Rivalry Renewed

Yankees vs. Red Sox: Position by Position

With the Yankees falling out of playoff contention last year, the rivalry took a bit of a year off. With the moves the Yankees have made this offseason I believe they have closed the gap with their bitter rivals and the war is back on for 2009! I am no way discounting the Rays because they are the defending division champs and they will battle the Yanks and Sox all year long. This post is just purely to highlight the special rivalry the Yanks and Sox share.

C-Yankees. If Posada is anywhere near 100% his offensive production should be head and shoulders above the woeful Varitek

1B-Yankees (Barely). Tex is primed for a big year in the Bronx, but Youk is also an offensive force, especially in Fenway Park. Tiebreak goes to the Yankees because they ended up signing Teixeira away from the Sox, who so desperately wanted the slugger

2B- Red Sox. Reigning MVP Dustin Pedroia will probably come down to earth a bit from last year but Cano’s inconsistency gives Pedroia the edge.

3B-Yankees A-Rod Returns in May. Enough said.

SS-Yankees. Jeter may be headed into decline but I’d still take him over the combo of Lowrie and Lugo anyday.

LF-Push. Bay fit into the Red Sox clubhouse nicely, but Damon continues to be a force coming off of another great year.

CF- Red Sox. Ellsbury is exactly the type of player the Yankees hope Gardner turns into this year. Excellent defensively and on the bases.

RF- Push. Drew still has yet to put together a complete season in Boston. While the combination of Nady and Swisher should be comparible to Drew's production.

DH- Red Sox. Papi had a down year in 08 while Matsui could barely stay on the field. Papi takes it on pedigree.

Bench: Push. The Yankees will feature a bench with Nick Swisher and Melky Cabrera on it. While the Sox have Rocco Baldelli and Mark Kotsay on the bench.

SP- Yankees. Top 3 are a push. Sabathia, Wang, Burnett are just as good as Beckett, Lester, Matsuzaka. 4-5 Starters give the Yanks the edge. Pettitte and Chamberlain over Wakefield and Penny easily.

Middle Relief- Red Sox. The Yankees should be improved but the Sox have the proven bullpen arms.

Closer- Yankees. Rivera is still the greatest of all time but Papelbon isn’t far behind.

Manager- Red Sox. Francona has shown a winner’s touch while Girardi has yet to taste the champagne.

Front Office- Red Sox. You can’t argue with their success in mixing solid vets with young players from within. A lot like what the Yankees did back in ’94-’01. Yankees are slowly getting back to that formula.

Final Score: 6-6

It should be a fun year.

I’m sure these will be hotly contested opinions. I’d love to hear your comments/arguments. So please Post ‘em!

-Favad Ali

Team USA Advances to Semis with Walk Off Victory

Trailing 5-3 going in to the bottom of the ninth, Team USA was staring in the face of another embarrassing early exit out of the World Baseball Classic. The team had looked flat all night long. They left tons of runners in scoring position, played sloppy defense, and didn’t look like they had any fight left in them. However, we all know baseball can be a funny game. This was just another example of that.

The inning started off with back to back singles from Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts. Derek Jeter followed by lining out sharply to right. That left runners on first and third with one out. Puerto Rico was a double play away from eliminating the USA. Jimmy Rollins was next and he drew a hard fought walk to load up the bases. The next two batters were Kevin Youkilis and David Wright. It was up to a Red Sox and a Met. Here I was, a tried and true Yankee fanatic, pulling for a Red Sox and a Met.

Youkilis had homered earlier in the game and my apologies to the Fack Youk blog as a Yankee fan, but I wouldn’t have minded seeing the Red Sox slugger do it again. However, he walked and a run was forced in. USA was still behind 5-4 and David Wright was next. I am in no way a Met fan. But, I’ve always respected Wright as a player. I had already rooted my heart out for a Red Sox player to succeed why stop there. Wright who finally seemed to be getting his swing going as he already had two hits in the game coming into the at bat looked determined to deliver. And deliver he did. He hit a flare down the right field line that touched down and allowed the tying and winning runs to score. It was a magnificent sight as the team rushed on to the field and celebrated as if they had won the World Series. And in the middle of the celebration was Derek Jeter hugging and high-fiving Kevin Youkilis and David Wright. A Yankee, a Red Sox, and a Met; all celebrating in unison. You won’t see that anywhere but in this tournament.

This competition has had its detractors, no doubt. However, you cannot deny the competition and drama that took place on that field on Tuesday night. Team USA staved off elimination to advance to the final four in Los Angeles in dramatic fashion. This surely was the type of game that could and should spark more interest into the tournament. This was the type of game that Bud Selig and others had in mind when they dreamed up the idea to have a World Baseball Classic.

-Favad Ali