by Sean McAdam, Special to FOXSports.com

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Mark Teixeira was just starting to get hot. Phil Hughes hadn't earned the role of primary set-up man in the New York bullpen. John Smoltz was in the middle of his rehab starts. Victor Martinez was still a member of the Cleveland Indians.

Nine weeks can be a lifetime in baseball. Since June 9-11, the date of the last series, the Sox have cooled and the Yankees have been the hottest team in the league. A lot has changed, making the Red Sox' 8-0 record in head-to-head meetings about as meaningful this season as Bill Lee vs. Graig Nettles.

In the first week of May, we looked at why the Red Sox had been so dominant against the Yankees. Now, with three more months of play to consider, we look at the same variables and decide whether they're still relevant.

1. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: Boston has a superior bullpen.

In the first two months of the season, the debate raged: should Joba Chamberlain start or serve as the bridge to Mariano Rivera. Now, that seems irrelevant.

Since then, Hughes has emerged as a dominant eighth-inning weapon for Joe Girardi and Chamberlain has begun to fulfill his potential in the rotation.

Meanwhile, both Manny Delcarmen and Ramon Ramirez have, predictably, cooled some since the spring when they were nearly unhittable. Hideki Okajima remains a reliable set-up man and the emergence of hard-throwing Daniel Bard gives the Sox yet another late-inning option.

It isn't so much that the Red Sox pen has faltered; it's more that Hughes has changed the look of the Yankees' relief corps and allowed others to settle back into less significant roles.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Red Sox still have an edge in depth, but Hughes' arrival has narrowed the gap considerably.

2. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: Jason Bay has become a Manny Ramirez-like Yankee killer.

Bay has consistently done damage against the Yankees since joining the Red Sox a little over a year ago. Earlier this year, Bay hit three homers and knocked in 12 runs in eight games against the Yankees while compiling a stunning 1.465 OPS against them, a number even Ramirez would admire.

Since then, however, Bay has cooled considerably. He still leads the Red Sox in homers and RBI, but since July 1, he's hit just two homers and knocked in a mere six runs.

Worse, Bay probably won't play Thursday and Friday after coming out of Wednesday's loss at Tropicana Field, having aggravated an existing hamstring condition. Before leaving the game, Bay hit his first homer in almost a month.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Sox won't have Bay — slumping or not — to lean on for half the series. Now would be a good time for newcomer Martinez to pick up where Bay left off against the Yanks.

3. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Red Sox have superior pitching depth.

Back in May, the Red Sox had quality starters — Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny and Daisuke Matsuzaka and two other starters waiting in the wings: John Smoltz and Clay Buchholz.

Since then, a lot has changed — and not for the good — for the Sox. While Beckett and Lester have carried the rotation the last two months, Wakefield is on the DL, Matsuzaka is starting his season over at the team's extended spring training complex, Smoltz has an ERA of 7.12, Buchholz has been inconsistent and Penny has just two wins in his last dozen outings.

The Red Sox were concerned enough about their rotation to make big plays for Roy Halladay and Felix Hernandez at the trade deadline. When their bids fell short, they signed Paul Byrd to a minor league deal Wednesday. Does that show how desperate they've become?

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Yanks still have issues — otherwise Sergio Mitre wouldn't be starting for them. But so do the Red Sox, whose "strength in numbers" approach has failed them of late.

4. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: The Sox spent more wisely on the free-agent market than did the Yanks.

The Sox have gotten decent contributions from outfielder Rocco Baldelli and Penny — more times than not — has kept them in games. But Smoltz, who was signed with the idea that he would be peaking in October, has been a complete bust through his first seven starts.

The Yankees spent far more freely, doling out some $423.5 million for three free agents — pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and first baseman Mark Teixeira.

Sabathia and Burnett have combined for 21 wins and both have sub-4.00 ERAs. But it's Teixeira who has made the biggest impact. He leads the Yankee lineup in virtually every significant offensive category (slugging, total bases, homers, RBI, OPS) — and that doesn't begin to take in account the huge defensive upgrade he's provided to the infield.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: You get what you pay for, and the Yanks are reaping the benefits of their free-agent spending spree while the Red Sox's return has been commensurate with their investment — modest.

5. OLD CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: Alex Rodriguez is a double-edged sword.

Rodriguez wasn't in the New York lineup for the first five meetings as he recovered from March hip surgery, and while the Yanks missed his thump, there was the thought that he could prove to be a major distraction upon his return.

As it turned out, Rodriguez has knocked in 60 runs in just 76 games and remained largely controversy-free. His lone off-field issue involved some late-night partying in South Beach during a trip to Miami, an incident which blew over quickly.

NEW CONVENTIONAL WISDOM: A-Rod has provided protection for Teixeira while staying out of the tabloid headlines. David Ortiz, on the other hand, was identified as a player on The List from 2003 and admitted Wednesday it is weighing on him considerably. Who's the distraction now?