Why the Yankees finish the Sox tonight

First and foremost, it's in the Bronx. While I realize the Sox have no fear of our beloved pinstripers, the Sox fed off the energy at Fenway. The Yanks had them down on several occasions and somwhow the Sox fought back. Thus, I think a change of venue is necessary.

Second, Curt Schilling is pitching for the Sox tonight. While I have no doubt he will do his best to outpitch his injury, given the reports from last week, I suspect his injury is worse than they're letting on. Last week, he was on the brink of a season-ending surgery and now he's been cleared to play. I don't think he gets more than three to four good innings and given the length of the last two games, the Sox need him for six to seven scoreless innnings. (I concede that the Sox may have more answers for Lieber this time around give the nasty junk he threw at them in Game 2).

Third, both Sox victories were very hard-earned and could have gone either way. I can't see them winning a third game in a row.

Fourth, the history. The Sox have a wonderful tendency for setting themselves up for failure. These last two games have given them sudden hope and I sense the Yanks will find yet a new way to dispose of the New England upstarts. Let's see, last year Monsieur Boone had a walk-off home run. Perhaps, Schilling will throw a wild pitch to allow the winning run to score. Or maybe a suicide squeeze if Torre should find a need to put Lofton in tonight (Excellent bunter).

Finally, the Yanks want to finish this so they can get some rest before the World Series. The series looked like it was in the bag but now they've had to expend a lot of energy. The Cards-Astros have today off and I expect the Cards to win in seven. That gives the Yanks two extra days of much needed rest.

Of course, I could be wrong.