WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK

BOSTON – The heart and soul of the Red Sox may very well be Jason Varitek. Tonight, though, their star catcher won’t be in the lineup.

With knuckleballer Tim Wakefield set to start Game 1, the Sox will catch Doug Mirabelli, Wakefield’s normal backstop and Varitek’s normal backup. Mirabelli is much more experienced catching the knuckler. How good is he?

“Let’s put it this way,” Sox first baseman Doug Mientkiewicz said. “Jason Varitek is probably the best catcher in the big leagues. He had a hard time catching it. That should tell you how hard it is to catch it. That should tell you how good Doug Mirabelli is. He goes back there and makes it look easy.”

Mirabelli credited his “good hands” for being able to handle the knuckler so well. He said it also helps to stay relaxed.

“You just kind of get into a trance there,” he said. “Just go into a relaxed state, even more than if the guy was throwing straight. Because your reflexes are so much better when you’re relaxed.”

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Mientkiewicz on Alex Rodriguez’ infamous “swipe” play in Game 6 of the ALCS: “I thought, hell, I might as well tackle him. If he’s going to play that way, so can I.”

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Boston’s Trot Nixon denounced the partying in Boston after the Red Sox won the American League pennant. A female college student died as a result of police action in trying to quell a riot-like atmosphere around Fenway Park following the 10-3 Game 7 victory.

“I’d give Game 7 back to have her back,” Nixon said. “I’m not looking at the police department.

“They have a difficult job to do. They’re trying to calm that situation down. It’s up to the public to enjoy the moment, but let’s not get stupid.”

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Sox GM Theo Epstein on Curt Schilling’s courageous Game 6 effort: “I think 10 years from now, people are going to look back and say Willis Reed pulled a Curt Schilling.”

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Sox legend Johnny Pesky is still holding on. He’s holding on to a baseball career in its seventh decade and to the affection of Red Sox fans who once blamed him for Boston’s loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1946 World Series.

Pesky’s late – some say delayed – relay throw allowed Enos Slaughter to score the decisive run. A victory would give Boston its first title since 1918, the year before the 85-year-old Pesky was born.

“I want to see us win one time, because it’s been a long time coming,” he said yesterday at his locker in the home clubhouse at Fenway Park. “I can die happy then. … If they win, I’m going to take all my clothes off and run through the ballpark.”

The former Red Sox shortstop is still feisty and, from the looks of him, not going anywhere soon.