NEW YORK -- It was like driving through the old neighborhood and passing the spot where your dog got run over when you were 10 years old.
This is a place where something terrible happened and it was hard for anyone from New England to come back here without remembering how things ended six months ago. The last time the Red Sox occupied the visitor's dugout at Yankee Stadium, they were cursing, crying, and kicking buckets of Gatorade while Aaron Boone circled the bases.
"It'd be pretty unprofessional if we couldn't put that behind us," Jason Varitek said of the crushing extra-inning defeat in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
And so they did. The steamrolling Sox last night pounded four home runs and routed Jose Contreras again in a deliciously easy, 11-2 victory that gives Boston four wins in five games against the hated Yankees. Oh, and the first resounding booing of Alex Rodriguez came in the sixth inning when A-Rod grounded to short with the Sox leading, 7-0.
"We'll take it," said Johnny Damon. "We hope they don't hit for a little longer."
It was hardball heaven for Hub road trippers.
No one from Boston's upper management was on hand, which was unfortunate because there is much titillation in the front office every time the Sox bash Contreras. Remember, it was Boston's futile pursuit of this alleged master hurler that provoked Larry Lucchino's Evil Empire remark and put the two franchises into superstar stockpiling overdrive.
It all started with the hunt for Contreras in the Dominican Republic after the 2002 season. The Sox were outbid by the Yankees, Theo Epstein allegedly did a Keith Moon number on his hotel room, and Lucchino said, "The Evil Empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America." George Steinbrenner was not amused. Lucchino's flip remark has become the Red Sox-Yankee equivalent of the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand. It reignited the century-old rivalry, triggering new hostility and competition. It was the precursor of last winter's A-Rod madness.
Which is why the Sox love to knock Contreras around the ballpark, making King George's $32 million investment look silly. Any Red Sox rout of Contreras is like watching a giant Cuban cigar explode in the Boss's face.
Contreras's career numbers against Boston: 0-3 with an ERA of 18.00 (20 earned runs in 10 innings).
"I don't know about the bidding war, but we've had great at-bats against him," said Kevin Millar. "You've got to be patient."
