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Cassidy's House: Smoke>Fire won the Throwdown.

Cheezhead

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Which is the more intriguing matchup for MLB fans this week regarding the Redsox: versus the Rays or Yankees?

Cassidy's House: Smoke>Fire said 07/01, 07:21 PM
I say against the Rays.

Both Boston and Tampa have 50 wins. Which of these two division rivals will step up and take this series and a hold on the AL East lead before the All-Star Break?

Also, after last night's win by the Rays, we are only 1 game outside of a fresh brawl between these two teams.

Tampa Rays are the feel good story of this MLB season. To see them matched up against the only other 50 win team in the AL, who also happens to be their division rival, is must-see-TV.

Yankees vs. Redsox? Same sheet, different year. The Sox have dominated the postseason the last few years and the Yankees, frankly given their ginormous payroll, have been about as exciting as a cardboard pizza.

Does anybody really feel the Yankees are better than the Red Sox this season? No.

Does anybody really feel what the Yankees do this weekend will matter in the outcome of the division? No.

The Yankees are 5 games over .500, but only a pathetic 3 games over .500 at home, where this weekend's series will be played.

The Red Sox-Yanks rivalry has been going on forever. Gimme some variety with Rays-Red Sox. Gimme something new. Gimme some Ray youth vs. Yankee veterans.

Sox-Rays

Cheezhead said 07/01, 07:34 PM
Well, I'm saying Red Sox-Yankees.

First off, look at the fan bases. The Yankees and Red Sox, if not the top two, have to be in the Top 5 for biggest fan bases in the MLB. The Rays? They still have a small following and are still growing. Also, the Yankees-Red Sox are the biggest rivalry in the MLB. That means there's always going to be people wondering what will happen (like me) and who will win. Even if both of the teams had terrible records, the stadium would be packed. If there are more fans, there are more people intrigued.

You say it's the same thing, but in reality every year brings something new. We never know what will happen yet in these series. We saw walk-offs, fights, and intense games. But every year we are surprised.

This year? The Red Sox are fighting with the Rays for first, while the Yankees have been catching up or at least keeping pace. As always, these series have an impact on the end of the season, and honestly, who DOESN'T want to see which team is better, who will fight, who will surprise?

Many fans are still skeptical about the Rays and if they will flop this 2nd half of the season, and this isn't even a rivalry. We always go to the bigger thing

Cassidy's House: Smoke>Fire said 07/01, 07:45 PM
I dont care about fan bases.

Fans that are NOT BoxSox or Yankee fans(which are every other teams fans and thus the majority as a whole of fans) want to see something new and exciting and given something spontaneous to choose from. Yankees-Sox isnt spontaneous. Its just tired and redone and far from new or even exciting if you are just a fan of MLB and not Yanks-Sox.

Yawn.

The Rays are the new blood. The new kid on the block. Can the Champs humble them or are these Rays for real? This is a great story and a great series.

A series in early July between two storied franchises where one is the cream of the crop of MLB and one tries to buy a World Series every year? Yawn.

I am not asking you if there are tons of Rays fans to follow this series. If you are a MLB fan in general you are either of the opinion a) I would love to see those BoSox get humbled or b) the Rays are a flash-in-the-pan and the Sox will outlast them eventually regardless of this series or c) this series could be a statement for either team for the future as the establisher of momentum going into the All-Star break.

What does the Yanks-Sox series offer us? Same thing as last year and the year before

Cheezhead said 07/02, 12:00 AM
It doesn't matter if you care or not about fan bases; they have weight in this argument.

If there are tons of fans for each team, more than any other team, the matchup is going to be more intriging. Look at it this way, would you rather have the Lakers and Celtics in the Finals or the Bobcats vs. the Blazers?

Fans that aren't for the Sox or Yankees are still going to want to tune in. I'm a Mets fan, and I love watching this series. I'm a Bulls fan, and I loved this Finals. I'm a Packers fan, but Steelers-Browns or any other big rivalry always catches my eye.

Exactly, the Rays are the new kids on the block. And when somebody comes out of nowhere, it takes awhile to be attracted to them when you see a matchup like this.

"A series in early July between two storied franchises where one is the cream of the crop of MLB and one tries to buy a World Series every year? Yawn."

You must be yawning because you're tired, because it sounds to me that these two teams must be pretty good. "Cream of the crop"...sounds good so far..."tries to buy a World Series"...well, that means they have loads of talent.

We rely on the more storied series because we know what has and can happen

Cassidy's House: Smoke>Fire said 07/02, 12:49 PM
And the beat goes on....

Tampa Rays over Redsox AGAIN last night, 3-1, giving them a little mini-cushion lead in the AL East at 2 1/2 games. This battle between these two teams is going to go on all summer people and the Yankees are going to be the third place team at best on the outside looking in.

Speaking of the Yankees.... Well they lost another game to another medioce Rangers team at HOME. You cant be a quality team when you are only 2 games over .500 at fabled Yankee Stadium in the last year of its existence can you? Red Sox-Yanks is not the rivalry its been in past years because this year's version of the Yankees is like the Red Sox little baby brother.

The definition of intriguing is in part, to arouse the curiosity or interest of by unusual, new, or otherwise fascinating or compelling qualities; appeal strongly to; captivate.

You see anything new, curious, unusual, fascinating, or even captivating about another rehash of a Yanks-Sox rivalry series that has been going on forever? Me neither. What is key to intrigue is new and arousing curiousity. If I know what has and can happen then I can sleep through it.
Rays-Red Sox? Nobody has any idea what to xpect.

Cheezhead said 07/02, 01:03 PM
See, the Rays keep beating the Red Sox. But when Boston goes to the Bronx or the Yankees take it to Beantown, we have no idea of what's going to happen or who will win. With the Rays, we can expect a win for Tampa Bay.

And now that the Rays are getting a cushion, this could turn into a wildcard race if the cards play out the right way, leaving the Yankees and Red Sox to fight it out. And when it's Red Sox-Yankees with playoffs on the line, EVERYONE will be intrigued.

So what you are saying is is this: this year Red Sox-Yankees series aren't good because the Yankees aren't as good as they normally are? Look, we as fans are spoiled with this rivalry because it used to be 1st place vs. 2nd place ALL the time. No other team had a chance. So when another team pops up and one team in the rivalry has an off-year, we're supposed to give up on the rivalry? Absolutely not. These games Boston has against New York can easily impact playoffs and are ALWAYS going to be fun to watch. They Rays didn't exactly cross over everyone's mind of being "exciting" yet.

"The def. of intriguing...appeal strongly to"

Looking at the fan bases and history, I'd say it appeals strongly to many fans.

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Good luck Mystery Man aka Cheezhead.

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Which is the more intriguing matchup for MLB fans this week regarding the Redsox: versus the Rays or Yankees?

Cheezhead beat Cassidy's House: Smoke>Fire 69 to 64

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