They have Sox on the brain

"They're catching up, aren't they?" quipped Sox owner John W. Henry. "They're becoming almost as fascinated with us as we are with them."

Maybe more.

"The Red Sox right now, I think, are bigger than the Mets in New York," said veteran baseball columnist Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. "Basically, there's `The Apprentice,' and then there's this rivalry."

It's officially out of control. It's also wildly inverted. For decades the Red Sox and their fans were maniacal about the Yankees. Now it's just the opposite. Yankees manager Joe Torre said, "They [the Red Sox] have something we want," and those who follow New York baseball are covering the Red Sox like a third regional franchise.

Terry Francona, Theo Epstein, Curt Schilling, and David Wells all held press conferences Thursday and each was asked multiple questions about the Yankees, about Alex Rodriguez, about the 2004 American League Championship Series, and about the respective pitching rotations of the Sox and Yankees in 2005. There's so much Yankee talk around here, we've hardly had time for that annoying little steroids scandal.

Wells found himself splashed on the front page of yesterday's Post, next to the headline, "RAT SOX" with subheads reading, "Wells: Torre dissed me" and "A-Rod's all talk." Boomer was on the back page of the Daily News next to the headline, "FAT LIP." Remember, this is a guy who now pitches for the Boston Red Sox and will wear No. 3 -- the number retired for Babe Ruth in New York.

Wells shrugged his shoulders yesterday when informed of his Big Apple splash. "That's the way it goes in New York," he said. Jason Varitek had a similar response. "I guess this is good for you guys [Boston media]," he suggested.

It's an odd switch for those of us who remember New England's unhealthy fixation on all things New York. Sox fans' insecurity complex regarding the Yankees is legendary, but all that changed last October in Games 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the ALCS.