For once, the fights this past weekend at Fenway Park weren't due to excessive alcohol intake on the part of fans. Rather, the brawls can be attributed to the fact that the New York Yankees were in town for the first time this season.
The four-game weekend series between New York and the Boston Red Sox marked the first time the teams met in meaningful games since game seven of the 2003 American League Championship Series. That 2003 game was the game when Red Sox manager Grady Little crushed the hopes of Red Sox fans everywhere by not lifting pitcher Pedro Martinez when he was clearly out of gas.
One of the most frustrating moments of the offseason for Red Sox fans must have been when Little tried to publicly defend himself. He warned the front office executives not to let him go because, he said, he too could "become a ghost, capable of haunting" presumably like Buckner and the Babe. Hadn't Grady already done enough to poor Red Sox fans everywhere? Sorry to digress but Inside the AL is just a little nostalgic because it doesn't have Grady to kick around anymore.... But where were we?
Ah yes, the return of the Yankees and Alex Rodriguez, or "A-Rod" as he is known to most and "A-hole" as he is now known in Boston. Boston fans are great, but their hatred for Rodriguez is a bit misplaced. A-Rod wanted to come to Boston; he was even willing to reduce the dollar value of his contract to make it happen. The problem wasn't A-Rod; the problem was that the players' union stubbornly refused to allow the deal to occur.
Sorry to go off another tangent here, but is there a more destructive force in baseball right now than the players' union? They really do give George Steinbrenner a run for his money in the vote for who is most likely to ruin baseball forever. They refuse to allow reasonable steroid testing, and they cater to the multi-millionaires over the interests of the average ball player, something a union obviously isn't supposed to do. But where we again?
Ah yes, A-Rod. If his play continues, people might start to call him "K-Rod" because of his recent tendency to strike out. Rodriguez is batting a mere .160 this season. But it's still early, and his poor play won't last. Rodriguez's numbers should dip a bit as a result of leaving Texas, but something like .290 with 40 home runs still isn't out of the question.
Once again, it's early, but if there was one thing that could be observed from the weekend's series it's that the Yankees have to be concerned about their rotation. They don't have even a decent fifth starter, and some of their other top hurlers have faltered as well.
Mike Mussina has looked uncharacteristically shaky thus far. Normally the Moose has exceptional control, but he has started the season with 10 walks in 20 innings while also giving up 33 hits. Jose Contreras still has not settled in either, as he currently sits with a 9.39 ERA. If those two pitchers can't step up the Yankees have serious problems.
One question many are asking early in the season is whether there's a possibility that either the Yankees or the Red Sox will fail to make the playoffs. It certainly could happen, but don't bet on it. The Baltimore Orioles have started off strong, but their pitching just cannot come close to matching that of the Red Sox or Yankees. Boston is still not at full strength with injuries to shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, outfielder Trot Nixon, and pitcher Byung Hyun-Kim. When Boston is healthy, it may be the best team in baseball.
The Yankees have some problems, but you can bet they'll buy whichever players they need at deadline (Jose Vidro?). The only hope any team in the Central has of winning the wild card is if every other team in the division completely implodes (which isn't that far fetched, actually). Either the Anaheim Angels or the Oakland A's have the best chance to sneak in and snag the final playoff spot. The road for either team is hard, however, simply because of the strength of the Western Division.
