Ten years ago today, Cards and the Curse were both put to rest

Red Sox prove Al Gore right.

Excerpted from "Miracle at Fenway"

It is hard to imagine how winning a World Series could be anticlimactic for a team, especially a team that had not won one in 86 years. But that was absolutely the case for the 2004 Red Sox. They had completed the greatest turnaround in sports history and had exorcised the demons of their past all in one week, and nothing they did against the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals was going to top it.

Of course if they lost to the Cardinals, well, that might be another story. If they fell short again in the World Series, as they had in 1946, 1967, 1975, and 1986 – always in seven games – wouldn't Yankee fans still be able to taunt them about 1918? People still remembered the '67 Impossible Dream Red Sox fondly, as well as the '75 team led by rookie phenoms Fred Lynn and Jim Rice. But those teams hadn't gone all the way, so the Red Sox were still thought of as the franchise that couldn't win the big one.

If St. Louis won, this would be Hendu 2.0.

In the end, there would be no need to worry about such possibilities. The 2004 World Series was one of the most one-sided in history.

The Red Sox won four straight games and never trailed for a single inning. St. Louis had a 105-57 record during the regular season, the best in baseball, and had a Hall of Fame manager in Tony LaRussa. They had two 40-homer sluggers in Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds, a deep starting pitching staff with four 15-game winners, and a strong bullpen anchored by closer Jason Isringhausen and his 47 saves. Three Cardinals – center fielder Edmonds, catcher Mike Matheny, and third baseman Scott Rolen (who also hit 34 homers) – won Gold Gloves for their fielding brilliance.

Against the Red Sox, this group looked like the 1962 Mets.

There were two times in four games that the Cardinals had an opportunity to make the 100^th World Series a real contest. In Game 1 at Fenway Park, the Red Sox took a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to another David Ortiz home run, off Woody Williams, and by the end of the third inning had a 7-2 advantage Then St. Louis battled from way back, much as Boston had done in the ALCS opener at Yankee Stadium. They chased Boston starter Tim Wakefield with three fourth-inning runs, and in the sixth tied the game, 7-7, with two more against Bronson Arroyo.

A powerhouse club -- until it counted.

Boston went back ahead, 9-7, in the seventh on RBI singles by Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, but the Cards struck again in the eighth, getting two runs on a pair of errors by Ramirez in left field. They had men on first and second with only one out in a 9-9 game, and the heart of their order coming up in Pujols, Rolen, and Edmonds. But just as Curt Schilling was brought to Boston to beat the Yankees, Keith Foulke now did what he had been acquired to do. After intentionally walking Pujols to load the bases, he got Rolen to pop out to third and struck out Edmonds.

In the bottom of the eighth, after an error by usually sure-handed shortstop Edgar Renteria, Mark Bellhorn stepped in – batting under .200 in the postseason, but with home runs in two straight games – and made it three in a row with a two-run blast off Julian Tavarez and the Pesky Pole in right. Foulke set St. Louis down in the ninth, and Boston had dodged a big bullet with an 11-9 win.

When Curt Schilling woke up at sevenon the morning of Game 2, he told reporters after the game, he couldn't walk or even move. “I honest to God didn't think I was going to take the ball today,” he said. “I didn't think I could.”

He did, and what he did with it further sealed his legend.

A champion's salute.

Jason Varitek, perhaps fueled by one of his regular visits to Trutony's Deli in Newton before heading into the ballpark, hit a 400-foot triple to deep center in the first inning to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Schilling made the advantage stand up, throwing six innings of four-hit baseball and allowing just one unearned run. The Sox showed patience at the plate, drawing six walks to go with eight hits, and won, 6-2, to take a 2-0 lead in the Series heading to Missouri for Game 3.

St. Louis was a much friendlier environment for Boston fans than New York. Folks could wear their Red Sox hats and shirts and jackets and not worry about being ridiculed or challenged to a fight. Lynne Smith, known back home as “The Fenway Hat Lady” because she literally wore the ballpark – or a miniature model of it, complete with Green Monster and lights – on her head, was asked numerous times by fans at Busch Stadium to take photos with them, and was happy to oblige.

