It's On!

Scott Proctor: Super Fool.

On one hand, Proctor throwing at Youkilis' head was a message that the Yankees aren't going to take being thrown at anymore. We get plunked at a fantastic rate and we never retaliate effectively. Proctor nearly gave Youk a close shave on his goatee, which was uncalled for, but I don't think he was head hunting. I think he was trying to throw under his chin to make a point after the Cano HBP, but he missed. It can happen when you throw 94-95 and don't have Mariano-esque control.

There will be fireworks before this series is up, for sure. I expect a fight. I don't know what kind of fight there will be, but Jason Varitek is likely to be involved. Can't you see it? A fight at this point would be very bad for the Yankees, and would hardly be a big deal to the Red Sox. Suspensions to both teams might kill the Yankees, while slowing the already wicked pace of the Beantown boys. The Sox can survive a little ruffling of their feathers. The Yankees can't at this point. We need to string together a few more weeks of nice play to put a dent in the Tigers' 6 game wild card lead. It's already underway, our assault on the wild card. We need to follow through.

What happens if the Sox plunk Jeter? I say, "We fight." Jeter and Posada are perhaps the two Yankees that we can't afford to lose, so you have to protect them. One of those guys gets hit and you have to throw at Ortiz and Manny hard. Damon, Matsui, A-Rod, Cano, Abreu, Melky, Minky.....what do you do? If beanball is on the menu, how do you react? The umpire is sure to issue warnings at the first sign of trouble, and perhaps it would be smart to offer them prior to the game tomorrow. Mussina's not throwing at anyone, so it takes the bullet out of Schilling's gun. I honestly don't think he's throwing at anyone either though. Beckett is the guy in the series finale. Both pens are also in prime position to play tit for tat, particularly if any game is a laugher.

As for actual baseball, we've strung together a couple of good games now. Wang was not great, but got the job done after Wakefield imploded. I think I'd give the Sox the edge in the Schilling/Mussina matchup, and I'd give the Yankees a very slight edge in Pettitte/Beckett. We hit the Red Sox starters well, but Mussina hasn't been in good form so far. The key is to win the series and put more pressure on Detroit. If we can be within 2 or 3 games of the wild card by the end of June, I think we'll have to consider it a successful month. Being less than 10 behind the Red Sox would also be a success. To make things interesting, I'm going to make predictions on each game, whenever possible. Just a little spice to see how good my prognostication skills are. If I'm good someone can take me to AC or Mohican Sun. Tomorrow.

Red Sox 6, Yankees 5