There is no catchy slogan affixed to the 2005 Red Sox, nothing Kevin Millar birthed, distributed, and trademarked. But there is an identity, more apparent with each passing day. That common element, supplanting the resiliency of the 2003 ''Cowboys" and freewheeling nature of last season's ''Idiots," is grit.
''It's been a grind," said captain Jason Varitek, who yesterday scored from first on a single in a five-run first inning, sending the Sox on their way to a 9-3 win that completed a three-game sweep of the crumbling Orioles (eight consecutive losses).
They are home, your boys of summer, hoping to again become legends of the fall. The Yankees? Need you ask any longer? A go-ahead homer from Robinson Cano in the seventh inning and a three-run Gary Sheffield tack-on shot in the eighth secured their 12th win in 14 games, 8-4 over the Blue Jays at the Stadium, and a dead heat atop the AL East. (A loss by the Indians left Boston and New York a half-game in back of Cleveland in the wild-card standings.)
And now, the final week begins. Seven at home for the Sox (four vs. Toronto, three vs. New York). Seven on the road for New York (four at Baltimore, three in the Fens).
''We know what's in front of us," said Wells, who, despite his knee pain, fully intends to make his 30th and final regular-season start Friday in the series opener vs. the Yankees. ''We can't put pressure on ourselves."
This weekend, the Sox didn't play like a team that fell out of first place in Tampa Bay Wednesday with an eighth-inning collapse. They outscored the Orioles, 19-9, in the three-game set, taking the season series, 10-8. They trailed for four innings Friday and never trailed again all weekend. They played loose and won.
''We had to," Francona said. ''But I thought we did a great job. We've always been very resilient."
