Yankees Should Try To Finish Off Red Sox

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Scott Cordischi, GoLocalProv Sports Editor

What will they do? What will the New York Yankees do? Will they put their best foot forward against the Boston Red Sox this weekend and try to hurt Boston’s chances of making it to the postseason or will they roll over by resting most of their regulars that they can prepare themselves for the postseason?

The answer to these questions is: the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

While the Yankees first priority should be to rest any players who need rest and make sure that everyone is healthy for the playoffs, beating Boston wouldn’t be such a bad thing. In fact, if they were smart, they would do everything in their power to try to beat the Red Sox and then lay down against the Rays in their final few games.

Joe Girardi has already stated that CC Sabathia will not start another game this season so that he can be rested and ready for the opener of the ALDS next weekend. That makes sense. What also makes sense for New York is trying to make life miserable for their arch rivals.

Despite Boston’s September swoon, the Red Sox own an 11-4 record against New York this season. Is that a team the Yankees really want to face should it come down to it in the ALCS?

The Red Sox also represent a very dangerous team. For quite some time this season, they were considered to be baseball’s best team along with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Yes, just about every aspect of their game has crumbled over the past few weeks. But, at the very least, don’t you think that Josh Beckett and Jon Lester could actually pitch up to their potential come October? If that were to happen, that would make Boston a very tough out.

The Red Sox also have a terrific line-up. Granted, they haven’t hit well as of late. Still, with Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and the possible return of Kevin Youkilis, that could be a very formidable line-up to face. And we haven’t even mentioned the possibility of Carl Crawford actually playing up to his potential for the first time this season.

Some actually believe that the Tampa Bay Rays might be the more feared opponent because of the way Boston has played this month and because the Rays have much better depth in their starting rotation. Those two things are true, but the Rays are just 6-9 against New York this year, not 11-4. You see, as solid as the Rays’ pitching depth may be, their line-up pales in comparison to the Red Sox who have many left-handed bats that could wreak havoc in Yankee Stadium.

If old man George Steinbrenner were still alive, you can bet that he would have told his team in no uncertain terms to try to bury the Red Sox in this 3-game series at Yankee Stadium and finish off what could be a monumental September collapse for Boston.

If the Yankees were smart, they would try to do just that.