Red Sox Strategy Fails as Yankees Win Again

Major League Baseball posted a graphic Tuesday for the first Yankees-Red Sox game. It read, “The rivalry will return tonight,” featuring Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony.

Judge is a seven-time All-Star and three-time MVP. He is well down the road to a Hall of Fame plaque.

Anthony could be an excellent player, but that is still undetermined. The 21-year-old left fielder was out of Wednesday’s 4-1 loss with a sore back.

Anthony is 2 for 15 with one RBI in his last five games. He has a team-high 16 walks, showing plate discipline.

His walks also reflect other teams not worrying about hitters behind him. He has hit only .225 with a .686 OPS.

The Red Sox put Anthony in a tough spot by letting Alex Bregman walk. He is now the de facto face of the franchise while still establishing himself.

MLB had no better options to promote the series. Garrett Crochet is not pitching against the Yankees this week.

Crochet has a 7.88 ERA in five starts. Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras play well but do not move the national needle.

The closest thing to a star is closer Aroldis Chapman. He has had one save chance in the last 15 days.

People with no-show state jobs work more often than Chapman. The first two games drew crowds of 34,391 and 34,049, both short of a sellout.

Raw weather was a factor, but the rivalry lost spark since last fall’s Wild Card Series. Crochet won Game 1 before the Yankees won the next two.

The series felt like a jumping-off point for the Sox, who improved from 81 to 89 wins. “We are a good team that needs to keep improving,” manager Alex Cora said after the final game.

The offseason brought only cautious, moderately priced improvement. It did not bring the big swing expected by fans and rival organizations.