With the Red Sox trailing 3-1 going into tonight's matchup with the Yankees, a Red Sox fan explains why he will always have hope.

In the extraordinarily unlikely event that the Boston Red Sox should defeat the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, such a triumph would be more significant than winning the World Series.

Don’t get me wrong!  Winning the World Series would very, very big news not only in Boston, not only in all of New England but with those who have agonized with the Red Sox world wide.  But compared to actually beating the Yankees for the American League pennant, a World Series championship would seem almost anti-climatic.

Although the much fabled “Curse” is in part a reference to the fact that the Red Sox have not won a World Series since 1918, the essence of the curse really revolves around the Yankees.  The curse is short for the “Curse of the Bambino.”  The Bambino is, of course, Babe Ruth.  To this day when people think of the Yankees, Babe Ruth comes to mind.  Indeed, Yankee Stadium is known as “The House that Ruth Built.”  What many people do not know was that Ruth began his career in Boston as a pitcher and helped the Red Sox win three World Series — 1915, 1916 and, of course, 1918.  As his career in Boston progressed it was noticed that Ruth could hit as well as pitch.  In his last season with the Red Sox in 1919, Ruth hit .322 with 29 home runs and knocked in 114 runs.  He also had a won loss record of 9-5 with an earned run average of 2.97.   

Yet the Red Sox finished fifth in the American League with a mediocre 66-71 record, 20½ games back of the Chicago White Sox (yes, those were the Black Sox who threw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds).  Red Sox owner Harry Frazee, who was in desperate need to finance his play No No Nannette, saw Ruth as expendable and sold Ruth to the New York Yankees.

Ruth went to become the best player in the history of Major League Baseball and in turn the Yankees became the best team in the history of Major League Baseball.   Ruth led the Yankees to seven World Series appearances, winning four of them.  The Yankees have gone on to appear in 31 more World Series, winning 22 of them.

The Red Sox, on the other hand, have since 1918 only appeared in four World Series (1946, 1967, 1975 and 1986), losing all of them in seven games.

But most of the Red Sox heartbreak revolves not so much around the World Series, but the much reviled Yankees.

In 1949, the Yankees swept the Red Sox in the final regular season series to win the American League pennant.  The Red Sox had led the American League for nearly that entire season.

In 1978, the Red Sox held a 14½ game lead over the Yankees in the American League East.  The Yankees were in fourth place.    Then lo and behold, Yankee manager Billy Martin beat up a marshmallow salesmen, sullied George Steinbrenner and Reggie Jackson and was fired.  Enter Bob Lemon.  The mild mannered Lemon turned the Yankees around and they tied with the Red Sox for the lead in the American League East on the final day of the season, forcing a one game playoff.  The Red Sox led 3-0 in that game but a home run over the Green Monster in left field by light hitting shortstop Bucky Dent gave the Yankees the American League East championship and turned Dent into the most hated man in New England since the Boston Strangler.   

Of course, the calamity of the 1986 World Series did not come at the hands of the Yankees but their cross-town rivals — the New York Mets.  However, most would argue that the defeat came at the hands of Bill Buckner, who in Game 6 let a ground ball go through his legs that allowed the Mets to come back and win that game.  The miscue came with the Red Sox needing only one out to win the World Series.

I was fourteen years old at the time and was living in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, having just started high school.  My father, who was born and raised in the Bronx and grew up a New York Giants fans, was rooting for the Mets.  Despite my paternal lineage to the Big Apple, I could not bring myself to root for the Mets.  I had come to root for the Red Sox after having read Bill “Spaceman” Lee’s autobiography The Wrong Stuff.  Lee has long called for the Red Sox to exhume the remains of the Babe and apologize to him as a means of finally lifting the curse.

I was also becoming interested in politics at the time and was attracted to the New Democratic Party (NDP), whose electoral victories were few and far between.  What can I say — I am a sucker for lost causes.

As agonizing as the events of Game 6 were, I felt a greater degree of agony in Game 7.  The Red Sox led the Mets 3-0 with stellar pitching by Bruce Hurst into the 7th inning.  I should note that my father had observed that when the Red Sox did well I tended to refrain from talking.  Needless to say, my father attempted to goad me into talking at every possible opportunity.  I did not bite.