Suppan's blunder was costly.

The third inning of Game 3 marked the second and last opportunity the Cardinals had to make this a competitive series, and once again they couldn't take advantage. Starter Pedro Martinez, making what would turn out to be his last appearance in a Red Sox uniform, got early support on a Manny Ramirez home run in the first inning, and had a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the third. Then St. Louis showed some life. Pitcher Jeff Suppan (yet another former Red Sox faced by Boston in the postseason) managed an infield single, and Edgar Renteria hit a ball to right field that Trot Nixon misplayed into a double.

With men on second and third, and nobody out, the Cardinals had a chance to do some major damage against Martinez, who had already endured some tough moments in the playoffs. When Larry Walker hit a ground ball to second base, Boston's strategy was to concede the run and get the sure out at first base. Bellhorn, playing deep at second for this reason, threw to first to get Walker.

But Suppan, seeming confused, stopped midway to home plate – and then tried to go back to third. David Ortiz, playing first base because of the lack of a designated hitter in the National League ballpark, spotted Suppan in no man's land and gunned the ball across to third baseman Bill Mueller, who tagged Suppan to complete the unusual double play. Pujols grounded out, and the game – and effectively, the series – was over. Martinez wound up pitching seven shutout innings, and Boston won, 4-1.

Pedro did his part...

Derek Lowe, like Martinez a free agent who was unsure if he would be with Boston in 2005, got the start in Game 4. This gave him the unique possibility of winning the deciding game of all three playoff rounds after being demoted from the starting rotation before the postseason. A victory would be the ultimate way of both proving his full worth to the coaching staff and setting himself up for a big payday.

Johnny Damon helped Lowe on his way by homering in the first inning, Boston's fourth straight game scoring in the opening frame. Trot Nixon added a two-run double in the third, one of his three doubles on the night, and the 3-0 lead stood up. Lowe wound up going seven three-hit innings (the exact line turned in by Martinez the day before), and Arroyo, Embree, and Foulke held St. Louis at bay the rest of the contest.

...as did Lowe.

Back in Boston, fans watched or listened to the final innings in living rooms, bars, bedrooms, and anywhere else they could. Parents kept their kids up or woke them for the ninth inning, among them Ken and Shelley Leandre. Their son, Jordan, was the four-year-old cancer survivor who had delighted the crowd with his National Anthem rendition before Game 5 of the ALCS.

“I felt like Jordan had been a good-luck charm,” says Ken Leandre. “He used to sit in front of the TV and point at the screen and say he was 'throwing out magic' and the next thing you know, Manny or Ortiz would hit a home run. We loved that he had something he loved and could have a good feeling about instead of the hospitals and needles.”

Leandre was lucky (again).

The good luck charm within the Red Sox team itself was Johnny Pesky, the shortstop-manager-coach-legend who had been employed by the Boston organization for most of his 65-plus years in baseball. The Sox made sure Johnny got to St. Louis for Game 4, which he watched from the stands with Dr. Charles Steinberg and Pam Ganley Kenn, who helped him with his public appearances and looked at him like a grandfather. When the game moved into the late innings with the Red Sox ahead, the trio got up to make their way down to the visitor's clubhouse at Busch Stadium.

Then, as they were leaving their section, fans began politely clapped for Pesky as they would a war hero. It meant a tremendous amount to him, because in a way he was an old warrior here. After all, it was in this city in 1946 where he had been accused of “holding the ball” and costing the Sox a World Series title. He now felt all was being forgiven.

St.Louis fans gave Pesky his due.

By the ninth inning, Pesky was in a small room off the main visitor's clubhouse watching the last moments of the game unfold on a video monitor. And Keith Foulke, who in 11 games and 14 innings pitched during the postseason allowed just seven hits and one run, was getting the chance he had joked with Francona about back in Yankee Stadium [to get the final out of a big series].

After Pujols singled to lead off the ninth, Foulke retired Rolen and Edmonds. Edgar Renteria stepped in and took the first pitch for ball one. Up in the booth, Joe Castiglione got ready to make his call:

Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it, he under-hands to first...and the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions! For the first time in eighty-six years, the Red Sox have won baseball's world championship! Can you believe it?

