The New York Yankees hope that their bullpen will step up during their upcoming Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox, and one of the group’s most intense members is already well-acquainted with the history between the two historic franchises.

Yankees reliever Fernando Cruz grew up as a diehard fan of the Bronx Bombers and is particularly excited to leave his mark on one of baseball’s most contentious rivalries.

“I've been watching this rivalry for a long time now, since the A-Rod/Varitek situation,” Cruz told Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News.”I think that's when it really started for me… Now, being part of it, it's just an amazing feeling.”

The scuffle between former Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez and Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek occurred during the height of

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