Sox, Yanks get ready to rumble once again: Duel's been in works all year

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Sox, Yanks get ready to rumble once again: Duel's been in works all year
By Jeff Horrigan
Tuesday, October 12, 2004

NEW YORK - The Red Sox [stats, schedule] and New York Yankees [stats, schedule] have been on a collision course since the moment Aaron Boone's game-winning home run in Game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series landed in the left field seats at Yankee Stadium. The long-awaited, head-on impact now is only hours away.

The Sox, who were five outs from advancing to their first World Series since 1986, fired manager Grady Little after the Bronx tragedy and hired Terry Francona. They immediately retooled and filled their greatest needs by acquiring a co-ace for Pedro Martinez [stats, news] (Curt Schilling [stats, news]) and the American League's top closer (Keith Foulke [stats, news]) so that sure wins no longer would slip away.

The Yankees, who were upset by the Florida Marlins [stats, schedule] in the 2003 World Series, responded by acquiring Gary Sheffield, Javier Vazquez, Kevin Brown, Tom Gordon, Paul Quantrill and Kenny Lofton.

And when New York landed Alex Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers after the Sox failed to do so following weeks and weeks of tantalizing negotiations, the game's greatest rivalry rocketed into another stratosphere.

Tonight, when Schilling opposes Mike Mussina, the sprint to the finish will begin. Judging by the increasing amount of bad blood that has built up in the past year - including a memorable scuffle between A-Rod and Jason Varitek [stats, news] at Fenway Park on July 24 - things could get ugly once again.

``(Game 7 last year) is something that will stick with you the rest of your life,'' Sox center fielder Johnny Damon [stats, news] said. ``It's one of those games you'll keep hearing about and keep seeing for 30-40 years. We're not going to let that happen again.''

The Sox, who swept the Anaheim Angels in three games in their ALDS, finished three games behind the Yankees in the AL East race but possess the confidence of a series favorite.

The Yankees, meanwhile, defeated the Minnesota Twins in four games in their ALDS but still are trying to cope with problems in the starting rotation and the possibility that closer Mariano Rivera won't be back in time for tonight's game after returning to Panama to deal with a family tragedy.

``We were five outs away last year and we were a Schilling and a Foulke short,'' first baseman Kevin Millar [stats, news] said. ``We're healthy, we're playing good baseball and we have Schilling and Martinez at the top of our rotation. We have to feel great about our chances.''

Damon said it goes beyond that.

``We feel in this clubhouse that we are definitely one of the best teams Boston has ever put out on the field,'' he said.

To prove that, they'll have to overtake the 26-time World Series champions, who have saddled them with seven consecutive second-place finishes in the division. The Sox, meanwhile, have lost their past four appearances in the ALCS, including 1999 and last year against the Yankees. The Sox captured the season series against the Yanks this year (11-8) for the first time since 1999 and are 23-22 against New York in the past two years.

Schilling agreed to waive his no-trade rights to accommodate a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks last Nov. 28, in part because of his desire to take part in the Sox-Yankees rivalry and lead the Sox to their first World Series title since 1918.

The veteran right-hander led the major leagues with 21 regular-season wins this year and defeated the Angels with 6 strong innings in Game 1 of the ALDS, but he's been hampered by a sore right ankle since Sept. 21.

Schilling is expected to wear a brace on the ankle tonight and receive shots of the numbing agent Marcaine before and during the game, but he anticipates his adrenaline flow will supersede any ache or pain.

``There's so much history here,'' Schilling said. ``You can make a namefor yourself in one inning, one play, one pitch that you can't make in another series with any other teams.

``I thought I had an idea of what it was going to be like when I signed last winter. I got a feel for it being around Boston, (but) when I went to Boston for the first time, I had no idea that it was going to be at the level it was right from the get-go, from spring training to early April all the way through the season.

``I think (tonight), I will be expecting something and it will be a lot different than what I expect once I get out there on the mound.''

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The classic rivalry resumes
Sox, Yankees begin battle tonight for trip to World Series
By Dan Shaughnessy, Globe Staff | October 12, 2004

NEW YORK -- In American sports, it has evolved into the ultimate irresistible matchup, this century-old battle between American League baseball teams from Boston and New York. Borrowing the best elements and emotions from Achilles-Hector, Kennedy-Nixon, Russell-Chamberlain, Leno-Letterman, and Red States-Blue States, the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry has shot past all traditional sports boundaries.