On the field, Jason Varitek leaped into Foulke's arms for a hug. In the visitor's clubhouse, Johnny Pesky stood up, raised his arms in triumph, and hugged Pam Ganley Kenn. “If I was 50 years younger, I'd have probably been jumping up and down like a crazy man,” he said later. When the players made their way into the clubhouse, moments later, Schilling, Millar and others embraced Pesky as well.

A hug for the ages.

Jeff Idelson, president of the Baseball Hall of Fame, was also in the clubhouse – seeking artifacts that fans could enjoy for years to come at Cooperstown. His wish list was to get something from Curt Schilling, Manny Ramirez – named MVP of the World Series with a .412 average – Orlando Cabrera, David Ortiz, and Derek Lowe.

“There’s a tempo to it, because you want to let people celebrate,” Idelson explains. “ It’s about understanding people and getting them at the right moment. You don’t want to say something like, “Hey, take that champagne out of your hand and go get this for me.”

Idelson already knew Curt Schilling from when he had visited the museum with his kids, so he went up and asked if he could have the cleats that he had inscribed with “KALS” to raise awareness about Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's Disease. Schilling said sure.

“Then he said, 'Do you want the sock too' – meaning the bloody sock,” recalls Idelson. “I said sure, we'd love the sock. He didn't have it there, so his in-laws drove it up to the museum a few weeks later.”

Hall of Fame hosiery. 

Next Idelson got a hat from Martinez, and a bat from Ramirez. He asked Cabrera for his glove, and got that too – along with a hug. “Cabrera's whole family was there,” recalls Idelson. He couldn’t believe I was asking him for his glove, and he was so proud. 

"He said it was one of the great moments of his life.”

In rewriting history, the 2004 Red Sox-Yankees ALCS also rewrote a Hollywood script

Peter and Bobby Farrelly were in a bind.

The Red Sox had just beaten the Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series at Fenway Park, their second straight extra-inning win -- both courtesy of walk-off David Ortiz hits, The two teams headed back to Yankee Stadium for the sixth contest, and while Boston still trailed the best-of-seven series three games to two, momentum was shifting their way.

Excerpted from "Miracle at Fenway"

Up in Toronto, brothers Peter and Bobby Farrelly were thrilled to see Ortiz deliver yet again, but also a bit nervous.

Huge Red Sox fans who grew up in Rhode Island, the Farrellys had risen to fame after moving to Hollywood and writing and directing such blockbuster films as Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary. In the spring of 2004 they had been sent the script for a movie called Fever Pitch, written by Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz, about an obsessed Red Sox fan who has to choose between the team and the girl he loves.

"It was the first time I read a script that I felt was perfect, and I didn't want to rewrite," recalls Peter Farrelly, who played high school baseball and was a Carl Yastrzemski fanatic as a kid growing up in the 1960s and '70s. "We lived and died with the Sox, so we knew it was something we had to do."

The cast included Jimmy Fallon as the overzealous Red Sox fan, Lenny Clarke as the beloved uncle who bequeaths him terrific season tickets, and Drew Barrymore as the workaholic, baseball-phobic girlfriend. Although much of the filming took place in Toronto, the directors and their production team -- led by producer Kris "Mudd" Meyer, a former security guard at Fenway -- spent several weeks in Boston shooting in and around Fenway.

Jimmy trying to get Drew into the game.

It was one of the best times of their lives. Friends and family seemed to come out of the woodwork, stopping by the trailers on a nightly basis to party with the Farrellys, Meyer, and the crew. The Red Sox offered their full cooperation, even allowing the brothers to film with players including Johnny Damon, Jason Varitek, and Trot Nixon. 

For the scenes when Fallon is seated at the ballpark talking with his fellow fans, they recruited local actors, including Jessamy Finet and Erin Nanstad -- two East Boston girls who carried 1918 pennies to every game for good luck -- to add to the authenticity. Finet was one of the game's highlights as the wisecracking blonde who gave Drew Barrymore hell for not knowing about the Curse of the Bambino.

