2004 ALCS: Boston vs. New York

Oh. my. God.

Remember to breathe, Matt. Remember to breathe.

Where do I possibly start talking about this series? The two best teams in the American League once again square off in yet another round of the greatest rivalry in all of sports. No other rivalry even comes close. These two teams and their fans hate each other so much that the slightest thing - like seeing a Yankee cap across a crowded room - can make their blood instantly boil. I hate the Yankees with every ounce of my being, and the sheer jubilation of seeing them not only lose, but lose badly to my Red Sox in this fashion - it's just indescribable.

Let's start at the beginning of this year-long saga. Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, Yankee Stadium is the scene. I'm living in Knoxville, Tennessee at the time, watching the game at home after a long day's work. I'm floating on a cloud, seeing my Red Sox beat the Yankees, when the unimaginable happens - a huge managerial screw-up leaves Pedro Martinez out in the game for too long and the Yankees tie the game and force extra innings. I was so nervous I could barely sit still - the dread that I and every other Red Sox fan feel when our boys get in this situation is just horrific. We know the Yankees are going to win. We know that the Sox will lose again. We know the heartbreak is coming, yet we never want to face it. It's like knowing the end of a scary movie, but still turning your eyes away from the moment of climax in the story. And of course, that moment came - Aaron Boone launched an extra-innings HR off Tim Wakefield to send the Yankees to the World Series. Nobody in Boston cared that the Yankees ended up losing the World Series to the Marlins, all they knew was that they hated those assholes in pinstripes. That, and that it wasn't over.

In the offseason, the whole A-Rod trade fiasco just made things worse. The "Evil Empire" of sports once again got a top notch free-agent, and all seemed right for the Yankees to repeat again. Adding an "ace" in Kevin Brown along with Gary Sheffield's incredible bat made the Yankees by far and away the team to beat in most people's minds. To that point, I'll agree. Even though the Red Sox had an incredible acquisition of their own [Curt Schilling, god bless him] they were still overshadowed by that damned Steinbrenner and his free-spending ways.

But 2004 was the year the Sox fought back (literally).



The 2004 regular season shaped up to be exactly what everybody thought it would be for the Yankees and the Red Sox: a close fight to the finish. The Yankees got out to a dominant lead in the division, despite being totally owned by the Red Sox early in the season series [Just ask Alex Rodriguez (pic above) who got in Jason Varitek's face and then very shortly afterwards, found out what catcher's mitt tastes like]. But in the final months of the season, the newly defensively retooled Boston Red Sox went on a tear of their own, coming up just shy of the Yankees for the division title, instead settling with the AL Wild Card.



After making short work of an Anaheim Angels club who exhausted themselves in a struggle with Oakland for the AL West title, the Red Sox awaited their destiny to play those damned New York Yankees again.

Game 1, ALCS. Curt Schilling isn't himself, and barely lasts a few innings because of the ankle injury he sustained in the ALDS. His mobility is nearly shot, his accuracy is non-existant. Couple these with the fact that Mike Mussina pitches probably the finest extra-innings game of his life, a perfect game through 6 innings, and you have the makings of a Yankees rout. I left for work once Mark Bellhorn hit a single to break up the perfect game/no hitter [Sox down 8-0], only to arrive at work to see that the Sox had put up 5 runs to turn the potential rout into a competitive game. After putting up two more runs to bring score to 8-7 the Sox subsequently blew the game, allowing the Yankees to put up 2 more insurance runs to ice the game, 10-7. I wasn't happy with the result, obviously. I expected my Red Sox to come to the gate with guns blazing against the Yankees, but they came to the plate with nothing. I felt like I was watching a completely different team than the one I had watched all season. Those Red Sox were not afraid of New York and had overwhelming confidence. These Red Sox were scared and beaten down.

Game 2. Another rediculous outing by a Yankees pitcher, this time it's Lieber. Yankees put up 3 on Pedro Martinez and cruise to a 3-1 win. For a pitching staff as maligned as the Yankees' before the series, it's almost unimaginable that they could string together two mind-blowing starts like this. Sox fans begin to get really worried at this point.

Game 3. A total ass-beating, 19-8 Yankees. I couldn't even watch all of this game, it was just too ugly. In fact, I totally don't want to talk about Game 3. It didn't happen. Though I will state this - you'd think that a team that has won 3 games in a row and put up 19 runs in their last game would be able to steamroll any team in their path. Not quite so. Oh, and Red Sox have hit the "High" level on the Red Sox Nation Advisory System:



Game 4. I tuned into this game, just hoping that my Sox could win at least one game to prevent the sweep - and what a game it turned out to be. New York, with all the momentum on their side as a team could have, just couldn't match Boston's heart and desire. The Red Sox pushed everyone to their limits, and Slappy Papi, David Ortiz, hit a 2 run HR in the bottom of the 12th to give the Red Sox their first win of the series, 6-4. Sox fans are still skeptical, but some smidgens of hope remain.

Game 5. Another extra-innings thriller. This time, everybody and their mother pitches for both teams, and somehow David Ortiz manages to do it again and win for the Sox in the 14th inning, sending the series back to New York. Sox fans are beginning to put down the nooses and knives, and hope is in the air.

Game 6. A-Fraud decided that since the Yankees can't compete with Schilling's dominating pitching, that he'll resort to cheating to help the Yankees overcome the Red Sox. Problem is, A-Fraud got caught. And what's with the limp-wristed slap, Alex? Put some muscle into it you little girl you. Sox win this one on the shoulders of Curt Schilling's phenomenally heroic pitching performance. Guy's basically got no ankle at all, and he still destroys the Yankee hitters. Simply incredible. Historically speaking, this is the first time a team down 0-3 has ever forced a Game 7.



Game 7.

Feared words. Words that bring back memories of Aaron Boone and Yankee jubilation.

Are the Red Sox truly cursed? Did they only come so far only to fail when victory's finally in their grasp? Is history going to just keep repeating it's hideously unfair trend?



Not this season. 2004 is the year of the Red Sox.

Instead of making game 7 a nail-biter, Johnny Damon decides that he will take all the drama out of it, hitting a grand slam on the first pitch he sees from Javier Vasquez in the 2nd inning to push Boston to a 6-0 lead. Two innings later, he belts another 1st pitch from Vasquez into the upper deck, give the Sox 8 runs on the day and blowing the game wide open. The Sox played hold-em for the rest of the game, and despite allowing 3 runs [the Sox put up 2 more insurance runs late] the Sox cruised to an easy 10-3 victory, and made baseball history by being the first MLB team ever down 0-3 in a series to win the series. 4 games in a row, my Sox beat the Yankees.



Jesus, I get goosebumps just looking at that picture.

Now it's off to the World Series. I'm planning on going.