And it was still true at the end, and only partially because of the MVP-type performance turned in by Ramirez, whose three-run home run in the first and solo shot in the second sent the Sox on their way to a 10-7 defeat of the Anaheim Angels, their closest pursuers in the wild-card race. The Sox are now 2 1/2 games ahead of the Angels, which means they still will be ahead after the Halos leave in two days.
There was also this: the most delicious piece of scoreboard-watching in recent memory, the one in which the person behind the green wall kept replacing the metal numbers next to "CLE," the team above the "NYY." First, there was a "6" after the second inning. Then a "9" after three, a ridiculous "15" after five -- and still more! -- a "16" after six, and a history-making, can-you-believe-it "22" in the ninth, mocking the "0" next to "NYY."
Just like that, the Yankees' lead, on the first day of September, is only 3 1/2 games, the Sox in only 16 days lopping an astonishing seven games off what had been a seemingly insurmountable 10 1/2-game edge. Fasten your seatbelts, Nation, for what is promising to be one of the wildest rides in the 103-year history of the Olde Towne Team.
"Contrary to what a lot of people in this region believe, the Yankees don't [inhale excessively]," said Curt Schilling, who said he felt chills on the way to the ballpark, even before pitching the Sox to their seventh straight win, their longest streak of the season. "Their shortstop has four rings, they have probably one of the best managers in sports.
"I don't expect them to fall down on the job. They were good enough to put 10 1/2 games between us. We're going to need some help to catch up. But if we just stay focused on what we're doing on a daily basis here and take care of our jobs and play the game the way we are playing it, offensively and defensively and pitching, I think we're going to be all right."
The Sox, who were ahead by nine runs until the Angels scored two in the eighth and the light-hitting Alfredo Amezaga hit a grand slam in the ninth off Mike Myers, bade a reluctant farewell to a sizzling August with an impressive display of almost everything that went right in the 21-win month:
