Have another shot of Absolute Trouble, Red Sox fans. And make it a double. Your New York friends are mocking you again. And there's nothing you can do about it unless the Sox turn things around.
The Yankees' 3-1 victory over Martinez last night gives New York a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series and dashes much of the rampant exuberance that's cloaked New England since the Red Sox' second-half season surge and first-round playoff sweep of the Angels. Yankee starter Jon Lieber smothered the Sox, holding them to three hits in seven innings. Martinez, meanwhile, pitched well, but was beaten by a sixth-inning, two-run homer by veteran John Olerud.
"I'm very disappointed," said Sox general manager Theo Epstein. "We haven't played well yet, but the series is far from over. We just have to get back to the things we do well. Going home to Fenway and getting a boost from the crowd is much needed right now."
Six days ago the streets around Fenway were awash in champagne and confidence as the swashbuckling Sox and fans celebrated the first-round triumph and all but demanded a rematch with the hated Yankees. It was a convention of "idiots" (their word) and it seemed the good times would carry long into the winter and beyond.
But now the Sons of Tito Francona have dug a hole of Big Dig dimension and must beat the Yankees four times in the five games or take their rightful, red-faced place alongside players on the last 85 Red Sox teams who likewise found ways to avoid winning a World Series.
Wednesday started badly late in the afternoon when Red Sox team physician William Morgan announced that Schilling has a dislocated tendon in his right ankle and will need surgery. The Sox are holding out dim hope that Schilling can take his regular turn in Game 5 Sunday at Fenway, but his uncharacteristic poor performance in Game 1 (six runs in three innings) is evidence there's something seriously wrong and Schilling said he would not return to the mound if he could not do any better.
Against this ominous backdrop, Red Sox Nation turned its eyes to Martinez, hoping he would revert to his gunslinger days and shoot down the Yankees.
