Who'da Thunk it?

Going into Boston, especially on the heels of getting their asses kicked by Baltimore the day before, I was hopeful that the Yankees would take three of five in this series. To take all five and move six and one half games ahead of the Red Sox? Nothing short of fan-f'ing-tastic!

To me this series exposed the Red Sox weaknesses while emphasizing the Yankee strengths. The biggest strength of the Yankees is working the pitcher. In the first three games of the series, the Yankees got into Boston's bullpen and totally exploited its weakness.

I mean in the first three games of the series, the Red Sox staff had a hard time finding the plate on any regular basis. They surrendered 31 walks (28 in the first three games) in 45 innings. Guys came up big in clutch situtaions - Jeter, Abreu, Giambi, Posada, Cano, Cabrera and let's not forget Red Sox castoff Johnny Damon who almost singlehandely destroyed his former club.

This was a series of numbers:

Yankees Red Sox
Wins 5 0
Runs 49 26
Hits 62 50
Pitches 827 944
ERA 4.89 9.39
Steals 6 1
Time 19 hours and 41 minutes

The second game of Friday night's Day/Nighter set a major league record for a nine inning game lasting four hours and 45 minutes.

The Yankees just wore them down.

A usually stoic Joe Torre showed unusual glee after winning all five games.

"To me, this is a winning ballclub," Torre said later in his office. "Does that mean we're going to win the division? No, it doesn't guarantee that. But I certainly like the attitude we have, and their determination and their unselfishness." That's about as close as Joe is going to come to a guarantee.

The Yankees were just the better team, all weekend long in all facets of the game.

No time to rest on their laurels however. This was just as grueling on the Yankees playing five games in four days to start an eleven game road trip. After today's victory the Yankees boarded a plane where they will start a series against the Mariners beginning tomorrow night. The Yanks will throw Jaret Wright against the M's Gil Meche in the opener of the series.

After three in Seattle, they head down the coast for three against the Angels, then they will fly home to their first day off in three weeks. They'll need the rest. Their first opponent to open the homestand will be three games against the Central Division Leading Detroit Tigers.

This could be a very special year for the Yanks. Reminiscent of 1996 and 1998-2000 World Championship tesms. There are a lot of similarities that I will explore over the next few weeks.



Yankee Pitching Coach Ron Guidy Gives Kyle Farnsworth A Big Hug After He Nailed Down The Yankee Victoy With His 2nd Save Of The Season.