Sox Yanks Rivalry: The thrill is gone?

We read an interesting article from ESPN's Jim Caple. Here is the link :

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=caple/offbase/050908

The premise of the article is that there is no longer any interest in the rivalry outside of NY & New England. Once the Sox overcame a historical defecit at the hands of their archrivals, the thrill is now gone for fans around the country.

Here's an excerpt: "For decades, this rivalry provided one of baseball's most compelling story lines, the seemingly endless saga of the rich, arrogant and wildly successful Yankees giving atomic wedgies to the beloved underdog Red Sox."

Bear in mind the author's point of view. We almost bought a website domain named "f-jimcaple.com". No kidding. Honestly, we think he's improved in the last year or so, hence no website. But you get the idea.

We GUARANTEE that a Sox - Yanks playoff series will have a higher rating than any other. If the Chisox & Indians were on at the same time, and you could only watch one, which would it be? There's electricity in the air every time they play. Every play is magnified. Every out is huge. This weekend will be no different. It's Sox vs Yanks in the Bronx, in Sept. Even the casual baseball fan will be checking box scores.

Are there other compelling things going on in baseball? Yes. The NL Wildcard for one. But thats not the point. For the last number of years the Yanks had a comfortable AL East lead late in the year. This is the closest its been in years. The Yanks are also fighting for their lives in the Wildcard. Not to mention the other biggest reason: Fans WANT to see the Yankees lose. It's even better when the Sox are the ones to do it.

Even though we would love the Yanks to miss the playoffs, it just wouldn't be as dramatic. We love our Red Sox and hope other fans route for them once their team is eliminated. Will we lose any sleep over it if not? Nope.

If the last series in Boston (Sept 30th - Oct 2nd) has any bearing on the playoffs, who won't be watching? Not to mention if they meet in the playoffs again.

So SCREW YOU JIM CAPLE, we're going home...