Evidently, Mystique and Aura have left the building along with Yankee pride.
After the Royal beating Kansas City put on the Yankees last night at the Stadium, play time is over. The Red Sox are in town. Just as a lighthouse needs the coast, the Yankees need the Red Sox. Boston is struggling, and the Yankees’ ship is showing signs of crashing into the rocks.
The Yankees were humiliated 11-5 by the Royals, who won two of three as the 41,790 fans reverted to doing the wave for entertainment. Kansas City hadn’t won a series here since 1999.
Consider this a wakeup call with the 17-20 Red Sox arriving for three games and then a two-game trip to Tampa Bay to play the AL East-leading Rays.
Manager Joe Girardi’s team needs to start to clean it up against Boston.
“That’s a very good team, and their record is not indicative of their talent,” Mark Teixeira told The Post. “I’ve always said that the season doesn’t start for the fans in New York until the first series here with the Red Sox. That’s when people really get excited around here, and it’s going to be a great weekend.”
Girardi said his team’s recent sloppy play does “bother” him, and he is hoping the the Red Sox are arriving at the right time.
“Maybe it’s what we need,” he said. “I know we’re capable of playing much better and we need to start doing that.”
Welcome to the real Opening Day. With the Yankees and Red Sox, it’s always about the uniforms. The Yanks need the Red Sox to bring out the best in them. The Yankees’ 20-15 record is a result of a heavy home schedule, because, in reality, they are a middle-of-the-pack team, ranked 15th in the majors in hitting and 12th in pitching.
One of the big questions for the Yankees is do they have enough lefties to deal with the Red Sox. There is CC Sabathia, but Boone Logan is the only lefty in the bullpen.
“What are the Yankees going to do against all those left-handers the Red Sox have like David Ortiz, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury?” asked a scout at last night’s slaughter.
Joba Chamberlain figures to play a huge role in the late innings. He has found his old velocity since lowering his hands in his windup, something he figured out while playing catch this winter at Nebraska’s indoor football facility.
It’s time for some fist-pumping. Over his last six outings Chamberlain has not allowed a run.
“The Red Sox are a work in progress,” Chamberlain said. “The way they swing the bats, you know I’m going to get the opportunity to pitch and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Boston has been swept four times, but you know they are looking at this series as turnaround time.
“We’ll play better, I guarantee you that,” said Dustin Pedroia, the heart and soul of the Red Sox, who is hitting .237. “We’re not going to end the season being horse[bleep] like we are. We’ll figure it out. We have to. We worked too hard. That’s it.”
The Yankees are going to have to figure it out against the best three starters the Red Sox have in Clay Buchholz, Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. That’s three days of pitching pain if the Yankees don’t get it right. The Red Sox are 2-1 against the Yankees and 15-19 against everyone else.
Sabathia came here to win multiple World Series and is looking forward to the prime-time matchup with Beckett tomorrow night.
“I’m definitely excited,” Sabathia said. “That’s a team that we have to beat to win the division. They’ll be there in the end. Pretty much all these games are important. It should be a fun series.”
But last night was no fun, and Girardi doesn’t need to check his binder to know what this series means.
“The adrenaline will be there, the passion, the excitement about the Red Sox in town,” he said. “That will all be there.”
The Yankees need to get on course. The Red Sox can be their guiding light.