Restored over the last two years, the Yankee-Redsock rivalry might be heading for the scrapyard.

Yesterday, believe it or not, the Redsocks had a worse day than Elizabeth Warren.

I'm not even referring to the 9-1 exhibition loss, in which Boston played like the Bad News Bears. (Actually, that's a poor analogy, because the Bears won, behind their workhorse, Tatum O'Neal, now 56.) Games in March are like storage lockers: You fill them with your crap and walk away. Though it brought pleasure to our souls, watching Boston's stumbling nobodies - after Benintendi and Devers, they basically played the Pawtucket Fukkets - offered less relevance than a mailer from Mayor Pete. 

Nevertheless, as sour as spring training has been for Yank fans - (WTF? Aaron Judge?) - Boston is keeping up. 

1. Chris Sale has a mystery pain in his elbow. He's going for tests. Dear God, when does a mystery elbow pain ever turn out to be a thumbtack? Sale, who turns 31 this season, is in the first year of a $30 million-per-season deal (following a $25 million signing bonus.) If he needs Tommy John surgery - Boston's death cult - he'll miss 2020 and half of 2021. He'll return at age 33, probably to a franchise that has tanked or is tanking. Either way, he'll be an overpriced millstone, which in Boston means having a bull's eye on your back. Old Shaugnessy can be harsh, no? 

2. Xander Bogaerts has a bum ankle. He has yet to play an inning. Bogaerts is poo-poohing it, and reports have him soon taking the field. Maybe it's nothing. But with Mookie in LA, Bogaerts is Boston's best position player, the guy they cannot afford to lose. Last year, he put up MVP numbers: 33 HRs and .309, from a SS. Anything that compromises him in 2020 is a big, big deal for Boston. They have no replacement better than Tyler Wade. 

3. We're still waiting on MLB's report on 2018, when known serial criminal/cheater/villain Alex Cora led Boston to a ring. The longer this strange delay continues, the less we should expect MLB to take any meaningful action. The lords of the game were surely stunned by the rage of fans toward Houston's sign-stealing scandal. They don't want another Astros, especially a marquee team in a major market. Still, if evidence is out there, it might be hard to ignore - especially with Houston squawking about being singled out. The longer this goes on, the more you wonder, WTF? Let's do it. What are they going to find out now that would change things?   

4. Boston's system is bare. This week, The Atlantic's Keith Law - for years, ripped by Yankee blogers as a Boston toady - ranked the Redsocks' farm system 25th out of 30 teams. He writes: "Trades, promotions and low draft picks have caught up with the Red Sox (sp?), whose major league need for pitching won't be satisfied by the fruits of their farm system any time soon." (By the way, Law put the Yankees 6th.) This comes after the Betts trade, which brought them two prospects, including Jeter Downs, who climbed to No. 3 on Boston's list. He's a prospect, for sure. But this is the second time he's been traded - the Dodgers got him from Cincinnati - which makes you wonder. Also, even if MLB punts on Cora-gate, it might still dock Boston a draft pick. Right now, the Redsocks cannot afford such a penalty. 

5. Their new general manager, Chaim Bloom, is from Tampa, and he's all about trading stars before they reach a payday. That strategy paid off for the Rays, who get excited if 20,000 show up for a game. But Boston could be a different story. After Sale, JD Martinez is earning $24 million. Bogaerts, $20 million and next comes - drum roll, please - Nathan Eovaldi at $17 million. Will they all go? (By the way, Dustin Pedroia is fifth, at $13 million.) Look at this team, and the only bargain is Benintendi, at $3.4 million. If he has a decent 2020, that number will fly out the roof, and so might Benintendi. Will we see a Bloom tear-down? 

Of course, the Yankees are one major injury away from chasing the Wild Card. If Judge goes on sabbatical, baseball's great "rivalry" could go the way of the Giants-Jets. NYC could be Mets Country.