The Holiest of Days

Happy Friday!

But today isn't just any Friday. Friday's like this one are few and far between. They're like shooting stars or an eclipse. They bring me such joy that the world pretty much comes to a halt. It's Friday. It's the Yankees and the Red Sox.

It's 3 days of baseball glory. The greatest rivalry in the history of sports.

It's no secret that I'm a huge Yankee fan. Why should it be? They're amazing. And yes, they do boast the highest payroll in the MLB, but so what? They can afford it. Are you telling me that if any other GM had that kind of money that they wouldn't do the same thing? Let's be realistic! The Yankees make me happy and it's a shame that I'm not able to watch more of their games. But the ones I do get to watch, everything gets put on hold and I'm obsessed. I can easily sit through a 3+ hour baseball game...while simultaneously tweeting my joy and angst.

The games this weekend boast some excellent pitching match-ups. Tonight: Pettitte (9-6) vs. Penny (7-7), Saturday: Burnett (10-6) vs. Tazawa (1-2), and Sunday: Sabathia (14-7) vs. Beckett (14-4). The Sunday game being the highly anticipated game with the Ace of each team hitting the mound.

With the Red Sox 6.5 games back of the Yankees in the AL East, this series could really be the turning point for either team. For the Yankees, another sweep is unlikely (they just swept the Sox 4 games in New York a couple weeks ago) but obviously preferred. Ideally, the Yankees want to take 2 of the 3 games to further solidify their AL East lead. The Yanks have been hot since the All-Star Break at the beginning of July, boasting the MLB's best (second half) record of 25-9, showing a significant improvement in their pitching staff. But the Yanks are winless at Fenway this season, and after the sweep in the last series, the pressure is on.

The Red Sox on the other hand are trying to claw their way back to the top of the AL East. Or at least within striking distance of the Yankees. Heck, at this point the Red Sox just need to gain some sort of consistency to stay at the top of the Wild Card since the Rangers are hot on their heels. They definitely don't want to see a repeat performance of 2006, where they dropped a 5 set to the Yankees and fell to 3rd in the AL East. The Red Sox have been inconsistent since the All-Star Break, losing series to both the Yanks and Rangers, teams they need to beat. Taking that into consideration plus the previously mentioned fact that the Yankees haven't won at Fenway this year, and the Sox are finding themselves in hot water. They need this series to go well, which never bodes well for performance.

All in all, for the AL East this is shaping up to be a very interesting weekend. I can't wait to catch the games...most likely on my computer. ESPN Canada, where are you?!