Anthony McCarron, SNY.tv | Twitter |

Johnny Damon has deep roots in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry and knows the crushing weight that leans on each team come October. After all, he and the 2004 Boston "Idiots" broke the notorious Curse of the Bambino, a year after Bronx heartbreak. Five years later, he earned a second World Series ring while playing in pinstripes.

This year, Damon says, there's a bigger burden on one of his former teams and it's not the one that usually feels it. And all that heaviness coming in a short series has Damon believing the Yankees can win.

"I think there's a lot of pressure on the Red Sox," the ex-outfielder says of 108-win Boston. "They were built to win last year and again this year. Times have changed - there's more pressure on the Red Sox than the Yankees.

"They bolstered that team up the last couple of years. That's going to be a juggernaut for 10 years. I do think the Red Sox are the best team in baseball and the players understand the pressure."

But, Damon adds, "There's a lot of new guys and playoff pressure is different for the Red Sox now. You have to win or it's a bad year."

It's not the same for the Yankees, Damon says, though the spirit of George Steinbrenner might rattle a chain or two over that idea. "I feel if the Yankees don't win, they can still chalk it up to a pretty good year and a building year," Damon says. "They added (Giancarlo) Stanton, had the young guys coming up. Both of these teams are going to be solid for the next 10 years."

Damon gives the Yankees the edge in the best-of-five American League Division Series that starts Friday night at Fenway Park because of brevity. It's the first time the teams have met in a Postseason series so short.

"I like the Yankees in a five-game series, not so much in a seven," he adds. "I think they have a better chance in a five because Boston is the best team in baseball and anytime you can shorten a series against them, that's a plus. It's just an opinion."

Opinion aside, Damon says he's openly rooting for the Yankees. He played in the Bronx from 2006-09, coming straight from Boston as a free agent after spending 2002-05 in the Hub.

Damon says he spends one week a month during the baseball season in New York and makes special appearances for the Yankees and he clearly enjoys it. When asked about the reaction he gets from Yankees fans, he quipped, "They're not going to forget about the double steal any time in the near future," a reference to when Damon stole two bases on one pitch in Game 4 of the 2009 World Series.

Damon's rooting preference in this series came to light on TMZ.com and the website got a response from Damon's old Red Sox teammate, David Ortiz, who said, in part, "That's some (bleep), isn't it? Red Sox all the way!"

Damon laughs when told of Ortiz's reaction. "That's how it goes," Damon says. "He's got to support his team. I'm supporting mine."

Damon adds, "The Yankees have to be happy that the Red Sox don't just sign Ortiz for this series. I'll bet they're happy they don't have to face him."

Indeed, Ortiz was a longtime Yankee killer. As was Damon, who helped cement Boston's remarkable 2004 comeback in the American League Championship Series by swatting a second-inning grand slam off Javier Vazquez in Game 7 to give the Sox a 6-0 lead. Boston had trailed in the series, three games to none, but swept the final four games and then beat St. Louis in the World Series for its first championship since 1918.

Damon calls that "a defining moment in my career" and says the deciding games in 2004 and the previous season will always stand out to him. "One year, we have Aaron (bleeping) Boone and then you have Johnny (bleeping) Damon," he says, chuckling.

"Those were epic battles. It was great for baseball. Some might say the greatest series ever. Hopefully, these young cats can go out and show people what they are paying to see. This is great -- we don't expect anything but a great series from these teams."

Damon sounds wistful for a moment and says, "I'm jealous. I wish I were up there right now."

Then he adds, "Getting ready to throw out the first pitch for the Red Sox. And then for the Yankees next week."

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