The Red Sox could’ve tried to make things difficult for the wild card-destined Yankees, but they ultimately have more important things to worry about.
The season finale series between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees at Fenway Park looked a like dream scenario early in the year, when the two teams were neck-and-neck in the AL East race.
But now that series is actually here, and to be honest, it hardly even feels like it’s worth playing. At least, not from Boston’s standpoint.
The Red Sox have been ahead of the Yankees since early July. They’ve had the division title clinched for almost two weeks. With the best record in baseball by far, they have home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the bag. Regardless of what happens at Fenway this weekend, it’s not going to affect Boston’s playoff situation in any way, shape or form.
The Yankees, however, actually did have something to play for coming into this series. They’ve been locked into the AL Wild Card game for weeks, but just one victory in Boston this weekend would allow them to play that one-game playoff on their home field in the Bronx. If the Red Sox really wanted to make things difficult for their arch rival, they could’ve gone for another Fenway sweep of the Yankees, which might have sent them on a cross-country flight to Oakland.
But as expected, the Red Sox aren’t concerned with making things difficult for the Yankees. Their focus is on the ALDS next week, in which they will play either Oakland or New York, whoever comes out on top in the wild card. With Boston not worried about this finale series, the Yankees waltzed to an easy 11-6 win on Friday night to claim home field in the Wild Card game.
While it would’ve been fun to force the Yankees into an unwanted venture out to California, the Red Sox ultimately have more important things to worry about than a few meaningless games to end the regular season. Instead, they can worry about resting key players and making sure everybody is in tip top shape for the upcoming playoff grind.
Their minds are in the right place.