Yankees Prepare For The Blue Jay Bombardment

Welcome to This Week In Yankees Baseball! They called it ¨The Boston Massacre.¨ And the Toronto Blue Jays better take notice.

It was 37 years ago this week that Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson and company marched into Fenway Park in second place, but within shouting distance of the overrated Red Sox. Due to a slew of Yankees injuries, Boston had once enjoyed a double-digit lead over the Bombers in the standings. [related category]

¨There’s a hate-respect thing between us,¨ Bucky Dent said according to ThinkExist . ¨We didn’t like each other at all, but we had a respect for the great players Boston had. That’s part of what makes the Yankees and Red Sox special. I’d heard about the rivalry when I was with the White Sox, but you don’t know about it until you play in it and feel the electricity of the crowd.”

Whether it was from the tranquility that manager Bob Lemon brought, or it was just from the club getting healthy,  doesn´t  matter. The Yankees set the tone with 11 runs in the first four inning of the first game of the series. When the drubbing was finished, the Yankees had won 15-3. The 21- hit shellacking was led by Wilie Randolph, who had five RBI.

Game two was just as big of a nightmare for Boston, as the Yanks jumped on top 8-0 in the second inning. This time it was Reggie Jackson who did the most damage with a three-run home run. Jim Beattie pitched a gem, and the Yankees coasted to a 13-2 win.

Ron Guidry took the mound with a 20-2, 1.84 ERA record in game three of the series. Gator did not allow a hit after the first inning, and the Yankees won again. In game four, Graig Nettles knocked in two runs to help the Yankees jump in front 6-0 behind Ed Figueroa. When the Massacre was over, the Yankees had scored 42 runs in sweeping the series, and they left town tied for first place. It was the biggest ambush since Custer rode into Little Bighorn.

And 37 years later, the Toronto Blue Jays are coming to town this week  beginning on Thursday. All the hype is about Josh Donaldson, Troy Tulowitzki, David Price and Edwin Encarnacion. And once again, first place is at stake.

“They’ve got a good team,” Brett Gardner said, according to NJ.com. “They did some things to make their team better. [But] I like the guys we have in this room; I like the position we’re in.”

So, look out Toronto, because history always repeats itself.  And that means it´s time for the Boston Massacre to become the Blue Jay Bombardment.