RED SOX NOTES

BOSTON – Curt Schilling will definitely be starting Game 1, the Red Sox announced yesterday. What’s unclear is whether he’ll need a needle to make the start.

Team doctor Bill Morgan said Schilling might be getting a shot for his balky right ankle. Schilling, who had an ankle problem that forced him to sit out of the All-Star Game, tweaked it during his ALDS Game 1 start.

“Shots are always a possibility if we think he needs it,” Morgan said. “We’re talking about an anesthetic, not cortisone or any other drug.

“It’s a short-acting anesthetic, much like you’d get if you went to the dentist.”

The Sox held off on announcing their rotation until after their workout. Pedro Martinez will hurl Game 2, while Bronson Arroyo and Tim Wakefield will pitch the following games.

Martinez threw in the bullpen yesterday, while Wakefield tossed two innings to live hitters. He hadn’t started since the end of the regular season.

There was speculation Schilling and Martinez might be flip-flopped, but Morgan said there was no use doing it.

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Doug Mientkiewicz was asked about Mariano Rivera‘s personal tragedy. Two relatives of Rivera’s wife were electrocuted Saturday by an electric fence on the closer’s property in Panama.

“It’s a shame that something like that happened,” Mientkiewicz said. “But they have other guys who can throw the ball, too. Obviously he’s a big part of it.

“You never want to see anything personal come up at any time, let alone the playoffs . . . We’re definitely not going in there thinking he’s not going to be there.”

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Red Sox owner John Henry will be at the ALCS, where he seemed hopeful of running into George Steinbrenner. The two owners had a flare-up back in spring training, and Henry said Steinbrenner reminded him of Don Rickles.

“Maybe we’ll see each other in an elevator,” Henry said. “I enjoy it.”