Thursday, May 22, 2003
I am so glad I am not a Red Sox fan
“I am so glad I am not a Red Sox fan.” - Bernal Diaz
Good starting pitching and good luck won this game for the Yankees, and put them back into first place all by themselves. They play Toronto next, who are playing far better than they were when the Yankees met them at the beginning of the season. However, they should be much easier to take on than the opponents they’ve faced in the recent stretch. Three of four this weekend and two of three against Boston next week could give them a bit of a cushion again, and I think they’ve got a decent shot to do that, if they can start playing to their level.
Which is, of course, the problem. We all know about Giambi’s struggles, and Nick Johnson’s injury puts The Mighty Zeile in the lineup on a regular basis. But Bernie has been frigid, Soriano’s coming out of a slump, and Matsui has been mediocre all season. I’m not going to give up on Matsui yet, it’s his first season in the majors, and just because Ichiro did well right away doesn’t mean that Matsui necessariy has to. I also don’t agree that we can forget about him showing any home run power, either. No, he won’t hit 50, but once he gets into a groove, I can see him hitting 20+ by seasons end. Right now, though, 15 HRs or so seems more realistic. We’ll see.
But my point is that the Yankees’ offensive woes have been the primary reason for their slump this month, and much of that may be due to the fact that they’ve faced superior pitching. While Texas was able to shut them down last weekend, I think they can touch up Toronto a bit this weekend. Hopefully they will, and that momentum will carry over into the series against the Red Sox next week.
My parents have always been certain of the ultimate success of the Yankees over the Red Sox, probably because they’ve seen it so many times. Like my Red Sox fan friends who aren’t jaded yet, I still have doubts. I’m an atheist, so curses and predestination are really not compatible with my beliefs, but then I’m also insanely superstitious. I’m just weird. I guess I won’t be ready to declare the Red Sox dead until the magic number is zero. But in all honesty, the Red Sox probably just missed their best chance to put a hurting on the Yankees. The bullpen is in tatters, Wells had never pitched well at Fenway, and the offense is in a tailspin, and they were at home to boot. I think this series was more important to the Red Sox than it was to the Yankees, and losing 2 of 3 hurt them more than it helped the us.
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