 Despite Righetti 's pitching on the last day of the season , the Red Sox still won the division and marched on in the playoffs . The Yankees ' bad performance during the 1980s came when the Red Sox faced the Yankees ' cross @-@ town rivals , the New York Mets , in the World Series . The New York Times called the series a " painful series " . Newsday called it " woeful days for Yankee fans " . Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News called the series " the World Series that is the Yankee nightmare " . Both Newsday and The Boston Globe said there were Mets T @-@ shirts saying " Steinbrenner 's nightmare , " referring to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner . John Powers of the Globe quoted Claire Smith , who covered the Yankees for the Hartford Courant , as having said " this really is the World Series of the nightmares " . 
