That's probably how long it will take for them to play three games against the Yankees this weekend.
After a long-awaited ceremony featuring more than 200 former players, the Sox and Yankees will face one another for the first time this season. It is the continuation of a season-opening stretch that saw the Sox face all four 2011 AL playoff teams in the first 15 games of the season.
Taking three of four from the Rays got fans excited. Winning a weekend series against New York would get plenty of fans back on the bandwagon.
There was a time, not so long ago, that New York and Boston would enter the season expecting to make the postseason. They weren't just the two best teams in the division, they were the two best teams in the league. One would win the AL East, the other would back into the playoffs as the Wild Card winner. With a little luck they'd see each other in the postseason.
Things are different now. The Sox and Yankees aren't fighting for first place. Right now, neither team has a winning record.
That doesn't take away from the intensity when these two teams meet. It could even add to it –- these teams are suddenly fighting to get their seasons on track.
The rivalry enters a new chapter this week, with Bobby Valentine managing the Sox against New York for the first time. During spring training, Bobby V made comments about Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter that put him on the back pages of the New York tabloids. Some thought he did it to fuel the fire, to make the rivalry even bigger.
"I don't think I could make it any bigger or any smaller than it is," said Valentine. "It is what it is. Those innocuous statements, I can't even imagine them being as big as they were. I'm starting to learn that any innocuous comment can be very big."
Chances are Valentine will say something in the days or weeks ahead that will further inflame this rivalry. Valentine has already proven his comments can cause a firestorm –- what he said about Kevin Youkilis Sunday night filled pages and airwaves for the next two days.
This weekend won't be won or lost by managers' words. The Red Sox will need to hit better than they did over the past two days against the Rangers. Five of the six they scored in the last three games came via a home run, a clear sign that the Sox have been unable to put together much of a rally since scoring 31 runs in the first three games at Fenway Park.
Coming into the season, many Sox fans questioned the bullpen, the back end of the rotation, and the bottom of the lineup. Two of those three questions haven't been answered yet. The rotation has been pretty good, but the bullpen and 7-9 hitters have been inconsistent at best.
The Red Sox are still working to work out their early season flaws. So are the Yankees. That's what makes this weekend such an important series. It's no longer about the two best teams in baseball going at it. It's about two teams who still want to be considered elite finding something to jumpstart the season before too long.
