ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Yankees are fortunate the schedule maker dropped the Red Sox into The Bronx for two games this week instead of four.
Beginning tonight at the Yankee Stadium that didn’t have a Red Sox jersey buried in it, the Red Sox and Yankees renew sports’ best rivalry three days after completing a three-game set at Fenway Park, where the defending world champions took two after Chien-Ming Wang hurled a complete-game, two-hitter in the opener.
Had the Red Sox been in town for four tilts they could have separated themselves from the Yankees, who won’t have stud setup man Joba Chamberlain and don’t expect catcher Jorge Posada to be at full strength. Of course, the Red Sox won’t have World Series MVP Mike Lowell, who is on the disabled list.
Chamberlain, who with Mariano Rivera has given the Yankees the best late-inning bullpen in baseball, is with his father Harlan in Nebraska, where Harlan is undergoing tests to determine what caused him to collapse Sunday. Tests have been done to see if it was heart attack or stroke.
“He won’t be here,” Joe Girardi said of the two games with the Red Sox. “He knows what it means to be a son. You only have so many days with the people you love.”
According to Girardi, who spoke with Chamberlain yesterday, there was slight improvement with Harlan, who was struck with polio before he was a year old and uses a motorized scooter to get around.
“His father is a little better,” Girardi said. “There are still more tests to run. Joba is doing OK. He understands the importance for him being there to take care of pops.”
Girardi said a return date for Chamberlain has not been discussed.
“I didn’t bring it up, he can take as long as he needs,” Girardi said.
Chamberlain’s absence is about the only thing that has changed since the cold, rainy weekend in Boston for the blood rivals.
“Who makes this schedule?” Johnny Damon asked of the Yankees and Red Sox playing so close together. “We don’t play Toronto [again] until July.”