"Everybody was great, from Terry Francona to the players to the fans," says Peter Farrelly. "We shot a few times right after games, including the big scene when Drew jumps down from the stands, right beside Johnny Damon, and then runs across the field to Jimmy's seats. We wanted the stands to be full for filming, so I walked out to home plate during the seventh-inning stretch, got on the microphone, and said, 'We're filming a movie for 10 minutes after the game. If you can stay just that long, you'll be in the movie.' Almost everybody stayed."

As Drew runs from Damon...

...30,000 extras cheer on.

Now, however, the brothers had a problem.

"When we started filming, the original script was that the Red Sox didn't win but Jimmy gets the girl," explains Peter Farrelly. "They lose to the Yankees, but he's grown as a guy and he's learned to have a relationship with someone other than the Red Sox. His life is better, and so is hers.

"But then when we were shooting in Toronto, things started changing," he continues. "All along, we were thinking, What if they win? Babaloo and Lowell wrote an alternate ending when the Red Sox made the playoffs. But then when we started to come back against the Yankees, that's when we started thinking, we're going to have to get back to Fenway and start reshooting some of this stuff."

The brothers' fears were realized as the Red Sox completed their historic comeback with victories in Games 6 and 7 at Yankee Stadium to clinch the pennant. When Boston beat the Cardinals in the first three games of the World Series, the Farrellys knew they had to act.

Decision time.

The morning of Game 4, the Farrellys made a decision. They were already planning to fly back to Boston to film a new ending for their movie if the Red Sox won the World Series, but they knew a perfect ending would include having the stars of the film and team all celebrating at the end. The Farrellys specialized in comedies, but they wanted this to be real.

They chartered a plane for St. Louis, and made sure their production team, film crew, and stars Fallon and Barrymore all got to Busch Stadium. Appealing to Major League Baseball for on-field access, they were given the okay based on their previous access at Fenway -- provided they did not interfere with the player celebration in any way. Their stage was not set for a perfect ending; they just needed the Red Sox to hold up their end. 

The Sox did, winning Game 4, 3-0, and touching off a massive party on the field. St. Louis team officials graciously let Boston fans stay behind to cheer while their team's players, coaches, and front office staff soaked up the moment. This was Peter and Bobby's chance.

The moment had come -- to film.

As the players and their families celebrated all around them, the Farrellys managed to film the final scene to Fever Pitch -- a lover's embrace by Fallon and Barrymore right down on the field amid the festivities. Peter Farrelly also scooped up some dirt to save, and got photos of his son Bob with the World Series trophy set up by the pitcher's mound.

A few hours later, Jessamy Finet and Erin Nanstad were walking back to where they had parked their car at a downtown St. Louis hotel. On a whim, the two East Boston girls had decided to fly to Chicago, rent a car, and drive to St. Louis for Game 4. They didn't have tickets, but managed to get some in the second-to-last row of the upper deck. They also brought their lucky pennies.

Now, with no extra money left for lodging, they planned to sleep in their rental car before heading back to O'Hare Airport the next morning.

Good-luck girls Finet (left) and Nanstad

Suddenly, they heard a scream from behind them. "JESSAMY! ERIN! What are YOU doing here?" It was Drew Barrymore, Finet's on-screen nemesis. The girls had no idea that the cast and crew from Fever Pitch had been at the game, and didn't notice them filming the on-field embrace. But it turned out that they had parked their rental car at the same hotel where the filmmakers were staying, and the Farrellys insisted that Finet and Nanstad party with them and spend the night.

It sure beat sleeping in the car.

A short while later, the girls were sipping champagne, courtesy of Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick, when Jimmy Fallon called them over. "I know you girls are big fans," he said, and put something from his pocket into their glasses.

It was dirt from the mound. They drank it. It tasted gritty but good.

Now that's a perfect ending.

Premiere Night at Fenway, 2005

   

After thrills, chills, and Schill, Manny's role was no biggie

Wednesday was about everyone -- not Manny.

The way the vitriol has been exploding on sports talk radio the past few days, you would think Manny Ramirez threw a basket of kittens into the Charles River rather than the ceremonial first pitch before Wednesday night's Red Sox-Braves game. Talk about the fellowship of the miserable.

