Between the orange haze, the Belmont Stakes and my own travel schedule, this Yankee-Red Sox series just snuck up on me. And guess what, just in time. Sure, we are playing without Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo, which just feels wrong, but I have to say, this rivalry really fires me up. And maybe it is keeping my mind off of the potential that we may not see Judge in the Lineup until after the All-Star Break.
"Since Judge bruised and sprained his toe against the Dodgers, Boone has cautioned that the Yankees won’t have a set timetable for his recovery until Judge’s swelling goes away. He received a PRP injection in his toe earlier this past week, a shot designated to promote healing in the area. They need to let that injection do its thing before reassessing the situation," reported NJ.com.
In fact, it must be killing Judge not to be in the lineup, “It doesn’t feel great,” Judge said on Thursday regarding his injured toe. “If it felt great, I’d be out there.” I know Derek Jeter absolutely loved playing the Red Sox, facing them more than 300 times in his 20 year career.
Alas, to focus and perhaps keep me fired up, earlier this week I got a message from my son in preparation for this weekend's match up against the Sox. He sent me this Tweet from a Yankee fan which bears repeating,
"I will now be suffering from an acute case of "F the Red Sox brain for the next 72+ hours. It's a serious condition so be re2spectful. Please direct all solicitations for rational thought to my secretary. We'll get back to you Monday at the earliest." That is exactly the feeling I have. Even though we are not at full strength, it feels good to be playing the Red Sox and engage in this heated rivalry that has been building every year, even before I was born.
The Red Sox-Yankee rivalry has had a healthy reprise in the last several years after a short hiatus. This hiatus likely stems from the successes from the Rays and Blue Jays and the Sox drop in the standings in recent seasons, but there's nothing like a weekend with the Red Sox in the Bronx. But as the Boston Globe points out, "There’s been a genuine sense of surprise here at Yankee Stadium that it took this long for the Red Sox and Yankees to meet for the first time in the 2023 season, that 10 weeks had passed before the longstanding AL East rivalry resumed with a three-game series that opened Friday night." Yes, there's that. With the change of the schedule to include all 30 clubs playing at least one series with one another, there are less opportunities to play our rivals, which may not be great for either team.
In an interview during the Fox Broadcast on Saturday night, Justin Turner former Dodger and Met, shared his excitement for the rivalry and how playing for Boston feels good to him. Just after the interview, Turner smashed a base hit, stole second and launched his way to third after Kyle Higashioka sailed his throw to second into center field. Although myself and the entire stadium let out a collective sigh of disgust, it was Jake Bauers who brought our breath back with a dynamic catch at the wall in left. It is this back and forth that keeps this rivalry intact despite their place in the standings and our star players out of the lineup.
Call it a distraction, nostalgic or just a long time coming, the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is alive again. It feels good to write about it and somehow this series has given me jolt of energy. Now if that energy is contagious and it can help our players on the IL heal faster, well now that would be something.
One can wish...
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--Suzie Pinstripe
BYB Senior Managing Editor
Twitter: @suzieprof
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