Yankees - Red Sox time again. You know what that means. Anyone up for a 14-inning seesaw battle with at bats averaging 10 pitches and ending after Giants - Dodgers games.
Why is it that we look forward to these games again?
Anyways, time for another trip to the Bronx, trying to deny the Yankees the satisfaction of personally putting the kibosh on this season.
That will be no easy task, however, thanks to the Red Sox' once-again depleted lineup. Youkilis is gone for the season, and Pedroia is still on no schedule despite early reports that he would be back in a relative hurry. The Yankees, on the other hand, have their full lineup set to go, Berkman and all.
At least the Red Sox have some good pitching matchups. Then again, when have those helped us lately?
Buchholz vs. Vazquez starts the series off, giving the Sox a chance to take an early lead. A matchup between one team's biggest breakout player in the ace-like Buchholz fresh off two strong starts and the other's greatest disappointment, arguably, as Vazquez has again struggled against the A.L. East. Unfortunately, though, Vazquez has managed to keep the runs off the board for the past few months. The end of July wasn't exactly perfect, though, so maybe the Sox will catch him on a downswing.
Tomorrow brings Lackey vs. Sabathia. OK, so we're almost definitely not sweeping this. Do I even really need to go further into this one? Sabathia has done his usual thing, turning his season around in the middle months, while Lackey's last start certainly didn't lend credence to any beliefs that Lackey may be turning things around himself.
Sunday the Red Sox send Josh Beckett to the mound against the Yankees for the first time since he fell apart against them in May straight to the disabled list. If Beckett can keep it on like he has since returning, the Yankees will need one hell of a start from A.J. Burnett, who's stopped getting away with his usual stuff this year to the tune of a 4.93 ERA. He's not exactly shut down the Red Sox so far this season either. Hopefully history repeats itself.
Finally, there's Lester vs. whoever the Yankees send in as their fifth starter--in this case, likely Dustin Moseley. If Lester can stop his slide against the Yanks, and the Red Sox can stop not hitting bad pitchers, then this really shouldn't be an issue. But if Lester's last game is any indication...Oh boy.
Otherwise, it's typical Yankees - Red Sox. Big lineups, high stakes, and probably a ton of home runs in New Yankee Wind Tunnel.