A look at some new wrinkles this season in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry:
Which way will work?
You might have heard the Yankees responded to missing the 2013 playoffs by spending more than $500 million on talent — including the high-priced quartet of Carlos Beltran, Jacoby Ellsbury, Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka. The Red Sox, to the contrary, responded to winning the 2013 World Series title by declining to re-sign three key free agents — Stephen Drew, Ellsbury and Jarrod Saltalamacchia — giving no multi-year contracts to free agents and relying heavily on homegrown products such as Jackie Bradley Jr. and Xander Bogaerts.
Feeling the loss of Mo
Arguably for the first time since 1993, when Jeff Russell put together a better season than Steve Farr, the Red Sox have the bullpen edge in the rivalry. The retirement of Mariano Rivera created a massive celebration among the other 29 teams, and now the Yankees will play this first Red Sox series without Rivera’s appointed successor David Robertson, who resides on the disabled list with a strained groin. Meanwhile, Boston’s second-year closer Koji Uehara has started 2014 in the same dominant fashion with which he concluded 2013.
Unexpected help
Each team shows off a blast from the past. Michael Pineda and Grady Sizemore appeared in a total of zero major league games in 2012 and 2013. Now Pineda, acquired from the Yankees in a January 2012 trade, is a vital part of the team’s starting rotation — he will start Thursday night’s series opener — and Sizemore, signed by Boston to a one-year contract this past January, looks good as the Red Sox’s starting center fielder.
Better infield in Boston
As happy as the Red Sox will be over Rivera’s absence, their giddiness over the departure of Robinson Cano won’t be far behind. With the low-rent Brian Roberts replacing Cano and joined by the retiring Derek Jeter, temporary star Yangervis Solarte and whoever occupies first base during Mark Teixeira’s disabled-list stay, the Red Sox — with Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Bogaerts and Will Middlebrooks’ injury replacement — now possess an overwhelming advantage when it comes to comparing infields.
Will the team that shaves together, stay together?
The Red Sox, who credited a far better clubhouse culture for sparking their remarkable run last year, decided to ditch the beards they sported en route to the championship. Symbolically, it reminds us how difficult it is to duplicate or maintain such a special vibe. We will see if Boston manager John Farrell can run as smooth a ship in his second year on the job.