There actually are moments in the course of sports seasons that become turning points in the year, one way or the other.

The Red Sox went through one of those last week in the sweep of the Royals, a young team on the rise but not ready to battle the veteran Sox. The Sox proved that to K.C., the rest of the league and themselves.

The Sox have survived the long opening from Japan to Los Angeles to Toronto and then the recovery, literally, once they got home.

David Ortiz is productive, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis are grinding it out in high style, and Manny Ramirez is still Manny.

Unlike the Yankees, the Sox are scoring, but the Sox pitching is still in a state of flux – although both were pretty shaky while the Sox were swept by Oakland over the weekend.

The Sox have a chance to run away in the AL East if the pitching settles down both in the rotation and in the bullpen. Only the Rays are playing consistently right now, and they are probably too young to keep that up for a season.

However, don’t count out the Yankees.

The turning point for the Bronx Bombers may have come Thursday night when the Yankees beat the Orioles in the bottom of the ninth on a Robinson Cano single (Cano is struggling to hit .200).

It came after manager Joe Girardi had been tossed from the game for a highlight reel display.

After the home plate umpire had called a foul-tip strike three on Jason Giambi, Girardi came out to argue since Giambi didn’t think the ball had hit the butt end of his bat.

Girardi, who has been under the microscope in New York in his first season as Yankee manager because of the team’s lackluster play, brought back the best of Billy Martin and Lou Piniella.

Twice, Girardi banged his cap to the ground, once he kicked it, and more than once he got within the brim of his cap to the man in blue.

That was a fire not seen from Girardi this season and one necessary in the pressure cooker of New York sports. There is no longer any question about Girardi’s commitment to catch fire to win, and it was real.

Watching it happen live, one was left with the feeling that for the first time the fans were seeing the inside of Girardi and they liked it, and so did Girardi.

Players do respond to such moments. Those who care, care more because they feel they have a manager who fires their adrenaline.

Those prone to losing focus realize that to do so might invite such a tirade against them, and a public one at that. The Yankees have players who need that kind of fear instilled in them.

Terry Francona with the Sox does not need to energize his players that way. That is the beauty of the Sox, they have a team of grind-it-out players who can’t get their uniforms dirty enough and who push on one another by their actions on the field.

If the Sox are to grab the ring in the East, now is the time to do it. The Yankees will be back and the rest of the division is composed of teams capable of having their moment that turns the ship in a winning direction on a consistent basis.

The time to win is always now.

bdnsports@bangordailynews.net