It's one game, so what?!

I'm still trying to figure out if this particular Sox/Stankees series carries as much, less, or the same weight as it would if both teams were running neck & neck for the AL East lead, which is normally the case when they have hooked up at this point in the season for the last decade or so.

Because the huge lead that the Sox enjoy over the Bronx Bummers (9.5 games) has thrown the regular aura usually surrounding a BOS/NY series off kilter.

On the one hand you've got the contingent that hearkens back to 1978, when the Stanks overcame a 14 1/2 game deficit to win the AL East in a playoff when, well you all know what happened. This "glass half full" crew can't help but think, "hey, they came back from a larger deficit that season, why not do it again? And if they're gonna do it again, why not start now, in May, instead of waiting until July or August?"

Therefore one win like last night's 6-2 Stankee victory becomes the stepping stone, the potential first building block for New York to climb back into the race.

Fine. Have your hopes and dreams, Stankee lovers, because the fall from that lofty perch of hope & hand-wringing could be a long & painful one, and I would love to see that happen.

On the other side you've got a slew of people-fans, reporters, TV sports personalities -exclaiming that the season is over for New York, they should just try for the Wild Card and see where the chips fall and get comfortable with the knowledge that their reign of 11 straight division titles is all but over.

In fact Curt Schilling's favorite columnist, Dan Shaughnessy, wrote that very sentiment in this morning's Globe, conceding that the Stanks have basically no chance of catching the Sox and therefore should concentrate on the WC and/or the possibility of a postseason-less October.

Writing that John Smoltz looked at the situation this weekend and stated "I don't think they (Sox) can be caught," Shaughnessy concurred by saying "he's probably right."

Now I may not know much (I'm a blogger, after all, how much can I know?), but I do know that that kind of thinking can be hazardous to one's health.

As bad as the Stankees have looked and as snake bitten as they appear to be this season, and as terrific as Boston has played despite prolonged slumps key players, this season is a LONG way from over.

I mean it's only freaking May- of course the Sox could blow a 9 1/2 game lead with four months to play, especially with 11 games remaining with the Feeble Empire. With the long, storied, and too often sad (for the Sox) history between these two teams, would anyone really be even remotely surprised if something as catastrophic like that were to happen?

I know I wouldn't.

But the Sox are such a talented, cohesive and selfless group of hard workers and over achievers that I do find it hard to believe that this team would fold like the 1978 crew, a team that spawned the "25 men & 25 taxis" era of Sox history.

Put it this way, if Rick Burleson had cut off Jim Rice's throw to third base like Lugo did to Manny last night, I don't think Jim Ed would have laughed it off with a "move out of the way" motion as Manny did.

What I'm trying to say is that I am just taking this season one game at a time. Tired & cliched, I know, but never has that old baseball adage ever been more appropriate. It puts everything into perspective, like last night's loss wasn't any more painful than a loss to the Jays or Orioles, or any less painful than the 14-0 beatdown by the Braves.

It's was just another game, one in which one team may have wanted it more than the other because one team needed it more than the other.

All I care about is that for once it's my team that doesn't need it more.

Enjoy the rest of the series, Stankee fans. Don't foget to keep checking the owner's box to see if your savoir, the Rocket, is staring down on his flock below.