I am done trying to figure out this year’s Yankees team.

They entered the year with great expectations – again. They spent more money on on-field talent than any other team in baseball – again. And tonight, they finish another wild weekend in Boston – again.

Yet this is not just another season of Baseball Armageddon between two blood rivals. The Yankees have been impossible to understand. They’ve had four losing streaks of four games or more, and have had four winning streaks of five games or more. Rumor has it that Yankee Stadium is going to be renamed Six Flags Bronx if the roller coaster continues.

The Yankees have lost four starting pitchers. Kevin Brown, Carl Pavano, Jaret Wright, and Chin-Ming Wang were all on the DL as the Yankees watched the Red Sox pour on the offense Friday night.

Tim Redding, who started Friday night’s game, and Darrel May each gave up six earned runs. They were the two pitchers acquired from San Diego for Paul Quantril. As bad as Quantril was, he couldn’t have done any worse than 12 earned runs, could he have?

It was the second time this season the Sox scored 17 runs against the Yankees. It was the kind of game that drives George Steinbrenner absolutely nuts. He’s probably lifting weights in New York right now, telling his publicist how the Bombers had better get going before heads roll.

Just over two weeks ago, the Yankees were 6 games behind the Red Sox. New York then won eight of the next nine games, while the Sox went 3-6. Just like that, the Yankees moved within one game in the loss column.

This is what we’ve come to expect between the two biggest rivals in pro sports. Rip off a few wins, stumble through a few losses, and resurface in time to battle the other for first place. It was trendy to predict that the Sox would bury the Yankees, and that only one of the two teams would win the division. I’m not buying it.

The Angels and White Sox are running away with their prospective divisions. Minnesota seems to be the only out-of-division competition for the Wild Card. With Cleveland and Detroit playing much better baseball, it won’t be easy for the Twins to run away with a playoff spot this year.

It says here the Sox and Yankees will make it to the post-season again. The inevitable road to a seven-game League Championship Series has already begun. It’s an annual event: 19 games between these teams, and seven more in the post-season. Friday night marked the 63rd meeting between the Sox and Yanks since the start of 2003, and Boston had a 33-30 edge after the offensive explosion.

After tonight’s game, the Red Sox won’t see the Yankees again until September. Then, they’ll play three more games at the very end of the season. One can only imagine what will happen between now and then, but you can expect the unexpected. And you can expect the road to the World Series to wind through either Boston or the Bronx.

Lewiston native Tom Caron is a studio host for NESN on Red Sox telecasts.