Chaim Bloom takes the blame for Red Sox' poor defense
The Red Sox and Yankees will finally face each other for the first time this season in a three-game series in the Bronx beginning Friday night.
While the rivalry certainly isn’t as heated as it was in the early-to-mid-2000s, most fans on both sides would undoubtedly still consider it a rivalry.
Apparently a couple Yankees players don’t really view it that way, though. Talking to FOX Sports, New York starting pitcher Nestor Cortes went so far as to suggest that Boston may now rank behind the Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays in the pecking order of Yankees rivals.
“It doesn’t feel like what we have with Tampa now, or with Toronto now,” Cortes said. “You could argue that [the Red Sox] haven’t been who they really are the last couple years.”
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole downplayed the rivalry as well.
“I can’t speak to the hatred 15, 20 years ago, but I would say there’s not much of that now,” Cole said. “We want to beat them just as badly as we want to beat Baltimore. And even though it is more unique in the sense of the history, I’m not sure how much we carry that baggage with us.”
On the one hand, Cortes’ shot about the Red Sox not being “who they really are the last couple years” is fair. Boston finished last in the American League East last year, 21 games behind New York, and sits in last place again this season, five games behind New York and 13 behind first-place Tampa. And, the Yankees have actually had some heated games against the Rays and Jays in recent years, including already this season.
On the other hand, recent history still favors the Red Sox despite that, and Cortes and Cole may have a vested interest in downplaying that. The Red Sox have won the last two postseason meetings against the Yankees, beating them three games to one in the division round in 2018 and topping them 6-2 in the AL Wild Card Game in 2021.
Cole got rocked in that Wild Card Game, failing to get out of the third inning. His career ERA against Boston is 4.40, over a full run worse than his career average of 3.22. Cortes has been even worse against the Sox, posting a 5.59 ERA across 10 appearances (four starts).
Arguably the most heated moment in the Sox-Yanks rivalry in recent years was a New York fan throwing a ball at Alex Verdugo in July 2021 and getting banned from every MLB ballpark for life – another moment the Yankees and their fans would probably like to ignore.
Of course, there’s also the bigger picture of the Red Sox holding a 4-1 advantage in World Series titles since 2004 and a 4-2 edge in division titles since 2013.
Maybe we’ll see the rivalry get reignited these next two weekends (the two teams meet again for three more at Fenway Park next weekend). Or, if the Red Sox don’t start playing better, maybe they’ll prove Cortes and Cole right and this won’t be much of a rivalry at all.
Either way, Cortes will not be part of the festivities, as he was placed on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a left rotator cuff strain.
Make sure to follow Scott on Twitter @smclaughlin9, and follow @WEEI for the latest up-to-date Red Sox and Boston sports news!
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