Rain is in the forecast for tonight up in Boston. Terry Francona announced yesterday that Curt Schilling will not pitch Game 5, so the press is playing it like the Red Sox are hoping for Game Three to be rained out. But even should that occur, who knows how Schilling would perform should he pitch again in this series? As for Game 3, Bronson Arroyo will start against Kevin Brown. The Yankees are acutely aware of how important it is to win this game. According to Tyler Kepner in the New York Times:

[The Yankees] are confident, but hardly complacent.

“We don’t know that we’re going to find a way to win,” said [Mike] Mussina, who retired the first 19 batters in Game 1. “That’s taking something for granted. The last thing we’re going to do is take something for granted.

“Even now, we won the first two games, but that doesn’t mean anything. They win the first game up here, and all of a sudden, it’s a whole new series again.”

That is why the Yankees will approach Game 3 on Friday with the urgency of an underdog – which they were, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers, when the series began. Mussina said the players were aware that no team in baseball history has lost a postseason series after winning the first three games.

“The difference between 2-1 and 3-0 is immense in a seven-game series,” Mussina said. “Immense.”

I’m remaining cautiously optimistic. But one thing that makes me feel better is knowing that the Yankees don’t take anything for granted. They know the deal. But yo, remember how I wrote about trying to enjoy this series a few days ago? Time to get a shrink. I’m more nervous now than I’ve been at any point this season. I won’t elaborate because regular readers don’t want to hear my fatalistic spiel anymore.

I’ll leave it at this: Let’s Go Yankees! (I’ll be hiding behind the couch, biting my nails, hoping for the best and bracing myself for the worst…what can I say, make jokes if you want, I’m incorrigible.)