The never-ending rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox added a strange new chapter on Tuesday afternoon and I still can't bring myself to believe that it really happened.

Hours before he was set to start a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Boston pitcher Erik Bedard(notes) was served papers at Fenway Park as part of an ongoing child support dispute with an ex-girlfriend.

What made a routine legal process of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court noteworthy and weird, however, was the man delivering the documents. Not only did lifelong fan Tom Cabral proudly wear a Yankees shirt for his meeting with Bedard, he also bragged on his public Facebook wall that his timing was intentional as Bedard would be pitching later that day in a key game for the AL wild-card chase.

Honestly, you couldn't even make this stuff up for the pages of The Onion.

From the New York Post:

"The Red Sox were very cooperative," Cabral told The Post. "They asked me if I could serve these tomorrow because he was starting tonight. My position was, my client [Bedard's ex-girlfriend Courtney Roberts] wants it served today, and that's what I have to do." [...]

"When I walked in I was like, I'm a Yankees fan, but I'm not trying to (give you a hard time)," Cabral [right, looking an awful lot like Louis CK] said. "I told him that and said, sorry, I've got to do this. But he said it was no problem. I handed him the copies of all the documents and he signed them.

"(The Red Sox) legal department was joking with me about it … they were saying, 'That's why you're so adamant about doing it today … you're a Yankees fan.'"

According to the Post, Roberts is seeking more support for the daughter she and Bedard had together because his annual salary has risen since they first signed an agreement in 2006. Only Bedard can say for certain if the papers affected his performance, but his first start since Sept. 3 was not a good one: The oft-injured pitcher lasted only 2 2/3 innings in a 7-5 loss to the Orioles that did not allow the slumping Red Sox to creep any closer to the AL wild-card title.

But regardless of cause, Bedard's performance and the game's result surely must have pleased superfan Cabral, who posted several Facebook updates during his unique work assignment. After reading them, it made me ask this question: Has the general public ever sided more with the served than the server in a child support case?

This story might actually be a first, in so many more ways than one.

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