Had chaos come to life and a four-team tie for the two Wild Card spots actually happened, the Yankees would’ve played in Boston on Monday, that one of two Game 163 playoffs to see who would actually win the Wild Cards.
And, while you never want to give any bulletin board material, when the news came out, Boone was bound to be asked why – and he coyly answered that on Monday.
“Look, I think one thing -- whenever I've been asked about momentum in baseball, I never knew what to answer until 2003 coming over here, and you know, being a part of that team, playing against a great Red Sox team.
And I used to hear that all the time,” Boone said. “We would win a game and they would grab the momentum and they would beat the crap out of us the next day. It's like, okay, I don't know what any of it means. I know we're a good team. I know when we play well, we can beat anyone.”
Anyone, anywhere – but recent experience helps.
“I think maybe partly us having a good week last week gives us a little added confidence coming in here, like, okay, we can do this. But had we lost two out of three last week, I think frankly we'd feel the same way walking in here,” Boone said. “As I've said all along with our guys even in the lowest moments, I do feel like there's an underlying confidence with them and I think we'll walk out on that field with that confidence expecting to win.”
After losing the first seven games against Boston this year and 10 of the first 13, the Yankees won the last six in a row, sweeping the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium in August and again at Fenway just two weeks ago.
“I think we are a better team and are playing better when we've played them more recently, and I think in those first games, probably a handful of them were really competitive games that didn't go our way,” Boone said. “But I feel like a couple of those times maybe we weren't playing at our best. I think part of that is us kind of righting the ship a little bit here, especially in the second half of the season, kind of after that post Fourth of July.”
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Of course, in reality, you can throw all that out the window for a one-and-done game most of the time.
“I think we've seen that happen in the course of this rivalry over the years. You get hot for a little stretch against them or not. But I think it will be two really competitive teams,” Boone said.
And, he’s looking forward to those two competitive teams duking it out at what will surely be a raucous Fenway Park.
“It’ll be amazing. I think the last couple times we've been here, when we came here in the summer and then obviously last week, you know, there's a buzz here. It matters here. It's fun to compete in games here. It's tough to compete in games here,” Boone said. “I think there will be some tension, electricity. Everything you could hope for with a winner-take-all game in the playoffs with two outstanding franchises and teams.”
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Two outstanding teams with a great rivalry, perhaps the best in sports, and one that has had numerous huge playoff games in the past…including one, of course, Boone remembers fondly.
This one, though, is a true one-and-done, bringing a different feeling to a win or go home game.
“If we win, I'll feel great about it,” Boone smiled, “but look, it's probably not perfect this way, but you also live to be in these kind of competitive environments and with a ton the line. We feel like as a team we've been playing for a while now with a lot on the line, certainly the last week or two, and even going back a couple of months. And now we truly are at the must-win portion of the schedule, you know. So I was asked all week about is this must-win? Of course. We've got to win or we're done.”
Nowhere Boone and the Yankees would rather be.
“I think as a competitor, that's what you sign up for, and you hope to be in these scenarios where you're playing a meaningful game to move on to something more special,” Boone said. “We'll embrace that, and I know we'll walk out there with a lot of confidence and expect to play well and give it our best shot.”
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