And so one year after they jousted to the (Sox's) finish in the Bronx last October -- in an epic seventh game that appeared to take the clash to its zenith -- they go at it again tonight on the same hallowed soil that has haunted the Red Sox and their desperate fans for so many years.


After a winter of cutthroat backroom moves by both front offices, 162 regular-season games (including 19 vs. each other, which inspired two bench-clearing incidents), and first-round victories in their respective Division Series, the Sox and Yankees tonight play the first game in the best-of-seven American League Championship Series for the right to represent the AL in the World Series.

"This is the most prepared group I've seen," said first baseman Kevin Millar, spokesman for a band of Red Sox frat brothers who call themselves "idiots." "There's a swagger to this club. We're probably the toughest team in the league over the last six weeks. It's crazy. Last year, we walked off the field after Game 7. It was gut-wrenching. But that makes you stronger and tougher, and here we are."

The Red Sox have not been in a Fall Classic since 1986 and have not won it all since 1918, but they again have convinced their fans that this is the year. Wiseguys in Vegas have established the Sons of Tito Francona as favorites, and citizens of Red Sox Nation say that this time it is the Yankees who will fail in the fall.

In the Bronx, New York fans will come equipped with posters of Babe Ruth, chants of "1918," and bootleg "Who's Your Daddy?" T-shirts, a taunt inspired by a quote from frustrated Sox ace Pedro Martinez, who last month said, "What can I say? I just tip my hat and call the Yankees my daddy."

And woe is any brave Bostonian tonight who wades into the House That Ruth Built wearing Sox garb. Only fools rush in.

Parity? Since the start of the 2003 season, the Sox and Yankees have met 45 times (including postseason play) with Boston holding a lead of 23-22. In New England, the magnitude of Sox-Yankees has managed to distract the region from one of the great local sports stories of all time: a pro football team that has won two of the last three Super Bowls and Sunday won an NFL-record 19th consecutive game over two seasons.

It'll be new stopper Curt Schilling getting the ball for Boston tonight. When he was traded to the Red Sox last winter, the 37-year-old Schilling thrilled Red Sox fans by concluding his introductory remarks with, "I guess I hate the Yankees now." He further ingratiated himself to the Boston community by winning 21 games, but he did not make any starts at Yankee Stadium. The last time he pitched in the Bronx was in the 2001 World Series when he helped the Arizona Diamondbacks defeat the Yankees in seven games.

In an oft-aired truck commercial, Schilling says he's coming to Boston to "break an 86-year-old curse." At yesterday's workout in the Bronx, he wore a T-shirt that read, "Why Not Us?"


Now he gets the ball.

"I don't know that I've ever pitched in a game that will have the atmosphere that this game will have," said the big blond righty. "I think Yankees-Red Sox is a step above everything else. This is what I envisioned when we agreed to come here last year, was to be here for games like this.

"As much as the people in the stands in both cities dislike each other, they're exactly alike. There's just so much history here. You can make a name for youself in one game, one inning, one pitch. I want to do something that hasn't been done in almost a century."

Francona said, "We thought the bigger the stage, the better a pitcher he would be."

Schilling experienced discomfort in his right ankle during his start against the Angels in the Division Series. He is expected to receive a shot of Marcaine before tonight's start.

Mike Mussina, who will be on the mound for the Yankees, said, "This is what everyone was hoping for. It's big. Every time we played them this season, it was a playoff game and I think this is the way it should be. It's a rematch of last year, with the best two teams in the American League."

Finally, there is Alex Rodriguez, the 2003 AL MVP who was coveted by both teams last winter. The Sox made a deal to bring A-Rod to Boston and were willing to part with Manny Ramirez to get it done. After the deal was killed by the Major League Baseball Players Association, the Yankees swooped in and acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez was the answer to the Sox' acquisition of Schilling. Tonight the two veteran stars face one another, wearing the uniforms of the ancient rivals in an October game. They have an MVP award (A-Rod) and a World Series ring (Schilling), but nothing in their stellar careers has prepared them for this.

Just ask Dominic DiMaggio, Bucky Dent, Mike Torrez, Aaron Boone, Tim Wakefield, and the rest. Red Sox-Yankees in October is unlike anything else in sports.

© Copyright 2004 Globe Newspaper Company.
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