For the Bronx, it’s tough to cut the cake with Sunday’s win. Because let’s be real, the New York Yankees were a no-show during the entire series. Sure, they are lucky Boston didn’t sweep them, but the embarrassing 12-1 loss at home—that was a heartbreaker enough. Plus, Boston came into the Bronx riding on three losses in a row, and the Yankees had won five consecutive games, yet the result.

This series reminded everyone that no one is scared of being in Yankee Stadium anymore. That fear of facing the team is not there, and even their archrivals are least bothered by it. Alex Cora, the Boston Red Sox skipper, in fact rubbed salt after that embarrassing third game of the Yankee blowout. “It’s fun to come here and play well, I’ll tell you that. We play well here; we’ve been playing well here for a while. It’s a great stage; we love it.” If you had any doubt that the rivalry has dimmed, this is proof that it hasn’t. And making it tougher for now, and later for the Bronx, is another player in Boston—Roman Anthony, the player who is slowly taking over the Ohtani craze.

Roman Anthony, the 21-year-old Boston rookie, didn’t simply make a lukewarm debut—he made the Yankee fans want to crawl and hide beneath their seats. In the ninth inning on Thursday night, with voices booing him, he launched a two-run bomb into the second deck. Trevor Story, in fact, had some big words for him: “He could potentially be the face of baseball.” And it’s not just him saying great things. Clent Frazier, the former Yankee, warned his former team to keep a watch, saying, “Roman Anthony is a beast. They’re going to have a serious problem with that guy for many years because he just signed that extension… He probably could’ve gotten a lot more.”

That extension Anthony got is for eight years and $130 million, and it locks Anthony up through his prime. At just 21 years old, he is already showing maturity at a level not many players have, both on and off the field. He is slashing .283/.402/.434 with a walk rate even the veterans would envy. Boston might just have gotten their next cornerstone. And as far as rivalry goes, many fans say that with schedule tweaks and social media friendships, the rivalry has died down. Even Nestor Cortes had said that the edge has shifted more towards Toronto.

However, Jazz Chisholm hinted that they haven’t yet gotten soft on their archrivals: “I always want to play Boston. The energy… It’s a really intense game every game. That’s what we’re going to have and what we need to get ready for the playoffs.” For now, though, sloppy baseball is what the New York Yankees have played. It highlighted not just the gameplay but also the front office, which looks like a mess—Boone proved it once again.

Boston Red Sox Find Their Anthony; Yankees, Still Waiting on Theirs to Show Up!

There are two Anthonys here, but they both have very different fates right now. While Boston’s Roman Anthony is building an empire, the Bronx is stuck with Anthony Volpe. And he was supposed to be the next Derek Jeter! But here they are, their homegrown star, the one they thought to build around, looking like a mess the Yankees don’t need. But it was not always like this.

Volpe was once a bright spot when it comes to defense, but now he is a liability. Friday night’s ninth-inning blunder against the Boston Red Sox is the latest entry to his errors. He chose to throw to second instead of first and allowed two runners to reach safely. But even then, as expected, he had Aaron Boone come to his defense. Boone called it “a little bit of a heady play”– simply downplaying the mistake that was made. You bet the fans didn’t buy anything, and also, the numbers don’t paint a colorful picture.

After Volpe finished 2024 with 13 outs above average, he has gone -7 this season. He is ranked in the fourth percentile, according to Baseball Savant. His stats don’t back the Yankees’ call of him being the shortstop of the future. But this is the condition of the front office now—this lack of holding players accountable. For example, after the loss to Boston, the captain Aaron Judge was caught saying, “There’s nothing we can do about the 100 games we’ve played. We have to focus on what we can do now. That’s all we can do.” And you’d think Boone would have something more to say.

But Boone agreed to it and called it, “It’s a shame. It feels really bad. We have to get over that…can sit here and think about it. We have to play better… have to play better against these quality opponents in our division.” For now, the New York Yankees face the Nationals, Baltimore, and more, but when they reach the playoffs, these are not the teams they have to worry about.