That is until the 7th inning.

I received a phone call from my oldest childhood friend, to whom I had not spoken in some time.

I took the call.

I guess I don’t have to tell you that the Red Sox did not hold onto the 3-0 lead.   

Little did I know that 13½ years later, I would eventually live in Boston.

Over the past five seasons, I have attended 44 games at Fenway Park.  The Red Sox have a 29-15 record in those games.  I have seen some interesting things in those 44 games.  In 2000, I saw Brian Daubach get game winning hits on three successive occasions.  In 2001, I saw Hideo Nomo carry a no-hitter against the Minnesota Twins into the 7th inning.  In 2002, I saw Terrence Long of the Oakland Athletics rob Manny Ramirez of what would have been a game winning homerun.  In 2003, on my 31st birthday, I saw Pedro Martinez pitch a complete game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  This past year, on my 32nd birthday, I saw Curt Schilling become a 20 game winner against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Whether in triumph or disaster, all of these games had one thing in common.  During at least one point in every Red Sox game I have ever attended the refrain, “Yankees Suck!!!  Yankees Suck!!!   Yankees Suck!!!”  The Red Sox could be playing the Kansas City Royals and one would hear “Yankees Suck!!!”  I have seen the Sox play every team in the American League at least twice and several National League teams, and I have always heard this refrain.  Except once.

That would have been September 19, 2001.  It was the night that Major League Baseball had resumed play after the tragedy of September 11th.  The Red Sox were playing the Detroit Tigers that night.  I ended up being late for the game because I was prohibited from carrying a bag into Fenway Park.  Major League Baseball had adopted these new rules as a consequence of September 11th.   Fortunately, I live only a short distance from Fenway Park and was able to drop off my bag and return.  If I had lived in Framingham….well, best not to think about that.

When the Red Sox came back to win the 2003 American League Division Series against the Oakland Athletics I walked down to Fenway Park and headed up to Kenmore Square to witness the jubilation.  Never have I seen that large a crowd in such a small space.  Let’s remember that the New England Patriots have won two Super Bowls during my time here, and compared to that night, the Patriots celebrations seemed like meetings of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.     

I feared what might happen should the Red Sox have prevailed against the Yankees in the 2003 American League Championship Series.  The whole city might very well have been burned to the ground.  But we would never find that out.

I was as surprised as anyone to see Pedro Martinez come out to pitch the 8th inning of Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.  He had nothing left.  Sure, I saw him pitch a complete game on my birthday; but this wasn’t the Tampa Bay Devil Rays he was facing.  I figured that Grady Little would take him out if he didn’t retire the first batter.  By the time Hideki Matsui came to the plate and Little opted to leave Pedro to face him, I said loudly, “I sure hope he knows what he’s doing.”      Compared to what the rest of Red Sox Nation was uttering at the moment, my appraisal was a rather generous one.   

I could only sigh when Tim Wakefield surrendered the game winning home run to Aaron Boone in the 11th inning.  If not for that home run, Boone’s short lived tour of duty with the Yankees would have been a complete bust.  I did not go outside that night.   The following morning, one could have heard a pin drop on the Green Line to Park Street.

Grady Little was unceremoniously dismissed as Red Sox manager, despite guiding them to 93 wins in 2002 and 95 wins in 2003.  He was succeeded by Terry Francona, who had previously managed the Philadelphia Phillies between 1997 and 2000.  I remember Francona when he was a rookie outfielder with the Montreal Expos in 1981.  Had he not torn up his knees he might have been one of the game’s best hitters.

Francona’s reputation as a manager was sealed when he managed the Birmingham Barons — a Double AA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox — in 1992.  This would not seem significant except for the fact that one of his players happened to be Michael Jordan.    Francona patiently handled the media onslaught while guiding Jordan and 24 other young players on the team.

