Series preview: Sox @ Stanks

Red Sox (80-51) @ NY Stankees (72-59)
3 game series @ Stankee Stadium

Standings: BOS up 8 gms on NY
Season series: Bos leads, 7-5

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Tue 705 Matsuzaka (13-10, 3.76) vs. Pettitte (11-7, 3.69)
GM2 Wed 705 Beckett (16-5, 3.21) vs. Clemens (5-5, 4.34)
GM3 Thu 105 Schilling (8-5, 4.11) vs. Wang (15-6, 3.95)

Keep an eye on: Roger Clemens--the 42-year-old colossal egomaniac has brought a mediocre fastball, ERA and record to the Bronx, all for the bargain basement price of $28 million dollars, prorated of course for his half season of contributions. You know the aging ace will be fired up for his first meeting with Boston since 2003, but will it matter against Sox Cy Young candidate Beckett?

Preview:
The moment is here. The time is now.

Tonight marks the beginning of the rest of the season for the Red Sox and Stankees, and although this series in itself won't determine who will win the AL East, it could go a long way to deciding which team will have the upper hand at securing the division crown.

Obviously all things are in Boston's favor heading into this set: Boston owns an 8 game lead over its arch rivals; they are coming off a 4-game ass-reaming of the hapless Chisox while New York dropped 3-4 in Detroit; and the Sox enjoyed a casual day off in the Big Apple yesterday while the Bronx Bummers were getting bitchslapped, 16-0, by the Tigers last night.

But as we in the Nation know all too well, things have seemed rosy for the Bososx in the past, only to turn dark and cloudy in a matter of days when faced with the prospect of extricating the 800-lb pinstriped gorilla off thier backs.

2006, anyone?

The best part of this meeting is the fact that even if the Sox were to lose all three games, their lead in the East would still remain at a healthy 5 games, a luxury they did not enjoy last season when Boston owned a mere 3 1/2 game lead over New York heading into that fateful five-game series in Boston in mid-August, a series forever known as the Boston Massacre II.

We all know what happened over that long, dark weekend, so there is no need to rehash it here. But it would be nice if Boston could bury those memories forever by blasting New York completely out of the division race by returning the favor and sweeping the Stanks out of the penthouse suite they have occupied in the East since 1996.

I'll be writing plenty more words on this series in the next few days, so right now I am going to set my DVR, cook some dinner on the grill, make sure I am stocked with my favorite adult beverage, and sit back and watch the drama unfold.

Let the games begin...

...and the Evil Empire's Eastern reign end!