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The known and the unknown as the Red Sox head to New York
BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

So.

Just like we predicted, right? Sox in three? Granted, perhaps I forgot to mention that the "three" victories would be on the back end rather than the front end of the Divisional Series with the A’s.

Nonetheless, the magic-carpet ride for the 2003 Boston Red Sox continues, as the team has now successfully completed two of the four required courses that would take them to the Mount Olympus of the baseball world: number one, completing the 162-game schedule and qualifying for the playoffs; and number two, emerging from the ALDS. There are two quests yet to complete, of course. The first will take them to the House of Horrors known as Yankee Stadium, where 26 championship flags flutter in the autumn breeze. If they successfully navigate that aspect of the journey, the Red Sox will have just one final task — a mission that will perhaps be as daunting as the Wizard of Oz quartet bringing back the Wicked Witch's broomstick: knock off the other remaining "Team of Destiny" from the National League and win that long-elusive 11th game of the playoffs. With that, the Curse will burst, and great joy will ring throughout the land.

The next 19 days, give or take a day, will provide the answers Red Sox Nation needs, although some issues have already been resolved. Others, of course, remain unanswered.

This we know: The Sox continue to epitomize "team" much as the New England Patriots did during their Super Bowl run of 2001-2002. Consider the range of heroes who were primarily responsible for the three straight victories against the A’s, which thereby clinched the series, three games to two: Game Three: Derek Lowe (seven IP), Doug Mirabelli (lead-off single in 11th), Mike Timlin (three scoreless innings in relief), and Trot Nixon (game-winning pinch HR in 11th); Game Four: Johnny Damon (two-run HR), Todd Walker (solo HR), Scott Williamson (second straight win in relief), Nomar Garciaparra (leadoff double in eighth) and David Ortiz (two-run double in eighth); Game Five: Pedro Martinez (second straight effective start), Jason Varitek (solo HR ignited four-run rally in sixth), Manny Ramirez (three-run HR in sixth), Alan Embree (two clutch outs in relief of Pedro in the eighth), and Lowe again (this time in relief). All of these diverse and disparate contributions helped overcome the series-long futility of guys like AL batting champ Bill Mueller (2-for-19, .105), Kevin Millar (5-for-21, .238, 0 RBI), and, admittedly, Ortiz (2-for-21, .095).

This we don’t know: How bad it must feel for A’s fans, whose team has now blown nine straight potential series-clinching games, and has gone out in the first round — in that excruciating game five each time — in four consecutive seasons. And how about the whole Bay Area, since the crosstown Giants also went down hard to the wild-card Marlins?

This we know: Boston's advance gives the American League a solid chance of sending someone other than the Yankees into the World Series. Sure, Oakland moving on would have been a nice story of sorts, but imagine this team facing the pinstripers without starters Mark Mulder (hip injury) and potentially Tim Hudson (oblique muscle), with an offense that collectively batted .213 with just one home run in five games, and whose three and four hitters combined to go 3-for-45 (.066)?

This we don’t know: Why Sox fans reportedly behaved so poorly after Saturday’s win (a near-riot at UMass/Amherst saw students pelting police with bottles and setting fires) and Monday’s clincher (WBZ reported that a car near Fenway was overturned, fans hopped atop a parked ambulance and tried to break into the ballpark, and moving taxis were rocked back and forth near Kenmore Square). Where are we, Detroit? And this is after a divisional series victory ...

This we know: The folks over at Fox TV’s sports division have to be pretty keyed-up about the potential match-ups in the Fall Classic. There are all kinds of subplots, and only one of the four prospective scenarios could be considered a dog, and that would be Florida–New York. Still, how embarrassing would it be if a $180-payroll franchise lost to a $49-million team? The other three possibilities offer much more intrigue:

• Marlins-Sox: Certainly anticlimactic for fans of the Olde Towne Team to play a team from Florida, but here you pit the two teams formerly owned by current Sox owner John Henry, plus the two squads that met in the memorable 25-7 Sox victory back in June, highlighted by that 14-run first inning.

• Yankees-Cubs: These two teams met head-to-head for the first time this past June in interleague play, and the whole series was played at a fever pitch. If this World Series meeting came to pass it would be simply this: White Sox and Yankee fans banding together to back the Empire Staters, while the rest of the baseball-loving world would side with those lovable losers, the Cubbies.

And finally, the mother lode:

• Sox-Cubs: The Red Sox in Wrigley Field; the Cubs in Fenway Park. The rematch of the 1918 World Series, won by Boston in six games. One team would emerge from the decades-long wilderness with its first championship in at least 85 seasons; the other would wail to the heavens, "Why us?" When the playoffs first began, there was only a one-in-16 chance for a Cubs-Sox World Series; now it’s down to one-in-four, and fate seems to be taking us in that direction.

This we don’t know: How the Red Sox will do against the Yankees, now that the long-awaited League Championship Series is upon us. The Bombers had a scare in losing Game One of their division series with the Twins at the Stadium, but ripped off three straight wins to cap a very uneventful four-game ALDS win. New York’s ace, Mike Mussina, had to pitch only one game, and the team’s rotation is properly set for the upcoming jihad with the Sox. Boston, meanwhile, saw its shining star, Martinez, throw 130 and 100 pitches in his two emotional outings, and will now have to toss out its resident knucklehead, Tim Wakefield, in the series opener and follow that up with Lowe in Game Two (despite D-Lowe appearing in three of the contests with the A’s, including two heart-stopping relief stints). Still, that probably sets up Pedro for Game Three (at Fenway against either Roger Clemens or Andy Pettitte) and (if necessary) Game Seven (in New York). A lot will depend on how the Empire’s two 40-year-olds, Clemens and David Wells, will hold up in the twilight of their careers and the season.

This we know: Boston would seem to be better off without the Flipping the Bird–man of Alcatraz, reputed closer BK Kim, in its bullpen for this series. Kim, who has, shall we say, a history of difficulties performing against the Yankees, supposedly has mild tendonitis and angered Sox team officials and fans by waving an obscene gesture at the home crowd on Saturday. Throw those three issues together and you have a Korean-free roster, and with that deletion comes the addition of Jeff Suppan, who pitched effectively against the Yankees in a September 7th start in the House that What’s-His-Face Built.

This we don’t know: How significant Johnny Damon’s injury will be, and whether he will miss any time during this upcoming series. Damon played in 145 games this season and batted .316 against the A’s in the ALDS, and the whole outfield alignment becomes a mishmash if he misses any time. His collision with "defensive replacement" Damian Jackson in Monday’s clincher could have been the sobering-up moment that cost the Sox the chance at post-season glory, but luckily the Boston bullpen hung on, and Damon is expected to be okay. Still, Gabe Kapler is not a center fielder, Jackson is primarily an infielder, and the speedy Adrian Brown spent the bulk of the season at Pawtucket — batting .280 — and saw action in just nine regular-season games in Boston and got only two fruitless at-bats in the A’s series.

This we don’t know: How Sox fans will deal with the continued absence of Sean McDonough, Jerry Remy, and yes, even Don Orsillo from the broadcast booth for the remainder of the playoffs. Instead, ESPN and Fox’s coverage continues to mix and match their broadcast teams, thus forcing the same tired stories to be re-hashed and re-introduced to the nationwide audience. Fans around here are starting to tire of the season-long stories about "Cowboy Up," Rally Karaoke Guy, 1918, Manny Being Manny, David Ortiz picked up off the scrap heap, the Curse, haircuts, 25 cabs for 25 guys, and Bill Buckner. In these pahts, New Englanders are well familiar with these tales of past and present without having them regularly brought up again as if it were "news." To avoid the inane and overly familiar, the Nation should instead tune in to juice guys Joe Castiglione and Jerry Trupiano over the radio airwaves to get analysis, rather than historical retreads.

This we know: Boston did a pretty good job against the Yankees this season, even though Vader’s Raiders won the season series, 10-9. The Sox outscored the Bombers 109-94 over the course of that 19-game head-to-head, and five times Boston scored 10 or more runs against Yankee pitching (NY scored in double figures twice). As mentioned, New York’s series with the Twins was, to put it mildly, lacking in drama. Boston’s series with Oakland was dominated by it, other than Game Two. The Bombers appear healthy; Boston is dealing with Damon’s injury as well as with the struggles of Nixon and Ortiz, both of whom have minor leg injuries that compromise their speed and range.

This we know: Manager Grady Little’s job should be safe for another season, especially now that the specter of Joe Torre coming to Boston is no longer a possibility — at least for 2004. We also can say that the much-maligned Sox bullpen is no longer the liability it once was, despite the Game-One meltdown in Oakland. In the five games of the series, the Boston relievers gave up just two earned runs in 15 and a third innings of work — and none after that gruesome opening game. Sure, Monday night’s wild effort by the weary Williamson could have put an unfortunate coda on the Sox’ season, but Boston’s faithful have by now become well-accustomed to nail-biting finishes by the pen all season long, so Monday's high-wire act could not have been unexpected. Overall, Boston’s pitchers accumulated a 2.77 ERA over the course of the exciting five-game series.

This we don’t know: How much more of this Boston fans can take.

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


Issue Date: October 7, 2003
"Sporting Eye" archives: 2003 |2002
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