Red Sox / Yankees - Game 1 of 19

Well the first of 19 battles between the red Sox and the Yankees is in the books with the Red Sox jumping out to a 1-0 series lead with last night's 7-3 victory.

There were 3 main plot lines to last night's game. Let's take a brief look at each.

The return of Johnny Damon. I was surprised by the volume of boos Damon was greeted by in his first at bat. Everyone at Fenway was on their feet. Some to clap and cheer and the rest to boo. The boos definitely made more noise than the clapping. I have to believe that it is all good fun though. The money thrown into centerfield was pretty funny (it would be really funny if it was $32 for the Judas Damon). The "Trai-tor, Trai-tor" chant is the new "Dar-ryl, Dar-ryl" and it will go on as long as it seems to bother Damon who went 0-4 last night. The only thing Damon can do to break up that chant is have a big night at the plate. (I'm hoping the chant survives for a long time.)

The return of Doug Mirabelli. With Mirabelli back with the Sox - that means that Boston basically traded Josh Bard, minor league reliever Cla Meredith and either cash or a player to be named to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Mark Loretta. I'll take that trade every day of the week. Everyone feels bad for Bard who really worked his tail off but by the same token - nobody would rather have him rather than Mirabelli behind the plate when Tim Wakefield is pitching. The return of Mirabelli and his arrival at Fenway after changing in the State Trooper's car just before game time is bound to go down as one of the better stories in Fenway lore.

David Ortiz is muy macho. There was a wicked wind blowing in last night and the only mortal able to pierce the gale was David Ortiz. Jason Giambi hit a ball with all his might in the first and the wind blew it down. David Ortiz hit a ball with all his might in the eighth and it went out of the park. David Ortiz is muy macho!

One strange note from last night's game - for some reason the Yankees were actually favored. The Red Sox were +$123 (risk $100 to win $123). With Wakefield on the hill, an October like breeze blowing and the return of Mirabelli - this was like a gift.