Sure, Francona managed four losing teams in Philadelphia.  But if not for Francona, Curt Schilling would not have left Arizona.    There would be no 21 game winner and no amusing commercials for Dunkin’ Donuts featuring Schilling trying to learn a Boston accent.

The Red Sox got off to a 15-6 start in April.   Over the next three months, they were a so-so 41-40.  Many players were injured but the big problem was Nomar Garciaparra.  The star shortstop had been pushed to the side when the Red Sox unsuccessfully pursued Alex Rodriguez in the off season.  A-Rod, of course, ended up being traded to the Yankees.  Nomar remained in Boston but he was hurt and unhappy.  At the end of July, Nomar was traded to the Chicago Cubs in a deal that also involved the Minnesota Twins and the now defunct Montreal Expos.  Nomar got a change in atmosphere and the Red Sox got improved defense from Orlando Cabrera at shortstop  (by way of the Expos) and Doug Mientkiewicz at first base (by way of the Twins).  The Red Sox won 42 of their last 60 games and finished with a record of 98-64 — their best record since 1975.  That was the year they came within a heart beat of upsetting Sparky Anderson’s Big Red Machine.

If you are still not convinced that beating the Yankees would be a bigger prize than getting to visit the White House, why is that so many Red Sox fans were rooting for the Yankees in the American League Division Series against the Minnesota Twins?  Indeed, the Boston Herald ran this headline: “Go Yanks!!!”

As of this writing, the Red Sox are down three games to one against the Yankees.   In Game 1, Mike Mussina carried a perfect game into the 7th inning with the Yankees leading 8-0.  The Yankees fans were derisively chanting,  “Who’s Your Daddy?”  But then the Red Sox came on like gang busters.  They scored five runs in the 7th and two more runs in the 8th, and suddenly it was an 8-7 game.  The fans were no longer chanting, “Who’s Your Daddy?”  The Yankees were forced to bring in Mariano Rivera, who had just returned from Panama after attending the funeral of two of his relatives who had been electrocuted on his property, to finish the game.    

As often happens, the Sox came tantalizingly close but the Yankees pulled ahead two runs in the 8th inning and won the game 10-7.    To make matters worse, Curt Schilling aggravated an already injured ankle that was heavily taped.  At present, it is unknown if he will pitch again this season.

In Game 2, the Red Sox were overmatched by Jon Lieber, who gave up only one run on two hits over seven innings pitched.    Tom Gordon and Mariano Rivera then finished the Sox off to win 3-1.

The Yankees pounded the Red Sox 19-8 in Game 3, but the Red Sox squeaked out a 6-4 victory in Game 4 on David Ortiz' 12th-inning home run off Yankee reliever Paul Quantrill.

This latest confrontation with the Yankees may be over by the end of tonight.  It may continue until Wednesday.  Much can go wrong.    In fact, as history has demonstrated, only one thing need go wrong to come so close and yet be so far.

Although the Chicago Cubs have had contending ballclubs for the past couple of seasons for most of their history (especially since the end of WWII) they have a had long series of last place teams.    The Red Sox, on the other hand, are the best second place team in history.    They are baseball’s bridesmaids as the bouquet of flowers slips from their waiting and wanting hands.

With the Red Sox comes the conflict between head and heart.    My head knows that the Red Sox can’t possibly beat the Yankees in championship play.  They will come so close yet remain as far away as ever.   My heart, however,  has witnessed the Red Sox come back from insurmountable odds.  There is the perpetual hope that these flashes of brilliance will sustain themselves long enough to overcome more than 85 years of disappointment at the hands of the Yankees.  Maybe the hero will be one of the Red Sox’s stars like Manny Ramirez,  Jason Varitek or David Ortiz (who sent the Red Sox to the American League Championship Series with a game winning home run in extra innings in Game 3 of the American League Divisional Series against the Anaheim Angels).   Perhaps it will be an unlikely hero such as Pokey Reese, Doug Mirabelli or Gabe Kapler.  Could you imagine if Gabe Kapler got the game winning hit against the Yankees?  The curse of the Babe would be overcome by the triumph of the Gabe.  Whatever the outcome, I am sure that the Boston Herald is already thinking of what the headline might be.