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The last time the Yankees visited Fenway Park on Sept. 2, 2001, starter Mike Mussina just missed throwing a perfect game. Mussina is slated to start Sunday afternoon's game. (Lawrence Jackson/AP)

Too early for a heated showdown between ancient rivals? Hardly.

When the Red Sox and the Yankees get together -- as they will for four games starting Friday night -- it doesn't matter if it's April or October.

The buzz is constant. The intensity extends from the stands to the field, and into both dugouts.

There are memories, both old and recent, that make it like this.

It stretches back to the immortal Babe Ruth, who lifted both franchises to championship glory. It continued with vigor in the 1940s and 50s, thanks in large part to the endless comparisons between legends Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio.

It reached scorching intensity in the '70s, highlighted by the fierce Carlton Fisk/Thurman Munson rivalry.

Then, of course, there was Bucky (whose middle name is "bleeping" to any true Sox fan) Dent's heartbreaking three-run homer in the '78 one-game playoff.

The past few years, superstar shortstops Derek Jeter and Nomar Garciaparra have given the rivalry an added dimension. Of course, any Sox fan swears over his or her chowder that Nomar is better, while Yankees backers say it is a fuhgetaboutit no-brainer that Jeter gets the nod.

The '99 ALCS -- won by the Yankees in five games and remembered for two controversial calls that went against Boston -- gave the Sox and their fandom more to agonize about. As did the Yankees' representing the AL in the World Series the last four seasons.

So here we go again, with the Sox and Yanks -- both coming in with two-game losing streaks -- set to square off for the first of 19 games this season.

Players like Johnny Damon and Tony Clark, new to the Red Sox, have never experienced the rivalry first-hand. In other words, they are itching to see what it feels like.

"I'm ready for it," said Damon, Boston's leadoff hitter and center fielder. "Of course it's going to be huge. They are cities that are 200 miles apart. There was the big trade of the Babe. Plus all the World Series [the Yankees] have won."

The Yankees have won 26 world titles, including four in the last six years, for those who have lost track.

Then there are the Red Sox, who are looking for their first championship since that rotund lefty named Ruth went to the Yankees and became one of the most mythical figures in the history of sports.

But the underdog thing is what makes it an event that is relished by Boston players and fans.

"You always look forward to playing against the Yankees because you are playing against the best," said Clark. "I think it will be outstanding. You look at them because you are always shooting at the first place team. I've heard guys talk about the [Red Sox-Yankees] rivalry, I've heard it on TV and I've seen it on the outside looking in, but I'm looking forward to being a part of it this weekend."

The passionate followers who make up Red Sox Nation scorn the Yankees enough to hold grudges.

Just ask Royals left fielder Chuck Knoblauch, who was booed throughout a three-game series this week at Fenway for the simple reason that he was a key part of the enemy -- the Yankees -- from 1998-2001.

"It was basically the same treatment I had here the last four years," said Knoblauch. "I remember my first series here against the Red Sox as a member of the Yankees because of the fans and the media. It is definitely a huge series and a serious rivalry. If you do something against the Red Sox as a Yankee, the Yankee fans are going to love you for a long time because they want to see the Red Sox get beat."

And there will be plenty of Yankees fans packed into Fenway over this four-game set. New Yorkers make up a sizable portion of Boston's massive college community, and students have trucked over to Fenway for years to cheer on the Yanks.

If the pitching matchups are any indication, it's going to be a riveting weekend, despite the fact former Sox legend Roger Clemens will be reduced to spectator status.

The Rocket -- originally slated to go Friday -- took an emergency start Thursday in Toronto, thanks to the stiff neck of Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez. So Hernandez will take the ball Friday instead, one start removed from a masterpiece against the Devil Rays. Lefty Darren Oliver will be a decided underdog in this one, as he makes his first start in a Boston uniform.

Saturday presents the most compelling matchup, as three-time Cy Young Award winner Pedro Martinez squares off against big-game lefty David Wells, who is back with the Yankees after spending the last three seasons in Toronto and Chicago.

Sunday, it's the knuckleballs of Sox right-hander Tim Wakefield against the full bag of nasty stuff Mike Mussina brings with him every fifth day. Last time Mussina pitched at Fenway -- seven months ago -- he finished one out shy of a perfect game.

Monday's finale -- the annual Patriots Day game in Boston that begins at 11 a.m. to coincide with the running of the Boston Marathon -- pits lefty Andy Pettitte against righty Derek Lowe. The Yanks' Pettitte has been one of the toughest pitchers in the game since 1996, while Lowe, the converted closer, has been terrific in his new role.

But with the usual array of All-Stars on both sides, the pitchers won't be the only show.

The Sox have Garciaparra and Manny Ramirez, surrounded by Clark, Damon and the reliable grinders like Trot Nixon and Jason Varitek. The Yanks, though they've had considerable turnover, still have Jeter, Bernie Williams and Jorge Posada. And oh yeah, that new first baseman for whom Damon has the utmost respect.

"Jason [Giambi] is an incredible hitter," said Damon, who teamed with Giambi in Oakland last season. "He only swings at strikes. He's the best hitter I've seen. Hopefully guys like Nomar and Manny will prove me wrong. But playing with him last year, there was no comparison to how great of a hitter he is."

And as everyone will be reminded of this weekend, there aren't many rivalries as electric as Red Sox-Yankees, even in April.

Ian Browne covers the Red Sox for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.