The Rivalry
The marathon known as the season series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox is almost over. The Sox currently own a commanding 11-4 season advantage over the Bronx Bombers. But does anyone care? No, I am not talking about the rivalry; I am talking about the season series. Both teams are sure to make the playoffs at this point. The only unknown is will they be home or away in the first round, Detroit or Texas.
The greatest rivalry in sports (which can also be called the longest games in sports at this point) is basically irrelevant. I am certainly not in favor of doing away with the wildcard but where is the excitement? The Sox or The Yankees own a seven to eight game wild-card lead (depending on who is in first place the day you look at the standings) and the Atlanta Braves are in the same situation with their wild card birth in the National League.
So why all the hype? Why are players, like Francisco Cervelli and John Lackey showing so much emotion during a game that really doesn’t matter? Wouldn’t they be better off dogging it like Cliff Lee, who no longer runs out ground balls?
We all know there is only one thing that matters to Sox and Yankees fans. No matter how many fans show up to see the season marathon it is all about the World Series! If you ask any Yankee fan if he cares that the Red Sox are up 11-4 for the season they will most likely tell you the same thing, it is 0-0 when it counts. Likewise, if you ask any Red Sox fan what about the ownership of the regular season Yankees, they will give you numerous reasons why they are still squirming in their seats.
So where do we go from here? With little more than 25 days left in the season do we just sit back and enjoy or start wondering what Tito and Joe have in store for the playoffs. Is the greatest rivalry in sports headed for another ALCS showdown, or will Detroit and Texas play spoiler to every network executives dream series. I guess we will have to tune in and see, as for now grab some peanuts, put on your rally cap and may the Best Team Win!
