The Yankees have much, much, much more to lose tonight than Boston.

[MallRat]

I'm looking at this from the macro level. Follow my thinking:

If Boston loses tonight, it will be sad, even heartbreaking. They'll have come roaring back in an unprecendented 3-game winning streak after being down 0-3, only to lose Game 7 in Yankee Stadium, AGAIN.

However, even though the team will not likely be able to sign all of its key free agents, they'll find a way to replace them, perhaps with other free agents as well. Basically- a Red Sox loss tonight ends their 2004 season, but not much else.

If the Yankees lose tonight, one could probably argue that it would be the single most monumental choke job in the history of professional sports. With a $190 million payroll and a 3-0 series lead, the Yankees will have earned the dubious distinction of being the first team to lose a playoff series after sweeping the first 3 games. In the annals of history, the 2004 edition of the Men in Pinstripes would be permanently held in a place of eternal ridicule.

But it gets worse... or, if you're a Red Sox fan like me, better.

The depths of George Steinbrenner's self-destructive tendencies really haven't been tested in well over a decade. Getting to the World Series nearly every year, and winning about half of them, has kept him from flying off the handle.

A Game 7 loss to the Red Sox, after a 3-0 series lead, might very well awaken the sleeping giant.

In a fit of unbridled fury, I can see George Steinbrenner tearing the foundation of his team to shreds. Cashman would be gone. Torre and his coaching staff wouldn't be safe, either. Without a solid general manager to provide thoughtful analysis or to keep him in check, Steinbrenner will spend money like a drunken sailor, overpaying for aging veterans past their prime, mortgaging his farm system, and utterly poisoning the atmosphere for those players who remained.

In short, a Red Sox defeat tonight costs them a ticket to the World Series. A Yankees defeat tonight could completely destroy their team for a decade.

The pressure is on New York tonight. Bigtime.

-MR

[MallRat]

1. shameless wicked pissah kick.

:kick:

[Pachamama]

4. Here's another....

:kick:

[Branjor]

2. Yet....

The Boston Red Sox really have not done anything in this series over and above the Yankees. The Yankees won 3 games in a row, Boston won 3 games in a row. Tit for tat. Tomight's winner will just have one extra game on the other team.

[MissMillie]

9. Oh, I don't know about that....

I think it's quite an accomplishment to come from 3 games down to force a game 7. I mean, if it weren't a big deal, it'd be done all the time, right?

[Phillycat]

11. Only twice in the history of professional sports has a team come

back from an 0-3 deficit to force a game 7. And both times were in HOCKEY. This has NEVER happened in baseball before in the history of the sport. I think that's pretty significant.

[JohnKleeb]

13. umm Boston faced sudden death the past three games

It's not that simple.

[Pachamama]

3. Dead on....the pressure is on NY, not Boston....

Go Red Sox! :bounce: Go Red Sox!

Sorry to all the Yankees fans here on the DU, but I'm going to be for one excited to see them go down in flames...I look at teams like the Oakland A's (my fav) and see how they get by on a bootstring and provide their fans with what the game is meant to be....Maybe this will usher in a new "era", and I don't just mean baseball, I mean our Presidency.

I see a Red Sox v. Astros World Series - MA vs. Texas....and I see the Bostonian winning both..... :bounce:

[BeyondGeography]

5. A bunch of silly points

but a good read nonetheless.

Your scenario is filled with holes (ummm, aren't you guys the ones who haven't won a World Series in 86 years?; the farm system is in the process of being rebuilt, having already been mortgaged; and Carlos Beltran, no aging veteran, will be Target #1 this offseason). But let's say it's true. I can handle a decade of sucking; it might even be healthy.

The last time that happened (and it will happen again), George was banned from baseball and our baseball professionals produced a farm system that yielded a dynasty: Bernie Williams, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Jorge Posada. We weren't spinning our wheels with mercenary free agents, didn't have an obscenely high payroll, and wound up with a young, entertaining and winning team.

Plus, it's relaxing when your team isn't really going anywhere. You don't have to care.

[MallRat]

6. "It's relaxing when your team isn't really going anywhere."

"I can handle a decade of sucking; it might even be healthy."

That's the crux of your counter-argument?

Sounds to me like you've skipped denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, and gone straight to acceptance.

-MR

[BeyondGeography]

7. The crux of the argument, Dime Store Psychologist

is that every team needs to reload. At some point in the near future, this will happen to both the Yankees and the Red Sox, whatever happens tonight.

But you're obviously too carried away with premature celebrating to be reasoned with right now.

[Corgigal]

8. I'm a Yankee fan

and if the Yankees lose I will live. I'm actually enjoying the games, except last night because it was a tad boring. Actually the Yankees are due to lose and if they don't tonight then they will some other time. I find stress enjoyable, as most NY'ers do.
If Boston wins tonight its just because they played a better game so they deserve to win.

Still going to be fun to watch regardless.

[aldian159]

10. Good point

We haven't seen a George blowup since before he was suspended. In fact, being suspended was the best thing that ever happened to the Yankees, because it allowed them to grow Williams, Posada, Jeter, Rivera, and Pettitte (although he's gone now). Had George been there, all those guys would have been traded well before 1996.

[skippysmom]

12. Pressure's on both of them

For Boston, they have the hopes and dreams of millions of fans who've been waiting 86 years. Not to mention that this could be their best hope for a while, considering they will likely lose two of their starting pitchers, their catcher, their shortstop, and who knows who else. (I was certain Bellhorn would be on the slow boat out of town till he hit that homer last night. And who knows what will happen with Schilling.)

For NY, it's all about pride. They don't want to go down as the biggest chokers ever. However, a couple of points. One, they weren't expected to win. Every pundit said Boston was a much better team and predicted they would win. Two, their team will generally be in tact after this season -- the core group of Jeter/A-Rod/Posada/Sheffield/Matsui/Mussina/Rivera will all probably be there. You will see shake ups in other areas, though, and they will probably reload with Beltran and IMHO they will also pick up Pedro.

Who knows what will happen?

[JohnKleeb]

14. Presssure is more on New York

To think that the sox got this fair is incredible. It will hurt no doubt if the Sox are to lose but I think the Yanks have more pressure on them by far.