Before we get to our regularly scheduled column, I’d like to bring up a very disturbing turn of events regarding Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe.

Last December, Lowe was diagnosed with a cancerous spot on his nose, and he had the growth removed during surgery in early January. When caught early, skin cancer is 100 percent curable, yet its most deadly form, melanoma, kills 8000 Americans annually and produces 50,000 new cases each year, according to USA Today. By all accounts, Lowe’s surgery was successful, and he has been at the forefront of major-league baseball’s efforts to promote skin-cancer awareness. The Red Sox organization hosted Sun Awareness Day at Fenway Park on Saturday as part of the team’s day game against Texas, and each patron was given a kit that included sunblock, literature about the dangers of too much sun, and a baseball card featuring the Sox’ starting pitcher that day — who else but Lowe?

Lowe’s efforts to publicize the dangers of skin cancer have admittedly been admirable, but they’ve been offset by his display of a bad habit that can lead to an equally grave affliction. Because there in the dugout between innings of the regionally televised broadcast was Lowe on the bench, spitting out the remnants of a wad of chewing tobacco.

Is Lowe insane? Perhaps. According to Boston Globe columnist Gordon Edes on the Red Sox Insider e-mail mailbag last week, when Edes "went up to [Lowe] to ask about it, I noticed Derek was holding a bag of chewing tobacco in his hand! I said, ‘Derek — you beat skin cancer and you chew? What the heck are you thinking?’ He was a little embarrassed and said that he chews only during the season. That, of course, is the flimsiest of rationalizations, since the season lasts nearly nine months. Troubling, to say the least."

Also according to Edes, "Every year the big leaguers hear a presentation about the dangers of chew, and smokeless tobacco is officially banned on the minor-league level. Major-league teams no longer supply players with their chew, and clubhouse attendants technically are not supposed to provide chew to players.... [Some] guys have a tough time quitting; [Diamondbacks pitcher] Curt Schilling, for one, vowed to quit when his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer, but I know he started chewing again, at least for a time. [Former Soxer] Jeff Frye also struggled with it, and I’m sure it’s a real challenge for Trot [Nixon, who is trying to quit this season] now. It’s a vile, disgusting habit with dire consequences for a lot of these guys."

What more can one say about these players? They live fairy-tale lives, yet still face many of the same dangers as all the rest of us. Nevertheless, some still feel like they are invincible, and some reports say that up to 40 percent of major leaguers continue to use chew. So, despite surviving the skin-cancer scare, Derek Lowe has continued to put himself at risk for oral cancer instead, another insidious disease that can be fatal.

Nice role model he is for his 13-year-old son and countless others.

* * *

Here come the Pinstripers, as the Empire makes its first appearance at Fenway for a three-game series. Darth Vader’s Raiders, who jumped to light speed at an 18-3 clip out of the chute this season, have lost 13 of 22 since that spectacular beginning, and now are in a dead heat with the surging Red Sox. Sometimes it’s tough to figure these two teams; the Yanks took all seven of their meetings with Minnesota this year, while Boston won just two of six against Ron Gardenhire’s lads. Texas came to the Hub and dropped three straight to the Sox, but then moved on to the Bronx, where it swept all three from the Bombers. The Rangers, with a major-league-worst 5.77 team ERA, kept New York off the board for 20 of the last 22 innings of play in the series, giving up just eight runs over three games to the vaunted Yankee offense en route to capturing their first-ever sweep at Yankee Stadium in the former Senators franchise’s 43-year history.

As for the Sox, though they lost two of three to the Angels over the weekend, they’ve gone 13-8 in the last month to finally catch New York in the AL East standings, and the two 27-16 teams will meet this week for the first three of their 19 regular-season contests. Boston has the second-best batting average in the majors at .289, and its total of 257 runs scored is second to division mate Toronto — and amazingly more than double the total of the Detroit Tigers (119). The Sox’ team ERA (4.79) is almost a full run worse than the Yanks’ (3.82), but after New York’s rotation got off to a combined 14-0 start, the starters have gone just 10-11 since, and the team has lost three straight series after losing just one of its first 10.

