Got root?

(Previously on Boston Red Sox Championship Run 2004, we left the Olde Towne Nine heading into the bottom of the 9th, trailing by one, down 3 games to none, with Mariano Rivera coming in to pitch…)

“De profundis clamavi ad te Domine”
In the depths of despair, I got up and shut off the television. The overwhelming feeling, after the heart-wrenching loss in 2003, and the poor performance to date in this ALCS, was that I couldn’t bear to see the Yankees celebrating on the pitchers mound at Fenway.

Oh Ye of Little Faith
The next morning I got up, and started to get ready for work. In the light of day, the despair of the previous evening had sort of left, and I had already started to steel myself for the “wait till next year” lines I’d hear from my friends who are Yankee fans. At that point, I did what I couldn’t do the night before — I turned on the TV to watch the Yankees celebrate on the pitchers mound of Fenway Park.

“Then saith he to Thomas, reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands”
I turned to ESPN, and was waiting for the footage, when I noticed the scrolling banner beneath the screen saying “Schilling, Game 6 if necessary”.

I thought to myself, “Game 6 if necessary, that must mean there will be a Game 5!”

I quickly tuned in to NESN Sports Desk and saw the tail end of Big Papi’s home run to seal the victory in the 12th.

What I did not see then, I’ve seen a thousand times since…
It sounds so simple.

Millar (or, if you’re from Boston, Millaaah), worked a walk off the mighty Mariano Rivera. Millar isn’t a Hall of Famer, and he tends to be better in the second half of the season (or not, as 2005 proved), but he’s a leader in the clubhouse, and keeps the team loose. One other thing he is not is fleet of foot.

That being the case, Tito promptly substituted Dave Roberts as a pinch runner.

Now, Roberts had come over during the time of the Nomar trade, and was an outfielder. He was also the fastest guy on the Sox. Everyone in Fenway knew, including Mariano Rivera, that Roberts was going the small ball route and going to attempt to steal second.

Writing this now, in retrospect, I’m reminded of Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers. They didn’t “out-fancy” you on the field. They ran solid, fundamental plays, and just plain out-executed you. Everyone watching, including the defense, knew they were going to run the Packer sweep. And they’d run it. And in the process they’d run right over the opponent.

That’s kind of the way it was with Roberts. Everyone, but everyone, knew he was going for second. Rivera threw his way a couple of times to try and keep him close. But, the first time Rivera went towards home to throw a pitch, Roberts was off.

The play-by-play simply notes “Roberts stole second.” Three words. Only three words. But, in those three words, in the couple of seconds it took for Roberts to haul down to second base, 86 years of history hung, literally, in the balance.

I’ve watched the replay countless times. It took watching it frame-by-frame for me to see for the first time that, yes, Dave Roberts was indeed safe. I still have problems seeing it for sure in real time. Thank God that the ump saw it right.

When the dust settled, Roberts stood on second, “in scoring position”, and there were no outs. If the Sox were going to tie it up, they were in good position to do so.

Bill Mueller came up. Had I been watching, I surely would have recalled that Bill Mueller stung Rivera with a two run homer back in that watershed game on July 24. Of course, I missed that one too. I heard it on the radio, but had left the house to go pick up pizza, and missed seeing it until the highlights. As much as I love baseball, sometimes when your wife asks you for the third time in that tone of voice if you’re picking up the pizza, you go pick up the pizza and watch highlights later.

So now, with everything on the line, Mueller had the biggest hit of his Red Sox career, a single back up the middle. The fleet footed Roberts came around to score, and the Sox had new life.

“And that’s the way it was…”
The Sox almost won it in the bottom of the 9th. After a few more Sox came up, Big Papi had a chance to win it with a hit, but popped up. He’d wait three more innings to make up for it.

In the bottom of the 12th, he deposited one into the bullpen, and the Sox had avoided the sweep.

All of this occurred while I was asleep.

To be continued…..