McCarver set for showdown

There will be subplots aplenty when the Yankees visit Fenway Park to face the Red Sox beginning tonight, most notably the return of Boston slugger David Ortiz from a wrist injury.

Tim McCarver, who will broadcast tomorrow afternoon's game on Fox, said he's seen a significant role reversal between the teams now that Boston has won two world championships in four years.

"Now the Yankees are looking up to the Red Sox," said McCarver. "This has happened over a very brief period of time. Since the Red Sox came back [in 2004] and won four games in a row, that has been the case in the American League East. Now both teams have to deal with Tampa Bay. They're the new kid on the block and they're good. They're not just flashes in the pan. They're going to be good for a while, I think. So the competition is certainly heightened in the American League East, but there will never be any team, regardless of how good they are, that is going to come between the Red Sox and the Yankees. It's delightful. It's the greatest rivalry in sports. I don't think anybody even quibbles with that anymore."

Although this series might not have the drama of the final weekend of the season when Boston hosts the Yankees Sept 26-28, there is plenty on the line nonetheless.

"I think it's interesting on a lot of levels," said McCarver, "No. 1 being David coming back. The Yankees have made amazing strides over the last six weeks. They've straightened their pitching out. The additional thing for this weekend is it's close to the [July 31] trading deadline. The Yankees seem to have a greater need than the Red Sox. I think the Red Sox are counting on straightening out the guys they have, [Jacoby] Ellsbury No. 1. He's been in a bit of a free fall for the last three weeks. It's not unanticipated. I thought he'd have problems this year. We talked about it during the second week of the season when we did Red Sox-Yankees. We talked about that Ellsbury was going to have some problems with that inside pitch, and if you have a problem with an area like that, the pitchers will find it."

McCarver said he also expects continued discussion stemming from the misconstrued comments by Jonathan Papelbon about Yankees closer Mariano Rivera during the All-Star events that led to Papelbon's pregnant wife being harassed by fans during the red-carpet parade in Manhattan. It's rare when Red Sox and Yankees fans can let anything go.

"The remarks that Jonathan made at the press conference were, I thought, innocuous," said McCarver, referring to Papelbon saying his competitive nature made him want to close the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. "By him saying that Mariano was the godfather of relievers was totally respectful. Knowing Papelbon, he wouldn't make a comment [disrespectful of Rivera]. The booing, that's part of the rivalry, that's part of the relationship between the Yankees and the Red Sox. To me, I thought it went overboard. It was playful when [Red Sox] fans cheered Rivera for blowing saves [during the AL Championship Series in 2004], but the remarks made to Papelbon's wife [which made her feel unsafe] in the parade were not playful. It's ridiculous."

Finally, when asked what the over/under was on the number of Boston fans who will wear Madonna masks to taunt Alex Rodriguez about his alleged romantic relationship with the pop icon, McCarver laughed.

"If that were [done in a playful way], I think it'd be a lot of fun," he said, "but it depends on how playful it is."

Kicking it off

With Patriots training camp underway, Channel 5 will air its "Patriots All Access" show tomorrow night at 7 . . . NESN will show its "Comedy All-Stars" series premiere tonight (approximately 10:30) following Red Sox-Yankees coverage. The show was filmed at the Comedy Connection. Three of the featured acts are Dom Irrera, Jeff Caldwell, and Dwayne Perkins . . . Still remember where you were for Doug Flutie's Hail Mary pass to Gerard Phelan that beat Miami in 1984? Catch up with the former Boston College receiver Sunday morning at 10:30 during ESPN's "Where are they now?" segment on "SportsCenter" . . . If you're looking forward to next weekend's NFL Hall of Fame enshrinement event, you might enjoy the NFL Network's debut of the NFL's Top 10 Players Not in the Hall of Fame" Tuesday at 8 p.m. The list: Ken Anderson, Cris Carter, Bob Hayes, Alex Karras, Jerry Kramer, Jim Marshall, Ken Stabler, Steve Tasker, Derrick Thomas, and Ricky Watters. Encore airings will be Wednesday at 12:30 and 5:30 p.m., Saturday at 11 a.m., and Sunday at 6 p.m.

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell can be reached at marrapese@globe.com.