As someone who was standing close to the field during Wednesday's 2004 team reunion at Fenway, I can tell you that Ramirez's role during the ceremony was really no big deal. 

Yes, Manny was introduced last. Yes, he threw out the first pitch. But by the time Ramirez emerged from inside the Green Monster (a funny touch in my opinion, not over the top) and sprinted across the field, the crowd was already so pumped up that his "honor" didn't even register much with the masses.

Manny in the Monster -- cute, but not epic.

Once the intros were over and the '04 team huddled around the pitcher's mound back-slapping and hugging each other, it was hard to tell exactly who was throwing out the first pitch anyway. With his ridiculous Mohawk haircut, it's a good bet some people didn't recognize that it was Manny tossing the ball.

Besides, there was no way Ramirez was going to top the powerful events that preceded his entry. Huge ovations had gone up several times already during the festivities: 

• When the 2004 World Series championship banner dropped down over the Green Monster, evoking memories of Opening Day in '05; 
• When the Varitek-A-Rod fight was shown on the Jumbotron (immediately after which Tek emerged from underneath the banner); and 
• When other top-tier heroes like Pedro Martinez, Johnny Damon, and Tim Wakefield made their walks in from left field.

THIS was epic.

The loudest cheers by far, however, were when Curt Schilling was introduced and strolled slowly across the grass with the help of his son, Gehrig. Schilling has been mute for months as he has battled a serious bout of cancer, and his appearance Wednesday was up in the air until the last moment. Seeing him there, getting a long hug from David Ortiz as his eyes welled up, was the emotional highlight of the night -- hands down.

I also know from a very reputable source that it was Schilling who was initially asked to throw out the first pitch, but he didn't feel strong enough to do so. Granted, I would have picked Pedro or Keith Foulke as a second choice over Manny, but Dr. Charles Steinberg and the event planning committee can't bat 1.000 every time. They were likely so excited that Ramirez, one half of the greatest one-two power punch since Ruth-Gehrig, was finally coming back to Fenway, they wanted fans to share in that excitement.

In the scrum, the first pitch was confusing.

Plus the way Damon jumped out and "cut off" Ramirez's throw before it could reach home plate, it wasn't really much of a pitch anyway. Damon's move was apparently done to rib Manny about the '04 game when Ramirez cut off a Damon throw that looked capable of nabbing a baserunner at home plate, but I didn't get the joke -- and I'm guessing most other fans had no idea what we going on either.

Manny was definitely not a model citizen or teammate during his time playing in Boston. I'm not going to start listing his mistakes here -- we all remember them. Whether or not the apologies he offered up in press conferences this week were sincere is open to speculation; I guess we'll have to wait and see how he conducts himself moving forward. Maybe he'll finally get over to the Jimmy Fund and visit some kids.

But Wednesday night was not about Manny -- it was about a team. A team that pulled off a Miracle at Fenway and ended 86 years of pain. It was about Jimmy Anderson, Pokey Reese, and every other guy who put on a Boston uniform in 2004. All the talk about whether Ramirez deserved to get the focus he did just takes away from the magic of the night.    

Nothing should do that.

Now what? Three moves the Red Sox should make

Give Lester more green -- he's earned it.

It happened again. Just when it appeared the Red Sox were over the hump and about to go on a tear, they had another setback last night in Minnesota. Although they showed some life coming back from an early 5-1 deficit, they couldn't finish the job and are once again a perfectly mediocre .500.

The magic of 2013 has been missing all year, along with the mojo for winning that made last season so special. How can the Sox get it back? Here are three sure-fire ways:

Sign Jon Lester now
Remember the infusion of positive vibes that accompanied Dustin Pedroia's inking an eight-year contract extension last July? The Red Sox should do the same thing with their indisputable ace pitcher before it's too late.

Lester is the darling of the K Men these days.

In Jon Lester, the Red Sox have a horse, a 21st century version of Roger Clemens. He's not going to annually pitch 250 innings a year like Clemens -- nobody does that anymore -- but 200 has become the new 250 and Lester nails that mark each year. Throwing out 20-win seasons, which has been outed as a non-relevant stat, Lester is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game and in the upper echelon of MLB pitchers period.

