SPORTS

Swengali: Just Like Old Times for Sox, Yanks

Yankees.jpg

YOU KNOW HOW you can tell the pennant chase is getting serious? The Boston Red Sox are on their way to choking away the American League East from the New York Yankees.

Down by 14 games in May, the Bronx Bombers have climbed to within four games of their archrivals. The body language says it all.

The Yanks are high-fiving at an alarming rate — the same frequency at which they're slamming homer after homer. Meanwhile, Boston just lost a three-game set to the Orioles in front of a Camden Yards full of Sox fans.

This collapse seems almost as inevitable as Tiger Woods' victory at the PGA Championship.

Apparently, it's Boston's lot in life to be the new Brooklyn Dodgers. Brooklyn used to be the Yankees' strongest competition, except the team almost always fell short.

The phrase "wait till next year" epitomized the Dodgers, who finally got the best of the Yankees for the first and only time in 1955.

Boston's "next year" was 2004. Now, life seems back to normal.

Some of us looking forward to an October without pinstripes couldn't be more disappointed.

With a 23-8 record since the All-Star break, the Yankees are now playing, well, like the Yankees. It's all Boston can do just to hold its lead into September.

Yet we know how this story ends. It's happened before and will happen again.

Photo by Getty Images

ALSO IN SPORTS
COMMENTS (3)

  • Swengali's a bum

    By Boss man , Posted August 14, 2007 2:44 PM

  • I would have felt worse about this if the Sawx hadn't won in 2004. As it is now, it's merely an annoyance rather than a heartbreaker. And frankly the Yanks are just plain impressive recently; it's hard to believe it's the same team that was further back than the Nats at one point, for pete's sake.

    I still think Boston will take the AL East title, and even if they get knocked out in round 1 that's good enough for this part-time Red Sox Nation resident.

    By erik , Posted August 14, 2007 3:37 PM

  • I grew up on the Red Sox. Always a disappointment. Know the "September Slump" and "Choke" real well. 2004 was a great year, but I am not sure I'll see another like it in my lifetime :-(

    By Pitbull Dad , Posted August 14, 2007 4:27 PM
POST A COMMENT
All comments on Express' blogs will be screened for appropriateness, spam and topic relevance, so there is likely to be a delay before your comment is displayed. Thanks for your patience.
Remember personal info?
(you may use HTML tags for style)