Five questions for the Red Sox and Yankees

The Red Sox play host to the Yankees this weekend in their first series since sweeping the Yankees in New York June 7-9. The Sox have manhandled their archrivals in 2011, winning eight of nine games. But a lot has changed since they last met. The Sox upgraded their rotation and bench at the trade deadline while the Yankees sat on their hands. Still, the Sox won't show mercy, as the series winner will also be the division leader. They'll face each other six more times after this weekend, so the battle for the division won't be close to being settled by Monday. But expect intensity levels to be high. Scroll through this gallery to see what questions both teams must answer before the playoffs.
Elsa/Getty Images & Jessica Rinaldi/Reuters

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By Lenny Neslin, Boston.com Staff
The Red Sox play host to the Yankees this weekend in their first series since sweeping the Yankees in New York June 7-9. The Sox have manhandled their archrivals in 2011, winning eight of nine games. But a lot has changed since they last met. The Sox upgraded their rotation and bench at the trade deadline while the Yankees sat on their hands. Still, the Sox won't show mercy, as the series winner will also be the division leader.

They'll face each other six more times after this weekend, so the battle for the division won't be close to being settled by Monday. But expect intensity levels to be high. Scroll through this gallery to see what questions both teams must answer before the playoffs.