Wednesday, October 20, 2004 By ADRIAN WOJNAROWSKI, SPORTS COLUMNIST
The Bergen County Record
NEW YORK - The blood soaked through his socks, leaving that torn tendon raw and requiring repair, but there was no stopping Curt Schilling. The winds whipped, the temperature dipped into the low 40's and Schilling fired from that bloody stump in the middle of Yankee Stadium and delivered the Sox to the most dramatic Game 7 in the history of the American League.
One more night, one more game, one more chance for the Red Sox to complete the greatest comeback in baseball history.
One more night, one more game and one more chance for the Yankees to complete the greatest collapse in baseball history.
One more night to obliterate all those ghosts.
One more night that promises to be the most unforgettable in the history of the Red Sox and the Yankees.
The Red Sox beat the Yankees, 4-2, in Game 6 on Tuesday night, and the two clubs have pushed past the hype and exploded our expectations. Stephen King can keep writing his baseball books, but it is impossible to recreate the reality of what plays out between these teams.
"I guess it was supposed to come to Game 7," Yankees' manager Joe Torre said. "Sometimes, it just happens in a startling way."
Startling just started to describe Schilling on Tuesday night. Startling just started to describe the Sox' sprint back into this Series. Schilling had one magnificent comeback himself, but it was simply secondary to the spectacular sprint of these Sox, daring the unthinkable of coming back from down three games to none in the American League Championship Series.
"We just did something that has never been done," Schilling said. He was talking about winning three straight to force a Game 7 in the baseball playoffs. "But it ain't over yet."
He would wonder what he had until he dug those spikes into the hole in front of the pitching rubber, reared back and fired his first 94-mph fastball. He wondered before he brushed back Alex Rodriguez, and struck out Ruben Sierra and started to be himself again. Schilling was Schilling again, and he was digging deep to deliver Game 7 for the Red Sox. He had wanted to silence the Stadium and it would be deathly solemn with Schilling starting out the most important start of his season with that nasty disposition and that nasty old stuff.
For the previous two nights at Fenway Park, Schilling felt helpless, like the 35,000 fans surrounding him. He just wanted his shot, just wanted to get back into the Series. He was praying for a second chance.
As usual, it is just beginning between the Yankees and Red Sox. So much would happen between the time Schilling left the game to end the seventh inning, having allowed just one run and four hits, and Keith Foulke finally struck out Tony Clark with two on and two out. There was A-Rod getting called for smacking the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove, and Derek Jeter's run was called back and the police in riot gear had flooded the field. It was wild, all the way until the end.
It was 8:16 p.m., when Schilling marched in from the bullpen, holding his glove and a white towel in the swirling Yankee Stadium rain. The boos thundered down on him, and the hate had to feel like such a generous gift for him. Schilling should've been down and out, just like the Red Sox. He should've been finished in the ALCS, just like the Sox. This is a rising revolution of redemption for Schilling and the Red Sox.
They actually sewed the skin around the tendon so tightly that it would be almost impossible to pop. The pain had to be unbearable.
"I don't think people have any idea what he went through to pitch today," Sox' manager Terry Francona said.
Within reach now is everything Boston has ever wanted. The Sox wouldn't just beat the Yankees to reach the World Series, but the greatest comeback in baseball history would also be remembered as the greatest collapse in sports history.
No longer would it be the '86 Sox against the Mets.
No longer would it be the 2003 Sox of Pedro Martinez and Grady Little.
It would be the highest payroll in the history of team sports, the $184 million Yankees blowing a 3-0 lead on the most failed, cursed franchise of our time. Curt Schilling had been hired to deliver the Sox to this day, and there he stood in the middle of Stadium, dragging that bloody ankle around the mound, and dragging the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees to the biggest Game 7 in the history of the American League tonight.
E-mail: wojnarowski@northjersey.com
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