After 147 games this year, Boston Red Sox is in that familiar final stretch of the marathon, towards playoffs, facing arch-rival Newyork Yankees for the last time in the regular season. This three game series, one of the most awaited clashes all year long, kicking off at Boston's Fenway Park on Friday, has everything that embodies bitter rivalry between Boston and New York in sports. Starting pitchers indulging in war of words, relief pitchers intentionally harming opposing team's batters, key Boston players joining the evil empire ( read J. Damon and R. Clemens), Alex Rodriguez and a lot of bad blood from decades and decades of rivalry. It also features one of the most outstanding pitching lineups ever in the history between the two teams, atleast on paper, with Boston's Dice K starting against New York's Andy Pettitte on Friday night.

Even though Dice K's dream start has turned sour over the last few weeks, his high ERA against Yankees is not exactly a great stat, there is a strong belief that he is about to turn that corner sooner. With Manny returning to the lineup friday night, this could be the extra confidence that Dice K needs to outperform Pettitte. This series closes with two marquee pitching matchups as 18-game winners Chien-Ming Wang and Josh Beckett meet Saturday, and Roger Clemens will return from elbow problems to face Curt Schilling on Sunday night.

This series will also be eagerly watched in Detroit. A Yankee series loss will certainly help Detroit in its playoff chances. A sweep will help Boston gain that extra mental advantage if Yankees do manage to stave off challenge from Detroit for the playoffs. Nevertheless, there is a lot at stake for both Boston and New York, and this series is as exciting as one can hope for.