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New look, new vibe as Yanks head to Boston

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By Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

06/09/09 12:42 AM ET

NEW YORK -- The Yankees expect to be booed upon arrival in Boston, because that is the proper response for what years of the game's most intense rivalry have instilled.

But though the logos remain the same, the actual vibe of the Yankees' roster has completely changed from when the Red Sox last took the field against them. Boston may have won five of five this season, but New York feels as though it hasn't played against this Yankees team just yet.

"It makes no difference," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "The percentages are on our side then, right? We're due to win a game. I'm pretty sure they're not thinking about what happened the first five times we played them going into this series."

Jeter should know best about this rivalry. He's been around for 15 seasons, having been taken by the Yankees with the sixth overall pick in the 1992 Draft. Tonight's Draft, which begins at 6 p.m. ET, can be seen live on MLB.com and MLB Network.

When we last left this blood battle, it was May 5, and the Yankees had been swept in a two-game series at home, dipping 4 1/2 games back in the American League East and down to the break-even mark at 13-13.

That evening the Yankees tried trotting six relievers through the bullpen gates to bail out Joba Chamberlain, who was backed by a lineup that saw Ramiro Pena start at third base and Jose Molina behind the plate. Alex Rodriguez homered twice -- in an extended spring game in Tampa.

"I think we're playing a lot better, and we also have Big Al back, which is really nice," manager Joe Girardi said. "We are a different team. We've found ways to win games. It seemed like earlier we were finding ways to lose games, so this is much different."

Now that Girardi can proudly parade a first-place club through the dank concrete halls of Fenway Park, it would be overly simplistic to point only to Rodriguez's return as the rallying point that has turned around the Yankees' season.

But A-Rod clearly has made an impact -- particularly in helping Mark Teixeira balance some of the load in New York's lineup.

The Yankees are a Major League-best 20-9 since Rodriguez came back on May 8, three days after Boston whooped it up in the visiting clubhouse of the new Bronx ballpark. New York has not lost consecutive games over that span, and even set a big league record with an 18-game errorless streak.

"At the time we played Boston earlier in the season, they were really good," Johnny Damon said. "They're still really good. But when we can add Alex, it makes it a better competition."

Certainly, Teixeira would agree that it has been a lot of fun since the Red Sox left town -- he increased his AL-leading home run total to 18 on Monday after posting one of the best months in his career.

It's even more impressive when you consider that Teixeira was still fighting the Interstate (.198) after that May 5 game. But having something more resembling a full deck has helped take some of the pressure off -- for everyone involved.

"We've got a lot more guys in the lineup now," said Nick Swisher. "They've got a great team, and there's no doubt about that. You've got to give credit where credit is due. But we feel like we've got a good team now, too. It's going to be an absolute battle."

But Jeter thinks that the celebration of the Yankees' turnaround should be focused more on the mound. New York hurlers have gone 19-6 with a 3.63 ERA (225 1/3 innings, 91 earned runs) to lead the Majors in winning percentage over the last 25 games.

"Tex has been swinging the bat a lot better, but even when Alex was out of the lineup, we were still scoring some runs," Jeter said. "We were falling behind teams and coming back, we just weren't pitching that well.

"I think most of the credit goes to the pitching staff, because the starters have been good. Yeah, it's great to have Alex back, but I don't care who you have in the lineup, if you don't pitch well, you're not going to win."

The difference has been impressive, as Yankees starters have gone 12-2 over that stretch, limiting opponents to three runs or fewer in 18 of 25 starts.

"We're just playing good baseball," said Tuesday's starter, A.J. Burnett. "It's a big difference. You've got a lineup who's on fire. You keep the team in it as long as you can, they're going to come back and score some runs eventually. The staff and bullpen are holding up, for the most part. Everything's clicking right now."

"Our starting pitching has been able to go deeper into ballgames," Damon said. "We've been able to put our relievers in the situations that we need them to, instead of starting them in the second or third inning, like we were earlier in the season. Any time your starters can give you depth, you should be better off."

Not by coincidence, the game of roulette Girardi was forced to play each time he reached for the bullpen phone earlier this season has also slowed.

Three of the relievers he called upon in that May 5 contest against Boston -- Jonathan Albaladejo, Mark Melancon and Edwar Ramirez -- have been since dispatched to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Roles may not be clearly defined just yet in the bullpen, not with Brian Bruney and Damaso Marte nursing injuries, and converted starters Alfredo Aceves, Phil Hughes and Brett Tomko masquerading as relievers.

But for the moment, it appears to be working -- or, at least, working better.

"It's by design," Girardi said. "Guys were struggling, and we sent guys down. The guys we brought up have done a good job. I don't think we necessarily thought it was going to be that way when we left camp. We expected guys to pitch well. But we had to make some changes, and this is what we've got."

So despite the fact that the Yankees were put through the ringer on five frustrating occasions this season by the Red Sox, outscored 38-23, Girardi has not needed to stress any additional importance on this midweek series at the Fens.

For one thing, the two clubs have 12 more scheduled meetings on the agenda. But the other constant of this matchup is that both teams know exactly what meeting between the lines entails.

"As players, we like it, because the atmosphere is more fun," Jeter said. "There's more questions, but other than that, we enjoy it. The fans get into it, there's a lot of people at the stadium. It's fun for us."

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.