We meet again, old friend.

I suppose there is the possibility that the Sox could visit Yankee Stadium one last time in the post season, but it isn’t likely to happen. Perhaps later I’ll wax poetic on the House That Ron Blomberg Built, but for now, let’s evaluate the matchup on the field in this series, one that is critical for both teams involved (one could argue that New York “must win” two out of three here).

Game 1 Starting Pitchers
Back from the DL is Tim Wakefield, a guy without whom the Red Sox would not be in playoff contention, and probably the second-best pitcher on the team in 2008. However, a couple of factors are working against him here. 1) He hasn’t pitched in a while, so we don’t really know what were getting, and 2) Wake has been brutalized by the Yankees recently, having a 9.12 ERA against the Bombers since 2007.

Andy Pettitte has has trouble with Boston, but not to the extent of Wakefield vs. New York. “Cecil Turtle” has a 5.20 ERA against Boston in the past two years. However, he is coming off of a strong start at Toronto where he was able to throw only 83 pitches (Girardi pulled him early in a blowout), so he will be well rested.

Advantage: New York

Game 2 Starting Pitchers
This one can be dubbed “The Scrapheap Battle Royal”. Both Paul Byrd and Sidney Ponson were picked up to help bolster the back-end of both team’s respective rotations. In Byrd’s last 7 starts, he has an ERA of 2.79, a span of success which some attribute to a change in mechanics. Ponson is a guy who is headed in a different direction, after lasting only 2 innings in his last start at the Rogers Centre. Since July, opponents are hitting .321/.386/.500 off of King Hippo.

Advantage: Boston

Game 3 Starting Pitchers
The final game promises the most interesting pitching matchup: Jon Lester against Mike Mussina. Clearly, this is a matchup of good versus evil. Everyone (and by “everyone” I mean 99% of the world’s population, Santa Claus, Jesus Christ, the jazz band from the Mos Eisley Cantina, David Hasselhoff, ect.) will be rooting for the Sox to win this one.

On the surface, the matchup seems incredibly close. Mussina has been on tear lately, but the Red Sox have had his number this season, hitting .333/.387/.544 off of him in 2008. Lester, on the other hand, has been amazing against the Yankees, with a 1.12 ERA in two starts, including a complete game shutout at Yankee Stadium earlier this season.

The home field advantage, Mussina’s recent success, and the “big game” factor make it a little closer than it should be.

Slight Advantage: Boston

Check back later this afternoon when I cover the rest of the teams.