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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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THE "IDIOTS" REVERSE THE CURSE October 5, 2004 ... The Red Sox yesterday continued crafting a revolutionary version of the primer in their own wacky image. The Sox played nearly every facet of the game as if they invented it in shellacking the Halos, 9-3, in Game 1 of the Division Series before 44,608 at Angel Stadium. Curt Schilling may just be crazy enough to believe he can all but single-handedly fulfill the championship-famished franchise's unrequited dream. He took the first giant step toward the postseason promised land as he pinned the opening defeat on the Angels, surrendering three runs over 6 2/3 innings to improve his career playoff record to 6-1 with a 1.74 ERA Manny Ramirez, another madcap member of Damon's posse, also came up big, rocking a three-run homer and a first-inning double. Nutty as it may sound, Ramirez insisted he was just having fun. The Sox also played smooth defense, save for an injury-related error by Schilling that helped the Angels score a consolation run as they trailed, 8-2, in the seventh inning. No one was smoother in the field than shortstop Orlando Cabrera, who showed no signs that he was affected by playing his first postseason game. With the Sox leading, 1-0, in the third inning - thanks to Ramirez hustling his way to the double off Anaheim starter Jarrod Washburn and scoring on a single by his bashing buddy, David Ortiz - the Angels had runners at the corners with two outs when Cabrera submitted his first dandy play. He charged a slow roller by Garret Anderson and fired off-balance to nail Anderson and snuff the threat.
The Sox seized it as Millar followed Ortiz's leadoff walk by launching his second homer in as many postseason games (he homered in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series last year against the Yankees) for a 3-1 lead. Millar laid off an inside fastball before Washburn tried to fool him. By the time Anaheim third baseman Chone Figgins made a two-run throwing error on Damon's grounder and Ramirez uncorked his homer, the Sox had all the runs they needed with an 8-1 lead. Cabrera chipped in again in the sixth inning as he ranged to the right of second base to field a grounder by Bengie Molina and threw him out thanks in part to a nice scoop by Millar and Molina's slow feet. Mientkiewicz, who replaced Millar in the seventh inning, helped seal the win by laying down a nifty RBI bunt single in the eighth. With two outs, he dropped it toward third base, allowing Damon to score easily from third. Manny Ramirez's three-run shot in the fourth inning was his 17th postseason homer. He helped the Sox score their most runs (seven) in an inning in the postseason in franchise history. Their previous high was six, which they scored three times: the seventh inning of Game 3 of the '99 Division Series, the seventh inning of Game 1 of the '75 World Series, and the sixth inning of Game 5 of the 1903 World Series. Curt Schilling, who improved to 6-1 in the postseason, has the third-best ERA (1.74) in playoff history. He beat the Angels for the third time this season and improved to 4-0 against them in his career. His error in the seventh inning was his first this year. |
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