NICK GREEN

THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE
Another buried Red Sox rally

July 2, 2004 ...  Less than 24 hours after the breakdown in the Bronx, the Sox let another victory painfully slip away as Manny Ramirez delivered the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, only for Keith Foulke to surrender the tying run in the bottom of the inning before Nick Green smashed a three-run homer off newly recalled Anastacio Martinez with none out in the 12th to bury the Bostonians, 6-3, before 42,231 at Turner Field.

With their second straight devastating walkoff loss, the Sox suffered their fourth straight defeat amid an ugly stretch in which they have gone 13-19 since last month.

Ramirez, who had slugged an apparent winning homer in the 13th inning in the Bronx before the sky fell, fanned for the final out in the 12th inning with Damon on second base and Mark Bellhorn on first. It marked one of several late chances the Sox failed to convert as they went 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position.

Foulke faltered by surrendering a double to left to Rafael Furcal leading off the 10th. But then Foulke sailed a wild pitch high and inside to Green, who was expected to sacrifice, allowing Furcal to reach third. Martinez, who arrived before the game to replace the ailing Scott Williamson, held off the Braves in the 11th before he allowed a single to Mark DeRosa and a double to Furcal in the 12th.

Except for the inequity of losing their designated hitter under National League rules, the victory-starved Sox fielded the team they envisioned over the winter for the first time this season.  Bill Mueller was back. So were Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon, neither of whom started in the spectacular summer classic the night before in the Bronx. And the big guns, David Ortiz and Ramirez were there, as always.  Bronson Arroyo, the projected sixth starter over the winter, pitched as well as the pair of aces might have, handing off a 2-2 tie after seven innings to the Sox pen.

From there, Alan Embree did everything he was expected to do entering the season as he retired the Tomahawkers in order in the eighth. Mike Timlin followed suit by escaping a little mess in the ninth, stranding the winning run at third.

But the Sox offense has not been kind to Arroyo (2-7), who lowered his ERA to 4.50 as he tried to snap a six-game losing streak and pick up his first win since May 15 in Toronto. The Sox have averaged only 3.6 runs a game for Arroyo, the fewest of any starter (Schilling has received the best support with an average of 6.8 runs a game). But it was no fault of Ortiz, the All-Star-in-waiting who launched a solo shot off Atlanta starter Jaret Wright in the first inning. The Sox picked up their only other run for Arroyo when Jason Varitek singled, stole second base, and scored on Mueller's single in the second inning.

In the end, Francona was left to try to buoy the sagging Sox. He vowed to maintain a positive spirit.

Judgment Day arrived yesterday for Kevin Youkilis and Cesar Crespo as Bill Mueller returned from a 37-game absence after arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The verdict came down in favor of Youkilis as the Red Sox kept the rookie third baseman and designated Crespo for assignment to make way for Mueller.