(Calm down, Youk. You're fine.)
Both of the Yankees-Fraud Sawx series this season have gone negatively for the Yankees. They lost 2 out of 3 in Bahhston earlier in the year and were rudely treated to their first sweep at the New Stadium in mid-May. Since that disastrous 3-day period, both teams have been on a tear and this time the Sawx come back into town sitting just a game behind the Bombers for the AL East lead.
Both teams have been driven by a particular part of the roster lately, one coming as no surprise for one team and one a bit of a surprise for the other. As friend of AB4AR Larry Koestler
pointed out this morning on TYA, the Sawx have been mashing the shit out of the ball for the last 2 weeks to the tune of a .367 team wOBA. After 2 months, the lineup is finally starting to live up to the hype and there are probably still pitchers having nightmares about their most recent outing against Boston. Now, this is not to say that I'm lightening up on my anti-Frad Sawck stance. They still suck. Unfortunately, their offensive performance of late has not.
On the Yankee side of things, pitching has been the name of the game of late. In the same 2-week span, the Yankee pitching staff has put together an AL best 2.91 ERA and 3.33 FIP. CC has been a beastly man amongst boys, Colon continues to pitch well, A.J. has been serviceable, and somehow Freddy Garcia is still getting positive results with everything but the kitchen sink. And to top it all off, the bullpen trio of Mo-Joba-D-Rob has held up their end of the bargain by putting zeroes up on the board. If you would have taken a poll of Yankee fans on Opening Day and asked if a rotation that included Colon and Garcia would be part of an AL-leading anything over a 2-week span, I don't think you would have had many votes in the "Yes" column, but it's the truth. While the offense still hasn't quite found its stride, the pitching staff has carried the team through this most recent stretch of success.
So starting tonight we've got the Sawx lineup against the Yankee rotation. Which group will continue their hot streak and which will have their momentum halted? And more importantly, how many times will I curse myself for moving out to WI, giving up the YES Network, and not having an ISP that allows me to get MLB broadcast package on my computer?
P.S.- Truth be told, I could give a shit if the Yankee starters get shelled in all 3 games. It'd just be nice to see the boys take 2 of 3 and win a series to increase the division lead.