October 11, 2004 ... No game scheduled ... The Red Sox boarded a bus at Fenway Park and rode to Logan, flew to LaGuardia, bused to Manhattan. They are scheduled to work out today at Yankee Stadium.
Within nine days, the Sox either will have clinched their first World Series berth in 18 years - and a shot at their first world championship since 1918 - or have started their winter vacations. A year after the Sox and Yankees clashed in one of the most memorable series in playoff history,
Curt Schilling will renew the ancient rivalry when he faces Mike Mussina in the Bronx. The teams have played 45 times over the last two years, with the Sox going 23-22 but losing the most important showdown, Game 7 of last year's Championship Series on Aaron Boone's 11th-inning homer. The
Sox fell three victories shy of catching the Yankees in the American League East and gaining home-field advantage in the series.
The Sox cleared Schilling for the start after Francona, general manager Theo Epstein, and the medical team watched Schilling throw 25-30 pitches in the bullpen during a workout at Fenway Park before the team departed for New York. Team officials said the session helped ease some concern
about the inflammation in the peroneal tendons of Schilling's right ankle.
The Sox announced their four-man rotation for the series - Schilling, Pedro Martinez, Bronson Arroyo, and Tim Wakefield. As if the rivalry weren't chock-full of subplots already, the Red Sox will inject another today when they submit their 25-man roster for the American League Championship
Series and replace Kevin Youkilis with Ramiro Mendoza, who won two World Series rings with the Yankees.
Johnny Damon said he feels much better after receiving treatment Friday from a chiropractor for spinal woes that have contributed to his recurring migraines.
The Sox expressed their displeasure to Major League Baseball's merchandising executives about a pro-Yankees T-shirt that said, "Hey Red Sox, who's your daddy?" The shirts bore the Yankee logo and a red pacifier with a "B" on it. MLB was promoting and selling the product until the Sox, among
others, complained. "I'm not surprised by `Who's your daddy?' " said Charles Steinberg, the team's executive vice president of public affairs, referring to Martinez's infamous line
