1912: The year Fenway Park opened. Also the last time the Red Sox
started the season 8-0 against the rival New York Yankees (the Sox
started the season 14-0 against the Bronx Bombers that year).
With a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Yankees on Thursday night
at Fenway Park, the Sox improved their 2009 record to 8-0 against the
Yankees.
They knocked 2008 nemesis A.J. Burnett out Tuesday night after just 2 2/3 innings. They beat the ace, CC Sabathia, on a night he had his best stuff.
With the record the Sox have over the Yankees this year, one might
think it’s a down year for the Yankees. But not so fast. They came into
Fenway Park with the best record in the American League — granted they
left in 2nd place, but the games were close, for the most part.
I talked with a number of Yankees players, and they all said they
were glad to be leaving Boston. But they also weren’t worried. They
said as long as they beat everyone else, they will be fine.
Terry Francona had a similar sentiment Thursday
afternoon. He said the Yankees and Red Sox both take it one game at a
time, and they don’t worry about the past record when they step on the
field each night. They know either team can walk away with the win on
any given night. It just seems like the Red Sox have gotten all the
breaks lately. But we know in baseball that can change in an instant.
There are 10 more games between these two teams this season, the
majority of which will be played at the new Yankee Stadium. The Sox
have only played 2 of the 8 games this season in enemy territory, as Kevin Youkilis pointed out.
One thing you can count on is that there will be much more drama in the series before all is said and done.