He is also in the last year of his contract, and is pitching better than ever at age 30. Given his body type and his track record of good arm health -- his early-career cancer bout should not be factored in here -- there is every reason to believe Big Jon can pitch effectively into his late 30s. Certainly nobody questions his toughness; in that regard, he is the anti-Clay Buchholz.

Much was made of Lester's comments about being willing to take a "hometown discount" and re-sign with Boston. Some may think he was blowing smoke, but this is not a guy who tends to speak off the cuff. I believe he's sincere, and if John Henry and Co. offer a reasonable long-term deal -- their first savoy was clearly not meant to be taken seriously -- Lester will sign. Why wouldn't he? He has proven to be a dominant postseason pitcher, and with the Red Sox he has a chance to reach the playoffs every year and add to his two World Series rings.

Keep this crew together.

Sign Lester now, and don't take a chance on his going elsewhere after the season as a point of pride. Boston's rotation has one fragile Ming vase in Buchholz (who's actually pitching more like a tomato can this year), one reclamation project in John Lackey, and a couple boxes of chocolates in Jake Peavy and Felix Doubront. You never know what you're going to get; Exhibit A being Peavy's dreadful second inning last night. 

There may be great pitching in the farm system, but nobody who is a proven big league ace. The Red Sox already have one of those, and they should do everything possible to keep him.


Bring up Betts

Boston is hitting a lackluster .246 as a team, 19th among 30 MLB clubs. What better way to give a jolt to their system then to give one of the hottest hitters in pro ball a shot at the big time?

Betts can hit -- and run -- with the best.

In addition to having a wonderful baseball name, Sox second base prospect Mookie Betts also has a wonderful average -- .399 at Double A Portland through last night. He has skyrocketed into a blue-chip prospect, and while there is no guarantee he is ready for the majors, the Red Sox would have nothing to lose calling him up for the upcoming homestand. 

The Boston bench has provided little pop. Only Brock Holt is hitting above .184, and he's had just 23 at-bats. Perhaps Betts could keep up his blazing bat as a pinch-hitter, and as a strong glove man who has also played short in the minors, he could serve as a late-inning defensive replacement as well. Slumping rookie shortstop Xander Bogearts could use some days off.

Betts even steals bases, an art in which the current Red Sox are severely lacking in (see below). Give the kid a chance -- if he falters initially, he's got time on his side. He's just 21. 


Bring back Johnny Damon -- as a base-stealing instructor
Much has been made of Boston's dismal base-stealing this year. While it was expected the Sox would see a major drop-off in thefts with the departure of Jacoby Ellsbury, the success rate of those left behind -- even normally efficient runners like Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia -- has been frighteningly bad.

Damon knows how to get to second

The solution is not to give up stealing, as manager John Farrell suggests. Boston doesn't have the power-laden lineup of 2003-04 to make that a useful tactic. They still get on base as well as any team, they just don't move the guys along and score. 

Why not bring back one of the best base-stealers of the last 25 years to help out?

Johnny Damon stole 408 bases in 511 attempts during his career, and had an excellent 79.84 percentage rate. Six times in seven seasons between 1999-2005, he had one of the best efficiency marks in baseball. There were faster guys in the game, but few had a better knack for getting into scoring position.

Damon is still just 40, and was actually looking to resume his playing career this winter if a team would give him a chance. There were no takers, but he'd probably love to don a Boston uniform as a coach rather than hang around the house. He's in great shape, so maybe he'll even get a chance to pinch-run. 

How about on May 28, when the 2004 Red Sox reunite at Fenway Park? Talk about some serious mojo -- that would bring down the house.
   

Pedro, Yaz highlight Red Sox "Grade A" lineup vs.Marlins

Pedro looks to tame the Marlins Tuesday.

After getting heat from Florida Marlins fans and management for fielding a lineup last Thursday at Roger Dean Stadium that included just one likely regular season starter, the Red Sox are making sure there are no complaints for those Florida rooters who make the trip to Jet Blue Park for Tuesday's split-squad rematch.

