We’re missing out on what should be one of the most memorable chapters in the history of the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 21: A fan wears a tee shirt celebrating the Red Sox and Yankees rivalry during the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park on August 21, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Good morning! It’s the last weekend of August, the Red Sox are 2 games behind the Yankees, and the two blood rivals will commence a three-game set in the Bronx tonight.

And yet… it’t not that big of a deal.

Don’t get me wrong: I always get up for the Yankees and I am desperate to see the Sox play some postseason games in Fenway this October, which will require them to surpass the New York. But the fact of the matter is that, thanks to the bloated postseason format, there really isn’t that much on the line this weekend.

Just imagine how great the weight of expectations would be this morning if MLB still used the single Wild Card format that was in place from 1995 through 2011. The Red Sox and Yankees would be directly competing against each other for a single postseason spot — something that, for all the highs this rivalry has climbed to, hasn’t really happened since 1978. This weekend’s series would be the single biggest story in sports, hyped to the point where even your neighbors who don’t know that the Sox wear green now would know about it. It would have the potential to become one of the most memorable chapters in the history of the rivalry.

Then, of course, the race would continue through the final month of the season. Scoreboard-watching would become your second hobby. You’d have the Yankees game on almost as frequently as the Sox every night. Eeach morning would begin with Red Sox-Yankees banter in the group chat you have with friends from NYC.

But none of that is going to happen, not when we already know that this series is little more than a mere sneak-preview, and that the rest of the month is mostly an exercise in jockeying for positioning.

Any given game is primarily defined by the foundational stakes it rests on. And the fact of the matter is that expanded playoffs have worn the stakes of the regular season down to a dull nub. Maybe that’s fine with you — after all, we are likely going to get a playoff series between these two teams in about a month because of this format. But it’s undeniable that something has been taken away from the regular season, and from the last month of the season in particular, which used to feel like it’s own little mini postseason spread around the league.

Talk about postseason formats and whatever else you want in this space and, as always, be good to one another.