Play Ball

Yanks-Red Sox starts tonight at Fenway. Since the Sox started having some success, the rivalry has gone from nuclear to simply seething. Let's see how badly behaved the Red Sox are tomorrow, and how the Yankees respond to it. Questions might be:

How many base runners will run into fielders unnecessarily? One never knows which Red Sox player will be looking to make a crowd-pleasing hit.

How many hitters will mean mug the Yankee pitchers for throwing too close to them? The Sox are notoriously thin-skinned about inside pitches, and like to whip the Fenway faithful into a frenzy of indignation whenever possible by acting victimized.

What nonsense can we expect from David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis? Sure, many of the weirdos from previous Red Sox teams are gone: Mueller, Pedro, Manny, and Schilling are history. But other Red Sox seem to be intent on carrying the shameful torch of poor sportsmanship and classlessness, to the delight of their neurotic fans.

I'd rather see Boston behave itself this weekend and for the rivalry to become more respectful. But I fear that's going to be too much to ask. Let's see tonight. The nice thing is, it brings out the best in the Yankees year after year. The Bombers sometimes seem bored with the 162 game schedule, and playing in Boston against these clowns can have a... focusing effect on them.

But enough talk. It's time to play ball.