On the recommendation of Boston owner John Henry, who Saturday joked that the Marlins should "apologize for their regular season lineup," Red Sox manager John Farrell has what he calls a "Grade A" starting nine awaiting Florida fans and management 

Wade Boggs will be batting leadoff and playing third base, followed by Dustin Pedroia at second base and David Ortiz at designated hitter. Carl Yastrzemski will bat cleanup and guard the Green Monster in left, with Nomar Garciaparra at shortstop and Mo Vaughn at first. The bottom three in the order will include Carlton Fisk at catcher, Dwight Evans in right, and Johnny Damon in center. 

The starting pitcher? Who else but Pedro Martinez?

"This should be good enough for the Marlins management and fans," says Farrell. "Yaz has lost a step or two, and Carlton is having some problems with his knees, but we think they should be ready."

Yaz: Spry enough at 74.

Asked if he has any reserves available if needed, Farrell says that Dave Roberts has been studying the windups and pick-off moves of the entire Florida staff and will be loosening up for a pinch-running appearance in a close game. Fred Lynn and Jim Rice have also been taking extra batting practice in anticipation of seeing action.

After Pedro, Luis Tiant and Dennis Eckersley are expected to pitch in the game. Boo Ferriss also wanted to get some innings in, but the 92-year-old hurler could not get a plane out of Mississippi in time to make it to Florida by Tuesday morning.

"It's too bad," Ferriss said by phone Monday. "I think I could handle that Marlins lineup pretty good."

No Mo Fooling Around: Oritz Deserves Two-Year Extention

For what he's done, Ortiz has earned two years.

After several weeks of trying to figure out why so many people are adverse to giving a contract extension to David Ortiz, merely the best big-game player in Red Sox history, I think I've finally put my finger on one of the key reasons -- one that might be locked deep in the subconscious of many naysayers.

Mo Vaughn.

Mo was once the man for Boston.

Before Pedro and Papi and Petey and Red Sox Nation and the sellout steak, Vaughn was the best and most popular everyday player on the Boston team -- a guy who, like Ortiz, loomed large at the plate, in the clubhouse, and everywhere else he went including the Jimmy Fund Clinic. Then Mo chose to take his talents elsewhere as a free agent, and within a couple years injuries and too many trips to the postgame buffet did him in. 

Sure, Red Sox fans hated to see Mo go, but based on the final numbers they probably thought it wasn't such a bad move. Personally, I think that like Bruce Hurst a decade before, Vaughn's heart was never quite in the game after he left the intense atmosphere of Boston for come-late-leave-early Southern California. Fleeing town earned Mo plenty of cash but also may have cost him a shot at Cooperstown. (Before you laugh off this claim, consider his OPS of .936 through his Red Sox years. He's in pretty good company there, with a figure not too far below Willie Mays among the career leaders.)

Mo moped a lot in Anaheim.

Ortiz has a body type much like Vaughn, so it's natural to assume he's going to lose his bat speed and skills quickly as well. But Papi is already seven years older than Mo when he went to Anaheim, and that's just according to his "official" age (in reality, he might be one or two years older). Even taking his recent injuries into account, there is no sign of a Vaughn-like decline.

In fact, based on last year's World Series, Ortiz looks nearly as good as ever.

Now let's suppose that he does start to slip this year, and the second season of a multi-year deal winds up being largely a bust. If there was ever a player who deserved a bit of a golden parachute and victory tour, isn't it this guy? I know it's not my money, but seriously, hasn't this guy earned the street cred of the 1983 broken-down but beloved version of Carl Yastrzemski if it comes to that?

Broken down, still beloved.

Let's look at it another way. If Carl Crawford is worth a seven-year deal worth $142 million from Boston after winning his first Silver Slugger award, isn't Dave Ortiz worth two seasons at $30 million after earning his sixth -- along with the World Series MVP?

Back in 2004, Ortiz did something that neither Ted or Yaz or Pudge or Rocket or Mo could do in Boston -- he led his team to a World Series title. This alone would have been enough to earn him "never pay for a meal again" status in New England, but then he went and did it again. And again.

