Every time the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees get together, it’s always a big deal. The games are usually on national television as evidenced by being on the MLB Network tonight, FOX tomorrow and ESPN Sunday Night Baseball.
When the two teams met up back in April, the Red Sox were 0-6. The Red Sox would take 2-of-3 games from the Yankees which happened to be their first two wins of the season. Now five weeks later, the Red Sox find themselves five games behind the first place Tampa Bay Rays and four games behind the second place Yankees.
Both teams are coming in off of two straight losses. Of course the two straight losses for the Red Sox came after getting to within a game of .500 on the season. The first time the Red Sox got to within a game of .500 they lost two straight. The second time they got to within a game of .500 they lost three straight.
So you can see this is an important series.
Say the Red Sox get swept. They would find themselves seven games behind the Yankees at the very least. But a sweep for the Red Sox would be a different story. For one, it would get them to within a game of the Yankees. But more importantly, it would get them back to what has been the elusive .500 mark on the season.
The Red Sox have the right pitchers going this weekend in Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester although Buchholz hasn’t been at his best yet. They have Carl Crawford swinging a hot bat. The same goes for Adrian Gonzalez. The bullpen should be back to normal now with yesterday’s day off meaning everyone will be available.
What the Red Sox need to have happen tonight is for everything to start clicking at once. And what better place to have that happen than on the national stage in the Big Apple.
We’ll be back later with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day. But for now, enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.
To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click
Buchholz in the stopper role [Boston Globe]
Gotham stakes always up [Boston Globe]
Getting the break they greatly deserve [Boston Globe]
Man charged in case of stolen Sox memorabilia [Boston Globe]
Remy’s words are reassuring [Boston Globe]
Outfield shift working [Boston Globe]
Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford helping offense surge [Boston Herald]
Red Sox need taste of the Big Apple [Boston Herald]
Clay Buchholz talks game plan [Boston Herald]
Clay Buchholz and the Yankees [Boston Herald]
Now would be a good time to turn it on [Clubhouse Insider]
Lackey’s problems go beyond the mound [CSNNE.com]
Three off-day thoughts on the Red Sox [CSNNE.com]
Nation STATion: The Wakefield 44 [CSNNE.com]
What a difference a month makes [ESPN Boston]
Wheeler pitches well for Pawtucket [Extra Bases]
Daisuke Matsuzaka embracing additional rest in Red Sox rotation [Full Count]
Sox-Yanks Rivalry Moves To The Bronx This Weekend [Hartford Courant]
Heidi Watney Gives You a Tour of Rogers Centre in Toronto [NESN.com]
Adrian Gonzalez Locked In During Another Trademark Power Surge and Eight Other Red Sox Thoughts [NESN.com]
DeMarlo Hale the Newest Member of the Trenton Baseball Hall of Fame [OurSports Central]
Pitchers similar to Lackey have hit similar walls [Projo Sox Blog]
Buchholz hopes to halt his Yankees hex [Providence Journal]
Wheeler sees opportunity in move to Pawtucket [Providence Journal]
Why I’ve had enough with the underachieving Red Sox [Providence Journal]
Rest comes at right time for Red Sox [RedSox.com]
In New York, opportunity knocks for the Red Sox [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]
For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE, ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.
Photo credit: Getty Images
