Boston Red Sox: 3 thoughts on a rivalry renewed vs New York Yankees
By Brian Foisy
New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole has a Fenway Park problem
Yankees “ace” Gerrit Cole has become the new central villain in the Yankees-Red Sox soap opera. Villain may be a stretch though. If Darth Vader had been shellacked by Luke Skywalker in every movie, would he really be a villain or just some sad old guy with a breathing problem? Maybe he’s just the central punching bag.
For some reason Fenway Park turns Cole from an ace to an average or slightly below average pitcher. In his four starts at Fenway since becoming a Yankee, Cole has an ERA of 4 (the league average is 3.99 in 2022), compared to an ERA of 3.11 in his three seasons with the Yankees.
Nowhere was this more apparent than in last season’s Wild Card game against the Red Sox, where Cole’s pitching performance knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs.
What is it about Fenway that spooks Cole so much? Do the Kermit Cole and cheater chirps really get to him that badly? Or maybe the umpires are a little more lenient on the Spyder-Tack checkups in New York than they are in Boston.
Given Cole’s continued status as a liability in Fenway and against the Red Sox, what would Aaron Boone do in a repeat of last year’s Wild Card? Would he stick with his ace or would he have to put in the next best guy Nestor Cortez due to the Fenway factor alone?
The odds of these two teams meeting in a one-game wild card this season, barring some major standings movements from either team, are slim. But it’s still something that should keep Boone up at night.
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DJ LeMahieu, Boston Red Sox MVP
The most important player for the Red Sox this series may have been DJ LeMahieu of the Yankees.
It’s hard to know what went into his thinking to sabotage the game for his team Sunday night. Maybe he was jealous of the many All Star selections the Yankees had had. Maybe he thought to himself “if I make a few good plays tonight, maybe the commissioner will add me to the roster like he did for Cabrera and Pujols.”
Whatever his plan was, LeMahieu’s two errors in Game 4 were the perfect kickstart for the Red Sox’s comeback.