While You Were Sleeping


BD_rally.jpgThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim/Orange County Chapter demolished the Yankees in the wee wee hours of Wednesday morning as Angel statue Garret Anderson awoke from his perpetual slumber and had 10, count ’em 10, RBIs, and the Halos rolled, 18-9. The lead stands at 6 again as the Sox had the great fortune to run into the Devil Rays, while the Yankees had to play their archenemies. Which got us to thinking…

If you follow the Chuck Klosterman model of Nemesis vs. Archenemy, it would stand to reason that the Yankees are the Red Sox nemesis. Let’s review:

“You kind of like your nemesis, despite the fact that you despise him. You will always have drinks with your nemesis. However, you would never choose to have a cocktail with your archenemy, unless you were attempting to spike the gin with arsenic.”

Yes, yes, yes the Yankees Suck. Nomar was better and Roger Clemens is a Con Man. On this we can all agree. But really, the whole Yankee-Red Sox thing changed from tragi-comic soap opera to basic sports rivalry the moment the boys came back from a 3-0 deficit and buried all those ghosts at the Stadium in 2004.

There is a weird kind of mutual respect between the teams now (not counting both sides’ apparent loathing of Alex Rodriguez) and you get the sense that while they would step over each other to win a game, if the other side were to emerge victorious the vanquished would raise a glass and offer a toast. Or, in the case of Manny Ramirez and Enrique Wilson, have a few pops at the Ritz-Carlton.

So who serves as the other’s archenemy? In the Yankees’ case it’s the Angels, who knocked the Yankees out of the playoffs twice in the last five years and are 18-10 against the Bronx dwellers since 2005.

For the Red Sox it”s the Mariners, who have not only subjected the Sox to a few awful defeats, they also had the mascot try to kill Coco Crisp in a hit-and-run accident.

Either way, hopefully the Rally Monkey got some rest last night. He will be needed again shortly.