Bury ’em. The Yankees must break out the shovels tonight at Yankee Stadium and throw Bronx dirt on the Red Sox for the next three days. Then dance on their graves. It’s all about burying the Bosox now.
The Yankees captured the AL East title Wednesday, sweeping the Rays in a doubleheader but their regular-season work is far from complete.
If the Boss were alive, this would be his edict: Sweep the Red Sox this weekend; put them out of their misery. The Red Sox are down, finish them. If the Yankees allow the Red Sox to get up off the canvas, they’ll probably live to regret it.
Boston has beaten the Yankees like a drum most of the year. The Yankees have lost 11 of 15 to the Red Sox. The Yankees need to do everything possible to make sure the Red Sox’ historic collapse continues. Boston has dropped 14 of 18, out-collapsing the 2007 Mets. They lead the wild card by two games.
The 2004 ALCS is branded into Yankee memory, players and fans. The Yankees cannot afford to give the Red Sox a second chance. Nothing would be sweeter than to win World Championship No. 28 while taking away the Red Sox postseason party invite.
Catcher Russell Martin said it best last night before the Yankees were crushed 15-8 by the Rays at Yankee Stadium, noting, “Anything to get the Red Sox out would be awesome for me. . . . Because I hate the Red Sox.”
It’s about time a Yankee said how he really feels about the Red Sox and the danger they present. The Red Sox were supposedly dead and buried when the Yankees owned that 3-0 advantage in the 2004 ALCS, and a ninth-inning, 4-3 lead in Game 4 at Fenway with the Great Mariano Rivera on the mound.
Then Kevin Millar walked; pinch-runner Dave Roberts stole second, Bill Mueller ripped a single past Rivera. The Red Sox were on their way to Reversing the Curse.
In 2007 the Red Sox won another World Series when the Yankees couldn’t get past the midges and the Indians. Two years later the Yankees didn’t have to face Boston on their way to their 27th World Championship.
That is the preferred path and the Yankees can take care of that burial business, beginning tonight. I’m all for the Yankees and Red Sox meeting again in the ALCS for the first time since 2004, it’s great postseason theater and would make for another memorable matchup, but the Yankees better not tempt fate.
Yes, the Red Sox are a shell of themselves from just a month ago, and they are not going to win 100 games like Josh Beckett and the Sawx predicted when I visited them in Fort Myers in spring training when the AL East was supposedly theirs for the taking.
The mega deals have not paid off with Carl Crawford Exhibit A, Daisuke Matsuzaka Exhibit B, John Lackey Exhibit C and J.D. Drew Exhibit D with plenty more big-money failures on the list. Even Adrian Gonzalez, for all his success, is batting .186 vs. the Yankees and .131 against the Rays.
The Yankees are starting-pitching short and that showed again last night when Bartolo Colon was pounded. Joe Girardi’s club is about out-slugging opponents and then putting the power arms in the bullpen to work. They match up much better against the Rays or Angels than they do against the Red Sox.
You can be sure that the Yankees want no part of the Red Sox in October. They have their chance to bury them this weekend. Bring out the shovels and finish them off.
The Yankees should consider this weekend the opening round of the playoffs. Take care of business against Boston, have a nice relaxing trip to Tampa Bay for the final three games, then move on to the ALDS.
The map to World Series gold is right in front of the Yankees.
Start shoveling; bury the Red Sox while you have the chance.