The July 31st non-waiver Trade Deadline shook up both of these “old-money” AL East division teams considerably. Several faces departed and new faces come in to the Bronx and Beantown. <\/p>\n
Date\/Time: Friday, August 1 2014, 7:10 pm EST<\/strong>
\nVenue: Fenway Park, Boston MA<\/strong>
\nNo odds posted (Trade Deadline roster changes)<\/strong>
\nPitching Match-up: Chris Capuano (1-1, 4.30 ERA) vs. Anthony Ranaudo (NR)<\/strong>
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While the impacts on the clubs for the rest of the regular season (and, for Boston’s case, likely 2015) is intriguing, the issue at hand is – what’s going to happen tonight at Fenway Park?<\/p>\n
By shipping out ace starter Jon Lester, starter John Lackey, SS Stephen Drew and reliever Andrew Miller, the Red Sox (48-60) are throwing in the towel on this season. They have fallen behind in a divisional race that is closely contested at the top between the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays, and also includes a late-charging Tampa Bay Rays club.<\/p>\n
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The Yankees (55-52) took a different tack, acquiring 2B Martin Prado from the Arizona Diamondbacks and SS Drew from – you guessed it – the archrival Red Sox. Despite being five games back, New York general manager Brian Cashman is still being aggressive. The Bronx Bombers grabbed players intending to remain a factor in the still-up-for-grabs East.<\/p>\n
Lackey was supposed to start tonight’s ballgame, so the Sox will instead trot out rookie Anthony Ranaudo, a 6″7, 231-lb 24-year old who will get his first start. Boston grabbed a couple of prospects in the deadline deals, in addition to OF Yoenis Cespedes from Oakland.
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\nCespedes just won the Home Run Derby and the colorful Cuban will at least continue to put people in the seats. He is also extremely talented, if a bit undisciplined.<\/p>\nFor New York, veteran lefty Chris Capuano has come in and been serviceable in a season where the Yankees’ starting pitching has been decimated. The team has needed crafty vets like Capuano to tread water while they have been so shorthanded. Does the veteran guile of Capuano out-duel the youthful moxie of Ranaudo?<\/p>\n
The answer is probably, because Boston has looked lost lately. The BoSox are coming off a sweep at the hands of the Jays and don’t seem to be playing their patient, disciplined, deliberate style of baseball.<\/p>\n
Polarizing (but legendary) DH David Ortiz has been mashing the ball regularly, but him notwithstanding, the Sox haven’t been intimidating lately.<\/p>\n
So, the Sox are nosediving and the Yanks are merely treading water. This isn’t the classic, can’t-miss rivalry match-up we’re using to seeing from Boston and New York over the last decade and a half.<\/p>\n
Yet, the Yankees are hoping that their eleventh-hour acquisitions will give their club a kick in the rear end, and allow them to make some ground up on two hot teams above them in the standings.<\/p>\n
In order to do that, New York needs to be preying on Boston while the home team is in such a state of flux.<\/p>\n
To be fair, Capuano is not winning any Cy Young Awards any time soon, but you can probably trust him to pitch a solid game against an unknown commodity in Ranaudo. Also, if the lefty can cool off Ortiz at the dish, the visitors can likely neutralize Boston’s lineup.<\/p>\n
Boston has shown that it is willing to compromise this season in order to bounce right back into contention next year. This just means the present won’t be pretty for Red Sox fans.<\/p>\n