Kevin Millar says Red Sox play second fiddle to Yankees

[VinnyTheMick]

He is stretching in foul territory, but the look on his face says his mind is elsewhere. Kevin Millar is considering a question, the kind that he used to love when he played first base for the Red Sox.

How does he see the race between Boston and the Bombers shaping up?

"Boston's got a real good team. When they are at full strength and (Josh) Beckett and (Jonathan) Papelbon pitch, that's as tough as you can get," he said. "But right now I think the Yankees are the team that's scary.

"I don't know if they can make up four games in 12 days, but come the playoffs, that's not the team you want to be running into."

Millar is well acquainted with baseball's biggest rivalry. He played for Boston from 2003-05, which means he saw the highest highs - winning the 2004 ALCS and World Series - and the lowest lows - dropping the 2003 ALCS on Aaron Boone's home run.

"I think any time you have Boston and New York contending, it's good for the sport," he said. "We're talking about two big, important clubs."

Millar sees the Yankees as the more dangerous club because they are the hotter team. The Bombers were 43-21 since the All-Star break going into last night's game "and if you look back at the teams that have won the wild card, they've done well," Millar said. "The Angels, Marlins and Red Sox all won because they were playing the best at the end of the season and got the wild card. And this isn't football: the home-field advantage doesn't really exist in baseball.

"It's going to really come down to who is pitching the best, and that's where the Yankees have taken the big steps. Adding (Joba) Chamberlain and (Phil) Hughes has made a huge difference. Chamberlain especially. Is there a team in the American League that doesn't need a boost in the bullpen? They got a big one."

Millar said the biggest difference between the teams has to do with health. Boston has been without Manny Ramirez for 19 games and Millar says "that makes a big difference. We're talking about one of the best righthanded hitters in the game."

"If the Red Sox are at full strength when the postseason starts, they've got as good a chance as anybody," Millar said. "Does anybody know if they will be?"

The reason Millar thinks the Yankees strike fear into other teams is that they have the correct blend of talent and experience.

"You look at (Derek) Jeter and (Jorge) Posada and (Mariano) Rivera and that's a team that knows how to get it done," Millar said. "That's a team that will be banking on guys who have gone through it before.

"That's why you don't want to mess with the Yankees. They're hot and they've traveled the road before."

While he may not see the Yanks catching Boston for the division title, he also doesn't see the Tigers catching the Bombers to swipe the wild card.

"It's a good team in Detroit, but the Yankees are in the driver's seat," Millar said. "Detroit's not getting in unless the Yankees falter. The way they're playing, I don't see it."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseb ... nd_fi.html

Despite the praise, Millar will continue to be booed everytime he enters Yankee Stadium.

[TKF]

I never really had a problem with millar......