Joba Chamberlain

Red Sox and Yankees: Rivals Go Head-To-Head For The First Time in 2009

/ Sara / 1 Comment

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The Red Sox/Yankees rivalry
is the best in baseball, and possibly the best in professional sports.
I was raised to hate the Yankees, I mean, really, really hate them. I have a friend who was raised the same way, only opposite. She was raised to hate the Red Sox.

Why?

Who cares? It’s fun! It is certainly not a friendly rivalry, but it
is fun to have a “bad guy” to unite against. Its a showdown of good
versus evil, the Red Sox Nation vs. the Evil Empire, minor tweaks vs.
major, multi-million dollar overhaul.

A rivalry, yes, but most definitely a fun one.

Of course, with this rivalry, things can (and do) tend to go too
far. With Joba Chamberlain on the mound tonight, things might get a
little interesting. 

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If you recall from the previous two seasons, there is some bad blood
between Chamberlain and Youkilis. Why? Who knows. Fact of the matter
is, Joba’s thrown at Youkilis four times. Four. 

So far, no brawls, but it is getting a little ridiculous. Buzzing a
player inside is one thing, its acceptable, its part of the game, but
throwing at hitters, at their heads, is unacceptable. When Josh Beckett
did it earlier this season, it was an accident and everyone knew it.
When Joba did it last season, it was no accident.

If he does it again, judging by the reactions last time, there will most likely be a brawl or an ejection, or both.

Tonight, Chamberlain, who went 4.2 innings with six hits, five
earned runs, five walks and four strikeouts in his last start, will
square off against Red Sox southpaw Jon Lester. Lester looked much
better in his start against Baltimore going 7 innings with only four
hits, zero earned runs, and nine strike-outs.

While Youkilis’s consecutive on-base streak was snapped Wednesday
night, he is still making American League pitchers look bad, hitting
.429 with an OBP of .522.

In other good news, the Red Sox starters are all now hitting above .200, with Lowell, Youkilis, and Green hitting above .310.

The Yankees and Red Sox kick off their three game series at Fenway
tonight at 7:10 PM, with Chamberlain taking the mound against Lester.

Saturday’s game will be at 4:10 PM on Fox with A.J. Burnett squaring
off against Josh Beckett, who’s original start was pushed back a day
due to his suspension.

Finally, Andy Pettite will face off with Justin Masterson in the Sunday Night Baseball game on ESPN at 8 PM.

They’re Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

/ Sara / 1 Comment

Man, does it feel good to have the west-coast swing over with or what? I know I needed some sleep.

And the rivalry is renewed, and it matters, again. Despite pesky little Tampa Bay making this a ménage à trois, the Sox are in first place (tied with said Rays) and the Yankees are breathing down everyone’s necks, coming in on a hot streak. We all knew this would happen. I remember listening to ESPN Radio, the show Sportsnation. They asked who would be in the AL Wild Card Race, and I said the Yankees. The guys on the show disagreed and said that the Yankees just didn’t have the pitching to make it. Of course, the moment someone says that, the entire pitching staff in NY goes on a tear and plays out of their collective minds.

Its fate. The Rays are in the mix this year, and probably for a couple more years, but it always comes back to the Yankees and the Red Sox. Always. Its like God is sitting up there, laughing at us, because just when you think one team is out, they come roaring back in. Its why I have faith, that, at the end of the day, though Tampa Bay will continue to be a presence, it will always come back to the Yankees and the Red Sox. Its like, the Yankees and the Sox have been preforming this great dance, year after year, and one of them eventually falls, leaving the winner. The Rays have come in, and they look good, but it remains to be seen if maybe they will be  standing towards the end there.

Was that a weird analogy? Moving on. Back in the lineup tonight will be the big man, Big Papi, or as Paps calls him “The Large Father”. Do I think he’ll hit a homer? Not likely, it would be great, but I’m not getting my hopes up. Do I think he’ll be a force in the lineup to terrify platypus man Joba Chamberlain? Oh yes.

48a3093aa5_sox07252008.jpgSo here’s to a good outing by Papi, and a great outing by Beckett, who has looked better since the break.

Lets go Sox!