BOSTON -- You know these are strange days at Fenway Park when a visit from the New York Yankees feels like the undercard before back-to-back series with the world champion Chicago Cubs (how strange does that still sound?) and the suddenly loathsome Baltimore Orioles.
Against that backdrop, then, maybe this word of warning won't seem so weird to the Boston Red Sox and their fans: Don't sleep on the Yankees.
It was clear even through the fog that settled over the Fens on Wednesday night. The Baby Bombers are probably still a year away from being serious pennant contenders again, but like objects in the Red Sox's rearview mirror, they are closer than they appear.