Now THIS feels like Red Sox vs. Yankees!

When the Sox and the Yankees first met this year, the Red Sox were 0-6 and just wanted a freaking win!

When the Red Sox swept the Yankees in mid May, it got them to .500.

Yeah, the Sox winning 5 of 6 from the Yankees was cool... but how cool was it REALLY when the team stunk?

Things are different now.

The Yankees are the best team in the American League (thanks to Cleveland's recent slump)...

The Red Sox are one game out of first place (two in the loss column.)

And we are in the second third of the season, so the whole "It's early" excuse is gone.

A win in the Series and the Sox will have a tie for first place and be only a few wins away from winning the season series.

A loss in the Series and the Yankees will show that their pieced together (and genetically spliced) pitching staff might actually hold together.

Garcia is the reclamation project for the Yankees and he is pitching like it is 2005!
Lester is the ace for the Red Sox who has been up and down.

They both clobbered a bunch of opponents recently.
It feels like a REAL Sox vs. Yankees series tonight.

Sorry rest of baseball... it's just a cool rivalry.

As always, Red Sox and Yankee fans should get along.

Leave the ass kicking to the players on the field.

PLAY BALL!

Maybe the Yankees obsessing over 2005 wasn't so dumb

This off season I made fun of the Yankees and their obsession with players who were last good in 2005.

But with the way that Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia has pitched, maybe they were on to something.

If Andruw Jones becomes an elite slugger again, then I will declare Brian Cashman a genius.

The Yankees are obsessed with 2005!

A few days ago, I wrote about how the Yankees seemed to be obsessed with signing players who were good in 2005. I mistakenly wrote that they had picked up ’05 All Star Justin Duchscherer. It turns out he was courted by the Yankees but signed with the Orioles.

No worries. The Yankees got Freddy Garcia today. Guess when he had one of his best seasons, logging in 228 innings to an ERA of 3.87, going 3-0 in the post season including a complete game in the ALCS and winning the World Series clincher?

That would be 2005.

Since then? He’s been battling injuries, missing most of 2007, 2008 and 2009 before winning 12 games last year for the White Sox.

It is an improvement. Unlike Colon and Prior, Garcia hasn’t missed an entire season!

But the 2005 fascination continues with the Yankees.

Hey! Kevin Millwood is still out there. In 2005 he threw 192 innings for a 2.86 ERA as a member of the Cleveland Indians.

Granted last year he posted a 5.10 ERA and opponents his .292 off of him. It doesn’t matter. All that matters to the Yankees these days is “How did he do in 2005?”