The Bronx is Boiling: The Yankees 10 Years Later

Well, Yankees fans, we are heading into an offseason with much uncertainty. Will we sign one of those big name pitchers out on the free agent market? Who will be the next hitting coach now that Chili Davis is headed to Boston? Are they going to make a move at second and third base or are some of the Baby Bombers going to get their chance?

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I don’t feel like answering all of those questions, mainly because I can’t! What I am constantly being reminded of, however, is that it’s been ten years since the worst moment I’ve lived as a Yankees’ fan. The ten years since have not been much fun either. I grew up with Bucky Dent as a folk hero. I rejoiced for Aaron Boone’s bomb. But nothing will ever erase the pain of 2004. The Bronx is boiling and I need to blow some steam.

Aaron Boone’s walk-off may be the last exciting playoff moment the New York Yankees have had. Sure, we were all able to rejoice after they won the 2009 Series, but there was no Bucky Dent moment, no Mr. October or November memory, and no late night magic by a

or

. No, Yankees breath-taking post season moments seemingly died with Boone’s blast, and the Idiots of Fenway may be the cause.

It made no sense. The Yankees weren’t simply up three games to none. They had scored 30 runs over those three games. Jon Lieber looked like a post-season ace and we had gotten some revenge on Curt Schilling for 2001, blasting him for six early runs. One game, that’s it. We needed to win one game out of the next four, with two being on the hallowed grounds of old Yankee Stadium and they couldn’t do it. Luis Gonzalez hurt, this was a slowly inserted dagger in the heart of Yankees fans that has been turning for ten years.

That Dave Roberts stolen base started it all in Game Four. A few short innings later, David Ortiz would become a post season legend with his second of many walk-off October home runs. He was mostly an after thought up until then, the guy who batted after Manny Ramirez, the guy every Yankees’ fan really despised. But that home run changed the face of the Red Sox forever. It was Papi’s team now, and he was and still is public enemy numero uno,

Game 7 wasn’t even close. The Yanks had to come out firing at home and before you knew it were down 2-0 at the hands of David Ortiz. An inning later, Johnny Damon’s grand slam pretty much ended all hope. The Red Sox finally beat the Yankees in the post season. Not only would they go onto the World Series. They would win. Baseball would never be the same.

The reason the Yankees and Red Sox rivalry was the biggest across all sports was the Curse of the Bambino. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, Babe Ruth haunted the franchise that let him get away for almost 90 years. The Red Sox disliked the Yankees because they couldn’t beat them. The Yankees loathed the Red Sox because they always thought they could. The offseason became who could outbid who and get the biggest free agent. In the late 90s, the Red Sox would have to watch Red Sox legends (like Wade Boggs and Roger Clemens) hoist trophies in pinstripes and then get duped by possibly the most hated Yankee of all-time in A-Rod. But then they won. And now it’s all different.

The Red Sox have won three championships in the ten years since. The Yankees have won one. They Sox are a perennial American League powerhouse (despite a few stinkers like 2014 thrown in) and the Yankees have been very questionable with their first back-to-back playoff-less seasons in 20 years. Now, Yankees fans hate the Red Sox because they are everything we once used to be and no longer are: winners.

The only plus for me this season was that the Sox finished dead last. It is the only reason I can be somewhat ok with a sub-90 win season. The Red Sox are going to go out and make some big moves, just like the Yankees, except they have one huge advantage. They aren’t tied up in any long term A-Rod or CC Sabathia contracts. They don’t have any Mark Teixeira’s wasting space in their line-up. No, they can go out, revamp their team and be contenders once again. The 2015 Yankees, whether we want to admit it or not, will have a ton of question marks hanging over their heads and their is no guarantee our management or higher-ups will make the right move to get us back to the post season with their track record over the past few seasons. We can say whatever we want about how our rosters look on paper, but until we go out and win the AL East once again, Red Sox Nation will continue to grow and the Yankees Universe will stand pat.

Red Sox Nation grew to all-time heights by 2003, not because there was a bevy of new Red Sox fans, but because people had empathy for the Sox. People all over this country can’t stand the Yankees for one reason or the other, so they jumped on the band wagon and cheered on all that is not Yankees. Now, these new “fans” have had a pretty successful team to rally around and they keep growing and growing. The Yankees need to put these ten years behind them. They need to start in 2015 and become the Beasts of the East yet again. In doing so, the greatest rivalry that ever was will be renewed, and all will be right in the baseball world yet again.