Three championships in a decade. Sure, Ortiz didn't do it all himself -- but he was a huge cog in the wheel, perhaps the hugest. Larry Bird won three titles for Boston as well, but if he had asked for a two-year pact, even during the Lying Down When Not Playing Era when his back had the durability of cardboard, would anybody have protested?

Down but never out.

Unless they wanted to be yelled off the air on WEEI or booted out of the old Garden, the answer is a resounding NO. Larry Legend was worth whatever he wanted for what he meant to the team.

Isn't Ortiz?

I say lay off Papi's back and give him the extra year he's seeking. And if he manages to keep playing at a high level through 2016, give him one or two more if he so desires.

The thought of Ortiz coming to town in Yankee pinstripes or any other uniform is far more sickening than when Damon or Clemens or Boggs did the same. Really, there is no comparison. All of them were great players, but Ortiz took the Sox where nobody since Babe Ruth did before: all the way.

Three is worth two.

For that, he deserves at least two more years -- and fans deserve at least that long to cheer him.

Best and worst Red Sox Christmas-time transactions

Can Hanrahan light up Fenway? Time will tell.

Now that it appears the Red Sox have "wrapped up" their big Christmas week trade with the Pirates, it got me thinking about how the Sox have fared in past late-December moves. It's too early to say how this swap is going to shake out; if closer Joel Hanrahan pitches in Boston like he did during most of the past two seasons, he'll be a huge step in the rebuilding effort.

Here's a look back at the success of some other Christmas-time transactions by the Red Sox:

Dec. 28, 2011: Promising outfielder Josh Reddick and minor leaguers Miles Head and Raul Alcantara traded to Oakland for closer Andrew Bailey and outfielder Ryan Sweeney.

Reddick probably doesn't feel this way anymore.

Result: Not looking good so far. Bailey was injured most of the season and ineffective upon his return. The Hanrahan trade makes it pretty clear Sox management believes Bailey won't bounce back strong, and Sweeney was allowed to go to free agency after a lackluster .260, 0-homer year with Boston. As for Reddick, he was one of the biggest MLB surprises of 2012, hitting 32 homers and earning a Gold Glove with the A's. HO-HO-HO Meter -- (1/2 HO)

Dec. 24, 2004: Catcher Jason Varitek re-signed as free agent. 

A direct result of Tek's re-tendering -- another title.

Result: Strong move for two reasons. Although Varitek turned 33 in April 2005, he remained a productive offensive and defensive performer for most of the four-year deal. More importantly, the captain stabilized an ever-evolving pitching staff and helped lead the Red Sox to another World Series title in 2007. (HO-HO-HO)



Dec. 21, 2001: Outfielder Johnny Damon signed as free agent.

What would Johnny do? Plenty for the Sox.

Result: Idiot's delight. Damon delivered in every way for the Red Sox over the four-year contract, as a speedy lead-off man with power, an excellent defensive outfielder (minus his throwing arm), as a tough, enthusiastic leader in the clubhouse, and as a clutch performer in the postseason. His grand slam in Game Seven of the 2004 ALCS is one of the biggest hits in team history. (HO-HO-HO-HO) 

December 19, 2000: Outfielder Manny Ramirez signed as free agent. 

Over 8 years, Sox fans enjoyed Manny happy moments.

Result: Best free-agent signing in team history. Even at eight years and $160 million, Manny was worth it -- teaming with David Ortiz to form a devastating one-two punch and averaging .313/.412/.594 with 36 homers and  114 RBI from 2001-2007 as a major cog on two World Series champions. (HO-HO-HO-HO)

Dec. 22, 1980: Postmark date stamped on a contract mailed to Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk, two days after a deadline expired -- making Fisk a free agent. 

After switching Sox and his number, Fisk kept hitting.

Result: Holy Cliff Clavin. Fisk signs with the White Sox and over next 13 more seasons hits 214 home runs. (No HOs)

Dec. 26, 1919: Outfielder/pitcher Babe Ruth sold to Yankees for $125,000 plus a $350,00 loan.

Harry Frazee ate crow on this move.

Result:  Owner Harry Frazee's folly. Frazee didn't like Ruth's wild ways, or his demands for a $20,000 contract. So he sent the Babe packing, then watched him hit 659 homers for New York through 1934. (No HOs)