"Who's your daddy now, Yankees?"
Rivalry overblown. Can Fleetwood win first?
Good morning, all! I hope your weekend is going splendidly!
The Boston Red Sox are in the New York Yankees heads. There is no other way to put it. Saturday afternoon the Red Sox pummeled the defending American League champions, 12-1. After losing the first game of the season series between the two clubs at Yankee Stadium, the Red Sox have won eight straight against New York. Someone posted on ‘X’ the Red Sox have outscored the Yankees, 52-31, over those nine games. It seems more like 100-31.
Are the Red Sox better than the Yankees? Yes! They are a more balanced team. If the Yankees don’t hit home runs, they are toast. Boston has better starting pitching, a better bullpen, a more diversified offense and a deeper bench. During the course of a 162-game season, all teams have injuries. The Red Sox have been able to overcome theirs. The Yankees have not been able to conquer their demons.
The Red Sox gave up their best player in a trade with San Francisco. It was more of a salary dump, when they peddled Rafael Devers. All the experts thought it was the end of Boston’s season. Since then the Red Sox have gone 34-23 and placed themselves in position to make the post season. The day they traded Devers, they had completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees, winning 2-0. Devers, a Yankees nemesis, hit a home run in that game. After that contest the Yankees still had an eight-game lead on Boston in the loss column. They now trail the Sox by one in the loss column. Since that loss at the Fens, the Yanks are 27-32.
Most importantly, the Red Sox take the field with a swagger, especially when they play the Yankees. Boston expects to win. When the Yankees take the field against the Red Sox, they play as if they are waiting for the other shoe to drop. Not a good look.
Who knows, maybe New York salvages what’s left of its pride and beats the Red Sox on national TV (ESPN) tonight. It doesn’t matter. Since the Yankees famous collapse in the 2004 ALCS against the Red Sox, the tables have turned. Until proven otherwise, in this so-called rivalry, the 21st Century has belonged to the Red Sox. In the words of Pedro Martinez: “New York, who’s your daddy now?”
Some other sports stories that caught my attention for Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025:
During the Saturday telecast on YES, Yankees broadcaster Michael Kay called Yankees-Red Sox the “greatest rivalry in sports.” If I hear that statement one more time, I am going to scream! It may be the greatest rivalry invented by the media, but calling it the greatest rivalry in sports is laughable. If you look at the postseason, the two clubs have met just twice in the last 20 years and one of those meetings was a one-game playoff to get into the wild card round. Since wild card play started in 1995, the clubs have met five times in the postseason and three of those meetings occurred in a six-year period. Regular season games? When was the last time the Yankees and Red Sox met late in the season with first place on the line? And what does first place really mean with the playoffs diluting the postseason? Rivalry? Somewhat, because of distance, although Baltimore is closer to New York than Boston and the Yankees and Orioles have always played great games. But “the greatest rivalry in sports?” That’s nothing more than manufactured hype. Go down south and experience the rivalries of college football then come back and talk to me.
Tough break for the Phillies and pitcher Zach Wheeler, who by all accounts is one of the best people in baseball, always willing to sign an autograph and interact with fans. The Phillies ace will be out six to eight months, after he undergoes thoracic outlet decompression surgery. The surgery was required after a blood clot was removed. Here’s hoping for nothing but the best for Wheeler.
$10M will be on the line today for the FedEx Tour Championship. Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Cantlay will be in the final pairing, tied for the lead at 16-under. Do not rule out the world’s number one player Scottie Scheffler. He is four shots back. Fleetwood, by the way, has never won a PGA Tour event.
I would not have a problem if U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley picked himself to be on the team. Why not? He has been on fire this season and is also in the hunt to win today’s Tour Championship. Keegan shot the lowest score of the third round with a 63 and is just three shots back. In fact, Saturday was a great day for the New Englander all the way around, as his Red Sox continued their dominance of the Yankees.
Congratulations to Nevada who will play Taiwan for the LLWS title. Las Vegas, NV ousted Fairfield, CT with an 8-2 win on Saturday to win the U.S. title.
Watching professional college football and enjoying every minute of it. This is a great time of year. Yes, college football players do get paid and you can bet on the games too. What a world!
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and have a great Sunday!
DAN