Revenge for '06 Boston Massacre?

A sweep here and Red Sox could send Yankees' season spiraling downhill

Jim Baumbach

11:57 AM EDT, August 28, 2007

With a month left in the regular season the American League East race is all but over, and for the first time since 1997 the Yankees won't win it. Boston has it all wrapped up, leading by eight games with 31 to play.

But don't think for a second that's going to take anything away from the three-game Yankee-Red Sox series that begins tonight at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees need every win they can get in their race for the wild card. And although the Red Sox would never admit it, man, would they love to be the spoilers.

It was just over a year ago when the Yankees swept a five-game series at Fenway Park, sending the Red Sox to a free fall. They were beaten, embarrassed and most of all deflated. The 2006 Red Sox season ended right there. They definitely remember that, and surely they realize the Yankees are on the ledge right now. So it's quite possible they could do the same to the Yankees.

The Yankees are coming home off a horrific 2-5 trip that was worse than the record states, if that's possible. Not only did they fall flat against two serious playoff contenders, the Yankees come home with a list of questions. What are they going to do with Mike Mussina, who looks finished? Can Phil Hughes show any sort of consistency down the stretch? Why can't they win more often when Roger Clemens pitches? Are these nagging injuries to Derek Jeter and Hideki Matsui only going to get worse playing every day?

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This is not the time of year to be looking for answers.

The biggest positive for the Yankees these days might just be the presumption that no one else is going to run away with the wild card. The Mariners lead the Yankees by two games and have played surprisingly well all season, especially impressive given that their manager walked off the job halfway through the season. But given their tough schedule and their roster of inexperienced players and seemingly over-the-hill veterans, it's still hard to believe they're for real. Maybe they'll prove us wrong. They've certainly surprised so many simply being in the mix this late.

The Mariners and Yankees play a three-game series in the Bronx next week, which should be fun. But the worst thing the Yankees can do is look ahead, and past the Red Sox. These are not meaningful games as far as the division is concerned, but these sure are incredibly meaningful games in terms of the wild card. Yes, you can say that about every game for the Yankees. But let's remember what the Red Sox are gunning for here.

The players can deny it if they want. They can say 2006 is forgotten. But let's not be fools. This week the Red Sox can get revenge on the Yankees. A sweep here and who knows what happens to the Yankees.