Injuries have played a small part in the Yanks’ struggles lately, but it certainly is strange that the returns from the disabled list of Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera have coincided with the ’Stripers’ demise, rather than fueling a surge. First baseman/DH Nick Johnson will be lost to New York for the next four to six weeks with a hand injury, set-up man Steve Karsay may be out for the year with a shoulder injury, and Bernie Williams and Jason Giambi have been hampered by minor knee and eye injuries, respectively. Nonetheless, for a team built with a mountain of King George’s vast resource of cash, the Yankees should get better offensive production from the likes of Japanese home-run king Hideki Matsui ($6 million, .268, three HRs), Jorge Posada ($8 million, .256), Giambi ($11.4 million, .203), and Todd Zeile ($1.5 million, .190). Pitching-wise, Andy Pettitte ($11.5 million, 4-4, 4.47 ERA), Jeff Weaver ($4.15 million, 3-2, 4.78), and Cuban defector Jose Contreras ($5.5 million, currently at Triple-A Columbus after getting smoked for a 10.80 ERA in five major-league starts) have not exactly made smooth transitions to hyperspace.

Another subplot this week will feature Roger Clemens going for career win number 299 at Fenway on Wednesday; should he pull it off, he’ll get another go-round at the Sox next week in the Bronx, although that match-up could very well be up against Pedro Martinez. Expect Roger to get an extra day of "rest" if the Rocket goes for 300 and he’s lined up with the Dominican Dominator.

In the American League, only Seattle (28-15) has a better record than the participants in this inaugural Yanks-Sox showdown, and the two teams’ 27-16 record is third-best in the majors behind the Braves (31-13) and Mariners. Fielding-wise, Boston has appeared to struggle lately, particularly in the two weekend losses to the Angels. Still, the Yanks (.982) and Sox (.981) are pretty close to each other in that category, and New York’s percentage is a bit skewed by the fact that Jeter’s fill-in at shortstop, Erick Almonte, committed nine errors at the position during the 28 games that Jeter missed due to his shoulder separation. Jeter has only committed one error in the seven games he’s played since his return, while his Sox counterpart, Nomar Garciaparra, has had nine miscues in 42 games (although Nomah’s so-so .954 fielding percentage has been offset by his recent 19-game hitting streak). Boston has yet to get significant production from its leadoff spot, as Johnny Damon has batted just .244 at the top of the order, but eight other starters in Grady Little’s merry-go-round line-up are batting .290 or better heading into this series. Surprise utilityman-turned-starter Bill Mueller is on fire at .363, and Manny Ramirez — who has yet even to get hot — is at .319 despite just six home runs. In addition, Garciaparra is second in the league in triples (four), Mueller and Shea Hillenbrand have combined for 31 doubles, and the team itself is third in the league in stolen bases (29, which used to be a season total) and leads the majors in sacrifice flies (23). Finally, Boston is batting a league-leading .312 at home, where it has jumped out to an impressive 15-6 record (although that admittedly has been against primarily .500-or-below teams like Toronto, Baltimore, Tampa Bay, Anaheim, and Texas). The Yanks for whatever reason have actually played better on the road (16-6) than at home (11-10), and have already faced the likes of AL West juggernauts Seattle and Oakland at home and on the road (where they’ve gone 6-6 against those two teams that have yet to play the Sox).

While it may seem like Boston and New York have been heading in opposite directions of late, the fact is that the Sox have yet to win a series this season over a team with a record of above .500 (other than quickly fading Kansas City), and New York, despite its recent struggles, still has the best team money can buy and has swept seven from the Twins and taken two other series from the Mariners. And don’t forget that the Yanks’ 20-4 record to start the season was accomplished without two of their best players — both of whom have since returned.

It’s way too early to talk about the long-term significance of this three-game star war in the Fens, and as usual, it’s a lot more important to Red Sox fans than it is to the "just another series" Empire State fans.

Still, it’ll provide an early barometer and a modicum of intrigue, especially in light of the inherent rivalry, the Larry Lucchino–Steinbrenner contretemps, and the Contreras and Bartolo Colon horse-trading saga.

Those Yankee dudes are in Boston. Lightsabers are at the ready, and in the words of Han Solo: "Lock the door and hope they don’t have blasters."

Sporting Eye runs Mondays and Fridays at BostonPhoenix.com. Christopher Young can be reached at cyoung[a]phx.com