Red Sox, Yankees renew rivalry: Five new storylines for 2016

There's always the potential for fireworks when the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees face off, and there's no reason for that to change this year.

The Yankees head north to Fenway Park on Friday for the first regular season series between the two rivals. You can watch the game for free, first pitch at 7:10 p.m. ET, right here on Yahoo Sports as our MLB Free Game of the Day. You can stream the game at Yahoo's Sports Home, MLB index and video home. Saturday's game between the two teams is our Free Game of the Day too, so remember that.

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It's one of the oldest and most revered rivalries in sports, but even then it's still important to keep things fresh and exciting. Here are five new storylines specific to 2016 for the Red Sox and Yankees to follow this season.

1. Big Papi's farewell tour. With Mariano Rivera and Derek Jeter saying goodbye in recent years, now it's time for a Red Sox legend to step away. David Ortiz will retire at the end of the 2016 season, leaving behind a long legacy of big hits and memorable moments against the Yankees. What does Ortiz have in store as he heads toward his finale? Something tells us he won't go quietly.

2. Welcoming new closers. Both the Red Sox and Yankees made offseason moves to bolster the back-end of their bullpens. Boston swung a trade with San Diego to acquire Craig Kimbrel while New York hammered out a deal to get Aroldis Chapman from Cincinnati. Kimbrel has an uncharacteristically high 4.50 ERA in 10 innings for the Red Sox to start the season. Chapman won't make his Yankees debut until May 9 at the earliest as he serves his suspension for a domestic violence incident in the offseason.

3. Red Sox broadcast booth shakeup. The Red Sox caused quite the stir when it was announced Don Orsillo would not return as the team's play-by-play voice on their NESN TV broadcast. Dave O'Brien is now the lead play-by-play announcer, joining Jerry Remy in the TV booth after nine years calling Red Sox games on the radio.

4. What does A-Rod have left? Unlike Ortiz, Alex Rodriguez isn't ready to call it a career yet. But are his days as an offensive contributor finally over? Rodriguez, 40, is hitting .190/.288/.379 in 16 games, erasing memories of his impressive 2015 season. If he's got anything left, the Yankees would love to see him show it against Boston.

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5. Is either team good enough to make the playoffs? The Yankees were bounced in the American League wild-card game last season. The Red Sox finished last in the AL East. For two teams that expect to be in the World Series conversation every year, that's not good enough. New York, 8-12 so far, is banking on its power bullpen with Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances and Chapman to put away opponents with help from a solid lineup and starting rotation. Boston, slightly better at 12-10, hopes signing David Price to a monster free agent contract is what they need to put them over the top. The stakes are high when these two get together, even in the first of 19 meetings this season.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at israelfehr@yahoo.ca or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr