E-Mail This Article to a Friend The madness is beginning BY CHRISTOPHER YOUNG

It is starting. Its presence is palpable in the air. And it will, without question, be lingering and gradually intensifying for the next eight and a half months.

It’s not Midnight Madness or March Madness, and it’s certainly not the madness of King George III.

If you’re a sports fan in New England, you know what it is. It’s baseball — Red Sox baseball, that is. Very, very soon there will be no escaping it, and nothing the Bruins, Celtics, Revolution, or Lock Monsters do this spring will offset it.

Four months have gone by since "the ending" in the Bronx last October. For some, it seems like a long time ago. For others, it’s still as fresh in their minds as the halibut unloaded daily from the incoming Gloucester fishing trawlers. For the former, the prospect of a new baseball season can’t come soon enough, and they’re starting to foam at their collective mouth. For the latter, the wounds of last fall still haven’t healed, and hunkering down for another 240 days of nothing-matters-but-the-Red-Sox is regarded as just too soon. As we approach this Valentine’s Day, it’s akin to contrasting jilted lovers: some are eager to put aside the past and immerse themselves in a brand-new, slate-wiped-clean relationship, while others still can’t let go of the past. As CBS-4 TV sports anchor Bob Lobel admitted to Sox president Larry Lucchino prior to last Sunday’s Sports Final interview, "I’m not sure I’m ready to get back on that horse right now."

For many Sox fans, the whole "Cowboy Up" motto of last season evokes the happier images of 2002 — the joyous celebration of the wild-card clincher at Fenway Park; Todd Walker’s improbable three-run homer in September, which moved the Sox to the precipice pf the playoffs; Trot Nixon’s game-winning dinger to center field that won game three of the ALDS, thereby irreversibly swinging the series back in the Sox’ favor; Derek Lowe’s critical ninth-inning strikeout of Terence Long, which closed out that five-gamer against the A’s; and maybe even the gleeful sight of a bruised and battered Roger Clemens being lifted in the fourth inning of the ALCS’s deciding game, in what was then perceived as his final pitching appearance.

For others, though, there are but two lingering images from 2002: manager Grady Little returning to the dugout without Pedro Martinez in tow, and Aaron Boone’s 11th-inning solo shot off Tim Wakefield that propelled the you-know-whos into the World Series against the Marlins.

But whatever Red Sox fans’ state of mind, one thing is for certain: this upcoming season is shaping up like no other in the Sox’ illustrious history.

First, there is the issue of unfinished business. Current Cubs fans can identify with this, as can fans who recall the ignominy of the 1986 Red Sox: when you get as close to World Series glory as those teams did, it is assumed that minor tinkering is all that’s needed to get back there and rewrite history the following season. It is rarely quite that simple, but this year’s Sox team in particular made some meaningful off-season adjustments to address some of the 2002 squad’s shortcomings, including improving the rotation (snaring Arizona fireballer Curt Schilling in trade), the infield defense (signing free-agent second baseman Pokey Reese, a former Gold Glover), the bench (Ellis Burks and Mark Bellhorn), and the bullpen (signing the premier free-agent closer on the market, Oakland’s Keith Foulke). Presumed upgrades were also made in the managerial department (with former Phils skipper Terry Francona). And no key contributors from last year’s squad were allowed to sneak away, as David Ortiz, Scott Williamson, and Byung-Hyun Kim were all re-signed (as was potential 2004 free agent Trot Nixon to a three-year deal). On paper, the Sox have unquestionably improved a team that seemed headed to the 2003 Fall Classic (before the goblins intervened).

Second, there is precedent set by the Sox’ neighbors to the south, the New England Patriots. By winning their second championship in the past three years, the Pats showed that the concepts of "team" and "class" don’t have to include a final chapter bathed in sepia-toned heartbreak. Indeed, the local gridiron franchise put to rest over 40 years of inglorious history two years ago by overcoming its demons and naysayers en route to the Super Bowl title. Those who recall the Patriots’ past know that if this once-scoffed-at franchise can win it all, then anybody can — even one with the cursed history of the Olde Towne Team.

The Sox brass doesn’t even try to avoid comparisons with the Belichick regime. In fact, Sox management has always embraced and shared in the Patriots’ success, even inviting representatives of the championship team to collectively throw out the first ball at Opening Day ceremonies in 2002.

So what happened to Tom Brady’s Bunch could be the best thing ever to befall the local nine. It will provide a benchmark of excellence and prove to the region’s baseball fans that it could happen to them too if only they believe.

And the fans for the most part do believe. They have made that faith known at the box office, as over two million tickets for John Updike’s lyric little bandbox have already been sold, nearly two full months before the first pitch will be thrown at Camden Yards on April 4. In fact, that total already exceeds all tickets sold by 11 major-league teams during the entire last season, an indication that the Sox are on a collision course with another record-breaking attendance mark. Individual-game tickets went on sale last Saturday, and on Tuesday there was still a 30-yard-long line of patient diehards stretching out the door and down chilly Yawkey Way. Those folks apparently don’t care about what transpired in Yankee Stadium last October, nor do they mind that the Alex Rodriguez–for–Manny Ramirez deal failed to happen in December. Sox fans know that the status quo is still better than what most teams have, and they are sure to welcome back Manny (and by extension Nomar Garciaparra) when the franchise opens its doors for the season on Good Friday.

Hope annually springs eternal in the Hub, and perhaps folks around here also realize that this upcoming campaign could provide the last best chance for this team, as presently constituted, to break the 86-year title drought. With Nixon now in the fold at least through 2006, the list of potential unrestricted free agents has been reduced, although it still includes many of the Sox’ marquee players, namely Pedro, Nomar, Jason Varitek, and Derek Lowe. Having all those guys under contract for this season is the best reason why Boston could actually do the unthinkable and reward New England fans with the region’s second championship of the calendar year — something that hasn’t happened since the Steelers and Pirates presented the Steel City’s faithful with a joyous 1979.

It’s still a little too early to be talking in those terms now, especially since pitchers and catchers haven’t even begun packing up their grapefruits for Fort Myers yet. Nonetheless, the feeling is in the air, and it’s unmistakable. Furthermore, most everyone around this sports-crazed town knows full well that the throng that celebrated the Patriots victory last week would pale in comparison with the one that would line Boylston Street for a Red Sox championship parade. No doubt the assorted hoopla associated with such a historic event would close down the city for a week. That’s nothing against the Patriots; that’s just the way it is in this baseball town. The long wait might have something to do with that as well. Just maybe.

Opening Day has already sold out. Every Yankees series has sold out. Even the game following Opening Day — Saturday, April 10, at night — is sold out, as is nearly every weekend series.

The stove has been turned on, and the pot is beginning to simmer. In 50-plus days the concoction will begin to bubble over, dousing the region for the next 28 weeks.

Who’ll clean it up? Who cares? It’ll be baseball season, and boiled-over emotions are what we’ve come to expect.

Catchers’ and oven mitts at the ready; the heat is on.

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