It’s official–the Boston Red Sox defeated the  New York Yankees 3-2 at Fenway Park August 7th, 2011. This one is in the record books, as is 10 out of 12 other games in which Boston prevailed. As of now, Boston is ahead in the ALE. All of this happened despite powerful performances by Eduardo Nunez and Brett Gardner. Much of the media scrutiny fell on Mariano Rivera who threw a pitch that brought on a leadoff double in the ninth. Though one also has to consider New York’s 0-10 performance by runners in scoring.

The Boston Red Sox have dominated the Yankees for the season series, a feat that was last accomplished in 2004. Their victory was a tremendous win not only in the record books, but also psychologically speaking, as they now have an edge over New York for the rest of the season. In particular, they humbled shining star Mariano Rivera, who proved he is far from a perfect pitcher. The game itself was not exactly a classic. In fact, Boston itself seemed uninspired for most of the game, missing scoring opportunities in the 2nd and 6th innings. However, Boston took advantage at the end of the game, whereas New York struggled.

Various members of the New York Yankees responded to the loss with dignity, reminding everyone (as well as themselves?) that it’s not the end of the season yet. And although Yankees fans are eating it at the moment, the game result should be kept in proper perspective. For one thing, as many Yankees fans point out, Alex Rodriguez was a no show, as he has been on the disabled list since July. Boston’s lineup was filled by power candidates (MVP-caliber ones at that), and hence overpowered New York’s Rod-less team. Rafael Soriano has been picked on by fans and the media, but one must also remember that he just returned to competition in late July, and thus only has a few days of solid practice behind him.

Overall, the Yankees are still performing well, with a 69-44 record. There was also another history-making performance by Rivera who made pitching appearance #1,023, pushing him up to #10 overall. The Yankees are far from a finished this season and are scheduled to play a grueling 30 games in 30 days from this point. This will be the true test of New York’s spirit. What do you think? Are the Yankees officially cooked for this season?