McAdam: The matchup (most) everyone wanted

The American League Division Series matchup was made official Wednesday night.

In actuality, it's been 14 long years in the making.

Hard as it may been to believe, the Red Sox and Yankees haven't met in the post-season since the historic 2004 ALCS that saw the Red Sox rally from 3-0 down to shock the Yankees and go on to win the franchise's first World Series in 86 years.

Truth be told, as long as the Red Sox' championship drought was, for many fans, the four-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals was merely icing on the cake. To others, it was somewhat anti-climactic.

That's how big the Red Sox comeback against their long-time tormentors was.

That it came just a year after the Yankees rallied in Game 7 in the 2003 ALCS to snatch the pennant from the Red Sox gave it even more significance.

Over the span of 12 months, the two teams had battled across 14 games -- 7 up -- and countless indelible memories. Pedro-Zimmer. ARod and his unsuccessful swipe at Bronson Arroyo. Aaron Bleepin' Boone. The bloody sock. David Ortiz willing the Red Sox to victory on consecutive nights. And finally, redemption in the Bronx and a one-sided win in Game 7.

Since then? Nothing.

When the Red Sox won it all in 2007, the Yankees got upended in the ALDS by Cleveland. When the Yankees won the Series in 2009, the Sox got swept by the Angels. When the Red Sox came out of nowhere to win again in 2013, the Yankees didn't qualify for the postseason.

For more than a decade, it was as if the franchises, so entwined years earlier, were purposely avoiding one another in October. As though they intuitively knew that they needed a break from each other, and to see other teams.

Nothing they could do, after all, could match -- let alone top --what they had done in 2003 and 2004. So, why bother? What would be the point?

They still battled for anywhere from four to six series each regular season.

Then, predictably, all of those games got old. And the introduction of the unbalanced schedule in 2013 only exacerbated things: this was, suddenly, too much of a good thing.

Too many games between the Sox and Yankees and not enough at stake.

And so, the rivalry began to diminish. The Red Sox beat up on the Indians and Tigers and Cardinals and Rockies. Meanwhile, the Yankees operated in some parallel universe, never intersecting in October.

Occasionally, the old hostilities would surface. Earlier this year, a rough takeout slide by Tyler Austin of Brock Holt got the Red Sox attention and Joe Kelly temporarily turned himself into a local cult hero by sticking a fastball in Austin's ribs.

These brawls -- some of which almost appeared scripted, like a bad hockey fight, staged out of some sort of proforma obligation -- never seemed to have much lasting impact. Not long after the bullpens and benches emptied, the tempers would subside and the games would turn into business as usual.

And, oh, see you in a few weeks in the Bronx, at which point, all would be forgotten.

Part of the problem was the inevitable roster churn. Over time, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Jorge Posada retired. So, too, did Ortiz, Curt Schilling and Jason Varitek.

In their place, new players and stars emerged, but the animosity was absent. Maybe none will be forthcoming this time, either. No matter your rooting interest, it's hard to hate Mookie Betts or Aaron Judge.

What's more, the current managers are (gulp!) close friends. Boone and Alex Cora were once ESPN teammates, who each took unconventional paths to their first dugout assignments.

Starting Friday, the rivalry gets a new life. Meaningful games will be played. One team will be sent home for the winter, courtesy of the other. One fan base will suffer, the other will rejoice.

Things have changed, of course, including the format. This time, it will be a best-of-five Division Series not a best-of-seven League Championship Series. Maybe that's not time enough to build the requite drama, for the storyline to develop, for new villains to emerge.

But starting Friday, it's all we've got. After 14 long years, we'll take it.

As the great philosopher king/naked pullup artist Johnny Damon once noted: "It's the master plan, God's way - Red Sox-Yankees.''