees do suck.


:lol

[RogerIsEatingASandwich]

Props to the sox for nearly sweeping both series.

Dayymn the Yanks pitching stinks right now. Things will get better though. It's early.

The Boss will most likely have something to say on monday. (...will probably be along the lines of F#@$%!!!#$%$#!!#$%#!@$!!!%!)