Abject humiliation. The New York Yankees came to town in first place, winners of 19 of their last 25 games.
They left the Hub early this morning with bags over their heads, reeling from yet another loss (4-3), yet another sweep at the hands of the Red Sox.
That's 0-8 against the Red Sox this year.
In addition to being rich and talented, the Yankees are smart. They keep reminding everyone about the big picture. They are two games out of first place and today is June 12. So what's the big deal?
The big deal is that the Sox and Yankees don't play each other again until Aug. 6. So New York can win every game for the next eight weeks; the Yankees can win 40 in a row or more. But no matter what they do, they're going to be constantly reminded that they are 0-8 against the Red Sox.
It's pretty terrific when you think about it.
The Sox have beaten New York in every way possible this year. Blowouts, comebacks, steals of home. Last night's victory was one of the sweetest. The Sox trailed, 3-1, in the eighth, but scored three times after "Sweet Caroline" (key at-bat: a 10-pitch walk drawn by Dustin Pedroia) to waste the fine work of CC Sabathia and break the Yankees' backs yet again.
"It hasn't been fun for us against the Red Sox," said manager Joe Girardi. "It [a sweep] is not what we imagine when we come in here."
"Today we were in a good position to win, but they came back," added Derek Jeter. "They deserved to sweep us. We didn't play too well. Of course, we're disappointed, but we can't feel sorry for ourselves. Their guys have played better than us."
The Yankee captain has seen a lot in his many years with the Bronx Bombers, but he has never seen anything like this. No one has - not unless they were alive and aware back in 1912, which is the last time the Sox won as many as eight in a row against New York to begin a season.
It's getting rotten back in the Apple. The back cover of yesterday's Daily News featured Jeter and a headline that screamed "Knuckle Heads." Page One of the Post opted for a dignified "This Sox!"
It's times like this when we miss the old, feisty George Steinbrenner. Close your eyes and try to imagine the boss spending all this dough, then watching the Sox humiliate his team eight straight times. Does this expression "spit the bit" come to mind?
The Yankees will be getting the Bronx cheers tonight at home against the Mets.
There's no such thing as a "must-win" in June, but the Yanks really needed this one last night.
It was time for Sabathia to step up and show New York he's worth $161 million. Time for the Round Mound of Mound to beat somebody other than the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles.
Sabathia hadn't fared well in his last couple of appearances against the Sox. They roughed him up twice in the 2007 ALCS (0-2, 10.45).
