BOSTON – The Red Sox believe in themselves, not curses. They think they are going to win because their pitching is even fresher than the memory of Aaron Boone circling the bases, because they have a lineup with almost nine guys who can go even deeper than 86 years of New England’s pain.
“It’s never going to be gone, [Game 7] will live on for a long time,” said Johnny Damon. “And it makes us more appreciative of where we are.
“A lot of teams don’t get a chance to win and here we are two years in a row. We’re excited. I think we are in the best seat in the house. Nobody is expecting us to win because of history, except for us.”
Reporters yesterday probed two bench-clearing incidents against the Yankees this season, asked Red Sox if they were inspired, intimidated, bemused or confused by The Obsession.
Only Damon, maybe David Ortiz a little (“Whatever happens I’ll be hearing [bleep] about for 50 years, it’s not like Minnesota,” he chortled) gave more than name and rank or did much more than express confidence in the big, serial, numbers of a lineup that has the 2003 AL batting champion hitting ninth.
“There’s a lot of interest in everything the Red Sox do, I know they know that,” said Manager Terry Francona. “But sometimes I’m not sure they even know how many outs there are. I’m not sure this other stuff is going to be a factor.”
It will probably only come out in a champagne wash what more of the Sox truly think, but then according to them, it’s never too much.
“We’re not the brightest tools in the shed,” said Doug Mientkiewicz. So probably you have to be crazy to think a team that enjoys being crazy is all hung up on the Yankees. And if assembling a bunch of self-described blissful “idiots” hasn’t necessarily been part of the plan, well, it’s a happy and probably necessary accident, considering the franchise’s additional, traditional burdens.
The Red Sox are a supremely confident team with good reason. Only five outs and one arguable decision by a deposed manager away a year ago, they showed zero emotional hangover in winning five of the first six games against the Yankees this year and taking the season series. Through hard times in June and July, they never lost confidence.
But the history? Since last year, the Red Sox have added one of the top postseason pitchers of all time, Curt Schilling, added defense for nine innings (Orlando Cabrera), and late innings (Pokey Reese and Mientkiewicz), while strengthening the bullpen with one of the game’s more accomplished closers (Keith Foulke).
The Yankees have brought in two more superstars (Gary Sheffield and Alex Rodriguez) to an array of hitters who don’t get themselves out, but also subtracted much tried-and-true starting pitching. They aren’t as good as they were a year ago when they were proved beatable in the next series, not that Red Sox needed to be convinced.
“I understand their tradition, that’s where we want to get,” said Damon. “But some guys [Schilling and Mike Timlin] have won World Series, been there, done that and that makes it easier for us because they are not stressed.
“The media stresses some guys out, but we have a team that is going to be fine. We’re happy-go-lucky, enjoy the camaraderie and the fact we are going up against history. Nobody is scared of it, we like the challenge. This had to go through New York. Hopefully, we’ll make a lot of people happy out there.”
They don’t, with this team, we finally believe in curses.
