Davidoff: Red Sox promise to play hard

BOSTON

The season began here 181 days ago. From those lineups to Friday night's - maybe you recall that the Red Sox beat the Yankees, 9-7 - the Yankees had eight common players, with the only change Lance Berkman replacing Nick Johnson at designated hitter.

The Red Sox? They had two, rightfielder J.D. Drew and DH David Ortiz.

Yes, it has been a rough year for the Sawx, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2006, and to add inception to injuries, their best remaining healthy player, Adrian Beltre, left the club to be with his expecting wife in Los Angeles.

Yet they vowed to give the Yankees a run in this season-closing series. Because that's the way they are, and because that's what's expected as the Yankees battle the Rays for the American League East title.

"We're going to try to win. We'll try to win," Boston manager Terry Francona said Friday afternoon. "We can only play who we can play.

" . . . [Beltre] was going to hit third, and [Yamaico] Navarro is obviously a lot younger and less experienced. We'll do our darndest to win. We always do. We haven't necessarily won the games, but it's not for a lack of trying."

Said Yankees manager Joe Girardi, whose team took a half-game lead when the Rays lost to the Royals Friday night and Yankees-Red Sox was rained out: "I think that Boston will be ready to play, and they'll give everything they've got. That's the kind of organization they have. It's the kind of players they have. I think in the game of baseball, when you're playing playoff-contention teams, that's what you're supposed to do. It's the right thing to do."

Really, Girardi agreed, the Red Sox would be dishonoring Tampa Bay by, say, resting Ortiz or Drew, or starting catcher Kevin Cash instead of Jason Varitek. "If you're playing teams that aren't in contention and you want to see young players, that's a different story," Girardi said.

"I don't think it has anything to do with that," Francona said. "We're supposed to win. We're supposed to play the game and win tonight.

"Teams play themselves into a certain situation. We've played ourselves into a situation where we're out of it, and we want to see some of our young guys. We also want to win the games. They've played themselves into a situation where they're going to the playoffs. They just don't know where."

It's weird, having the Sawx as bystanders in this race. When you look at the schedule in March and see the season ending with "Yankees@Boston," you anticipate a playoff preview.

But you wonder whether this will prove a trend rather than an exception. The Rays have qualified for two playoff appearances in three years, just like the Red Sox and Yankees. Toronto has put forth an impressive 2010 and will finish with a winning record. After an awful first four months, the Orioles woke up under new manager Buck Showalter and look to be dangerous for 2011.

Sure, the Yankees and Red Sox always will have a payroll advantage. Yet we've seen in recent years that with that bulky payroll comes a tendency to overpay guys in their prime . . . who, within one contract, turn into guys past their prime.

"I don't see it getting any easier, unfortunately," Francona said. "Unfortunately, the East is really good. It's good baseball. It's hard to win."

Especially when the Red Sox wind up as spoilers. Hard-working spoilers, they promise to the Yankee-haters of the world.