How Sweep It Is

 Not even "Cheese Cake" Sabathia could stop the recent, unstoppable rebel force known as the Boston Red Sox. Working on a shutout and two-run lead into the 7th inning, C.C. began to unravel and not only blew the shut out but allowed the Red Sox offense to blow the game wide open and out of reach.

Included in the monumental meltdown was an inning that saw an outburst of eight hits and seven runs for Boston. All but one of the runs were charged to New York's ace while the other run was scored on reliever David Robertson.

On a night that started with a three-plus hour rain delay, Josh Beckett did not start the game with his sharpest stuff after the prolonged wait. After hitting Jeter to begin the game, he then allowed a two-run bomb by Curtis Granderson. The Yankees were able to hold on to the early lead for most of the night until the top of the 7th debacle.

Josh Beckett went into absolute lock-down mode after allowing the first-inning home run. He is now 5-2 on the season with a sterling 2.06 ERA. This is a complete turnaround from the disastrous experience he suffered last season. Three of his wins have come at the Yankees' expense and in all three games he has out pitched Sabathia decidedly.

Beckett is not the sole benefit of this recent domination of the Yanks. The Red Sox are now 8-1 against their hated rivals to start the year and have won seven games in a row at Yankee Stadium, dating back to last season. This year alone they are 6-0 and, amazingly enough, in their historic rivalry they have never started out the season with six straight wins in New York.

Given all the slow starts and various injuries, this feat is really an impressive accomplishment. The most recent sweep is especially remarkable considering the high level of play and the confidence that accompanied this Yankee team after returning home from a successful west coast road trip in which they were really rolling,

On the injury front, the Red Sox look as though they were able to dodge a bullet concerning the health of Dustin Pedroia's ailing knee. The diagnosis is optimistic in that it appears only to be a bruised knee cap. The injury will not require any type of surgery at this point as was originally predicted and, according to Terry Francona, he is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night in Toronto.

Good news all around for the boys sporting the red "B" on their caps. Hopefully this momentum will board the red-eye flight with the team as they travel north of the border to take on the Blue Jays. One thing is for sure, they are playing their best baseball so far this year and, given their recent dominance in all phases of the game, it doesn't appear that will be be changing anytime soon.