Pressure? Urgency?
The Red Sox could get swept by the Yankees this week and still hold a 6-4 lead in the season series.
Unfortunately, the glass-is-hall-full approach is not shared by many citizens of Red Sox Nation, who have been known to demand the firing of pennant-winning managers and other field generals who take the team to the ALCS. In some baseball cities, reaching Game 7 of the ALCS would be seen as a triumphant season. In the hardball meccas of Boston and New York, however, such a season is a disappointment, a chapter in the annals of the franchise that deserves to be skimmed over. In these two cities, where baseball is not as much a diversionary sport as it is a fan’s validation of his own self-worth, the greatest rivalry in professional sports is renewed (for the eighth time this year) this week in the Bronx.