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Projo SoxTalk with Art Martone and Steve Krasner »

The Yankees Are Coming

Manager Terry Francona does not like to look ahead.

So when he was asked this morning about this weekend's series against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park, he gave a typical response.

"To be a good team you have to stay in the moment," said Francona. "We have to worry about finding a way to beat Toronto today. Roy Halladay (the Jays' pitcher today) doesn't care about the Yankees. So for me to talk about them doesn't make sense."

When pressed, though, he did address the experience factor in big games on the mound that the Sox would seem to have over the Yankees. Boston's starting trio will be Curt Schilling, Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka while New York, which has an injury-ravaged rotation, will counter with Andy Pettitte and rookies Jeff Karstens and Chase Wright.

Francona, while acknowledging the Sox' edge in experience on the big stage, also said it doesn't necessarily make any difference.

"Look at Wright," said Francona of the left-hander, who was bumped up from Double A for his first big-league start on Tuesday night, a win over Cleveland.

"He has no experience. But if he throws 94 with a (good) breaking ball, he can (beat us)," said Francona. "That's what's so cool about this game. You don't know. You don't have to have 10 years (of experience) to compete."

Francona alluded to the fact the Sox had experience on the mound for the pivotal five-game series against the Yankees last summer and Boston was swept. Yet that doesn't mean those same pitchers won't pitch well against New York this year just because of their inability to rise to the occasion in that series, Francona intimated. The experience, he noted, is necessarily the only indicator of potential success in the present.

"That's like saying that sweep fiasco inthe series will scar us. No, it won't. That (sweep) didn't help us last year, but it doesn't affect us this year," said Francona.

-- Steven Krasner

Posted by Steven Krasner  at 10:50 AM | Permalink