AMERICAN LEAGUE Yankees, Bosox in rematch

The two rivals will begin their championship series Tuesday in New York.
By RONALD BLUM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK -- From the instant Aaron Boone's home run cleared the left-field wall last October, the Yankees and Red Sox have been building to this.
The tug-of-war over Alex Rodriguez, the sniping between owners, the on-field fight and the off-field posturing. If not inevitable, a rematch seemed fated.
And come Tuesday in New York, the players, the fans and the sponsors get what they want: New York and Boston, fighting for the AL pennant again.
"Clash of the titans for the pennant," Boone said Sunday. "I think a lot of people wanted to see this. I'm looking forward to following it."
The rivalry brings out the best and worst, on the field and off, leaving baseball's biggest spenders fixated on each other above all else -- that's why Pedro Martinez proclaimed after losing to New York last month: "Call the Yankees my daddy. I can't find a way to beat them at this point."
Preludes or postscripts
Unless they were in the same ball park, games were only preludes or postscripts this year. New York's 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins in the opening round of the playoffs merely a tease, Boston's three-game sweep of the Anaheim Angels an appetizer before the meat of the main course.
In the long run, Derek Jeter's flying dive into the stands to grab Trot Nixon's pop-up on July 1 and Nomar Garciaparra's no-show that night will be remembered far longer than either first-round series.
"Idiots worldwide are thrilled. They've never had such great p.r.," Boston general manager Theo Epstein said, playing off his players' nickname for themselves. "Now that it's here, we can admit that if we're able to win a World Series and go through New York along the way, it will mean that much more."
Last fall's seven-game classic reached its fiercest point in Game 3, when Martinez shoved Yankees coach Don Zimmer to the ground and New York relievers brawled in the bullpen with a groundskeeper.
Then Boone connects
Then came Boone's 11th-inning, Game 7 homer off Tim Wakefield, a drive replayed in New York more often than any sitcom. Boston, which watched Martinez waste a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning of the final game and a 5-2 advantage in the eighth, fired manager Grady Little and replaced him with Terry Francona.
Since last fall, Boston added pitchers Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke, then jettisoned Garciaparra at the trade deadline. New York brought in A-Rod, Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown, among others.
Rodriguez has been at the center. In July, with the Yankees en route to their seventh straight AL East title, Rodriguez was in the middle of the latest New York-Boston brawl, sparked when catcher Jason Varitek shoved him in the face after Bronson Arroyo plunked A-Rod with a pitch.
"It just shows you how much both teams were hyped up," Rodriguez said. "You can't really control your emotions."