Red Sox / Yankees Game 3

The Red Sox lost 2 out of three against the Yankees but won the season opening series. The Sox head back to Boston one game behind the Yankees but without any serious question marks except David Wells who most fans are willing to grant one or two bad outings to.

The Yankees are loaded with question marks after yesterday's 7-3 loss.

The biggest question mark is Mariano Rivera who was actually booed when he came off the mound yesterday. Rivera has become a 50/50 proposition when it comes to the Red Sox and that's not going to cut it with Steinbrenner. Rivera will be the talk of New York today and for the foreseeable future. He will have to have 10 straight converted save opportunities to make people think he doesn't have a problem with his elbow or worse yet - has lost it in his old age. If Rivera blows a save in the upcoming series in Boston - then make that 20 converted saves to stop the talking.

The Sox got lucky (well I think it was something other than luck but I'll get to that a further down) when A-Rod mishandled a grounder to third in the 9th. If he handles that cleanly then the Yankees probably win the game. But he didn't and they lost and now all the talk is about how the Red Sox have Rivera's number.

Stuff like that is bound to get into the head of Rivera and the rest of the Yankees. It is something that can get worse. Rivera might start thinking too much on the mound. Other teams will watch the film of the Sox at bats to try and duplicate what they do against Rivera. The Yankees may end up looking to bring in another closer to share the load with Rivera.

Uggie Urbina and Mike MacDougal are probably available now and Octavio Dotel may become available closer to the trading deadline. I think it would be great if the Yankees had to empty their cupboard of prospects to bring in a closer because that will preclude them from filling other needs which are bound to come up as the season progresses.

Some other question marks for the Yankees that are simmering just below the surface include:

- Jason Giambi's hitting. He's already shown he's a liability in the field and now he looks like he has nothing to offer with the bat. Giambi's batting only .143 with three strikeouts in three games. The fans love Tino Martinez and will have little patience with Giambi. If Giambi drops out of the DH position - who do the Yankees turn to? Ruben Sierra? Cashman may have to call Arizona about Tony Clark before too long.

- A-Rod as a clutch performer. Jeter hits a walk-off HR the day before. A-Rod's HR yesterday came with nobody on base early in the game when there was no pressure. When the pressure was on - A-Rod made an error in the field which cost his team the game. Don't think these things go unnoticed. Last year A-Rod hit only .248 with runners in scoring position and a measly .206 with RISP and 2 outs. Yankees fans and sportswriters are aware of this and pretty soon A-Rod will be called into account for it. If the Yankee season goes bust - look for one of the fingers to be pointed at A-Rod

Of course the Red Sox also have the question marks of Tito Francona and Kevin Millar to deal with but these are things that can be dealt with. I'm hoping Francona is OK and I'm sure that will work out and the Sox have plenty of depth to cover Millar's absence if he has to go to the DL.