Guess who's coming to dinner?

The weekend is almost upon us, and with it comes a huge five-game series against the Yankees. Thanks to the joys of rainouts and good scheduling, three of the five games are day games, so there's a good chance I'll get to see most of the series.

A 5-game series between these two clubs is a big deal at any time, but at this point in the season, it could be huge, both in terms of possible changes in the standings and in terms of psychological advantage down the stretch. Having lost a fugly game to the Orioles yesterday, I can imagine that the Yankees will be coming into Fenway even more fired up than usual. And it will come as no surprise to learn that the Yankee organisation - well, the YES Network, at least - sees this as a huge series too. When Jaret Wright left yesterday's game after 3+ innings, there was definitely a sense of "This does not bode well for the upcoming series."

Personally, I can't wait for the two teams to go at other. It's been a long time since we last saw the Yankees, and despite all that has happened in the intervening period, there are still only 1 1/2 games separating the two teams, so anything could - and probably will - happen. The überoptimist in me thinks we can win four or five, but I'll definitely take three wins for a series victory. However, one should bear in mind these words of wisdom from Red:

I'm going with 3-of-5. If we win with Johnson on the hill, however, anything becomes possible, including a sweep, six Papi home runs, and Tom Waits parachuting into Fenway during Saturday's game to sing "Bone Machine."

Keep your eyes on the sky, folks...