It would be silly now to act like 2-10 against the Red Sox is a mosquito bite; a nuisance, but nothing more.
Not after the past 10 years of animus between the Yankees and Red Sox raised the stakes on what already was the sport’s most-heated rivalry. Not after the $2 billion-plus spent by the teams in that period with each other specifically in mind. Not with the constant punch and counter-punch that defines their roster building — we’ll see your Mark Teixeira and raise you an Adrian Gonzalez.
Yes, the Yankees can get into the playoffs without ever solving the 2011 riddle that is the Red Sox. Once a short series begins in October, it is very possible all the bad stuff from April to September could dissolve. Let us not forget the Red Sox had 86 years of baggage and an 0-3 deficit in the 2004 ALCS and surmounted all of that to win four straight history-altering games over the Yankees.
If you need further historical proof, the 1997 Yankees went 6-0 against Cleveland and lost the Division Series to the Indians in four games.
But the history lesson should not end there. Just dial back to 2009, when the Red Sox won the first eight games against the Yankees. Maybe the Yankees were going to win the World Series that season anyway. But it does feel like reversing roles with Boston in the second half served as a launching pad toward the Canyon of Heroes.
Those ’09 Yankees swept four from Boston in early August, rocketing from 2 1⁄2 up in the AL East to 6 1⁄2 and it was never a race again. From 0-8, the Yankees finished 9-9 against the Red Sox; and if you were around that team you could feel the jolt of adrenaline and confidence born from that flip-flop.
But if you do not believe much in the ephemeral advantages that come from one team beating another — even when it is Yankees versus Red Sox — then there are very tangible reasons for the Yankees to want a U-turn against Boston beginning tonight at Fenway. The most obvious concerns first place and the near-certain home-field advantage the East champs would have throughout the AL playoffs.
However, third place also is a factor here. Because if the Yankees, say, throw up a 2-16 or 3-15 against Boston then the Red Sox are going to coast to the East title and a door the Yankees presumed closed would re-open. You see, as it has been for the past three years, the Rays clearly have not gotten the memo to roll over and play dead; to cede the top two spots in the AL East to the Yankees and Red Sox as if it is a divine right for those mega-franchises.
As opposed to the Yankees or Red Sox, Tampa Bay has five starters with which it is comfortable and is pointing toward winning in the low-90s. For now the Yankees remain comfortably ahead of the Rays and to stay that way — to keep looking up in the standings and not down — they need to get off the losing rollercoaster with Boston.
For the Yankees have a complicated schedule the rest of the way. An abundance of make-up dates has the Yankees down to just one off-day — or the same number of West Coast trips as they have left. That is a complication for a team that relies on older players like the Yankees. Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez were both out of the lineup last night in Baltimore; and there is some creaking going on from the elder elements in the rotation.
The Yankees want to use the final weeks of the season to rest and prepare for the playoffs. They can say publicly they want to win the division. But, last year, with the AL East in play, they pulled back late to emphasize physical soundness over an extra home playoff game. And they will do that again.
Except six of the final nine games — sandwiched around the final series against the Red Sox — are against the Rays. One of the ways to assure Tampa Bay does not even have a puncher’s chance then is for the Yankees to start beating the Red Sox now. Let Boston, which still has seven games left against the Rays, worry about the upstarts.
The Yankees will not have a ray of hope of winning the AL East if they do not start beating Boston and, instead, will give hope to the Rays.
joel.sherman@nypost.com