Sports Redux: Evil 1, Good 0

Things weren't exactly what one could consider promising yesterday afternoon, a few hours before the Red Sox and Yankees kicked off their series opener here in Boston. The skies were growling and peppered with sunshowers. Many of us were murmuring about whether we thought Alex Rodriguez was going to pull a stunt on the field (and whether Dustin Pedroia would be the first to lead the counter-attack). Starting pitcher Tim Wakefield was set to enter the game with a 9-15 career record against the Pinstripes, and Dan Shaughnessy had set us all on edge by writing a column that discussed the plight of "the pathetic millionaires from the Bronx."

Then the game started. Things got worse. And while we still know that we have a 12 1/2 game lead on the Yankees, folks in New York can crow over the fact that the Yanks spanked the Sox in this first game, 9-5.

The problems started early, when Wakefield took to the mound and was incapable of settling down. He summed it up in the post-game interviews: "I just didn't have it tonight. I felt good in the first. Got through 1-2-3 and then in the second, out of the stretch, I didn't feel comfortable, never could find any rhythm and then 1-2-3 in the third and in the fourth just all over the place."

The breakdown: 3 2/3 innings, five hits, eight runs, two strikeouts and six walks, including a run walked in. Over the course of the game (Kyle Snyder came in to relieve Wake), the unlikely Yankees hero proved to be Robinson Cano, whose two-run homer really set things in offensive motion. And Sox fans now also have to worry about JD Drew, who left in the sixth after hamstring issues.

But given the dynamics of the Sox-Yankees rivalry right now - that is, given the fact that New York's eating Boston's dust for once - there had to be some real unexpected drama to spice things up generated by the visiting team. And it had to come from renegade relief pitcher Scott Proctor because, save A-Rod, he's the one most likely to cause a ruckus on that team, right?

Proctor was ejected in the ninth after he threw at Kevin "It's Now 23 Games" Youkilis' head in the ninth and prompted the benches to clear. It's important to note that both A-Rod and Cano had been beaned earlier in the game, and Mike Lowell left the game before the fifth inning because of a contusion sustained when he was hit by a pitch. It's also important to note that Proctor has seemingly appointed himself the one-man avenging machine when it comes to perceived attacks on his teammates. So when he and Joe Torre both say it was an accident...well...we're not buying it.

But Youk, as has become an ever-visible character trait, got mad and then got even. He proceeded to score on a Manny Ramirez single and set up a brief last-minute rally.

But now it's today and that one game is behind us. What now? Schilling and Beckett against Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte, respectively. We're going to have ourselves some pitcher's duels this weekend!

-- In non-Sox/Yanks baseball news, the Cleveland Indians came back from a 11-7 deficit in the ninth inning to actually edge out Detroit, 12-11. The Indians came back from two four-run deficits to win the game when David Dellucci hit a two-out, bottom-of-nine single that scored Trot Nixon.

-- Most members of the Patriots organization are in New Orleans today to mourn teammate Marquis Hill. The Pats traveled to Louisiana yesterday to attend Hill's wake as a team and to speak with Hill's family. The Globe reports today that Hill's mother, Sherry, told the team that playing for New England was incredibly important to her son. Hill's funeral is scheduled to begin at noon today.

-- On the ice, the Senators and Ducks face off for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight. The Sens are down 2-0.