Text size:

Upstart Rays take juice away from Red Sox-Yankees

Ken Davidoff

July 3, 2008

Let it be known that Newsday offered Rays executive vice president Andrew Friedman a chance to apologize yesterday. It's his fault, after all, that this holiday weekend's big series in the Bronx, starting tonight, has been relegated to a battle for the silver.

"I think we'll focus on our four-game series with the Royals," Friedman said, politely declining.

How bizarre, how bizarre. While the Yankees couldn't solve the Rangers' eminently solvable pitching Monday and Tuesday, the Red Sox were simply outplayed by the Rays at Tropicana Field the same two nights. That ensured that the Bosox would leave Florida residing in second place, not the penthouse, in the American League East. The Yankees occupy third place. Both look up to the Rays, who will follow the Sawx into the Stadium next Tuesday and Wednesday.

Want to know the last time the Super Rivals played each other this late in the season with neither team in first place? It was a Sept. 15-16, 1997 series in the Bronx. The Yankees trailed the Orioles by six games. The Red Sox were in fourth, 18Â½ games behind the O's.

Ken Davidoff Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

The starting pitchers those three games (they played a doubleheader on the 16th) were Bret Saberhagen, Aaron Sele and Robinson Checo for the Red Sox and David Wells, Andy Pettitte and Willie Banks for the Yankees.

At that juncture, the Rays - the Devil Rays, as you likely recall - existed, but they had yet to play a major-league game. They broke that barrier on March 31, 1998, and in their first 10 seasons, they won as many as 70 games just once. Now, they've won 51 of their first 83 games. So this has been slow going for the franchise that plays in George Steinbrenner's neighborhood, and yet it's come together so quickly. What Yankees and Red Sox fans want to know is whether Tampa Bay can sustain this the rest of the way, thereby breaking up the perennial AL East 1-2 combo of Yankees-Red Sox or Red Sox-Yankees.

While emphasizing, "We have a lot of respect for the length of a major-league season," Friedman added, "We think we can actually get better. Some guys have underperformed offensively. Guys with established levels of production. There's no reason why they can't get back to the levels they've been at in the past."

That would be Carl Crawford, Jonny Gomes and Carlos Peña, if you were looking to buy low in your fantasy league.

The Rays also have the ability to make a trade because of their ultra-deep farm system. Although they'll monitor the C.C. Sabathia discussions, they seem more likely to go after a bat - Pittsburgh's Jason Bay and Xavier Nady have been reported as targets - and they might need relief help, now that closer Troy Percival is on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.

If the Rays actually can pull this off, that changes the dynamics of The Rivalry. More often than not, in recent years the Yankees and Red Sox regarded the regular season as a warm-up for a potential postseason meeting; both teams qualified in four of the past five seasons.

Now, they could be contending for just one spot, and the Red Sox have the clear edge.

A scout assigned to the Red Sox-Rays series had this to say about the Sox, based on the first two nights: "They ran into a buzz saw [the Rays]. They're the same club. Having Big Papi [David Ortiz, out with an injured left wrist] back would be a big deal. They're probably just banged up a little bit."

Contrast that forgiveness with a scout who has been watching the Yankees recently. Asked if the Yankees could make a playoff run, the scout responded, "If nothing happens to [Mike] Mussina, and if nothing happens to Pettitte, they've got a shot. I wouldn't bet on it, though."

All Yankees-Red Sox series provide great theater, and the more at stake, the better. That Yankee Stadium will not host a division leader this time - that the real action will be down at Tropicana Field - adds another welcome dimension. No apologies necessary.

PITCHING MATCHUPS

Tonight, 7:05; TV: YES

Jon Lester (6-3, 3.48) vs. Andy Pettitte (9-5, 3.98)

Fast fact: Pettitte is 15-6 with a 3.45 ERA against the Sox.

Tomorrow, 1:05; TV: YES

Josh Beckett (7-5, 3.65) vs. Darrell Rasner (4-6, 4.42)

Fast fact: In five starts at Yankee Stadium, Beckett's ERA is 5.90.

Saturday, 3:55; TV: Ch. 5

Justin Masterson (4-2, 3.75) vs. Mike Mussina (10-6, 3.87)

Fast fact: Mussina has won 19 games in a season twice,

18 games three times and 17 twice. He never has won 20.

Sunday, 8:05; TV: ESPN

Tim Wakefield (5-6, 3.72) vs. Joba Chamberlain (2-2, 2.22)

Fast fact: Wakefield is 9-16 with a 5.03 ERA against the Yankees.